DVD player: Less pausing = longevity increase ??

[97tbird]

I was wondering if keeping dvd's on pause for increased times or pausing a dvd player often reduces the longevity of a dvd player...(or any player which uses a laser mechanism, for that matter)
My pioneer dvd player has a "resume" function, which allows you to start from the point where you stopped a dvd while watching (actually it'll do this even after you've taken the disc out of the player, the memory works for 5 different discs), so I've been using the stop/resume buttons, and avoiding the Pause button...because I imagine that the pause function puts additional strain on the mechnism...
Am I doing any good? or does it matter at all?
Thanks.

 

[brianl703]

It doesn't matter. In fact some DVD players stop spinning the disc after a certain period of time while in pause.

It's not like a VCR where leaving it in pause actually does cause wear vs. stopping it.

 

[blupupher]

Not sure if it caused it, but my kid had a DVD paused for several weeks, and the player would not work after thet, but the DVD is fine.

 

[Cutehumor]

dvd players are cheap now. you can get no names for $30

 

[Al]

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dvd players are cheap now. you can get no names for $30

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Exactly..who cares. Not worth 2 seconds of time worrying about.

 

[55Test]

Perhaps this guy has an expensive, top of the line upconverting progressive scan HDMI etc type of DVD player and just wants it to last as long as reasonably possible.

 

[Quattro Pete]

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Exactly..who cares. Not worth 2 seconds of time worrying about.

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Most people would say the same about selecting a motor oil, yet, we're all hear going googoo and gaga about it.

As for the original question, I don't think it's harmful to put the player on pause. If anything, it would be the medium (CD/DVD) that would be the first to get harmed, and the other poster already mentioned that is not the case. And if the medium is fine, then so is the laser. For the laser it doesn't really matter whether it stays in the same place or runs up an down. If I'm not mistaken, some players actually switch off the laser when in pause, so only the disc keeps spinning, and even that will turn off after a while of being on pause, at least on some.

 

[97tbird]

QP, Thanks, man: for seeing that it's ok to be picky about motor oil and car maintenance and check oil twice a day, but it's not ok to make a dvd player last longer.

I don't have a top of the line player, but it's a very good player ( and I know the difference between a no-name brand and an affordable good brand) and i like to keep it as long as i can.

now that i know that it really doesn't matter, I'll pause like a "normal" person. Thanks to all the *relevant* contributions.

 

[Al]

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Exactly..who cares. Not worth 2 seconds of time worrying about.

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Most people would say the same about selecting a motor oil, yet, we're all hear going googoo and gaga about it.

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Good point.

 

[JHZR2]

I took a PhD class this semester via correspondence - on DVD. I pause and rewind a lot.

The first no name player only lasted half a semester - the second, about the same... thats about 15 DVDs of 1hr each.

JMH

 

[brianl703]

I have a set-top DVD recorder and I fast-forward through commercials on video I record with it and it still hasn't broken. I've recorded at least 75 DVD+Rs with it and I've lost track of how many DVD+RWs (since I erase and reuse them).

 

[97tbird]

I'm pretty happy with my Pioneer so far: great pic quality (not HD), and sound, and FULL of neat features; cost me only $80 or so, and pretty solidly built, too.

 

[brianl703]

I have a Magnavox MRV 640/17 or something like that. It got really poor reviews on Epinions. Only problems I've had are that it sometimes gets confused and records over an existing program and that it won't sync the clock unless you manually tune to to the channel that transmits the time signal, so the clock can drift. Easy solution: Tune it to PBS while setting the timer.


Both would be fixed with a firmware update, but I don't see any on Magnavox's website. Maybe I should call them.

 

[rpn453]

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I'm pretty happy with my Pioneer so far: great pic quality (not HD), and sound, and FULL of neat features; cost me only $80 or so, and pretty solidly built, too.

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Well, you'll be happy to hear that my Pioneer DVD player is 6-1/2 years old and still going strong. I've never worried about avoiding any operations such as pausing. I've actually bought two other DVD players since then but relegated them to side duties because I like the Pioneer best. It's just a regular DVD player, but it was $400 back in 2000!