Sony BDP-CX960 400-disc BD Changer

[djluis2k6]

I would love to get something like this, but I'd be too worried that something will mess up and all the discs will either be stuck in there, or all scratched up. I'm willing to take the risk with 1 disc in a PS3, but not 400 discs. That's way too much money to risk.

[cds1834]

Originally Posted by djluis2k6

I would love to get something like this, but I'd be too worried that something will mess up and all the discs will either be stuck in there, or all scratched up. I'm willing to take the risk with 1 disc in a PS3, but not 400 discs. That's way too much money to risk.

I can understand your concern. At the same time, I've been using Sony changers for many years now. Not as much as a smudge on a single disc in any of my 6 Sony DVP-CX985V DVD changers or my Sony BDP-CX7000ES Blu-ray changer. I can actually attest to this firsthand as I moved a couple years ago and unloaded the discs from all 6 of my DVD changers, so that I could safely move the changers. I inspected each and every disc. All were mint just like the day I bought them. Same for my Blu-ray discs. Personally I would be more worried more about placing a disc in a PS3. I don't care for the slot load design at all which feels far too tight for my liking and when ejecting a disc I always find a strong mark across the width of the disc as a result which I then have to clean off.

[adamh]

im keeping mine until i have to take so many out because of the "invalid disc issue", got the new oppo bdp-103 that should be more reliable.

[StarTrek1701]

I have had flawless performance from my BDP-CX960 until I just bought two new James Bond BDs. They play for about a half-an-hour, then start freezing. It is as if it is getting hung-up at the layer change. I have a Pioneer DVD recorder that unless the DVD disc is really clean, it will sometimes get hung-up at the layer change. At any rate, it is now doing this on all Blu-Rays. If I can get the unit to stop (which is sometimes really difficult), the next disc I try to play comes back as "invalid". I have to load and play a DVD for a few minutes, stop, then go to the menu and re-load the "invalid" disc.

The discs are absolutely clean, so that cannot be the issue.

One person mentioned about the carousel leaning. If such a thing were to occur, that would probably send the laser out-of-alignment. But, why should it lean? I opened the door and pressed down and it appears to be solid. Also, if there was an alignment issue, wouldn't it affect the DVDs as well as the BDs?

Unfortunately, the unit is no longer under warranty. So, if this issue sounds familiar and you have a solution, I would love to hear it.

[cds1834]

Originally Posted by StarTrek1701

I have had flawless performance from my BDP-CX960 until I just bought two new James Bond BDs. They play for about a half-an-hour, then start freezing. It is as if it is getting hung-up at the layer change. I have a Pioneer DVD recorder that unless the DVD disc is really clean, it will sometimes get hung-up at the layer change. At any rate, it is now doing this on all Blu-Rays. If I can get the unit to stop (which is sometimes really difficult), the next disc I try to play comes back as "invalid". I have to load and play a DVD for a few minutes, stop, then go to the menu and re-load the "invalid" disc.

The discs are absolutely clean, so that cannot be the issue.

One person mentioned about the carousel leaning. If such a thing were to occur, that would probably send the laser out-of-alignment. But, why should it lean? I opened the door and pressed down and it appears to be solid. Also, if there was an alignment issue, wouldn't it affect the DVDs as well as the BDs?

Unfortunately, the unit is no longer under warranty. So, if this issue sounds familiar and you have a solution, I would love to hear it.

Yeah, I don't buy the leaning thing. The issue is hardware/software related with the changer itself. Has nothing to do with your discs. A number of people participating over in the AVSForum thread have had their units repaired with positive results. I suspect there must have been substantial issues with the production of these changers, otherwise Sony would not have stopped selling them so quickly after bringing them to market, not to mention clearing out their inventory of 7000ES changers at $400 each. In my case I threw caution to the wind and purchased 6 of the Sony BDP-CX7000ES changers when they were on closeout as I eventually plan to replace my 6 Sony DVP-CX985V DVD changers with the Blu-ray changers.

As far as the "invalid disc" issue goes, I can tell you that since I moved from the 960 to the 7000ES I rarely if ever get the "invalid disc" issue which I hold in large part to the fact that I'm not using Sony's XMB interface to "load/download gracenote" data and select a given disc. All disc selection is done by sending the appropriate RS-232 command to the changer. Every once in a blue moon I get the "invalid disc" error after sending the changer the needed RS-232 command. A simple power cycle of the changer is all that is ever needed to successfully load the particular disc on a second attempt however.

[adamh]

wow, if you ever want to sell one of the es's let me know.

[dlma1]

I have two 7000es and they are extremely unreliable. They get the invalid disc all the time - I have had them repaired twice by Sony. Ready to throw them out. But I have a question on your statement that RS-232 commands are better than the standard Sony interface. I don't see how that would affect the playing of the discs - especially since loading the allegedly "bad" disc into slot 1 and closing the door also yields "invalid disc", which would imply that there is a physical problem with the player - not a logical one. So could you explain why you think RS-232 control works better than the standard UI? Thanks.

[cds1834]

Originally Posted by dlma1

I have two 7000es and they are extremely unreliable. They get the invalid disc all the time - I have had them repaired twice by Sony. Ready to throw them out. But I have a question on your statement that RS-232 commands are better than the standard Sony interface. I don't see how that would affect the playing of the discs - especially since loading the allegedly "bad" disc into slot 1 and closing the door also yields "invalid disc", which would imply that there is a physical problem with the player - not a logical one. So could you explain why you think RS-232 control works better than the standard UI? Thanks.

It's more than just a hardware issue once you've involved the UI in loading disc data, storing that data and initiating playback. Any problems with that aspect of it can prevent the hardware from successfully loading and playing a disc from a given changer slot. Not involving the UI from the very beginning, then sending a RS-232 command for disc selection instead basically tells the changer not to think for you, but to simply load whatever it finds in the particular changer slot. As a result, the process involved is far less susceptible to issues in my opinion. That being said, it would certainly be easy enough to test my theory if you like. Just reset your changers, enable RS-232 control and give it a go that way instead staying completely away from using the "load" feature of the changer and the "disc selection" portions of Sony's XMB. You'll either continue to experience the issue to the degree you have been or you won't. Certainly have nothing to lose. If you don't know how to implement RS-232 control and what your options are in that regard I'd be happy to discuss that with you. Anyone with more than one 7000 should be taking advantage of the RS-232/IP control for disc selection anyway as it then allows you to use a 3rd party solution for browsing your collection, then initiating playback of a given disc.

[mustang2k8YCHj]

Originally Posted by StarTrek1701

I have had flawless performance from my BDP-CX960 until I just bought two new James Bond BDs. They play for about a half-an-hour, then start freezing. It is as if it is getting hung-up at the layer change. I have a Pioneer DVD recorder that unless the DVD disc is really clean, it will sometimes get hung-up at the layer change. At any rate, it is now doing this on all Blu-Rays. If I can get the unit to stop (which is sometimes really difficult), the next disc I try to play comes back as "invalid". I have to load and play a DVD for a few minutes, stop, then go to the menu and re-load the "invalid" disc.

The discs are absolutely clean, so that cannot be the issue.

One person mentioned about the carousel leaning. If such a thing were to occur, that would probably send the laser out-of-alignment. But, why should it lean? I opened the door and pressed down and it appears to be solid. Also, if there was an alignment issue, wouldn't it affect the DVDs as well as the BDs?

Unfortunately, the unit is no longer under warranty. So, if this issue sounds familiar and you have a solution, I would love to hear it.

Mine started having issues with Disney discs then everything went invalid sent it in for repair, turns out the blu-ray pod burned out it cost me $120.00 to get it repaired had it almost 3 years pretty heavey use so cant really complain just cant wait to get it back.