I just got a rarely seen RCA HDV5000 off of ebay marked as "non-working/as-is" since it was locking up on the seller when he tested it with 2 HD DVD discs (Backdraft and V for Vendetta). After asking a few questions like which movies was he testing it with thinking it might have been disc rot and if the exhaust fan working or not I decided to pick it up for just under $80. That's alot for a paperweight but it's not if it works. I was pretty confident that I could diagnose the issue and possibly fix it. So I got it today and plugged it up and was able to replicate the issue with 3 of my own titles to various results but a 4th movie worked just fine. After testing the machine I checked and I think I found the issue. It's still on the original 1.0 fw which had the same problems that both the seller and I have seen. I know that I can update it with the official Toshiba firmware but then I lose the "RCA" loadscreen and I would like to keep it completely intact since I'm trying to collect all stand alone players (and remotes) for my collection (I already have 8 different players). So this is where I ask if anyone out there knows where I can find the official RCA firmware. I am aware there is a 1.4 fw and a 2.0 fw but not sure on that one. Thanks for any help.
I don't if you've seen this but it might solve your problem- https://forum.dvdtalk.com/hd-talk/514069-i-just-bought-rca-hdv5000-im-having-issues.html
I am aware that I can do this but then this changes the start up splash screen to "Toshiba" I would like to keep the the "RCA" splash screen. This is the same reason I hunt for the original remotes for my players and not the unbranded remotes from China.
If it works, your primary problem is solved. If it's attached to a computer, you might be able to find the metadata files and edit them to replace the Toshiba screen. I don't know how to edit the firmware before installing.
unfortunately the player suffers from not playing some discs correctly. The tests that I have done is with non rotting/known working discs and the issues are things like not showing/missing menu items and such. This was a known issue with both the HD-A1/XA1 and the HD-A2/20/XA2 which was fixed in firmware updates. I used the "Wayback Machine" which is a website that you can use to see older websites and I did find that there was a 1.4 firmware for the player back in 2007. The site said that "if you dont have broadband internet call XXX-XXX-XXXX and we will send out an update disc". That number was for Audiovox back then so does that mean that RCA is just a subsidiary of them?
Have you checked to see if your discs are having problems playing because the player has a dirty lens? Give it a cleaning and then try playing a disc. Also inspect your discs for signs of damage. One good way is to use the good old pinhole inspection. Get a small bright flashlight and then while holding it shine the light through it to see if you can see any holes in it. Unless very poorly handled or left out in the sun, it is unlikely to be caused by rot. CD's are earlier tech and their back coating made differently than DVDs and HD DVDs or BD discs which makes them more susceptible to rot. See if this information helps. https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-tell-if-the-dvd-lens-is-burned-out
The discs that I use to test are all good. Every other player I have they work fine on. Like I said before this was an issue with the original firmware even though it didnt happen to everyone. It has been documented for both the 1st and 2nd generation of players. Also the reason I mentioned disc rot is because of the WB (mostly) using poor conditioned discs that are now "falling apart".
The key point in my previous post is, have you considered that your units "laser lens" is dirty, and has a difficult time reading any disc with some being harder than others. That's one of the most common and overlooked causes of disc skipping (Occam's razor). I have a collection of over 1500 movies, of which a couple of dozen or more are HD DVD, a little over 200 BD, and the rest are all DVD, and to my knowledge not a one is skipping (so far). I also have several hundred burned movies both home and backups, and they all work too. That doesn't mean that discs don't go bad because I do have a couple of CDs that have rotted, but CD manufacturing techniques are of a lower standard than DVD and above. Rot occurs on the printed side of the disc (corroded aluminum layer) and not the shiny side. Aluminum exposed to the elements is the issue. On DVD, HD DVD, and BD dics the aluminum is coated or sandwiched between a protective layer and on some no aluminum is used at all. I'm not saying that firmware isn't the issue, but then it would've affected all of the units sold with the same firmware. The issue you might run into is that the RCA firmware you want no longer exists for download. Since it's a rebadged Toshiba, a Toshiba firmware could be your only option. That is unless you can find a previous owner of the same machine who just happens to have a saved copy of the firmware.
The implication here is that you have the later firmware installed and the only issue is the splash screen. Is the later firmware installed?
