DMREh75V

[lmhester]

Help,
Have had this product about a year with no problems. Recently had to replace a cable box on a different TV. When they sent the download to the new box something happened that stop the TV Guide from downloading to The DMR. I have had the cable company to the house and they were no help. I hope that some one here can help find a solution. There is no cable box contected to the TV the DMR is contected to.

Thanks

[heyjude70]

Like you, my Panasonic is not connected to a cable box (used to be, but I ended up moving the cable box to a different TV also). My solution has been to just do manual recordings. But I sure miss seeing the info/details of what is on the various shows I like to watch. One of these days I may try running the setup again (but it takes 24 hours of being off, and I tend to watch TV every day). I’ve also wondered if things were not connected in the proper order/sequence when the cable box was moved. I might also try disconnecting and then reconnecting everything exactly per the instruction manual (but I can’t do that until I get some help moving my heavy entertainment center so I can get to the back of everything). Good luck–let me know if you are successful, and I will do the same.

[heyjude70]

Since my clock was a bit off on my Panasonic, I pulled out the instruction booklet so I could manual set my clock (I couldn’t get to that option through set-up). I followed the instructions and pressed the Ch up and Ch down buttons on the unit itself at the same time. It then started it’s set-up procedure, and I was able to reset the time. (This will also wipe out any manual recordings you have set on your schedule.) The next day I happened to accidentally press the TV Guide button only to find out that I now had my listings back. What a nice surprise. So my advice would be to try this. Good luck!

[Chick_Hearn]

I currently have an issue with my DMR-EH75vs unit. although it’s a different one.

I was formatting a Verbatim DVD +R DL disc in preparation of dubbing ~ 4 hours of programming. However something went wrong during the format process, the on-screen message basically said “bad disc, the unit would have to shut itself down after self-check. Upon next power up, it would attempt to save the disc for use”.

However after powering it back on, the drive doesn’t read any discs at all. It doesn’t even recognize a simple DVD Lens Cleaning disc. During the power on, or after you put a disc in, or close the tray with no disc, I can hear weird noises from the disc drive (6 distinct sounds I have never heard before). Somehow I think the laser is stuck in a weird position, but I’m not experience enough to open up the machine for a look.

Do you think the bad Verbatim disc somehow ruined the drive? Just a few minutes before, I had no problems dubbing to a DVD -R disc and finalized the disc (a TYG02 disc).

Is there a way to reset the laser or something? Even after closing the tray with no disc inside, sometimes the “incompatible disc” message displays. It’s clearly acting funky, perhaps it thinks that verbatim disc is inside when it’s not? Is this something a repair shop can fix? Should I try leaving the machine off for a few hours? Maybe it’s too warm right now, causing the machine to malfunction?

Any suggestions, thoughts ,or ideas? Thanks.

[Chick_Hearn]

I tried the usual blank TY disc, DVD-RAM disc, retail DVD movie disc…the drive doesn’t recognize anything.

The bizarre thing is the screen displays the “cannot read, please check disc” message even without a disc inside.

anyways, I’m leaving the machine unplugged for awhile to see if that solves anything.

[Chick_Hearn]

here are a couple of links to some videos I took, which captures the irregular sound of a struggling DVD drive on my DMR-EH75vs unit.

First: when I plugged in the power cord

Share files and collaborate on creative projects

Then: with the lens cleaner inside the tray.

Share files and collaborate on creative projects

Any help, suggestions, observations from the experts? Thanks.

only 100 downloads, or they are available for 7 days.

[jjeff]

I have read cases where the laser somehow got either too far in or too far out of its normal path. I think I read it in a thread talking about the u66 error? anyway the person took the cover off the unit, then the cover off the drive. He carefully physically moved the laser head position, put the cover back on the drive and unit and his error code went away.
Now I know your situation is different but as long as you don’t force the laser head and break anything, I don’t think it would hurt. BTW I’ve found the easiest way to take the cover off the drive is to take out the 4 screws and then lift the rear of the cover then slide the cover back a cm. or so and lift up. I’ve personally never had a EH-75 but I’d think the cover would be similar to the ES-15 of the same age, which I have.
To reinstall the cover slide point the front down and slide under the little pins and then forward. Finally pushing down on the back.
Note when you have the drive apart I would strongly suggest cleaning the spindle. It’s the rubber part that holds the disc near the center. The lower piece(not on the cover) tends to get dusty and cause disc slippage which also causes problems. Who knows, maybe it’s just the spindle that needs to be cleaned. The classic sign of that is scuffed center part of the discs(it should be totally clear) and grinding when writing to the disc(especially during finalizing and editing disc).

If you don’t feel comfortable doing the above maybe you have a friend or relative who might be handy? Otherwise you could sent your machine into Panasonic and they will fix it for a flat rate of $130. A machine of your quality would sure be worth fixing.
Personally I’d try cleaning myself and if a no-go then send it in. Make sure to get it put back together correctly though, otherwise they might not like it that you took it apart yourself and possibly deny the $130 flat fee.
I can’t tell you how many times when I worked in a radio TV repair shop we got in devices the customer tried to repair. They usually came in a basket including the parts they couldn’t figure out how to get back in place:bigsmile:
P.S. personally I wouldn’t try cleaning the laser with any solvents or force. It’s very fragile and I once ruined a player trying to clean the laser. For that I’d suggest a lens cleaner, although the lens cleaner does nothing to the spindle. For that you need to disassemble the machine.

[DigaDo]

Jjeff suggested cleaning the hub/spindle on the DVD drive. This is described in detail here:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/f106/fixing-your-panny-when-theres-fault-lens-cleaning-doesnt-help-210507/#post1702503

Procedures for removing the DVD drive lid may vary according to the design of the DVD drive and machine.

If the DVD drive has the black plastic case (2005 and older models) the top cover is anchored at the rear and lifts from the front. In this case it may require removal of the machine’s front panel to give enough clearance to lift the drive lid at the front and slide it forward allowing disengagement at the rear. (On a model with a VHS drive be sure to hold the VHS door open as it’s being fitted back to the case. This will correctly align the VHS door lifting mechanism.)

If the DVD drive has the metal case (2006 and newer models) the top cover is anchored at the front and lifts from the rear. The machine’s front panel doesn’t have to be disturbed in this arrangement.

Pay special attention to the positioning of the roller assembly at the rear of the disc tray. Upon reassembly it has to be in the correct position to align with the guide rail on the underside of the DVD drive lid.

Information concerning flat-rate repair at the corporate Panasonic Service Center is found here:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/f106/panasonic-dmr-eh75v-243379/#post2041020

[Chick_Hearn]

jjeff,

thx for your suggestion. I will try following the instructions for cleaning the spindle in the other thread. I actually couldn’t find the correct-sized Phillips screwdriver in order to remove those four screws you are talking about, to access that spindle.

There definitely was a U88 error displayed, even though there’s no disc inside the tray. Apparently, the drive thinks there is a disc or is looking for one. The bad verbatim disc also might have contributed to the laser’s misalignment.

I’ll take your advice not to use “isoprop” on the laser lens.

But bad timing for this to happen, as Wimbledon is right around the corner. Luckily, there’s nothing else wrong with the machine. VHS, SD, and hard drives all work perfectly. No more +R DL discs for me, even Verbatim Singapore ones, assuming I get this fixed up later.

Thanks again.

[jjeff]

Good luck, but don’t be to quick to blame the Verb disc. Sometimes things just happen. It could have also happened with a Ty disc or maybe a Office Depot brand. I believe sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw. I know I was often blaming the brand of disc I used when I was having problems with my discs crashing. After cleaning the spindle I’m happy to report 100% success in my case and I use discs such as Office Depot, Maxell, TDK and Verbs.

DigaDo, on my latest cleaning on my ES-30(w/VHS) I was able to remove the drive cover without messing with the front cover of the machine. The first time I cleaned the machine I removed the front piece and didn’t heed your advice about the tape door. I promptly had to take it apart again and follow your advice. (actually I read your advice after I had the problem and 100% agree with your advice) BTW since I think the ES-75 is '06 vintage I’d guess the drive has the metal top, in which case hopefully Chick will not need to worry about it either way. Although since neither of us actually have a EH-75 who knows. Although I do know my EH-55 ('06 vintage) I believe a mate to the EH-75 but lacks the VHS, does have the metal drive lid and is easily removed w/out taking off the front piece.

[Chick_Hearn]

I just thought of something. Even if you clean the spindle/hub thoroughly, why would the drive make those noises when the tray is empty? There’s no disc for the spindle to grab, so would it make a difference whether the spindle is clean or not?

Just wondering how/why cleaning the spindle would help resolve the noises when there’s no disc…

Also is it not a good idea to power-on the unit when the DVD drive cover is off (with the lens, grips, and other mechanics exposed)?

Thanks again.

[jjeff]

Your first point is good and points at more that the lens is out of place. I would still clean the spindle when you have the drive apart. Like I said even if it’s not a problem now, it will be in time.
You never want to power the machine ON when the DRIVE cover is off. I may have alluded to powering it ON when the UNIT cover was off, but NOT the drive cover. If you do you will see the red laser come on. Whatever you don’t look directly at that. I assume it could harm your eyes. I did this once looking from the side and immediately unplugged the machine when I realized what was going on.
Another think to keep in mind. Don’t move the machine or drive around when you have the drive cover off(also don’t move the drive cover itself around). Their are plastic pieces that can get out of place. If they do you will have a hard time getting the cover back on. Trust me on this one. I once had this happen to me and I somewhat forced the cover on. After I powered the machine ON it made a terrible grinding noise and gave me a u88?(can’t remember the code) I quickly unplugged the unit and after a few scary moments(I was thinking I was going to have to take apart one of my other machines to compare the two)I finally figured what I had done wrong.
Long story short just lift the cover off and place away from the machine. Then after your work is done carefully place back on the drive. Their’s nothing on the underside of the drive cover that usually needs cleaning. It’s hard plastic. The rubber part attached to the main part of the drive is what needs cleaning.
Good luck and I think it’s really easier than all these warnings might lead you to believe. I’m just trying to cover all the bases for you and hopefully you can learn from my mistakes:bigsmile:

[Chick_Hearn]

[QUOTE=jjeff;2080610]I have read cases where the laser somehow got either too far in or too far out of its normal path. I think I read it in a thread talking about the u66 error? anyway the person took the cover off the unit, then the cover off the drive. He carefully physically moved the laser head position, put the cover back on the drive and unit and his error code went away.
Now I know your situation is different but as long as you don’t force the laser head and break anything, I don’t think it would hurt. BTW I’ve found the easiest way to take the cover off the drive is to take out the 4 screws and then lift the rear of the cover then slide the cover back a cm. or so and lift up. I’ve personally never had a EH-75 but I’d think the cover would be similar to the ES-15 of the same age, which I have.
To reinstall the cover slide point the front down and slide under the little pins and then forward. Finally pushing down on the back.
Note when you have the drive apart I would strongly suggest cleaning the spindle. It’s the rubber part that holds the disc near the center. The lower piece(not on the cover) tends to get dusty and cause disc slippage which also causes problems. Who knows, maybe it’s just the spindle that needs to be cleaned. The classic sign of that is scuffed center part of the discs(it should be totally clear) and grinding when writing to the disc(especially during finalizing and editing disc).

If you don’t feel comfortable doing the above maybe you have a friend or relative who might be handy? Otherwise you could sent your machine into Panasonic and they will fix it for a flat rate of $130. A machine of your quality would sure be worth fixing.
Personally I’d try cleaning myself and if a no-go then send it in. Make sure to get it put back together correctly though, otherwise they might not like it that you took it apart yourself and possibly deny the $130 flat fee.
I can’t tell you how many times when I worked in a radio TV repair shop we got in devices the customer tried to repair. They usually came in a basket including the parts they couldn’t figure out how to get back in place:bigsmile:
P.S. personally I wouldn’t try cleaning the laser with any solvents or force. It’s very fragile and I once ruined a player trying to clean the laser. For that I’d suggest a lens cleaner, although the lens cleaner does nothing to the spindle. For that you need to disassemble the machine.[/QUOTE]

I took the machine to a local authorized Panasonic dealer with qualified, licensed technicians. Apparently, they said the drive needs to be replaced (it costs $355 for the drive then extra for labour).

Maybe I should send it directly to Panasonic instead? I’m doubtful it’s only a lens issue at this point, so it would probably cost more than $130.

[DigaDo]

With your hard drive model the flat-rate repair at the corporate Panasonic Service Center in Elk Grove Village IL will always be the best deal unless you do the repair yourself.

DVD drives may be swapped between Panasonics of the same model year. Two of my DMR-ES15 DVD Recorders have DVD drives swapped from two of my DMR-ES35V combo recorder “parts machines” that had good DVD drives. DVD drive controller circuit boards, the brains of a Panasonic, are common between these and probably other 2006 model year Panasonics. (The DVD drive controller circuit board is part number is VEP79132. Panasonic had this part listed on their parts website for a brief time, priced well over $200, while I purchased my two DMR-ES35V parts machines for $15.29 and $17.00, including shipping. Both parts machines had good DVD drives and DVD drive controller boards.) If replacing the DVD drive controller circuit board model-specific firmware might have to be run if this board is swapped between different models. I have thirteen functional Panasonics from the 2005, 2006 and 2007 model years. I have swapped a variety of parts between the 2006 models and the two 2006 model parts machines, made a variety of repairs (mainly replacing capacitors and mini-switches) and made some other adjustments in order to keep out-of-warranty Panasonics functional during an extensive selective dubbing project for my twenty years of home-recorded videotapes, about 5,200 titles. My six most heavily used Panasonics average more than 3,000 recording hours per machine. One 2005 model, a DMR-ES30V combo recorder, has more than 4,200 recording hours. All these “high mileage” Panasonics are fully functional to this day.

The following information has been posted before but the street name in the address was spelled wrong, now corrected:

The corporate Panasonic Service Center in Elk Grove Village IL handles warranty and out of warranty repairs in a prompt and efficient manner.

For Panasonic warranty service, call 1-800-211-7262 to obtain a RMA.

Panasonic also offers out of warranty flat-rate repairs for $130.00, including shipping. Call 1-888-439-2676 for the flat-rate out of warranty service at the corporate Panasonic Service Center:

Panasonic Service Center
1590 Touhy Ave
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007

1-888-439-2676

Local “Panasonic Authorized Service” locations service many brands, specializing in none. They many not have a service manual or parts for your product. They may charge whatever they please to service or repair out of warranty products. If parts are needed prepare to wait for an extended period.

Other posters have reported that local “Panasonic Authorized Service” locations have been unable to effect repairs. I have not read similar complaints concerning the corporate Panasonic Service Center in Illinois.

[Oneway_Survival]

Chick_Hearn, I feel your pain. I have the exact same problem with my 75V - it has worked flawlessly for 20 months and this morning it reported the U88 error after suddenly aborting a burn to DVD-R project from the HDD. I doubt the media caused our problems - I’m using a PRINCO 4x DVD-R - a disc type that I’ve used probably 400 times before. However, now that the U88 message has appeared, I get the same 6 grinding sounds on the drive followed by the “cannot read disc” message with every DVD I try. The strangest feature is that the DVD player now permanently thinks it’s reading a disc even when none is in there.

After reading the other great posts and trying some of the things suggested by DigaDo, jjeff, SaintBaz and others to no avail - I think my best option (and probably yours too) is to send it to Panasonic’s service center in Elk Grove Village using the $130 flat-rate deal (thanks for the heads-up about this DigaDo).

I’m no electronics mechanic, but I was able to clean the spindle thoroughly and I tried sliding the laser mount to the rear. I had high hopes, but unfortunately neither of these fixed the U88 problem.

If DigaDo were my neighbor, I’d be ordering a spare part 75V machine and have him teach me how to swap out the DVD drive - because I believe that would fix the issue and I’d love to spend $20 on this problem instead of $130!

Bottom line is that a $450 machine should last more than 20 months - but it has served me well and I’m willing to pay $130 to get it back.

Good luck to you. Let me know if you figure out some brilliant fix before I ship mine out next week.

[DigaDo]

[QUOTE=Oneway Survival;2085095]
Bottom line is that a $450 machine should last more than 20 months - but it has served me well and I’m willing to pay $130 to get it back.

Good luck to you. Let me know if you figure out some brilliant fix before I ship mine out next week.[/QUOTE]

Oneway,

See the other thread where I have just posted some do and don’t tips for getting the best results from the Panasonic Service Center:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/f106/dmr-eh75v-digital-analog-converter-245838/#post2085093

[Chick_Hearn]

[QUOTE=DigaDo;2085115]Oneway,

See the other thread where I have just posted some do and don’t tips for getting the best results from the Panasonic Service Center:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/f106/dmr-eh75v-digital-analog-converter-245838/#post2085093[/QUOTE]

Thanks a bunch for your tips. I didn’t realise $130 flat fee includes parts. This deal is quite good, all things considered. It’s basically $30 return shipping and $100 for parts/labour. I think shipping machine to Panasonic centre is out-of-pocket cost, unless you (or others) negotiated otherwise?

[Oneway_Survival]

[QUOTE=DigaDo;2085115]Oneway,

See the other thread where I have just posted some do and don’t tips for getting the best results from the Panasonic Service Center:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/f106/dmr-eh75v-digital-analog-converter-245838/#post2085093[/QUOTE]

DigaDo,

I appreciate the extra guidance. You’re correct that you have to specifically ask for the $130 flat-rate deal b/c the first time I called in at the 1-800-211-7262 “warranty service” number (the number provided in my user manual), they told me to ship it (at my expense using the carrier of my choice) and in 2-3 weeks they would charge $52.50 for an eval and then credit that towards the cost of the repair if I elected to have them proceed. Upon calling back at the same number this afternoon, I told them I wanted the $130 flat-rate deal and asked how to do that. They are faxing me a letter (the RMA I guess) on Monday and told me I can take that [U]to a UPS store only [/U]- to ship it on the “Panasonic account.” They did indicate something about the $130 deal only applying if there was no outward damage to the unit - but that my situation sounded eligible for the $130. I’m hoping for no surprises.

Since I’m resigned to sending this in, I have another question. Is there an easy way to back up my hard drive (transferring the many video clips to another hard drive using a USB, fire wire, analog out, etc.) before I turn over the unit to be fixed? Since my problem is in the DVD drive and not the hard drive, they should have no reason to format my hard drive or anything, but I’m still concerned about the 50+ hours of personal home videos and DVR recordings that are sitting on my hard drive with currently no way to get on DVD. My plan is to transfer the most important things to VHS (just in case they screw it up), but it is still a real-time transfer that will be very time consuming - not to mention losing the digital quality. As someone pointed out in another post, I don’t believe there is a digital data output on the 75V, only a DV in for capturing video from a camcorder. Any tricks up your sleeve here - or just send it in (with a letter requesting them to preserve my hard drive) and cross my fingers?

[DigaDo]

Oneway Survival,

I do have a Philips 3575 hard drive/DVD recorder but I am rather new to this machine and I have not used a Panasonic hard drive machine. Perhaps another member here might address your questions.

If there is no practical way to preserve your recordings, other than a VHS transfer, I would certainly incorporate your preservation concerns in the informational letter you enclose with your machine.

I believe that the phone number in the manual is the Customer Service/Warranty Service number. For the flat-rate repair I suggest calling the Elk Grove Service Center directly at the 1-888-439-2676 number. I think this number is answered during business hours on week days.

Per your earlier reference to a EH75 parts machine, it probably isn’t necessary to have an EH75 parts machine if all that’s needed is a DVD drive. The EH75 appears to be a 2006 model (year of copyright for the Operating Instructions and first numerical character in the serial number should be a “6” indicating year of manufacture) so such parts as the DVD drive may be interchanged with those found in other 2006 models, including the entry level DMR-ES15V or DMR-ES25 or the several combo recorders, DMR-ES35V, DMR-ES45V or DMR-ES46V.

When purchasing a parts machine one needs to find one with defects unrelated to the parts one needs. One of the parts ES35 machines I purchased had a bad tuner but was relatively functional in other respects. The other parts ES35 machine had a defective power mini-switch and could not eject the videotape. I found that the previous user had pressed the eject switch so violently that the portion of the left front panel circuit board that carried the eject switch had broken off. There were other functional failures on this machine. One of my “good” ES35 machines had some bent parts and other operational problems with the VHS mechanism. Between the VHS mechanism in the first parts machine and the good machine I was able to rebuild and adjust the problematic VHS mechanism. I’ve also swapped chassis motherboards in a couple of instances.

The problem is finding a good parts machine from the 2006 model year. Since these machines were real workhorses they may have had hard use or suffered a great amount of abuse. The Panasonic Service Center in Elk Grove Village stocks all the parts, many that may no longer be ordered by “authorized” shops, necessary to do the restoration correctly.

[jjeff]

Oneway Survival,
As Digado said their is really no way(easily) to digitally transfer the contents off your HDD to another format other than the built in HDD. Your best bet “if” you had another DVDR would be to feed the signal out from your defective machine through the S-video out and audio out jacks to another DVDR. Use a quality speed like SP and maybe record to -RW discs(or RAMS) that way IF the HDD became corrupted you would only need to copy from the discs back to the new HDD.
Doing this you will take a hit on the PQ since you will be re encoding the material twice. First off the HDD to a RW and a second time off the RW and to the HDD.
If you used a RAM disc you would take one less hit(from RAM back back to HDD) but would still take a hit the next time you wanted to copy this material off the HDD to a disc other than a RAM disc. You see since you HS copied the RAM back to the HDD you then lose the option of recording those titles HS off the HDD to a regular disc in lossless HS mode. So if it were me I’d just use RWs or RAMS(and not HS back to the HDD) and take the hit the first time and keep the option to be able to HS off the HDD. It’s your call.
I hope you followed the whole HS thing, it gets confusing if and when you can HS copy material. Note if using -RWs you will need to finalize them in order to be able to copy in any mode back to the HDD. You cannot copy un finalized discs (except +RWs and RAMS) to the Pannys HDD.

Your other option as you mentioned would be to use VHS tapes and record in the SP mode. I don’t the think the PQ would be quite up to the quality of the DVD mode but it might be close. It would sure be easier.