I think I'm going to repair my 7-year-old DVD player

[anonymouse1]

I'd keep the Oppo. Great gear.

[sekker]

$50 for a quality piece of electronics that will likely last 10+ more years.

Keeps it out of the landfill, in use.

The $$ goes towards time for an electronics expert to fix it rather than to low-wage labor making a new product.

Not having to pay the disposal fee likely pays for shipping.

[Robert M]

Sekker,

That's the thing. It may or may not last another ten years. Strike one against the DVD player since it's failed already. There is the question of a disposal fee. Nobody has mentioned one at all. Personally, I've never had to pay a fee to dispose of electronics. There is also the question of who's going to fix it. An electronics expert? Maybe. Maybe not. But, I've described what I'd do in Uncle's situation. It works for me. Nobody is saying my way is right or wrong.

Robert

[silvarios]

sekker wrote:
$50 for a quality piece of electronics that will likely last 10+ more years.

Keeps it out of the landfill, in use.

The $$ goes towards time for an electronics expert to fix it rather than to low-wage labor making a new product.

Not having to pay the disposal fee likely pays for shipping.

Lot of assumptions here. One, the product hasn't lasted 10 years in the first place, so why assume it will last 10+ more. Two, are you sure an "electronics engineer" is the one fixing the device?

[Chakravartin]

silvarios wrote:
[quote=sekker]
$50 for a quality piece of electronics that will likely last 10+ more years.

Keeps it out of the landfill, in use.

The $$ goes towards time for an electronics expert to fix it rather than to low-wage labor making a new product.

Not having to pay the disposal fee likely pays for shipping.

Lot of assumptions here. One, the product hasn't lasted 10 years in the first place, so why assume it will last 10+ more. Two, are you sure an "electronics engineer" is the one fixing the device?
1. Oppo products are made to higher standards than others. It's reasonable to expect it to last several years longer than something you picked up on sale at Target.

2. It's Oppo. Whether an engineer repairs it or they swap in a refurb, you're getting excellent and professional service and receiving back a device in better shape than the one you delivered to them. That's what they're known for and one of many reasons why they can get away with premium pricing.

[silvarios]

It already lasted seven years, so yes, not bad compared to other models, but I still don't understand how something breaking after seven years is proof it will last for another ten plus years once repaired. On the flip side, the Panasonic DVD player I bought my mother over ten years ago still works fine. Never needed a repair and I believe it was just under $110 when new.

[Chakravartin]

silvarios wrote:
I still don't understand how something breaking after seven years is proof it will last for another ten plus years once repaired.

You've completely misunderstood the line of reasoning.

It's likely to endure through many more years of regular use -- after the repair -- simply because it's an Oppo. They make high quality products.

[Robert M]

Chak,

No. He isn't. Brand and reputation isn't surety against future problems, especially when the item has failed once already. That and it'd be ridiculous to think they'd swap the entire unit out for a refurbished model. The DVD player _isn't_ under warranty. Companies rarely replace with a refurbished model an item sent in for repairs long outside of the warranty. At best, it'll be repaired and shipped back. There is also the assumption Oppo hardware made seven years ago is just as good as Oppo hardware mode four years go, two years ago and this year.

Robert

[sekker]

Here's my logic:

1) I find that consumer electronics is on a 'decay' curve. Anything you get today that's under $300 is largely lower quality electrical circuits and, importantly, the power supply than what you could get 5 or 10 years ago.

2) Oppo is a quality brand that lives off of its reputation. It's likely they are going to lose money off a $42 repair price.

3) It's a DVD player. I doubt it will get the same use the next 7 years at it had the last, as most people are using DVDs less. So I pro-rated 7 years to be 10.

4) I despise the 'toss it and replace' mentality of modern culture. If there's a way for me to re-use/repurpose/fix good electronics, I do.

5) There's a value to the owner to have the same component with its programming/interface. A new piece of equipment will require new training, etc.

As I mentioned, I would not hesitate to repair this component. Is this a guarantee of another 7 years of use? No. Is it likely to last 5? Yes. 10? Probably, especially if it lasts 5.

That's what I would do, and the main reasons why.

[Robert M]

Sekker,

Again, potentially erroneous assumptions.

> 1) I find that consumer electronics is on a 'decay'
> curve. Anything you get today that's under $300 is
> largely lower quality electrical circuits and,
> importantly, the power supply than what you could get 5
> or 10 years ago.

People have been saying this about electronics for decades. Under this line of thinking, the quality of electronics should be so horrid by now that anything electronic ought to go kablooey within a short amount of time.

> 2) Oppo is a quality brand that lives off of its
> reputation. It's likely they are going to lose money
> off a $42 repair price.

Possibly true.
>
> 3) It's a DVD player. I doubt it will get the same use
> the next 7 years at it had the last, as most people are
> using DVDs less. So I pro-rated 7 years to be 10.

And this is a reason why _not_t put money into it when Uncle Wig has a blu-ray player that will likely do a fine job playing DVDs.

> 4) I despise the 'toss it and replace' mentality of
> modern culture. If there's a way for me to
> re-use/repurpose/fix good electronics, I do.

This makes sense if you don’t have an alternative on hand and/or if you adore a particular item. Me? I wouldn’t spend the $50.00 to fix a 7 year old electronic device that only cost $150.00, especially I have an alternative on hand.

> 5) There's a value to the owner to have the same
> component with its programming/interface. A new piece
> of equipment will require new training, etc.

Uncle Wig is a smart guy. I doubt learning how to use the blu-ray player will be an issue.

> As I mentioned, I would not hesitate to repair this
> component. Is this a guarantee of another 7 years of
> use? No. Is it likely to last 5? Yes. 10? Probably,
> especially if it lasts 5.

Who’s to say the fix will even last a month?

> That's what I would do, and the main reasons why.

I understand the reasoning but it doesn’t necessarily all make sense.

Here’s an interesting aside... Imagine Uncle Wig sends the Oppo in for repair. He hooks up the blu-ray player and uses it while waiting for the Oppo to be returned to him. No dobut, if it was me, I’d hook up the Oppo just to make sure it works. But, if the blu-ray player did the jbo nicely, whould I keep the Oppo hooked up unnecessarily? Probably not.

Robert