Working Life of a DVD Recorder ?

advid · 07-12-2009, 12:55

...a lot of the problems I see in this forum and other areas is to do with the 'failing' of the DVD area in a DVD/HDD recorder..

The HDD and VHS (if included) areas seem to go on 'forever' with very little problems !

It seems to be that in a lot of problems - the DVD laser fails to either read or write after a 'relatively short' period of time...

Are the lasers in these machines built to have a 'limited' lifetime of work... after which they start failing...?

Will a better quality DVDR like Panasonic and Sony' be any better and give a longer working 'lifetime' than the cheaper LG, Daewoo' ect. ??

Or is it simple a matter of 'Luck of the Irish' .... some batches good - some bad ....within any maker - it's all pot luck ??

Nigel Goodwin · 07-12-2009, 13:10

Mostly a question of 'luck', but 'generally' better makes last longer.

Panasonic HDD/DVD's have been particularly unreliable, with under specified PSU's leading to early failure - and the Sony RDR-GX210 was a complete disaster, bought in from LG they had a VERY short life span. Later Sony's have been exceptionally reliabl;e though, and I would hope Panasonic learnt their lesson as well.

But I would agree, in general, DVD recorders seem to have fairly short lives.

Andy Carlton · 07-12-2009, 19:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by advid

...a lot of the problems I see in this forum and other areas is to do with the 'failing' of the DVD area in a DVD/HDD recorder..

The HDD and VHS (if included) areas seem to go on 'forever' with very little problems !

It seems to be that in a lot of problems - the DVD laser fails to either read or write after a 'relatively short' period of time...

Are the lasers in these machines built to have a 'limited' lifetime of work... after which they start failing...?

Will a better quality DVDR like Panasonic and Sony' be any better and give a longer working 'lifetime' than the cheaper LG, Daewoo' ect. ??

Or is it simple a matter of 'Luck of the Irish' .... some batches good - some bad ....within any maker - it's all pot luck ??

We brought a Samsung DVD rcorder a while ago and it simply - didn't record. Others I have known have had them for 7-8 months and they have packed up.

A top branded make doesn't mean to say that it will last longer.

I have no idea why people bother with modern technology as it is just too unreliable.

Norbert5 · 07-12-2009, 19:29

I've gone back to VHS because I know there's a good chance if I press Record thats exactly what it does unlike DVD recorders that 95% of the time record progammes but sure enough it its something I didn't want to miss the recording would fail also sound and video nearly always out of sync .

My Liteon DVD recorder finaly packed up at about 18 months old.
it stopped reading disks of any kind.

hardylane · 07-12-2009, 19:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy Carlton

We brought a Samsung DVD rcorder a while ago and it simply - didn't record. Others I have known have had them for 7-8 months and they have packed up.

A top branded make doesn't mean to say that it will last longer.

I have no idea why people bother with modern technology as it is just too unreliable.

Oooh I know... things were much better before all these new-fangled changes!!

Rubbish.

gemma-the-husky · 07-12-2009, 21:33

i thought my panasonic dvd recorder - DVD section had failed, but it turned out ot be a dirty "spindle washer", cleaned it up with a bit of alcohol, and working as new again.

If the washer gets dirty, the disc can slip slightly causing read/write errors - worth checking if you get the problem.

I get the point about VHS - I just find the qwuality unwatchable now

Andy Carlton · 07-12-2009, 22:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardylane

Oooh I know... things were much better before all these new-fangled changes!!

Rubbish.

Totally better...

We still use VHS for normal everyday TV programmes on timer record and had very few issues. We have a DVD player just for playback only and as long as VHS is avaliable, I will still use it because I trust it and rarely lets me down.

We still have a wide-screen CRT TV because again...these new flat screen ones are simply unreliable and I find the picture distorted.

Call me old fashioned, but I prefer to stick with what I know...although I have been tempted to buy a HDD recorder with freeview as I hear very little about hard drive failures. (so far)

hardylane · 07-12-2009, 22:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy Carlton

Totally better...

We still use VHS for normal everyday TV programmes on timer record and had very few issues. We have a DVD player just for playback only and as long as VHS is avaliable, I will still use it because I trust it and rarely lets me down.

We still have a wide-screen CRT TV because again...these new flat screen ones are simply unreliable and I find the picture distorted.

Call me old fashioned, but I prefer to stick with what I know...although I have been tempted to buy a HDD recorder with freeview as I hear very little about hard drive failures. (so far)

So long as you're happy.

Andy Carlton · 07-12-2009, 22:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardylane

So long as you're happy.

Very happy indeedy....

If it ain't broke...don't try and fix it

frasera · 07-12-2009, 23:15

stills build to be super cheap these days, drives are like what? 25bucks or so. on pc's they are pretty much expendable and don't expect the hard duty of a dvd recorder used as a vcr replacement. plus set top dvdr recorders are also very cheap now so quality control can't be that great.

that being said both vhs and dvd recorders are ridiculously inconvenient compared to dvrs. if you wear them out just consider them expendable. early vhs recorders were a couple thou back in the day...so its nothing now.

flat screen are reliable. and they are not at all distorted, you must be kidding me, flat screens by their very nature have PERFECT geometry. a pixel is afixed pixel, it is perfectly located as it gets whereas on a crt there is always distortion. perhaps you simple didn't read the manual and had the flat screen set to stretch or whatever mode

Bestbear · 08-12-2009, 18:38

My Panasonic DVD recorder (with Freeview Tuner) has been extremely reliable - so far. I have had it about two years. I have to say, though, that I use it more as a Freeview Tuner and DVD player in my projection room, and only record on it occasionally.

Philips DVDRs seemed to fail shortly after being taken out of the box! I wonder if they have improved at all? They were very good looking machines, but useless for staying power. In fact I vowed never to buy another thing from the Dutch Giant after falling for Laservicion, Video2000 and finally a DVDR!

I had a Chinese DVDR after that, a Mico, that just went on and on. I gave it to my daughter, and it has just failed after about six years.

I think that flat screen TVs and DVD recorders are items that make the insurance guarantees worth while. We are on our second new replacement TV. I shan't mind paying for a new one if it packs up after the five years are up!

JBlink · 08-12-2009, 20:01

I took out Richer Sounds money back guarantee 3 year extended warranty on my Panny HDD/DVD when i bought it. A year ago I reclaimed my £65 because it has behaved faultlessly ever since.

I very rarely take out extended warranty. The RS money back offer was the only reason I took that one. Of all the TVs, cameras, washing machines (I was even offered extended warranty on a £19 DVD !!!) I have purchased without additional warranty there is only one where I could have claimed. Overall I reckon I have saved hundreds.

gemma-the-husky · 09-12-2009, 09:56

just to confirm - i use HDD-DVD recorders extensively, and burn dozens of DVD's. They take up far less space than VHS tapes, dont deteriorate, are far better quality.

You get series record, - when you go on holiday, you can record dozens of things - you dont have to keep swapping out tapes etc

its the same reason that MP3's/CDs are generally replacing LPs/Vinyl, and gradually MP3's are even replacing CD's - Didn't Linn say they are ceasing production of CD players.

Its called progress.

bobcar · 09-12-2009, 10:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by gemma-the-husky

its the same reason that MP3's/CDs are generally replacing LPs/Vinyl, and gradually MP3's are even replacing CD's - Didn't Linn say they are ceasing production of CD players.

Its called progress.

But MP3 is much lower quality than CD so "progress" in that case is lower sound quality.

That said you don't really need high quality CD players because unlike with records they are all identical in performance if using a digital output.

07-12-2009, 12:55	#1
advid Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 560	Working Life of a DVD Recorder ? ...a lot of the problems I see in this forum and other areas is to do with the 'failing' of the DVD area in a DVD/HDD recorder.. The HDD and VHS (if included) areas seem to go on 'forever' with very little problems ! It seems to be that in a lot of problems - the DVD laser fails to either read or write after a 'relatively short' period of time... Are the lasers in these machines built to have a 'limited' lifetime of work... after which they start failing...? Will a better quality DVDR like Panasonic and Sony' be any better and give a longer working 'lifetime' than the cheaper LG, Daewoo' ect. ?? Or is it simple a matter of 'Luck of the Irish' .... some batches good - some bad ....within any maker - it's all pot luck ??

07-12-2009, 13:10	#2
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Mostly a question of 'luck', but 'generally' better makes last longer. Panasonic HDD/DVD's have been particularly unreliable, with under specified PSU's leading to early failure - and the Sony RDR-GX210 was a complete disaster, bought in from LG they had a VERY short life span. Later Sony's have been exceptionally reliabl;e though, and I would hope Panasonic learnt their lesson as well. But I would agree, in general, DVD recorders seem to have fairly short lives.

07-12-2009, 19:02	#3
Andy Carlton Inactive Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sutton Coldfield Posts: 3,879	Quote: Originally Posted by advid ...a lot of the problems I see in this forum and other areas is to do with the 'failing' of the DVD area in a DVD/HDD recorder.. The HDD and VHS (if included) areas seem to go on 'forever' with very little problems ! It seems to be that in a lot of problems - the DVD laser fails to either read or write after a 'relatively short' period of time... Are the lasers in these machines built to have a 'limited' lifetime of work... after which they start failing...? Will a better quality DVDR like Panasonic and Sony' be any better and give a longer working 'lifetime' than the cheaper LG, Daewoo' ect. ?? Or is it simple a matter of 'Luck of the Irish' .... some batches good - some bad ....within any maker - it's all pot luck ?? We brought a Samsung DVD rcorder a while ago and it simply - didn't record. Others I have known have had them for 7-8 months and they have packed up. A top branded make doesn't mean to say that it will last longer. I have no idea why people bother with modern technology as it is just too unreliable.

07-12-2009, 19:29	#4
Norbert5 Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Lancashire Posts: 883	I've gone back to VHS because I know there's a good chance if I press Record thats exactly what it does unlike DVD recorders that 95% of the time record progammes but sure enough it its something I didn't want to miss the recording would fail also sound and video nearly always out of sync . My Liteon DVD recorder finaly packed up at about 18 months old. it stopped reading disks of any kind.

07-12-2009, 19:39	#5
hardylane Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Manchester Posts: 2,945	Quote: Originally Posted by Andy Carlton We brought a Samsung DVD rcorder a while ago and it simply - didn't record. Others I have known have had them for 7-8 months and they have packed up. A top branded make doesn't mean to say that it will last longer. I have no idea why people bother with modern technology as it is just too unreliable. Oooh I know... things were much better before all these new-fangled changes!! Rubbish.

07-12-2009, 21:33	#6
gemma-the-husky Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Posts: 17,858	i thought my panasonic dvd recorder - DVD section had failed, but it turned out ot be a dirty "spindle washer", cleaned it up with a bit of alcohol, and working as new again. If the washer gets dirty, the disc can slip slightly causing read/write errors - worth checking if you get the problem. I get the point about VHS - I just find the qwuality unwatchable now

07-12-2009, 22:02	#7
Andy Carlton Inactive Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sutton Coldfield Posts: 3,879	Quote: Originally Posted by hardylane Oooh I know... things were much better before all these new-fangled changes!! Rubbish. Totally better... We still use VHS for normal everyday TV programmes on timer record and had very few issues. We have a DVD player just for playback only and as long as VHS is avaliable, I will still use it because I trust it and rarely lets me down. We still have a wide-screen CRT TV because again...these new flat screen ones are simply unreliable and I find the picture distorted. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer to stick with what I know...although I have been tempted to buy a HDD recorder with freeview as I hear very little about hard drive failures. (so far)

07-12-2009, 22:22	#8
hardylane Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Manchester Posts: 2,945	Quote: Originally Posted by Andy Carlton Totally better... We still use VHS for normal everyday TV programmes on timer record and had very few issues. We have a DVD player just for playback only and as long as VHS is avaliable, I will still use it because I trust it and rarely lets me down. We still have a wide-screen CRT TV because again...these new flat screen ones are simply unreliable and I find the picture distorted. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer to stick with what I know...although I have been tempted to buy a HDD recorder with freeview as I hear very little about hard drive failures. (so far) So long as you're happy.

07-12-2009, 22:38	#9
Andy Carlton Inactive Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Sutton Coldfield Posts: 3,879	Quote: Originally Posted by hardylane So long as you're happy. Very happy indeedy.... If it ain't broke...don't try and fix it

07-12-2009, 23:15	#10
frasera Inactive Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 8,063	stills build to be super cheap these days, drives are like what? 25bucks or so. on pc's they are pretty much expendable and don't expect the hard duty of a dvd recorder used as a vcr replacement. plus set top dvdr recorders are also very cheap now so quality control can't be that great. that being said both vhs and dvd recorders are ridiculously inconvenient compared to dvrs. if you wear them out just consider them expendable. early vhs recorders were a couple thou back in the day...so its nothing now. flat screen are reliable. and they are not at all distorted, you must be kidding me, flat screens by their very nature have PERFECT geometry. a pixel is afixed pixel, it is perfectly located as it gets whereas on a crt there is always distortion. perhaps you simple didn't read the manual and had the flat screen set to stretch or whatever mode

08-12-2009, 18:38	#11
Bestbear Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Lincolnshire Posts: 568	My Panasonic DVD recorder (with Freeview Tuner) has been extremely reliable - so far. I have had it about two years. I have to say, though, that I use it more as a Freeview Tuner and DVD player in my projection room, and only record on it occasionally. Philips DVDRs seemed to fail shortly after being taken out of the box! I wonder if they have improved at all? They were very good looking machines, but useless for staying power. In fact I vowed never to buy another thing from the Dutch Giant after falling for Laservicion, Video2000 and finally a DVDR! I had a Chinese DVDR after that, a Mico, that just went on and on. I gave it to my daughter, and it has just failed after about six years. I think that flat screen TVs and DVD recorders are items that make the insurance guarantees worth while. We are on our second new replacement TV. I shan't mind paying for a new one if it packs up after the five years are up!

08-12-2009, 20:01	#12
JBlink Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hampshire Posts: 2,926	I took out Richer Sounds money back guarantee 3 year extended warranty on my Panny HDD/DVD when i bought it. A year ago I reclaimed my £65 because it has behaved faultlessly ever since. I very rarely take out extended warranty. The RS money back offer was the only reason I took that one. Of all the TVs, cameras, washing machines (I was even offered extended warranty on a £19 DVD !!!) I have purchased without additional warranty there is only one where I could have claimed. Overall I reckon I have saved hundreds.

09-12-2009, 09:56	#13
gemma-the-husky Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Posts: 17,858	just to confirm - i use HDD-DVD recorders extensively, and burn dozens of DVD's. They take up far less space than VHS tapes, dont deteriorate, are far better quality. You get series record, - when you go on holiday, you can record dozens of things - you dont have to keep swapping out tapes etc its the same reason that MP3's/CDs are generally replacing LPs/Vinyl, and gradually MP3's are even replacing CD's - Didn't Linn say they are ceasing production of CD players. Its called progress.

09-12-2009, 10:05	#14
bobcar Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 14,718	Quote: Originally Posted by gemma-the-husky its the same reason that MP3's/CDs are generally replacing LPs/Vinyl, and gradually MP3's are even replacing CD's - Didn't Linn say they are ceasing production of CD players. Its called progress. But MP3 is much lower quality than CD so "progress" in that case is lower sound quality. That said you don't really need high quality CD players because unlike with records they are all identical in performance if using a digital output.

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Working Life of a DVD Recorder ?