View Full Version : Thanks for the DVD player...NOT!
blondebear
11-01-2005, 09:07 PM
So, I come home yesterday, and my roommate is all excited...her sister-in-law just gave us a DVD player. How cool is that?
Okay, I hook it up, slap in a DVD. It makes some noise, then displays "No Disc".
Huh? I try a different DVD...same result. Hmm...I must be doing something wrong. Since the sister-in-law didn't supply the manual, we call her up.
"Oh, yeah--it's been doing that for awhile, so we bought a new one."
And then you give the non-functioning one to us? Are you too lazy to throw it away yourself or what?
Un-friggin' believable.
lonesome loser
11-01-2005, 09:14 PM
While I agree that sucks, I'm guessing you never got any passed down underwear.
Hahahahaha. I'm sorry but this is really funny. The nerve on that woman!
Seriously though, DVD players are like 5 dollars now (ok fine, $20 to $30), surely, you could've bought one whenever you wanted. Not sure why you were all giddy and excited when you got one as a gift.
astro
11-02-2005, 12:38 AM
So, I come home yesterday, and my roommate is all excited...her sister-in-law just gave us a DVD player. How cool is that?
Okay, I hook it up, slap in a DVD. It makes some noise, then displays "No Disc".
Huh? I try a different DVD...same result. Hmm...I must be doing something wrong. Since the sister-in-law didn't supply the manual, we call her up.
"Oh, yeah--it's been doing that for awhile, so we bought a new one."
And then you give the non-functioning one to us? Are you too lazy to throw it away yourself or what?
Un-friggin' believable.
That's hilarious! You need to find some good looking, but broken stuff from Goodwill or the Salvation Army to give her for Christmas. Gift wrap elaborately!
neuroman
11-02-2005, 12:45 AM
That's hilarious! You need to find some good looking, but broken stuff from Goodwill or the Salvation Army to give her for Christmas. Gift wrap elaborately!
I heartily second this.
The King of Soup
11-02-2005, 07:10 AM
That's hilarious! You need to find some good looking, but broken stuff from Goodwill or the Salvation Army to give her for Christmas. Gift wrap elaborately!
How wasteful. I mean, everybody can use a second DVD player. This is how family traditions start, people!
yojimbo
11-02-2005, 07:51 AM
Throw it out but tell her you just switched a button on the back and it's working fine now ;)
NurseCarmen
11-02-2005, 09:19 AM
Throw it out but tell her you just switched a button on the back and it's working fine now ;)Brilliant!
TommyTutone
11-02-2005, 09:31 AM
I had an X-Box that died, it was power related. I gave it to my brother, explaining to him what was wrong with it and if he wanted it, he was free to keep it (I bought a new one in the meantime). He was able to look up the problem on the net, open it up and fix it as he is much more technically inclined than me, and for $30 or so, get a working X-Box.
It's okay to give folks stuff that doesn't work as long as they know it ahead of time. Maybe they thought you could fix it?
mhendo
11-02-2005, 09:34 AM
That's hilarious! You need to find some good looking, but broken stuff from Goodwill or the Salvation Army to give her for Christmas. Gift wrap elaborately!andThrow it out but tell her you just switched a button on the back and it's working fine now ;)
I swear, if the world ever looks like running out of evil geniuses, they can always come here for replacements. :D
neutron star
11-02-2005, 10:02 AM
I had an X-Box that died, it was power related. I gave it to my brother, explaining to him what was wrong with it and if he wanted it, he was free to keep it (I bought a new one in the meantime). He was able to look up the problem on the net, open it up and fix it as he is much more technically inclined than me, and for $30 or so, get a working X-Box.
It's okay to give folks stuff that doesn't work as long as they know it ahead of time. Maybe they thought you could fix it?
Replacing a power supply on an Xbox is a trivial matter. Just swap the old board out with one you bought on Ebay. If you can work a screw driver, you can do it. It's well worth the money when you consider the price of a new Xbox ($150).
A $20-30 DVD player that doles out constant read errors is an entirely different animal. The optical drive comprises the bulk of its cost. When the laser goes kaput, it's time to write the machine off as a loss. It would cost more to fix than to buy a new unit.
blondebear
11-02-2005, 10:11 AM
Not sure why you were all giddy and excited when you got one as a gift.
I've already got a DVD player in my room, but my roommate doesn't...thus the excitement on her part...
He was able to look up the problem on the net
Well, actually, I was able find a forum that DID discuss this particular brand and problem. But the simple solution that they posted didn't work for this player--into the dumpster it went!!
Upon further discussion, it turns out that the sister-in-law "Does this kind of thing all the time, my brother really married a nut-job!" Oh, okay....that explains it, then, I guess... :confused: :confused:
Ethilrist
11-02-2005, 10:15 AM
Take an opened bottle of wine with you the next time they invite you over for dinner.
Futile Gesture
11-02-2005, 10:25 AM
Throw it out but tell her you just switched a button on the back and it's working fine now ;)Have some imagination, why stop there?
The same switch turned on the player's DVD-R capabilities, and also reveals all the hidden content on discs that normal players can't see. It explains all this in the user manual your sister-in-law didn't read.
This reminds my of my step-grandfather, who wanted to get rid of this crappy couch. Called all the donation places, they wouldn't take it. Call different trash haulers, he didn't want to pay for them to take it away.
So then he calls my mom to see if she wants it. Nice.
matt_mcl
11-02-2005, 11:47 AM
While I agree that sucks, I'm guessing you never got any passed down underwear.
Usually, the underwear still works.
gazpacho
11-02-2005, 11:51 AM
While I agree that sucks, I'm guessing you never got any passed down underwear.Usually, the underwear still works.And often times is washed first.
hajario
11-02-2005, 12:04 PM
People never cease to amaze me. Sis-in-law probably still thinks that she's done a huge favor.
Back when I was in grad school, I lived in a house with a few other students. A neighbor was moving and wanted to get rid of a couch so he offered it to us. We didn't have room for it so I declined his offer. He actually got angry with me, insulted me and stomped off. He was pissed because he had to pay to get in hauled away and didn't get to dump it on us. What a tool.
Pull the guts out of the DVD player, fill it with candy, hang it from a tree by the cord and invite her over for a pinata party.
Fromage A Trois
11-03-2005, 07:57 AM
While I agree that sucks, I'm guessing you never got any passed down underwear.
Usually, the underwear still works.
And often times is washed first.
Perhaps she washed the DVD player first?
gazpacho
11-03-2005, 09:38 AM
Perhaps she washed the DVD player first?Yeah she thought she was handing down BVDs instead of DVDs.
Johnny L.A.
11-03-2005, 10:04 AM
I'm in the What's The Big Deal? camp.
My VCR broke. It plays tapes and rewinds them, so I don't know what broke. Still, I bought a new one. A friend's VCR had broken a few months ago and he tried to fix it. He ended up giving it, its guts hanging out, to a friend of his who asked for it. (He thought he could fix it.) So I told my friend what happened to my VCR, that it seemed to work, and that he could have it if he wanted it. No big deal. I got rid of a 'broken' VCR, my friend got a semi-functional VCR for those rare times when he needs to view a tape, and a landfill has one cubic foot less in it.
JSexton
11-03-2005, 12:19 PM
I'm in the What's The Big Deal? camp.
Well, if sis had said "We've got a DVD player that nearly works, it's yours if you want to try fixing it.", then that's one thing. As it is, she said "Here's a gift." Only later did she say, "Oh, BTW it doesn't work, that's why we replaced it." That's just irritating.
Guinastasia
11-03-2005, 11:03 PM
My aunt and uncle were having a garage sale, and my dad saw that they were selling their grill for about thirty bucks, so he bought it. My aunt ASSURED him it was perfectly fine.
Guess what...it wasn't. Of course, my aunt is also the stingiest, cheapest person on the planet.
duffer
11-04-2005, 12:06 AM
This reminds my of my step-grandfather, who wanted to get rid of this crappy couch. Called all the donation places, they wouldn't take it. Call different trash haulers, he didn't want to pay for them to take it away.
So then he calls my mom to see if she wants it. Nice.
I had a roommate years ago that had a couch that was in her family for years. It was servicable and clean, but it had been passed around her family for about 20 years. When we went our seperate ways, she had her brother haul it out to his farm, we got a dozen or so people together with a keg and had a bonfire.
She even gave a farewell speech standing in front of it stating it was being put out of it's misery and would never have to suffer the humiliation of being passed off to yet another family member. It really was quite touching, though the beer may have influenced my emotions. :D
As far as broken VCR and DVD players go, I think I'm turning into my grandfather. I can't turn down free shit even if it's junk.
Every electronics junkie knows the drill, let's repeat it together;
"You never know when you might need a part."
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