I usually record to Panasonic RAM discs without any problems but I recently tried to record to a Datawrite DVD-R disc and when I played the recording back the first 30 seconds recorded ok then the screen went blank. I tried to record again onto another Datawrite disc and I also tried a Maxell disc but still got the same results. Does anyone know what the problem could be? Is it because the discs aren't compatible with my recorder and if so can anyone recommend compatible discs or do I need to get the Panasonic ones?

I just posted a similar problem I'm having with my own Panasonic deck. You seem to be experiencing the same problems I have after I burn onto a DVD-R. I kind of wondered if the brand of disc might have something to do with it, but decided that wasn't part of the problem because I've used several different brands of DVD-Rs, and I've had problems with all of them. In my opinion, the brand shouldn't matter. If that was the case, why then can our decks record onto several different brands of DVD-RAMs with no problem? As a matter of fact, why is it that our decks have no problem recording to a DVD-RAM but have problems with DVD-Rs?
One person on a different web site told me that he thought maybe it's because the deck uses a different laser to record to a DVD-RAM than a DVD-R. Beats me. I'm thinking about using one of those lense cleaners in my deck to see if that does anything, but I suspect the problem might lie elsewhere in the deck. Good luck finding a solution.