DVR-420H cannot copy to DVD

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 12
Forum Member
After 3 or 4 years of continuous use ( during which time I have been very satisfied with the results ), I now find that I cannot copy to DVD.
On 3 attempts, I have found that the dvd disk has an incomplete recording ( eg 2 attempts had approx 1cm wide band at the beginning of the disk - the very centre ) and although the 'Disk Set-up' tab was available, I could not get to the 3rd stage to finalize the DVD.
1st Attempt : although 'High Speed' was available/used, I had to wait 3 hours ( the real time for the recordings ) before I was convinced all was not well ! The Standby and Open buttons ( on both the remote and the front panel ) were ineffective, so I had to resort to unplugging the mains lead ( I later discovered from the Manual that this was a dangerous move, that it should only be done with the set in Standby ! ). After retrieving the DVD, I noted that it was approx 3/4 recorded.
2nd Attempt : High Speed copying still available, the unit switched itself off after approx 10 mins. The steps to finalization would not complete - so the anticipated success was non-existent - and this time the recorded 'band' was approx 1 cm.
3rd Attempt : Tried to copy 3 different recordings, but the 'result' was identical to #2.
Findings :
a) None of the DVDs would finalize, nor would they play on the Pioneer.
b) Programmes can still be recorded to the HDD ( but they cannot then be copied to DVD ).
Any suggestions ( for a non-technical guy !) would be appreciated. How likely is it that a 'simple' air-blast clean will work ? or is it its 'last-legs syndrome'.
My apologies for the long-winded explanation but being non-technical, it was the only way to include (relevant ?) info.
My thanks, if you've read so far !

Comments

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 49
    Forum Member
    I had trouble like this with my three year old 530 and bought a maxell dvd lens cleaner that has the little brush and it works fine now.
  • tomcontitomconti Posts: 1,138
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    This is precisely what happened to my Pioneer 420 just before Christmas.

    But it took a few months leading up to it to give out.

    First there were the odd copy errors to -R.
    Then -RW proved a problem and finally no dvd burning was possible.

    My home domestic appliance insurance took it away for repair and wrote it off.

    My 630 which is a year younger continues to record CCTV 24 hours a day and does Disc Backup still ok.

    Unfortnately the insurance company could only offer Sony or Panasonic to replace it but I knew the limitations of the Panny and didnt really want it.

    I used it for a few days but its silly flexible recording limitations and no Disc Backup was enough - so I sold the Panny and got the Pioneer 560 for only £240 multiregion.

    Its as good as ever and also writes to DVD+ discs too ,it has a built in Freeview recorder which saves me recording on my Humax and it also allows cd's to be copied at high speed to the HDD - however the implementation of that feature is dreadful compared to the PS3.

    A lens cleaner has worked for me with the odd disc before but it sounds like yours has died in exactly the same way as mine
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    I had the cannot finalise issue with my pioneer dvd recorder after the 3rd year of use,had to throw it out eventually as it developed a power supply problem as well,so became unuseable.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 12
    Forum Member
    beintot, imagineers, tomconti : many thanks for your replies. I shall try a disk cleaner before I throw it out !
    I'll report back when I've tried the cleaner.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 12
    Forum Member
    Well, I couldn't find my cleaner ..... so, I had to buy another. The gibberish on the packing didn't fill me with confidence but after 25 minutes of 'run-time' I was able to copy and finalize without any warning messages.

    Cleaning worked ! My thanks for the suggestion.
  • tomcontitomconti Posts: 1,138
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    Another possible sign to look out for is the player having problems initialising -RW discs
  • MarrooMarroo Posts: 1,433
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    I've had my machine for nearly a couple of years now , & i've started to have periodic problems archiving recordings onto dvd.

    The main annoying one , is :- i've archived stuff onto an "R" disc , finalised it , played it in my other dvd player to check it's ok , then put it back in my recorder to find that the disc 's been wiped blank ! :eek:

    On just the one occasion so far , i've put a pre-recorded film in to watch , & it seemed to wipe that one clean as well !! :mad:

    Over the weekend just gone , i put an unfinalised "R" disc in , to archive some more stuff onto the remaining disc space .
    The machine took about 15 mins to read and load the disc , & when it did all the previous info had gone - just grey thumbnails where picture thumbnails had been before . :confused:

    Most of the time , my machine functions very well , but it's started to misbehave from time to time .

    Is this a problem solved by using a lens cleaner or is it something more serious ?

    Any comments / advice will be greatly appreciated . :)

    Oops ! Just noticed this is a Pioneer thread : sorry !

    My machine's a Grundig . Apologies . :)
  • kkboydkkboyd Posts: 121
    Forum Member
    Can I suggest that you at least give the blast of air a chance to work as that has always fixed my Pioneer before. I now do it regularly and have using my oldest Pioneer for about four or possibly five years now. Of course, these machines do eventually wear out, but at least the latest models look pretty good as well!

    Good luck!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 12
    Forum Member
    Well, I've tried the disk cleaner ( and feel I've mastered a peculiar bit of kit with naff instructions ) Initially, it worked but after several copies had been successful, it failed again.

    Having tried the cleaning disk again, without success , I decided to try air-blasting method. Pushing a fine tube into a black hole seemed to rely more on luck than judgment -- and sure enough it didn't help.

    Question : ( Laugh if you must ! ) In the old days, using an Alsop Wet Cleaner on a VHS machine - the instruction was to press 'Record'.
    For this CD/DVD Cleaning Disk, you apply a drop of liquid to each of 2 small brushes placed at the outter edge.
    i) Given that the instructions are very poor, do I press Play or Record ?

    I was under the impression that DVD recording started near the centre of the disk and moved outards ( the opposite of old Vinyl LPs ) -- how does this tie in with the cleaning action of 1cm brushes at the outter rim/circumference ?

    Again, my thanks
  • josephcavorjosephcavor Posts: 401
    Forum Member
    bazzah wrote: »
    Well, I've tried the disk cleaner ( and feel I've mastered a peculiar bit of kit with naff instructions ) Initially, it worked but after several copies had been successful, it failed again.

    Having tried the cleaning disk again, without success , I decided to try air-blasting method. Pushing a fine tube into a black hole seemed to rely more on luck than judgment -- and sure enough it didn't help.

    Question : ( Laugh if you must ! ) In the old days, using an Alsop Wet Cleaner on a VHS machine - the instruction was to press 'Record'.
    For this CD/DVD Cleaning Disk, you apply a drop of liquid to each of 2 small brushes placed at the outter edge.
    i) Given that the instructions are very poor, do I press Play or Record ?

    I was under the impression that DVD recording started near the centre of the disk and moved outards ( the opposite of old Vinyl LPs ) -- how does this tie in with the cleaning action of 1cm brushes at the outter rim/circumference ?

    Again, my thanks

    I recommend the Pioneer 560.

    Superb machine and as well as everything you enjoy on the 420 it has a built in Freeview tuner for digital channel recording and rather usefully it adds chapter stops to all recordings so you dont have to mess about adding them yourself when you burn to dvd.

    Forget the 420 - its dead
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