Brand New Panasonic DVD Recorder won't record to DVD.

Peter Crosland wrote:
A couple of weeks ago I posted a plea for help with a Samsung HDD
recorder. Thanks to those who replied, but I'm afraid I was not much
further forward. In the end I took the machine back to the shop and
persuaded them that the atrocious quality of the manual meant the
whole product was not fit for purpose.

So I've bought a replacement - a Panasonic DMR-EX768EB. It's a little
better, but still I am experiencing problems recording to DVD, and
would be grateful for any pointers.

I have managed to record to the hard disk, both from TV broadcasts and
from an old videotape machine connected via a SCART socket. My next
task is to transfer some of this (and especially the old and
irreplaceable videotape material) to a DVD. I am using Sony DVD-R
disks. I don't understand the differences between the various disk
types, but the manual is quite unequivocal that these disks are
suitable. But when I try to copy from the HDD (Function Menu --
Copy), I get the message "Insert valid disk to destination drive".
Except once, when I must have done something different as it worked
fine.

So it must be possible to record to DVD-R - the manual says so, and I
have achieved it once, but I have not been able to repeat this feat.
I am not in a position to ring the Panasonic Helpline, as I am at work
or otherwise away from home during their opening hours. Can anyone
help me?


Mine works fine with Sony DVD+RW disks so there are several possibilities.
The disks could be faulty or for some reason the machine does not like the
particular disk that is not unknown in my expereince. Have you tried another
brand of disk? There does not seem to be any obvious reason why copying
should fail due to the wrong selections being made within the menu.

Peter Crosland


I think that recording to DVD can be a bit hit'n'miss. I have a Sony
Freeview DVD recorder and I recently purchased a good brand of 10 DVD+RW
disks. The player choked on all of them over a couple of days, but
older, well-used discs that I have cause no problems. Media is the first
thing to look at. I'd make a point of purchasing some Panasonic DVD-RW
media and seeing what happens there. At least if you have trouble you
can take the unit back to the shop, armed with Panasonic media and ask
them how to make it work.

HTH



Clem

In article , Java Jive
wrote:
Older models like mine could only record to DVD-R or DVD-RAM, but I
believe most recent model support the + formats as well.

That's Panasonic, for you. One reason I chose a Sony was that it fully
supported DVD+R and DVD+RW (though not DVD-RAM).

As has been mentioned, you can't dub from DVD to HD, but you can
dub from DVD-RAM to HD, as well as what you're trying to do, HD
to DVD.

Again, that seems to be a Panny thing. My Sony will dub DVD to HDD as
long as the DVD isn't protected.

Does the DVD+-R(W) require formatting before use? I know that DVD-RAM
does.

The +/-RW formats require formatting. +/-R don't -- indeed, as these are
write-once disks, if you were to manage to format one you wouldn't be
able to write to it again!

I have created one DVD by direct dubbing from HD to DVD-R, but, and
this is mentioned in the manual, the original aspect ratio was
ignored, the result being 4:3, though the original programme was
widescreen.

Hmm. That explains something about some DVDs I've been lent by friends
with Panny machines ...

The Sony does seem to honour the original aspect ratio, but has
difficulty with recordings in mixed ratio (e.g. 4:3 programmes with
wide-screen adverts) which it can dub but not at high speed.

Cheers,
Daniel.

Adrian wrote:

/\BratMan/\ wrote:
To copy from hard drive to DVD you may have to format the blank disc
first.

Not if it is a DVD-R which the OP was using.

When I'm recording to the HD of my Philips for writing to DVD I have to
make sure that I record in the right mode (can't be changed once it's
recorded). Is your recording too big to fit on the DVD? That is, is the
standard of the recording too high?

Maire Black

Thanks for all the interest.

I tried a new pack of blank discs from a different manufacturer and so
far these seem to work ok (well, the first two have recorded with no
failures). So its looking as if it may be either faulty discs or some
weird incompatability between the original discs and the recorder.

Is this a feasible explanation? The original discs were Sony DVD-R,
and the newer ones Verbatim DVD-R. If so, why is it that discs from a
reputable manufacturer should prove so troublesome?

Peter