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Advice needed on LG Blu ray system
Smiffy
19-02-2013
Hi there
Don't know if anybody can help me here but I have a top of the range LG home theater system. Cost me a lot of money and I've owned it for about 3 years.
I have been really pleased with it but about 6 months ago I encountered my first problem. Bought a new film (blu ray) and at a certain point during playback, the sound dropped out and then the picture froze. I removed the disc, tried it again, and it did exactly the same thing again at exactly the same point in the movie. So I removed the disc and tried it in my ps3, played perfectly. Didn't think any more about it, putting it down as a "one off".
Couple of months later, bought another new film and exactly the same again.Froze at a certain point in the film again and again.
Again, I played it on my ps3 and it played perfectly. All was well for a few months and then my wife bought another film that did the same thing again. Bear in mind that other films had been purchased as well which this problem didn't happen with.
Things came to a head a few weeks ago when my wife bought me the new Sweeney film on Blu ray. Was watching it quite happily when the same thing happened again. About 30 seconds into chapter 19 and the sound dropped, picture froze. Hmmm! This is getting annoying. Removed disc, tried it again...30 seconds into chapter 19 it did it again! Wife took the film back to Tesco and got a replacement. Put it in the player expecting to watch the end of the film, 30 seconds into chapter 19 the picture froze again!
Get in touch with LG, they reckon it's a software issue so I downloaded the latest software from their website, load it into the machine. Put the new copy of the Sweeney on again and 30 seconds into chapter 19 it freezes again! LG tell me that I am running the latest software/firmware, no other updates have been released. I've tried a blu ray disc cleaner (not a cheap one by the way) and the player won't accept it.
Things came to a head last night, my wife had pre-ordered me Skyfall on blu ray. Came home from work and we all sat down looking forward to watching the film, and hoping that this one wouldn't freeze. Imagine our disappointment when the film starts loading and then we get an warning come up saying "Your blu ray player needs an update to play this disc. Please visit your blu ray manufacturers website to download the latest software".....THERE IS NO LATER UPDATE FOR THIS PLAYER FROM LG!!
Now LG say it could be a blu ray lens issue. If it is, how come 95% of my blu ray collection play perfectly well, it is literally only 4 or 5 discs that are giving this problem???
After the problems with the Sweeney disc, I sat down and watched 4 episodes of "Band of Brothers" on blu ray, and they played perfectly, so I know that it's not a lens issue or that the unit is not overheating.
I now have an expensive home theater system that won't play certain blu rays and is crying out for a software update which doesn't exist!
It plays DVD's perfectly by the way, and as I said above, I must have 80 or so blu ray films which it plays perfectly well! Apologies for the long post, but this is driving me nutz!
Any ideas?????
Deacon1972
19-02-2013
What audio inputs does the LG have, if any? There may be a way of using the PS3 for the video and the LG for the audio, might put you on until you can sort something else out.

Personally I'd look into getting a separate sound system and use the PS3 for DVD'S/Bluray's.
niall campbell
19-02-2013
whats the model number of the LG ??
Nigel Goodwin
19-02-2013
Originally Posted by Smiffy:
“It plays DVD's perfectly by the way
”

That doesn't help, it uses a different laser to play DVD's than BD's (and different again for CD's).

Quote:
“
and as I said above, I must have 80 or so blu ray films which it plays perfectly well! Apologies for the long post, but this is driving me nutz!
Any ideas?????”

Only what you already know - it's either a software update problem, or it's the laser/optical assembly. What you need to do is find someone with the exact same model, and try your failed discs on their player.
BrokenArrow
19-02-2013
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“That doesn't help, it uses a different laser to play DVD's than BD's (and different again for CD's).



Only what you already know - it's either a software update problem, or it's the laser/optical assembly. What you need to do is find someone with the exact same model, and try your failed discs on their player.”

I don't think they use a different laser. The blue laser just focuses to a smaller point as its a much smaller wavelength . The BR disks uses thinner tracks, but it can read DVD's as well as they have 5 times larger tracks.

I suspect the problem is a software bug, its getting stuck on a particular data sequence.
Nigel Goodwin
19-02-2013
Originally Posted by BrokenArrow:
“I don't think they use a different laser. The blue laser just focuses to a smaller point as its a much smaller wavelength . The BR disks uses thinner tracks, but it can read DVD's as well as they have 5 times larger tracks.”

As far as I'm aware hey use three different lasers, it's quite a common fault if one of the lasers dies, then it will read the other two formats, but not the one that has died.
bobcar
19-02-2013
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“As far as I'm aware hey use three different lasers, it's quite a common fault if one of the lasers dies, then it will read the other two formats, but not the one that has died.”

I think they use a 3-wavelength laser. The technology I think is usually 3 diode lasers on a single GaAs substrate but someone with more knowledge may wish to correct me. Certainly with this arrangement it's perfectly possible (even likely) for one of the diodes to fail leaving the others working.

I don't think that BrokenArrows's suggestion of using a single blue laser to read DVD and CD as well would work.

EDIT: Here is an example of a 2-wavelength laser for DVD/CD, the same principle would apply to a 3 wavelength one to include BD. http://www.rohm.com/documents/11303/...mnl2_npb-e.pdf
Smiffy
20-02-2013
Originally Posted by Deacon1972:
“What audio inputs does the LG have, if any? There may be a way of using the PS3 for the video and the LG for the audio, might put you on until you can sort something else out.

Personally I'd look into getting a separate sound system and use the PS3 for DVD'S/Bluray's.”

The ps3 connects up to the LG via HDMI so no problems there. I've had seperates before, the missus got fed up with all the different remotes....plus the LG (despite the fact that it doesn't work properly) looks a lot neater.
Smiffy
20-02-2013
Originally Posted by niall campbell:
“whats the model number of the LG ??”

It's an HB954PB
Smiffy
20-02-2013
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“That doesn't help, it uses a different laser to play DVD's than BD's (and different again for CD's).


I was just pointing out that the unit plays 96% of my blu ray collection perfectly well, along with all DVD's. If it were an optical drive fault (as LG suggested but then retracted based on the above) I would think it would show itself with all discs, not just the 5 that it is?


Only what you already know - it's either a software update problem, or it's the laser/optical assembly. What you need to do is find someone with the exact same model, and try your failed discs on their player.”

There are no further software updates available. After I updated the software via their websites link, (which made no difference), I was told to connect to the internet via an ethernet cable and the unit would find any additional software releases that had ever been released almost immediately. After two hours plugged in, it didn't! There has only ever been one software update for this particular model, and the faults that it was designed to fix bear no relation to the problems I am experiencing. Two LG helpline employees have confirmed this.
Unfortunately I don't know anyone with the same type of player as myself...I admit that would be the ideal solution.
Nigel Goodwin
20-02-2013
Originally Posted by bobcar:
“The technology I think is usually 3 diode lasers on a single GaAs substrate but someone with more knowledge may wish to correct me.”

Like I said, three lasers
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