[gripupper]

I have had the above recorder for some 2 years now with few problems in burning discs. However recently I have noticed that whilst the recorded copy will play fine on the LG , when using any other dvd player it sticks after a few mins and will sometime continue again shorly afterwards or with a bit of encouragement using pause/play buttons.

The recorded discs are of good quality ie Maxell or TDK and are always finalised. This problem has happened when recording via scart and avi inputs.

Strangely though they play ok on my laptop.

Are all LG's recorders liable to this problem?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated

[niall campbell]

good quality discs dont always mean they will work

is it on - R ?

have you tried a disc cleaner ?

[gripupper]

Same problem with -R and +R discs. I have not tried a cleaner - would it help bearing in mind playback is ok on LG?

[captainkremmen]

It's possible, although rare, that the lens has somehow gotten out of alignment. If so the discs will play and record on your LG but wont, or have problems on other machines. It used to happen on early PS2s, in that they would stop reliably reading DVDs but still play CDs fine.. If you are comfortable opening the unit up, take off the cover, remove the drive and remove the drive cover carefully to expose the lens assembly. Next to the lens itself will be a tiny little screw, using a jewellers screwdriver (you can sometimes get them in quid shops, and I have even used ones I got free inside crackers ) Turn the screw VERY slightly then re-assemble and try again. Unfortunately this is tedious and time consuming, because if it doesn't work, you have try again with a tiny turn in the other direction.

Before doing this though, try a lens cleaner, then try cleaning the lens with a cotton bud dipped in alcohol (you'll need the drive cover off for this again). Try a different brand or two of discs first too, it could simply be that Maxell and/or TDK have changed the dye on their discs and your LG doesn't like the new discs. It may also be simply the fact that newer discs are not compatible with an older drive, usually a firmware update would be released so it would read newer discs but with an older machine firmware updates aren't usually released. I have a Pioneer DVR3100 which is about 7/8 years old, the only modern discs it can use are Verbatim DVD-R which are certified as 1-16X compatible, and there is no firmware update available.

[gripupper]

Thanks captainkremmen (like the name bye the way) for your very comprehensive response to my problem. I'll try the lens cleaner method first as suggested before attempting the more difficult way.

As an aside if the repair job doesn't work , have you any suggestions for a good reliable dvd recorder under £200 with or without HDD.

Thanks again for your input.

[captainkremmen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gripupper

Thanks captainkremmen (like the name bye the way) for your very comprehensive response to my problem. I'll try the lens cleaner method first as suggested before attempting the more difficult way.

As an aside if the repair job doesn't work , have you any suggestions for a good reliable dvd recorder under £200 with or without HDD.

Thanks again for your input.

A number of companies hve left the DVD recorder market (most notably Pioneer) so your choice is a bit more limited than a few years ago. It basically comes down these days to LG, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba or Panasonic, You can get budget machines from other companies but from what I have read, they tend to all be OEM models and aren't as reliable as the big brands.

Sony's machines used to be well respected, but their latest machine's are sourced from Samsung and aren't as easy to use, or reportedly as reliable as when they were sourced from Pioneer.

Similarly Samsung's machines can sometimes be a bit unreliable according to what I have read. Having said that, many people seem to get on fine with them. Again from what I have read, LG's recorders were idiosyncratic and sometimes a bit flaky, but recent models and firmware updates have made them more reliable.

I have a Toshiba DVD/VCR combi which is proving very reliable, but it is nowhere near as easy to use as my ageing Pioneer in that to get access to certain functions you press setup, but others you have to press DVD Menu. It works but is just very odd and the interface is very poor even compared to an 8 year old Pioneer recorder.Having said that, I haven't yet found a disc it wont record on.

Panasonic seem to be the best respected and most reliable, however their new range are full Freeview or Freesat PVRs with disc dubbing functions added. You can't record directly onto dics anymore (I might be wrong, perhaps an owner can confirm).Because they have full PVR functions and disc drives too, they are quite expensive.

It depends what you do with most of your recordings these days. Personally I was a watch and wipe person, so eventually went down the Freeview PVR route and haven't looked back. I rarely archive to DVD and when I want to, it's just a case of recording in real time via the scart. If all you want to do is record TV, and watch it, then record something else, then to be honest a PVR is the way to go. If however, you like to archive and keep then of course, DVD is still the way to go unless you can afford the high price of the Panasonic models with BluRay.

[grahamlthompson]

[quote=captainkremmen;48747861
It depends what you do with most of your recordings these days. Personally I was a watch and wipe person, so eventually went down the Freeview PVR route and haven't looked back. I rarely archive to DVD and when I want to, it's just a case of recording in real time via the scart. If all you want to do is record TV, and watch it, then record something else, then to be honest a PVR is the way to go. If however, you like to archive and keep then of course, DVD is still the way to go unless you can afford the high price of the Panasonic models with BluRay.[/QUOTE]

A pvr with usb access to the original mpeg2 digital files coupled with a PC is by far the best option.

Compared to a dvd recorder the original mpeg2 content can be archived to dvd without any quality loss.

To record a previously recorded SD programme to DVD using a dvd recorder requires the following.

The already digital compressed mpeg2 data stream recorded to the hdd (an exact copy of the original transmitted data) undergoes the following process.

The compressed data is converted to a 25fps analogue output (at best RGB).

The recorder has to do two things, re-digitise the analogue and recompress to mpeg2 to burn to DVD creating some loss of quality.

On A PC the data merely needs converting from a transport stream file (normally .ts) to a programme stream file (.mpg) the process is lossless (the resulting DVD is identical in quality to the original). Additionally the process is much quicker, digital transfers take place much quicker than real time recording required for a dvd recorder. Once on a PC multiple copys are a cinch as is backing up the data content.

Bluray Panny Freeview/Freesat recorders simply allow recording of HD content in HD they have no advantage at all for SD content.

Free to air HD satellite boxes (and some Freesat recorders in non-freesat mode) allow recording of free to air HD material without encryption.

Transferring these files to a PC allows recording of the original HD content to a DVD blank (Google AVCHD) about 1HR of current HD bitrates used on satellite (double for dual layer blanks) on pretty well any recent PC. Replay in full HD requires some form of bluray player (Normal bluray player or PS3). A much cheaper and more flexible option than the Panny Freeview/Freesat recorders