My Panasonic DVD Recorder DMR-ES15 is two months beyond the one year warranty period. I've had no problems until yesterday when this began : Every time the unit is turned on I see "Hello" on the display screen, shortly followed by "U61". The operating instructions say "U61: There was a power failure or the AC plug was disconnected while the unit was on. The unit is carrying out its recovery process. This process restores the unit to normal operation. The unit is not broken. Wait until the message disappears." But in my case, after a brief period of "sound blips" I get this message on the TV screen : "Self check failed. Press ENTER, then the unit will open the tray and power off automatically. If this message appears frequently, please refer to the Product Service section in the operating instructions." I've tried unplugging the recorder and after several minutes replugging - doesn't help. The Panasonic web site says that to get approved Panasonic service I would need to go 177 miles to Chicago (I live in Indianapolis). Has anyone owning this or similar model had this trouble? Is it fixable? One year and two months is a very short lifetime for a DVD recorder that has been only lightly used, and never abused.
I'm just curious if you happen to figure out what was wrong with your DVD Recorder. I have the same message on mine and have had problems with TWO Panasonic DVD Recorders that I have purchased over the last year and a half. Please let me know: edited by ddp. Thanks!
I don't know yet what the final outcome will be, but here's an update: I called Panasonic customer support. After going thru four phone transfers I finally reached a fellow who agreed that since I was only a couple of months over warranty, Panasonic will pay the UPS cost to return it to their service center where they will seek out the cause of the problem. Originally he did ask me to try simultaneously pushing down on "channel up" and "channel down" buttons (under the hinged front panel). That's supposed to give the unit a chance to reset (didn't help in my case}. I've read elsewhere that there may be a particular capacitor that tends to leak in these units (and is not expensive, but is very difficult to replace because of its location buried under other parts). I'm waiting now for a confirmation letter directing me how to send in the unit. I'll let you know more later.
Hmmmm...well that's great they're going to let you return it for replacement. I contacted Panasonic several months ago and they said they don't have a way of finding my product registration or warranty. I sent it to them, so I don't know how else to obtain that information! No joke - some of these companies are absolutely off the wall in the way they do business. I purchased both of my DVD recorders refurbished from Amazon.com, so they only had 6 month warranties, but Panasonic told me they have no way of knowing. I guess they wanted me to just buy a new one or pay them the same amount as it would cost for a new one, to fix mine. Let me know if you have any suggestions about who to speak with and what to say. I have a feeling I'm going to either have to call them again soon, or suck it up and buy new. If that becomes the case, I am going to be sure to make Panasonic a bad name on the Web!!!
Like any manufacturer panasoinc really do have no way of knowing where a particular item ends up, or when it was taken off a shelf and sold. It's the nature of the trade. They sell their output to wholesalers who then in turn supply the chainstores.. From the large ones who may buy direct through their own purchase system to the little high street independent who goes to a "cash and carry" type outlet. This is why for repair/replacement they always say "deal first with the retailer" and keep any documentation. A warranty usually runs from date of sale not date of manufacture.. though again some manufacturers who run a 3 year warranty will repair/replace something if it's manufacture date is less than that. Anyway.. about this fault. It usually shows that there is a problem with one of the internal voltage rails.. Panasonic suspect a capacitor. That sounds about right, though it may be a chip shorted, a voltage regulator failed or even as simple as a little "black chip" fuse blown. Not a fault I would like to track down without detailed service/circuit information.
For RLC3780: I would think it would be simple to find from Amazon.com the dates when you bought each recorder and what sort of warranty applied. Send them an email. I was not specifically promised a "replacement." They just said they would check the unit to find out the problem. Beyond that, who can say? I went thru three different employees, to each I explained my problem and said I hoped that Panasonic would stand behind their product.
Thanks for the advice. I just spoke to Panasonic and they are having me send the device in for repair. I purchased it refurbished from Amazon, so it only had a 6 month warranty, but Panasonic said that I bought it in December (not true!) and it has a 1-year warranty, so hey, I'm not going to argue! I think I will put your words in my letter when I return it - "I hope they stand behind their product..." especially to those who are faithful to the Panasonic name. It's a huge disappointment.
It is unfortunate. I have always found Panasonic branded gear to be very well made (evidenced by my 1980's vcr) Their reply sounds very hopeful. It may be that this model is still in current production, or certain parts are still used in the current models. Any good company should be interested in seeing failures as part of an ongoing "quality control field testing" in the same way TV manufacturers worked with repairers and retailers back in the 70's. Best of luck with getting a repair/replacement. I personally like Panasonic dvd recorders because they make disks you can do things with after
See the following for a couple informative reviews on the U61 problem. An excess of luck seems to be the only explanation for happy consumers of this product. This link lists all of the Amazon reviews: The praise seems to come after the initial purchase. More negative comments follow thereafter . . .
My Panasonic support(?) experience has been rather strange. First they said to send them the unit at their expense and they would see what the problem might be, Although two months over warranty, my impression was that they would repair the unit if the problem was one of those inherent faults that many Panasonic DVD recorders apparently have (as attested to by owner reviews on the Internet). After they received the recorder, they sent me a letter asking me to approve their attempting a repair with the cost estimated at $130, but not necessarily limited to $130. They said they would inform me if the repair began to exceed $130 so I could stop at that point if I so desired. And, in any case, it would cost me $40 minimum just for their diagnosis of the problem. I originally paid $130 for the recorder, brand new, including tax. I have never owned an electronic device before that became worthless before even 14 months had gone by. I didn't even get the chance to try out all of the recorder's features. Panasonic had an opportunity, at minimum cost on their part, to create a lifelong Panasonic customer. But, they failed miserably. Let the buyer beware.
I had EXACT same problem. Unit displayed ERROR U61 while under warranty. Panasonic customer service said it (error U61) was normal???? This was a random thing for a few months. Then, 2 months out of warranty, it went into the "recovering info, etc" U61 message and would get stuck there and unit bacame 100% unuseable. THEN when I called back with the problem 100% worse, Panasonic customer service THEN told me the error message meant it had a major problem and I had to send it in for service- at MY cost. $30 to ship to a service center. I am south of Indianapolis like other poster. AND a minimum of $75 to repair ANYTHING on unit, and odds were that it could run double or more. They claimed to not keep records of customers that call in during the warranty. Even if that is true, they should have had me send the unit in when I called with the error 61 message and the unit WAS under warranty. I have read a lot about this problem on other forums. It seems a lot of users/ owners attribute the problem to using ANYTHING OYHER THAN the Sony brand disks in the unit. Come to think of it, the first times I had the message I was using Memorex instead of my regular Sony disks. The final time it was a brand beginning with an "i" lower case. That shouldn't have created a problem as the directions in the DVD's manual state that each disk I used was appropriate. At any rate, since I didn't want to have to learn how to use another unit, I got one at a great price on line and bought another one. I am 2 months into that and have only used the Sony disks, so we'll see. It's a nice unit as far as everything except dependability goes. I'd definitely purchase an extended warranty if you are set on having it, and I NEVER buy those. My Panasonic VCR lasted 13 years!
I get this message occasionally on my Panasonic DMR-ES15. It's actually a really simple fix. It occurs when there is a corruption in the disc which causes the recording mechanism to malfunction. There is a separate error message for this, however it is usually not detected until it's too late. When the recorder asks you to carry out the recovery process, do it. When the disc ejects, make sure you take the disc out that was in there when it occured and throw it away...it will keep happening because the disc is permanently corrupted. However, do not close the tray without a disc or the self-check will fail. Instead pop in a disc of the same format that the error occured in (if it was DVD+RW then put in a DVD+RW). It resolves the problem every time on the first try. (It only happened two times in a year and a half for me). As the manual says the unit is "NOT BROKEN".
Buste48 here. I tried what the last poster said before posting above and it's not a disc error at all, or was not on mine. Even Panasonic sent me a letter after I posted saying the U61 error required service and was an equipment defect that they know about and had nothing to do with the actual DVD or disc. It would be worth a try though, just isn't going to work on a U61 error. That error isn't even listed in the user manual and Panasonic said that was why-it's not a user repairable error.
Hmmm...that always seemed to fix the problem on my recorder. Also, I would strongly recommend visting Panasonic's support website and try downloading updated drivers for the the recorder. http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/support/Drivers-and-Downloads/list-DVD+Recorders It allows you to burn updated drivers onto a CD so you can put it in the disc drive and it will automatically update the system. Ever since I did this the player has been running much more smoothly with no errors at all.
My copy of the ES-15 manual says this about U61 error message : U61 • There was a power failure or the AC plug was disconnected while the unit was on. The unit is carrying out its recovery process. This process restores the unit to normal operation. The unit is not broken. Wait until the message disappears. — But this didn't help in my case and, despite knowing about the inherent problems in the ES-15 DVD Recorders, Panasonic gave me no consideration although I was just two months over warranty period. I guess the concept of "Implied Warranty" only applies to auto manufacturer's and other companies interested in maintaining a good reputation ?
Has anybody thought about taking the machine to a competent TV and VCR repairer. the replies from panasonic seem to suggest it is a component fault that, if the board is well labeled inside, may be traceable with standard electronics fault finding skills. If you can find a competent person who will take it on on a "no fix-no fee" basis you could be on a winner. If I had one with this fault I would be very tempted to open it up and have a delve, especially knowing that panasonic suspect a capacitor which suggests a missing or low power rail somewhere.
