Forum Discussion

osren's avatar
osren
Explorer
Dec 05, 2014

Jensen AWM975 - why does DVD not work?

Hello all, newbie here:

We purchased a Jensen AWM975 a few months back and finally got around to install it a couple of months ago. What do they say about Murphy's law? Oh yes, wait around until the return policy expires and what do you think happened? You got it, we have a problem with it. I hope one of you specialists may have come across this issue: we installed it as per the manual and the DVD player does not run at all. The screen flashes "loading", but nothing happens.

We tried troubleshooting with HDMI and regular video/audio cables, and tried to search online for an answer, but no dice. We even checked for extra packaging screws that may be blocking the player, but we seemed to have removed them all. Everything else seems to run as it should.

Help?
  • schneid's avatar
    schneid
    Explorer
    Dec 21, 2014
    I've had one for a couple of years and think it works great for what it is. What it isn't is a multichannel AVR. To me, it is two boxes in one. It will play AM, FM, WX, CD's, USB, Aux, and iPhone (I think) through three stereo channels/zones. It will also output DVD's via HDMI to a TV or a true multichannel AVR. An AVR will give you 5.1 surround.

    I chose it as I wanted a DVD player without adding a standalone unit. This unit was a direct replacement for the CD unit that came with my TT so it was entirely plug 'n play. I like it.
  • osren's avatar
    osren
    Explorer
    Dec 12, 2014
    Well, as luck (?) would have it, Jenssen wrote back and is gladly offering an exchange. Let's hope we just had a lemon and we have better luck with the new one.

    mileshuff, it was a new product, and it never once started up. We basically removed any and every screw that was visible, in case it was a shipping screw that was blocking the mechanism.

    Crossing fingers on the new one. If we have the same issue, we will be looking at car stereo models. Thank you all for your help; this forum is amazing.
  • mileshuff's avatar
    mileshuff
    Explorer
    Dec 11, 2014
    Did it originally work fine? Many new auto/rv DVD/CD stereos have screws or other devices that are installed for shipping and need to be removed before installation. This happened to me! Couldn't figure out why it would not load a disc until I read the manual...which said to remove two shipping screws that locked the head mechanism.
  • wintersun's avatar
    wintersun
    Explorer II
    Dec 10, 2014
    Check Consumer Reports sometime. There are certain brands that consistently come out at the top of the ratings for being free of defects and being the most trouble free. I also use the Amazon.com customers' ratings and look at the people that have given a product 1 or 2 stars as these are often where they have had the product fail early on.

    These days there is no reason for a top quality player to cost significantly more than a lower quality one with the volumes being produced and modern designs.
  • Thunder_Mountai's avatar
    Thunder_Mountai
    Explorer II
    Dec 10, 2014
    Gdetrailer wrote:
    It doesn't work BECAUSE it is a JENSEN..


    You took the words right out of my mouth! Maybe you could sell it for a few bucks on eBay or CL with a disclaimer.
  • Ron3rd's avatar
    Ron3rd
    Explorer III
    Dec 10, 2014
    mclainfarm wrote:
    Mine did that and I removed the unit, removed the top cover and used canned air to blow off the laser. Reinstalled and working great.


    Sometimes blowing off the laser will work, we used to do that with computers in the old cd-rom days. Worth a try. If not, replace the Jensen bottom-feeder with a quality name brand unit.
  • mclainfarm's avatar
    mclainfarm
    Explorer
    Dec 10, 2014
    Mine did that and I removed the unit, removed the top cover and used canned air to blow off the laser. Reinstalled and working great.
  • osren's avatar
    osren
    Explorer
    Dec 07, 2014
    Ugh, thank you Old-Biscuit and Gdetrailer for the honest, albeit painful responses. We were told by a couple of people to check out this model because it had the options we wanted (and with a 300$ price tag, we didn't think it would be junk, double ugh), but after trying to get it installed between two pretty handy guys with no luck, we were hoping someone on here had an idea to get it going. A car stereo, you say? I'll search on the forum for good car radio models with a DVD player. More money out the window...
  • Gdetrailer's avatar
    Gdetrailer
    Explorer III
    Dec 05, 2014
    It doesn't work BECAUSE it is a JENSEN..

    Cheapest import junk you can get, rip it out, throw it down on concrete as hard as you can, then take a 20lb sledge and beat it into a pulp, then stomp on the remains then sweep it up and place into the nearest trash receptacle and don't look back.

    Jensen name simply gets stuck on any cheaply built stuff with no real regard for quality.

    Buy a QUALITY name brand of a car stereo like Pioneer, JVC, Clarion with a DVD player. You will also need to buy a composite to HDMI scaler if you insist on using the TVs HDMI input.

    Alternately buy a car stereo with CD and a separate home DVD or BluRay player for the TV work.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Dec 05, 2014
    Try different discs?

    Some don't load.

    BUT then again it is a Jensen Product.

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