DVD Player overheating - HELP!

Factual Questions
1

I have the following stack of components in my entertainment center:
[ul][li] Receiver[/li][li]5-CD changer[/li][li]VCR[/li][li]DVD player[/ul][/li]
They’re in a cabinet that has a glass door. The back of this cabinet has an opening for ventilation - a big one, like 10 inches by 24. Nonetheless, it gets hot in that cabinet.

None of the other components has acted up, but lately the DVD player has been having problems. Unless the cabinet door is left open for at least 24 hours, if you try to play a DVD, it will start to freeze up about an hour into the movie and eventually will refuse to play.

The last time I tried to play a DVD, the cabinet door had been closed… and I couldn’t even get the machine to admit it had a disc in its innards at all.

I had to take all of the stuff out of that cabinet so I could move it - so here’s my question. Will it help at all if I move the DVD player to the bottom of the stack? (you know, because heat rises.) Alternatively, should I raise it off the stack and put in on its own shelf?

I hate to toss it and buy a new one, but I’m afraid if I try to have it repaired, it will wind up costing almost as much as a new one.

HELP!

Do I need to figure out a way to suck the hot air out of this cabinet, like with some sort of fan?

2

There are lot of different PC component fans you can buy that will pull hot air from point A to point B but most of these are designed to operate off a 12V DC connection inside a PC. Your simplest and cheapest solution is to get a very small standard 110 VAC clip on personal fan and mount it so that is either blowing air in or out of the cabinet. Disocunt stores usually have these for $ 5- $10 each.

If only a very small, quiet and unobtrusive fan will do, you can get a 12 volt DC power supply adapter from Radio Shack for 10- 15 (Goodwill and Salvation army usually has them for $ 1.00 each) and simply connect the + and - wires to the + and - of the fan. Plug and unlug as needed.

PC case fans typically come in sizes from around 2.5 to 5 inches. The larger ones are usually quieter. Most PC component stores and Radio Shack will have these.

Radio Shack also has a powerful 4" fan one that operates directly off 120V wall current. All you would need is a line cord with a wall plug on the end (with a switch if you want) and you’re off to the races. www.radioshack.com

3

I do plan to do something to increase the ventilation in this cabinet.

In the meantime, though, would there be any point to putting the DVD player on the bottom or separating it from the other components?

Also, why is it the only one going all squirrely? Are DVD players inherently more delicate than other types of consumer-electronics products?

4

A dvd player is pretty much a computer & they don’t like heat. I myself just took the glass door off.

5

Stop watching all those steamy movies.
Or if that’s not an option, consider making the ventilation holes in the back of the cabinet larger. Make sure
the cabinet is far enough from the wall that you get good air circulation. Also, make sure that there isn’t a lot
of dust blocking the vent system from the DVD player.

6

Taking the door off isn’t an option…it’s curved and purty, and Mrs. Chef likes it.

I wonder why the DVD player is overheating, but nothing else is?

The cabinet is about four inches from the wall - I can’t move it out much more than that without blocking traffic.

I’ll check for dust.