Apex dvd player

[Gordon Gaskell]

Greetings fellow technicians:
I have an Apex dvd player AD-500W with a DVS DSL-710A computer type
disc reader drive. When a video or audio disc is inserted the player
spins and searches the disc for a while then displays "No Disc".
Intermittently it will begin playing a video or audio disc. Any
suggestions to improve the reliability will be appreciated. Thank you.
Gordon Gaskell AAS

 

[Sofie]

Gordon Gaskell:
Other than cleaning the laser lens.... see the repairfaq at
http://repairfaq.org/ for safety information and cleaning procedures......
there is very little else that an inexperienced, non technical type can do.
Reliability can, many times, be associated with the price that you paid of
the unit. Next time instead of buying a $39.95 DVD player at WalMart, try
going up in price a little and stay with name brands like Panasonic,
Toshiba, Sony, etc.
Even if you pay more for a name brand unit there is no guarantee that you
won't have problems with it but your chances are better that it will have
better performance and last longer.
In this particular case you got about what you paid for..... a cheap DVD
player.

 

[Stan]

}...Next time instead of buying a $39.95 DVD player at WalMart, try
}going up in price a little and stay with name brands like Panasonic,
}Toshiba, Sony, etc.

But then he wouldn't be able to turn off the macrovision.

Stan.

 

[Michael Black]

}...Next time instead of buying a $39.95 DVD player at WalMart, try
}going up in price a little and stay with name brands like Panasonic,
}Toshiba, Sony, etc.

But then he wouldn't be able to turn off the macrovision.

Stan.

And doesn't Apex use standard DVDROM drives? I have no first hand
knowledge, but I'm sure I've read that. In which case, one can keep
it running by buying a new drive, and keep the features of that low
end Apex.

Michael

 

[gothika]

}...Next time instead of buying a $39.95 DVD player at WalMart, try
}going up in price a little and stay with name brands like Panasonic,
}Toshiba, Sony, etc.

But then he wouldn't be able to turn off the macrovision.

Stan.

Nothing wrong with the Apex units.
Parts are easy to get at very low prices.(I get the drive tray at
pirhana.com for around 20 bucks.)
Also easy to do software hacks not to mention that the way they are
constructed you can do all sorts of things with them.
I have one that I installed a 40gig HD in loaded with music files and
a jukebox style splash page, is now a digital juke box attached to my
home sound system. and all for the whopping price of 24 bucks.( got
the Apex on a clearance.)
I've got one that came in for repairs that the customer didn't want to
pay and am going to make a external backup system for my shop computer
with it.(A HD and a little rewiring to mount a ribbon connector on the
back panel and presto no cost data backup.)
Also there are Apex user groups all over the net inventing new uses
for these units every day.

 

[gothika]

Greetings fellow technicians:
I have an Apex dvd player AD-500W with a DVS DSL-710A computer type
disc reader drive. When a video or audio disc is inserted the player
spins and searches the disc for a while then displays "No Disc".
Intermittently it will begin playing a video or audio disc. Any
suggestions to improve the reliability will be appreciated. Thank you.
Gordon Gaskell AAS

http://www.degregoriis.com/dvdrom.html
http://www.nerd-out.com/darrenk/600/Body.htm
http://rdell.best.vwh.net/apex/


Above are a few links to apex mod sites.
The AD500W lends itself to easy service or modification.

I've gotten replacement drive trays from pirhana.com for very low
prices.
Your problem sounds like either bad or scrambled BIOS or a defective
tray.
To reburn the bios simply remove the tray and hook it up to a computer
as you would a cd drive.(the safest and most certain method)
Or just use a bios CD in the unit.
The apex group will have urls to downloadable bios's both original and
mod-bios's. Download and burn to a cd-r.
Follow the instruction in regards to inserting the cd in the dvd drive
tray and boot up etc...
At the group you'll find all sorts of projects to modify your Apex for
other uses.

 

[LASERandDVDfan]

I have an Apex dvd player AD-500W with a DVS DSL-710A computer type

disc reader drive. When a video or audio disc is inserted the player
spins and searches the disc for a while then displays "No Disc".

You could try cleaning and relubing.

But, more likely, the laser optical pickup is worn out.

I've got an AD-500W myself that someone wanted me to fix and those are the
exact same symptoms. Cleaning and lubing did not help so the only possibility
is a marginal pickup. - Reinhart

 

[LASERandDVDfan]

But then he wouldn't be able to turn off the macrovision.
That's pointless unless you want to copy DVDs to video tapes. - Reinhart

 

[LASERandDVDfan]

And doesn't Apex use standard DVDROM drives? I have no first hand

knowledge, but I'm sure I've read that.

Some models do, some models don't.

This particular Apex model does use an IDE drive, but the mountings are not
standard. Some modifications of both the drive housing and the player chassis
are required to secure the drive into the player.

In which case, one can keep
it running by buying a new drive, and keep the features of that low
end Apex.

Depending on the model of the player and the version of the model, setting
various options can be as easy as pushing a series of buttons on the remote or
as drastic as having to physically replace the player BIOS with a hacked chip.
- Reinhart

 

[LASERandDVDfan]

It's no doubt that you can make an Apex do many things.

But, for my uses, I'd rather spend extra to get a player that does what it's
designed to do with few, if any, compromises to video and audio quality.

If you make measurements of the video and audio sections of any Apex player,
you'll find that they are among some of the worst players in terms of A/V
performance, which is typical of any no-name DVD player, as well as players
from Funai, Sylvania, Magnavox, GE, and RCA.

The only nice thing to say of Apex DVD players in that regard is that they will
have a better picture than VHS.

Parts are easy to get at very low prices.(I get the drive tray at
pirhana.com for around 20 bucks.)

What about the optical pickup? - Reinhart

 

[Franc Zabkar]

Nothing wrong with the Apex units.
Parts are easy to get at very low prices.(I get the drive tray at
pirhana.com for around 20 bucks.)
Also easy to do software hacks not to mention that the way they are
constructed you can do all sorts of things with them.
I have one that I installed a 40gig HD in loaded with music files and
a jukebox style splash page, is now a digital juke box attached to my
home sound system. and all for the whopping price of 24 bucks.( got
the Apex on a clearance.)
I've got one that came in for repairs that the customer didn't want to
pay and am going to make a external backup system for my shop computer
with it.(A HD and a little rewiring to mount a ribbon connector on the
back panel and presto no cost data backup.)
Also there are Apex user groups all over the net inventing new uses
for these units every day.

If I ever see one of these ESS based units, I'm going to steal it!
Well, not really, but I'd be sorely tempted.


- Franc Zabkar

 

[Ceraboy]

Greetings fellow technicians:
I have an Apex dvd player AD-500W with a DVS DSL-710A computer type
disc reader drive. When a video or audio disc is inserted the player
spins and searches the disc for a while then displays "No Disc".
Intermittently it will begin playing a video or audio disc. Any
suggestions to improve the reliability will be appreciated. Thank you.
Gordon Gaskell AAS

The Apex DVD players are generally junk. At first they seem to work
fine, and then you have to struggle with the darn thing, loading &
reloading to get it to play a disc. (quite common on these Apex
units) I cleaned, adjusted, and tweaked every serviceable part in my
Apex machine to no avail. After I determined the machine was useless
I even refreshed the FlashROM with the orginal and alternate firmware,
still no success. (be careful with this if you dont know what you're
doing, or your player will never ever work again). Mine had the same
"No Disc" message after about six months out of the package. I
started to notice that the "no disc" message was accompanied by a lack
of the disc even starting to spin up. The motor appeared to be
sticking so I pried the cheap non-serviceable motor apart and added a
drop of lube which helped for a short while. Dan has the right advice
on this one, keep your new paperweight and buy a more reliable unit,
this one isnt worth the trouble or your time.

 

[gothika]

It's no doubt that you can make an Apex do many things.

But, for my uses, I'd rather spend extra to get a player that does what it's
designed to do with few, if any, compromises to video and audio quality.

If you make measurements of the video and audio sections of any Apex player,
you'll find that they are among some of the worst players in terms of A/V
performance, which is typical of any no-name DVD player, as well as players
from Funai, Sylvania, Magnavox, GE, and RCA.

The only nice thing to say of Apex DVD players in that regard is that they will
have a better picture than VHS.


What about the optical pickup? - Reinhart

That's the whole shebang. The drive tray contains the capstan/motor
and laser assembley as well as a small circuit board that contians the
bios chips and controller.
With absolutely no modification they'll fit in a computer drive bay.(I
guess they're in essence a DVDrom drive.)
And for 20 bucks you can have a DVD player for your computer.(I pull
them out and install them in a computer just to test them. Simple way
to eliminate the drive components or bios as the problem.)
The rest of the Apex player can accept as I said just about any hard
drive.(most just bolt into the existing brackets.)
I don't know if these players have a limitation as to what size HD
they can see but I have a 40gig in one.
I'm thinking about taking the next one that comes into the shop and
see if I can get an 80gig or larger drive in it.(I'll load it with
movies and have a sort of movie juke box.)

To answer your question tho'. I don't know what the price is on a
pickup.
Try going over to pirhana.com and see if they have them.
(Or for that matter just about any online parts jobber should be able
to cross that pickup for you.)

 

[gothika]

That's pointless unless you want to copy DVDs to video tapes. - Reinhart

Who doesn't?

 

[Kalman Rubinson]

Who doesn't?

Many of us.

Kal

 

[awknod]

Why would anyone copy a dvd to a tape?

 

[gothika]

Many of us.

Kal

yeah well... If I purchase a copy of a DVD and choose to make a use
copy in order to archive the original that's my right.
If the film and recording industry didn't really want us to make
copies they'd make the medium more durable.
Instead their plan is to make it more fragile in the hopes that it'll
get damaged forcing the consumer to "of course" buy it again.
Just another case of greedy bastards wanting to have their cake and
eat it too.(I worked for most of my adult life in the film and
recording industries and have been privy to many a executive skull
cession on how to make the consumers pay more for a product and more
often as well.)
Before you start in ask yourself this.
They spend almost no money on R&D towards building a scratch proof
CD/DVD. Yet throw oddles of money at encryption schemes and copy
guard technology to prevent the consumer from making copies.
Real simple, just coat the discs in high grade lexan. As a result no
damn scratches.
But that'd kill all chances at repeat sales.
Might cost a few cents more too. Which cuts into their fat profit
margins. That'll never do.

 

[Kalman Rubinson]

yeah well... If I purchase a copy of a DVD and choose to make a use
copy in order to archive the original that's my right.
If the film and recording industry didn't really want us to make
copies they'd make the medium more durable.
Instead their plan is to make it more fragile in the hopes that it'll
get damaged forcing the consumer to "of course" buy it again.
Just another case of greedy bastards wanting to have their cake and
eat it too.(I worked for most of my adult life in the film and
recording industries and have been privy to many a executive skull
cession on how to make the consumers pay more for a product and more
often as well.)
Before you start in ask yourself this.
They spend almost no money on R&D towards building a scratch proof
CD/DVD. Yet throw oddles of money at encryption schemes and copy
guard technology to prevent the consumer from making copies.
Real simple, just coat the discs in high grade lexan. As a result no
damn scratches.
But that'd kill all chances at repeat sales.
Might cost a few cents more too. Which cuts into their fat profit
margins. That'll never do.

Why are you railing about this? You asked who did not want to copy
DVDs to VHS and I answered simply. I didn't question whether you
might want to do this or raise any of the ethical issues.

I have no desire or reason to copy any DVDs.

Kal

 

[LASERandDVDfan]

UPDATE.

On your AD-500W, check the condition of the ribbon cable that connects the
optical pickup to the drive's control electronics.

Chances are, there may be some severed conductors on the ribbon on the side
that is connected to the pickup. The cuts would be located on the section of
ribbon that is creased.

I discovered this problem on the AD-500W I was working on just now and have
managed to get the player up and running again. - Reinhart

 

[LASERandDVDfan]

That's pointless unless you want to copy DVDs to video tapes. - Reinhart

Who doesn't?

Me, for instance.

I've no use for VHS copies of DVDs because you can't get 5.1 surround sound or
the benefits of component video with excellent anamorphic enhancement on a VHS
copy of a DVD.

You can make an anamorphic VHS tape, but why settle for inferior quality? -
Reinhart