Hey all:

Question of the day: Is killing the power to an optical player harmful?

My reciever has power outlets on it that are, of course, controled by the receiver power. Right now I have my Panasonic BRD player plugged into it and when I'm done at night I simply turn off the Reciever which kills the power to the player.

I know its better to "Shut Down" a computer rather than just kill the power. I should have no similar concern with a BRD Player, should I?

Thanks
snazzed

Does it keep all of your settings when you completely cut the power to it? That would be my only concern.

I don't think there's any physical harm that might come of it.

Computers typically shouldn't be shut down hard because there is a process that it goes through to close programs, etc., in preparation for its next start.

Projectors and some DLP TVs should be hard switched off, because the fan continues to run after powering down. But this is likely not an issue with you BR player. So long as you are happy with the way the system performs (and you don't have the issues Wid fears), you're probably fine.

My question is why you would do it? Is it for the single button convenience at the end of the night? If so, then you'll need to assess the risk of harm (I think minimal) as juxtaposed with the benefit of that convenience. Given the cost of BR players (which continue to plummet), it's probably not going to be a terribly expensive gamble, even if you were to lose.

BD players do have file systems which store various bits of information saved by the BD, or pulled from the Net. It could be possible that the player might be in the middle of updating on of those files when the power is cut. If that were to happen then the entire file system could end up corrupted.

BD players are embedded computers, and should be treated as such.

I'll bet that not many people know that. How many players are network aware/connected?

Personally I have not connected my PS3 to the network. I prefer to choose the time for updates and I don't trust manufacturers to not collect data without informing me first.

I would recommend shutting of the device appropriately and not plugging it into your receiver.

I don't know if it's related to the topic, but I continue to have issues with my Oppo 981. Oppo has told me twice now, as part of the troubleshooting protocol, to unplug the player from ant filter, switch, conditioner, etc. and plug it directly into an outlet. We'll see if this helps with some of the issues I'm seeing.

Very good information, as usual, Chris. If it's not connected to the net, there shouldn't be any issues. Prior to getting my APC unit, I utilized the outlet on my 3801, and 3808. I only plugged my CD player into it because you will lose your settings (not a concern for my CD player) if there's no power for an extended period of time, as Rick mentioned.



Scott, did they explain their reasoning? I have my 983 plugged into my APC and it works flawlessly. I also don't know what problem you're having.

+1 for what Clubneon said. Hidef players (and an increasingling high number of appliances) are pretty much computers and should be treated with care with regards to power. If some configuration file is corrupted, the device may refuse to boot.

Here's their official reply: "The player itself was designed to do 110~240V 50/60Hz power switching. Sometimes when going through a power conditioner or switch the player does not receive the proper power and it ultimately fails to turn on properly. As a diagnostic tool, we recommend connecting the player direct to your walled power outlet when experiencing issues with the player not turning on properly."

Cam here's the link to my Oppo power issue

Scott, I honesty don't see how the problems you're having would be caused by what they're suggesting you eliminate from the equation. I'm curious if a power bar is considered a possible problem, because I had my previous Oppo 981 plugged into a power bar and it also worked fine.

They have excellent and knowledgeable C/S from my experience, but I find their reasoning suspicious, unless you have an insufficient power supply on one circuit and it's overloaded, causing the Oppo to fail.

Seems weird that I haven't had the same problems with the same setup.

I've had all my AV equipment plugged into Brick Wall surge protectors for 3+ years now without a glitch. I think that the Oppo just fried on its own and the problem isn't fully resolved yet.

Unfortunately it sounds like that's the case, bud.

Yeah, but your system is getting Canadian power instead of American power, so yours is mostly mellow and less agitated.

Yeah, I was enjoying just pressing the 1 power button to turn everything off.

Ah well. I'll try and shut it down gracefully at the end of the movie but knowing me, I'll only do it half the time.

Thanks for all the feedback

snazzed

I have a one button turn off solution for mine, but it cost a little under $500. The cost may have gone down since then. It's the Harmony 1100 remote. Newegg.com has the 1100 for $300 and you also need the $100 RF extender (I think it's called). Anyway the remote sends RF signals (Radio Frequency) to the RF extender, which converts RF to IR (Infrared) and flashes IR to your devices.

Once it's all setup (slight learning curve there, but not too bad), all I do is push the power button on it and it shuts everything down, which nicely cycles down normally and not just yanking the power.

Yeah, I've thought about the Harmony... but I have other things to spend $500 on first. For example, I still don't have a centre channel. Then I want some acoustic panelling. I'm sure I'll need a new computer by then... Perhaps a Harmony remote after that

Snazzed

Jeebus, a $500 remote? I'm perfectly happy with my little ol' $120 Harmony.

Yeah, but all of my eqipment is in a different room than the TV so it had to be RF and I'm tickled pink with the 1100. It gives me full access to all of the built in options of all of my components, with the touch screen.

Edit: I haven't experienced any of the problems with any of the reviews I've read (except 1, which is you cannot program a macro of functions other than what to do at turn on and turn off time). I've left it off of the recharger for hours and haven't ever experienced a down battery. I've dropped it numerous times and it still works. It's easy to use with one hand for most functions, but if you need 2 hands, so what. I haven't felt put out yet. So much for reading reviews.

Careful of the Harmony RF compatible remotes. I own the 890 Pro, which has RF capability.

I fought with that remote for 2 years until I gave up and moved my equipment into a hole I cut in the wall. (Previously, all my equipment was stashed in an adjacent laundry room).

Unfortunately, with cordless phones and ESPECIALLY baby monitors sending RF video through the house, my remote had trouble connecting. So, either it would send no signal, or it would send repeating signals and my channels would change 3 at a time. Very frustrating.

NOTE: this is not a problem unique to the Harmony RF remotes - it will apply to all RF devices that compete for bandwidth in the home. If you've got a lot of RF devices, consider instead an IR repeater system using a remote "eye" and an extender cable system. Hotlink makes a model that I use upstairs that has never failed me.

I'm using my 890 to control 5 rooms and without issues at all. The macro limitations in the Harmony is annoying, but a lot depends on your needs for them.

Yeppers, frustrating is right. My Harmony 1000 has turned the volume all the way up on my Denon 3808 (+30 or 40) a handful of times, and yes, it's VERY loud and NOT FUN. Worst of all, it renders the remote inoperable for at least a minute because it's repeatedly sending the signal that long.

I adjusted the 3808's maximum volume limit to +10, so I don't s@#t a brick if it happens again.

Yeah - it got to the point of unbearable, where I had simply no confidence that the components would respond like I wanted them to.

It's a cool technology that works as promised, so long as there isn't too much other interference. Sadly, I found myself in an environment with no shortage of other RF devices providing interference.

After making the switch, it's such a pleasure to actually have the system work like it's supposed to work.

I like red hats.

It was sort of a joke, but ok.

Now, how do I edit your post?