Will Not Eject Disk

I purchased mine in May 2007 and it worked quite well up until one sad day in August 2008. The picture froze and after trying EVERYTHING (eject, reset, reboot, etc.), the unit would simply not eject the disk. The disk doesn't even spin and the front display indicates the tray is "open" even though it isn't. The only useful info provided by Panasonic Customer Support was the name of a local "authorized" independent repair station, which so far has been unable to solve the problem. Oh well, looks like it's dead and ready for burial, and after only a year of infrequent usage. Before it died, I really liked the features except that the unit required an awfully long time to start-up when you press Power-On. Overall, I think it is an inferior model compared to competing brands and products. I suspect that Sony and Toshiba both make DVD recorders that work better and longer than Panasonic.