On the bench is the Bob Carver RPM V12 preamp main PCB. Populating the SMT parts (and there are about 300 of them) was kind of epic.
This is a detail of the solid state anti-thump relays:
Then I took a break and went to see Pino Palladino and Blake Mills at a small theater in DC:
This is a detail of the solid state anti-thump relays:
Then I took a break and went to see Pino Palladino and Blake Mills at a small theater in DC:
On the bench is our now malfunctioning 4K Blu-Ray player, the Samsung K8500.
Issues:
Well, it can still stream Netflix and Youtube at 4K...
I have zero idea of what is wrong. The tray isn't physically restricted since I opened the drive itself, and after it doesn't recognise the disc it will eject it automatically. Pressing the eject button does nothing though.
This first started with no manual eject. The 'disc not recognised' thing is a new one.
Issues:
- No more manual eject
- No more disc recognition, either Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray
Well, it can still stream Netflix and Youtube at 4K...
I have zero idea of what is wrong. The tray isn't physically restricted since I opened the drive itself, and after it doesn't recognise the disc it will eject it automatically. Pressing the eject button does nothing though.
This first started with no manual eject. The 'disc not recognised' thing is a new one.
Belt is probably loose and the limit switch needs to be checked if it’s giving a proper close signal. If it’s there, use a audio cd first
I do!
It's a SAMSUNG product.
I absolutely refuse to buy ANYthing that company, with it's horrible customer service and product failure rate.
Being an old retired tv/audio technician with 45 years in the business, I've seen first hand what comes in for repairs, and Samsucks leads the pack.
There's definitely a lifetime thing going on with laser diodes. Sometimes with skipping/not reading players, you can attempt increasing current to them a little (not so much that they burn up rapidly) and that sorts things out.
If it were a DVD player, I'd trash it too. In fact I trashed all my DVD players a long time ago.
This one a bit different: it is a 4K Blu-ray player that I gave to my better half for her birthday so it's special. The upscaling abilities are very cool too.
It's only after we decided to binge watch Game of Thrones in 4K that the thing started to malfunction.
Then again, it's been five years, so it could be the laser diode thing, or something else. I still don't get why the manual eject doesn't seem to do anything. Maybe a check of the power lines is in order.
We might buy another one, probably a Panasonic this time, but not before I look into it in a bit more detail and post some pics 😀
That's about the only thing going on right now because Poker is in, like in playing again.
If it were a DVD player, I'd trash it too. In fact I trashed all my DVD players a long time ago.
This one a bit different: it is a 4K Blu-ray player that I gave to my better half for her birthday so it's special. The upscaling abilities are very cool too.
It's only after we decided to binge watch Game of Thrones in 4K that the thing started to malfunction.
Then again, it's been five years, so it could be the laser diode thing, or something else. I still don't get why the manual eject doesn't seem to do anything. Maybe a check of the power lines is in order.
We might buy another one, probably a Panasonic this time, but not before I look into it in a bit more detail and post some pics 😀
That's about the only thing going on right now because Poker is in, like in playing again.
BTW, the PS5 also has an internal 4K Blu-ray player. However, it lags behind the dedicated players on features and processing. Many people won't really see the difference, so that's quite a good alternative too.
I belive the XBox consoles have had that for a while too.
I belive the XBox consoles have had that for a while too.
Things I didn't like with this Samsung 4K player: the remote - small and the battery compartment isn't very good, malfunctions easily. Samsung stopped firmware updates after a while. Samsung also closed down their server for some features that the player could use.
The first one we got malfunctioned quite soon but fortunately we got a replacement for free and fast.
They end up giving up manufacturing 4K players altogether.
Oppo did good ones, but they stopped too. It seems Panasonic has better quality than the Oppo.
Member Coris does Linear PSUs for a Panasonic and perhaps some other players. I think he did them for Oppos before. In his thread, he mentioned that the high-end Pioneer ones are excellent. Of course, they are more expensive than the budget Panasonic ones.
The first one we got malfunctioned quite soon but fortunately we got a replacement for free and fast.
They end up giving up manufacturing 4K players altogether.
Oppo did good ones, but they stopped too. It seems Panasonic has better quality than the Oppo.
Member Coris does Linear PSUs for a Panasonic and perhaps some other players. I think he did them for Oppos before. In his thread, he mentioned that the high-end Pioneer ones are excellent. Of course, they are more expensive than the budget Panasonic ones.
Nowadays, I just stream all content from Netflix, Amazon, etc via fiber internet and then through WiFi on my TVs. I don’t even use a disc player or cable box anymore. There is some amazing 4K content nowadays via streaming. One less thing to break. A good WiFi router is important for good reliable connections and smooth streaming.
Although I do stream 4K from YT and Netflix, streamed 4K is of lesser quality than what's on disc because of higher lossy compression - the bandwidth is simply not there yet.
It is like mp3 vs high-rate PCM or high-rate DSD to me.
It is like mp3 vs high-rate PCM or high-rate DSD to me.
Panasonic made a mistake a while back with their DVD players.
They farmed manufacturing out to china, and those started coming into my shop for numerous issues.
Being a fan of Panasonic/Technics products, this raised my alerts, however, Panasonic knew this too and changed their manufacturing structure to keep their quality reputation.
This is the Samsung 4K Blu-ray player, the first to ever be released commercially in the world. A really small and simple affair in three parts: 4K Drive, CPU/Decoder/Processor board with connectors and SMPS to power everything.
Below that you see the top plastic cover for the drive. Putting this back solved the disc not recognised issue, so that was introduced by me on removal. On its right you see the metal cover. At the bottom there is another metal cover.
Unlike other models where there's an easily accessible slot from beneath the chassis to move the gear for opening the tray, this one needs a small screwdriver to be inserted from the right side. Of course, since there's the processor board with the fan right where you'd do that, it is impossible in the normal configuration.
I removed all screws for the drive, so that now I can manually open the tray every time I want to change disc.
It works.
Problems solved? Hardly, because the soft eject button still doesn't work and I still don't know why.
Workaround found? Hell yeah!
Took the opportunity of testing Plex on it. Works, but I don't like the large image view for videos and would prefer a list view. If there's a way to do that, I haven't found how.
Now we can binge GOT in 4K if it's rainy outside.
On the bench tonight is the Bob Carver RPM V12 preamp main board. I’m installing all the through hole components. We are using basic MKP box caps and Kemet film caps for the prototype. The production one will most likely use Mundorf M-caps (board is laid out for them as you can see the outlines).
Film caps and electrolytic caps all in:
Getting ready to solder and clip the leads:
Closeup of tube sockets:
Film caps and electrolytic caps all in:
Getting ready to solder and clip the leads:
Closeup of tube sockets:
Two Dual 1009's.
One is an "F" version, the other is an "SK" version.
Both need overhauling, the SK is worse.
One is an "F" version, the other is an "SK" version.
Both need overhauling, the SK is worse.