1998 Pioneer DVD Player spotted at Goodwill, is it worth my time?

[Captainclock]

Originally Posted by MRX37

So you need a remote with an Enter button eh?



I own one of these.


Okay to be honest I bought it as a joke but I have actually made real use of it because it has an Enter button and a few other keys that some other universal remotes lack. Plus it's just about impossible to lose the thing.

Oh yeah, I have seen those before many times at some of the local flea markets near me, and I think my great grandparents had one as well. Anyways yeah at first I thought that remote was a joke as well that was supposed to be aimed at the 40 year olds as an "over the hill" prank gift but then when I saw them elsewhere like at the flea markets then I realized it was real.

[MRX37]

Related somewhat:

[pac.attack76]

I had one of those. Just didn't seem practical. Made pretty cheaply too. Enter keys function differently depending on model. I always found universals to never be perfect. Always something missing, incompatible, or not working. Once you get the original, you'll be fine. I always use originals.

[AdamAnt316]

I bought an early Sony DVD player (think the model# is something like DVP-S360) at a flea market several years back. It works fine for CDs, but every time I try to play a DVD, it throws some sort of error. Apparently, it's due to some micro-fuse(s) inside the unit which tend to blow out. I have yet to attempt to fix it, due to the SMD parts used.

Other than that, my oldest DVD player is a Pioneer DVL-909, which also plays LaserDiscs. It has a component video out, but it's only for DVDs. Seems to work fairly well, and even came with the original remote control (which just says "Pioneer DVD", for some reason).
-Adam

[Damnation]

Originally Posted by AdamAnt316

I bought an early Sony DVD player (think the model# is something like DVP-S360) at a flea market several years back. It works fine for CDs, but every time I try to play a DVD, it throws some sort of error. Apparently, it's due to some micro-fuse(s) inside the unit which tend to blow out. I have yet to attempt to fix it, due to the SMD parts used.

Many earlier Sony DVD decks had their video logic board centered directly under the disc tray, this plagued certain models with overheating, sometimes to the point the player will default to an error state.

[Beachboy]

I scour the local Goodwill's several times a week, checking out their inventory of DVD players and VCR's. Bad thing about Goodwill is that there is NEVER a remote with the units, and for some reason, nobody ever includes the power cord or power supply with electronics, either. Most VCR's cost around $4-$5 and DVD players run around $5. I passed up on a Denon 5-disk DVD changer for $5 recently, mostly due to it's size. Seems everyone is going streaming and dumping DVD players like crazy. I've also learned to be VERY leery of electronics at Goodwill, and I've purchased too many that were defective.

[Captainclock]

Originally Posted by Beachboy

I scour the local Goodwill's several times a week, checking out their inventory of DVD players and VCR's. Bad thing about Goodwill is that there is NEVER a remote with the units, and for some reason, nobody ever includes the power cord or power supply with electronics, either. Most VCR's cost around $4-$5 and DVD players run around $5. I passed up on a Denon 5-disk DVD changer for $5 recently, mostly due to it's size. Seems everyone is going streaming and dumping DVD players like crazy. I've also learned to be VERY leery of electronics at Goodwill, and I've purchased too many that were defective.

I recently bought an early 1990s Mitsubishi 4-Head HiFi VCR From Goodwill (the one I work at) for $4 and when I got it home to try it out the VCR wasn't working right as far as wanting to eject the tape, well it turned out it was just that the original belt was defective and I happened to have a spare belt laying around that fit it and now its working perfectly. Most of the time if I get a piece of electronic equipment from Goodwill like a VCR that's defective I try to see if its an easy fix before returning it (although goodwill has now made a new policy where electronics are sold AS-IS and non-returnable where it used to be you had 3 days to return it for a goodie buck refund and I think it was because there were people abusing the return policy.)

[Beachboy]

Goodwill here has a 7 day return policy, but if the item was $5 or under, I just recycle it instead and consider the cost a donation to Goodwill. It takes me 2-4 gallons of gas to return something, depending on which Goodwill I bought it at. One policy that baffles me about the Goodwill's around here is that if an electronic item has several components, such as a cordless phone system with a base unit and 3 or 4 extensions, they'll package and price them all separately, rather than as a group. What good is an extension cordless phone if it's not mated to the base unit it was designed for? They do the same thing with stuff like surround speakers, price each component separately rather than as a set.

[Captainclock]

Originally Posted by Beachboy

Goodwill here has a 7 day return policy, but if the item was $5 or under, I just recycle it instead and consider the cost a donation to Goodwill. It takes me 2-4 gallons of gas to return something, depending on which Goodwill I bought it at. One policy that baffles me about the Goodwill's around here is that if an electronic item has several components, such as a cordless phone system with a base unit and 3 or 4 extensions, they'll package and price them all separately, rather than as a group. What good is an extension cordless phone if it's not mated to the base unit it was designed for? They do the same thing with stuff like surround speakers, price each component separately rather than as a set.

Yeah, the goodwills in my area do the same thing, they even sell a set of stereo speakers seperately. Although now they've started selling things as a set like they're supposed to be.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Beachboy

Goodwill here has a 7 day return policy, but if the item was $5 or under, I just recycle it instead and consider the cost a donation to Goodwill. It takes me 2-4 gallons of gas to return something, depending on which Goodwill I bought it at. One policy that baffles me about the Goodwill's around here is that if an electronic item has several components, such as a cordless phone system with a base unit and 3 or 4 extensions, they'll package and price them all separately, rather than as a group. What good is an extension cordless phone if it's not mated to the base unit it was designed for? They do the same thing with stuff like surround speakers, price each component separately rather than as a set.

I think the majority of thrift shop employees there are by and large too dumb to realize they are a set in the first place....It is like fast food employees; I can order 3-5 simple things 10 times in a row, and if I don't check their work %40 of the time I'll come home with an incorrect order...They either don't bother to think or can't think when trying. Hell I've been to thrifts where the cashiers can't add or do simple maths in their head that most folks are already light years ahead of by middle school...

[Captainclock]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I think the majority of thrift shop employees there are by and large too dumb to realize they are a set in the first place....It is like fast food employees; I can order 3-5 simple things 10 times in a row, and if I don't check their work %40 of the time I'll come home with an incorrect order...They either don't bother to think or can't think when trying. Hell I've been to thrifts where the cashiers can't add or do simple maths in their head that most folks are already light years ahead of by middle school...

I find that most HiFi Stereo speakers are usually fairly obvious that they are a set but they still don't sell them as a set. one year though I did go to a local Mennonite owned thrift store and found a set of Bose Interaudio speakers for $10 and then I went to the Salvation Army one time and found a set of 1960s vintage Utah 3-Way stereo speakers for $3. So sometimes depending on what place you go to they will know to sell stuff as a set and sometimes they don't. Like I said the Goodwill I work at is doing better at selling things as a set than they used to, I think its because I started working there and I've told them that if stuff looks like its supposed to be a set, then sell it as a set.

[Damnation]

Originally Posted by Beachboy

I've also learned to be VERY leery of electronics at Goodwill, and I've purchased too many that were defective.

Yep, great rule of thumb, I swear one GW I frequent only ever has broken A/V stuff. Like the other GWs in the area send all their busted stuff there.