Post by: Pikkcuber on December 13, 2003, 12:36:03 PM
Post by: Grey Ninja on December 13, 2003, 12:44:29 PM
I rented a PS2 for 3 days, and it stopped reading DVDs on the second. It's not at all uncommon.
Post by: mouse_clicker on December 13, 2003, 01:14:46 PM
Post by: manunited4eva22 on December 13, 2003, 01:35:21 PM
Post by: Majexto on December 13, 2003, 02:59:32 PM
Post by: Grey Ninja on December 13, 2003, 03:22:40 PM
Post by: Pikkcuber on December 13, 2003, 05:07:36 PM
Post by: Cap on December 13, 2003, 06:11:42 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: mouse_clicker
A friend of mine is on his 3rd.
i like nintendo a lot, but as much as i do if i had two gamecubes break down on me there is no way i would be buying another. while i havent had any problems with my cube, i'm glad nintendo had the intelligence to include a one year warranty. a three month warranty is a joke in my opinion.
Post by: mouse_clicker on December 13, 2003, 06:29:53 PM
Post by: Majexto on December 14, 2003, 04:43:31 AM
Post by: KDR_11k on December 14, 2003, 07:10:13 AM
Post by: ruby_onix on December 14, 2003, 01:11:32 PM
Quote
Does anyone know why they break?
Here's how I've always heard it.
A DVD drive is technically supposed to be able to read CD media, but it's not very good at it. It can play a normal audio CD, but that's about it. When you see a DVD player that advertises that it plays CDR, CDRW, MP3, VCD, and all that kind of stuff, it typically means that the hardware makers sprung for the extra cash to add a second laser to the DVD unit, one designed solely as a CD player.
Right before the PS2 came out, Sony thought they had fixed that problem. They came up with a way to refocus the lens on the laser, so it can "switch" between being a DVD laser, or a CD laser.
They wanted the PS2 to play DVD-based games, but they also wanted it to play those black-bottomed PSOne CDs, which are an "abnormal" variant of CDs, and not readily played by a DVD drive. And, they didn't want to pay the extra $1 (or however much it costs) per-unit for the CD laser, times the tens of millions of units they intended to sell, so they used their almost-untested new "refocusing" laser in the PS2.
It's turned out that it's way too delicate, so the focusing mechanisim is almost always the first thing to break in a PS2, leaving you without the ability to play CD based games, DVD based games, or both.
If you get a "disk read error" (DRE), you should probably call a customer service phone number at Sony, and ask them about it. Tell then that you've heard about DRE's, and that you've heard that they're a "factory defect", and weren't caused by anything you did.
Sony's official policy is that the PS2 is "good enough", and that they won't do a thing about DRE's, but a lot of people have reported that customer service will often just waive the repair charges, just because they can. Actually, since Sony came out with the newer 50001 model (with progressive scan support, a much quieter fan, and full piracy support through DVDR's), a lot of people have reported success in getting a free 50001 model from customer service, by simply claiming that their PS2 was starting to suffer from DRE's. However, if Sony refuses to give you a new PS2 (because the guy on the phone is having a bad day or something), nothing you can say will change their mind. Because Sony's official policy just says "Screw you! Sure, we get yet another unit added to our 'installed base' if we give you a free replacement, but we'll get that if you PAY US too!"
By the way, if you send in your PS2 for repair (because they ask you or something), make sure you clarify that they're fixing it for free, because some people have reported sending in their PS2's, and then getting it back with a surprise $100-200 repair bill from Sony.
Post by: Infernal Monkey on December 14, 2003, 02:26:15 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Grey Ninja
I rented a PS2 for 3 days, and it stopped reading DVDs on the second. It's not at all uncommon.
Could you expect any less from a rented out unit? Some people seem to wipe their arse with the movies they hire out, God knows how they'd treat a PlayStation 2.
"Oh it's okay, we're only renting it!"
*Puts heavy case of beer on it and breaks wind in the controller ports*
I guess I was very lucky with my PS2. I got it day one, and the only problem I've had was that it started skipping whilst reading DVD movies early this year. But we've now got two dedicated DVD players in the house, so the PS2's crap movie playing feature has no use. My unit's over three years old now, and considering all the stress its been through over these years, it's quite amazing it's not a melted heap of plastic.
Post by: Grey Ninja on December 14, 2003, 02:29:07 PM
Post by: Pikkcuber on December 15, 2003, 04:08:53 PM
Post by: Jdub03 on December 16, 2003, 05:27:10 AM
Post by: mouse_clicker on January 10, 2004, 07:21:16 PM
Post by: S-U-P-E-R on January 10, 2004, 07:54:18 PM
