A few months ago i purchased a RDR-HXD710 and whenever i had something recorded on the hard disc that i wanted to dub using fast dubbing mode it would not let me use this mode,i could only use fast dub for short recorded items like bob the builder ,only last for 14-20 minutes or so,but when i had recorded a movie and cut out the adverts and tried to fast dub i could not get it to do this,the option to fast dub was not there,by the way i was using the +R blank discs for recording,so i recently bought some new blank discs which are memorex -R and after recording a movie from film 4 and editing out the adverts as i had done previously,i went to dub to dvd disc,and thought i would have to dub in real time as i had to with the +R discs but on pressing the dubbing mode up pops the fast dub mode selection and i can now use fast dubbing for all my movies now,so the question i want to ask is can fast dubbing only be done with -R blank discs as seems to be what is happening in my case,or am i doing something wrong when i want to fast dub a programme, any help with this confusing matter would be most helpful as i thought i had read the manual well,thanks joeann.
Last edited by joeann90 : 23-08-2006 at 15:01

As I recall, fast dubbing only works when the recording on the HDD is short enough to fit onto the DVD without having to be compressed (and I don't thibk it can be used at all with recordings made at higher quality levels). Are the films that can be fast-dubbed any smaller or lower recording quality than those that can't?

All the recordings i tried to previously dub at fast speed were all able to fit on to a blank dvd at SP quality recording,i have just thought that it may be to do with the recording speed of the blank discs i was using ,the +R discs that would not dub in fast dub were 8x speed, the -R discs that i can fast dub with are 16x speed it may be the speed factor that was not allowing me to use fast dub,it is a very complicated matter so if anyone else can shed any light on this subject all the better as it would help anyone else with the same problem, thanks ,joeann.

I don't think it is the 8x vs 18x speed that's making a difference, I'm pretty sure I've used x" disks and fast dubbed.

In my experiance fast dub is always offered unless the recording is too large or there is a mix of recording formats (quality levels) in a playlist.

example one, a film recorded in SP (2hr per DVD) at 2hr 10 min will not fit, the only way to get it to fit is to convert to LSP (2.5hr per DVD mode) and this has to be done in real time.

example two, a playlist is made up of two recordings, A 30min at HQ (1hr per DVD mode) and B 30min at HSP (1.5hr per DVD mode). this would fit onto a single disk but will not be done with fast dub because dubbing is done at one spped only. the quickest way to dub these is to first do A as a single transfer and then B as a single transfer.

A note of caution, and then some advice. It is possible that fast dubb will be offered even if the file size is slightly larger than a DVD can take. I thikn this is done on the principple it might fit, lets give it a go and see if it does. you could end up with the end missing so be careful. My advice (given to me by another forum member) is if you edit out adverts or sections using the A to B erase or playlist function a fast Dub sometimes shows frames before and after the edit, if you want the smoothest transition possible do a real time transfer and you'll see exactly what you want to , nothing else.

In the manual on page 80 it shows that the maximum speed for +R and -R high speed dubbing is 8x - so I don't think that the speed difference is relevent.

It may be that you had a mixed (4:3 and 16:9) picture size that you were trying to dub on the +R disc. The Sony 710 (910) won't allow you to do this (same page in manual).

HQ+ won't high speed dub

If you edit a programme and then can do a high speed dub, some of your edit points will not be exact. If you dub in real-time they will be. (page 80)

The other thing that you may have noticed with +R discs is that 16:9 programmes record in letter-box format. (pages 11 and 53/54)

Just to add to this...

Apart from the aforementioned inability to fast dub anything that has been recorded in HQ+ mode (which records at a bitrate of 15Mb/s, higher than the DVD maximum bitrate of approx 10Mb/s), I think there might be a problem if the recording contains mixed apect ratio material. I've certainly had a problem where a 4:3 programme would not fast dub until I trimmed off the 16:9 material on the end of the recording.

Steve

I have a smiliar problem on my Sony 710 - most of the time, it will not allow me to fast dub from HDD to DVD-R, where the original recording was recorded in the SP mode. I've tried various brands of DVD-R discs, including Maxell and Sony but mostly, the machine will attempt to record at high speed and report "disc dirty". This applies with totally virgin discs straight out the packet, totally untouched. I've also tried cleaning them first but it makes no difference. And yet. sometimes the machine will quite happily do a high speed dub from a disc from the same batch as others that don't. It otherwise works fine at normal dub mode. I'm not sure if it is a fault or if the high speed mode is fussy about the type and speed rating of the dvd-r. Normally I use x4, x8 or faster but it seems to make no difference. If anyone can give me their advice or thoughts on this, it would be great. Otherwise, I love this machine, it's relieved me of having great big stacks of VHS tapes around the TV and madly scrabbling about looking for blank spaces when a programme is due to start at short notice!

I have 2 x RDR-HXD710. Fast dubbing on 1) was ok from Nov'05 for about 4 months then numerous 'disk is dirty' messages on various leading brands of DVD-R. Recorder 2) had similar problems very soon after purchase in May'06. Both recorders seemed to handle fast dubbing with DVD-RW ok but I was getting around a 75% failure rate with DVD-R (some spindles more or less 100% ok, others barely 10% ok and pattern seemed to be random i.e. some spindles were ok and others of exact same make / brand failed).

The net result was that I had lots of spindles stacked with the so-called 'dirty' disks which (fortunately) I retained.

Here's the workaround I came up with to fix the problem:

I record everything except sport at EP and after weeding out ads etc dub to disk at quality 'EP' for modern / colour transmissions and 'SLP' for older / b+w transmissions. In each case I replace the mode 'fast' with 'EP', 'SLP' etc - this means dubbing takes actual program time instead of around 12 mins per disk. I record fast-moving sport at LSP or SP and dub same at actual recording speed.

Based on above it takes 4 - 6 hours to dub a disk but I just start the job late evening and its done next morning. I've dubbed about 300 disks this way and only had 2 failures (btw I'm using the stack of disks which were deemed 'dirty' when attempting fast dub).

I think the reason dubbing was ok on recorder 1) for 1st 6 months was that DVD-R's came in 8x back then whereas for past year 16x have been more or less universal and 8x harder to get hold of at discount prices. This also explains why DVD-RW's worked; they were (and still are) 4x or so.

Probably not an ideal solution for everyone but having to feed in 10 disks in a row before 1 would work was frustrating and taking up a lot more of my time than inputting the dubbing job last thing at night and resetting the mode of each item to be dubbed. In effect I'm now taking up the recorder's time, not mine!

I've not tried fast dubbing to DVD-R since the software upgrade in Feb'07 but will try same as some on this forum report fewer 'disk is dirty' messages since the u/g.

Yes, same here. When I got my recorder 18 months ago there were many different brands of disks that would reliable fast-dub. But now the only ones that still work 99% of the time are TESCO own brand 8X DVD-R. PCWORLD 8X were also o.k., but they've now been replaced with 16X, though I haven't bothered to try them as most 16X don't seem to work. Mind you I have done about 1,000 disks so it's probably getting a little worn-out by now!

Hi Guys
I know this is slightly off the original thread topic but I haven't been able to get a response on any other threads so far.

my 710 has started switching itself off during dubbing to DVD. and i mean a complete power shut down, as if there's been a power cut or the plug was pulled out from the wall during the dubbing.

This obviously interupts the dubbing and only half the stuff I was trying to dub made it onto the disc.

I've yet to witness this as it happens but for the past 5 or 6 attempts I've had at dubbing to DVD, each time i check the machine a few hours later it is switched off, and in the standby mode (ie. just the clock showing on front panel). only once it has worked properly.

I'm dubbing titles recorded in HQ, using SP to dub approx 2 hours onto a disc.

have done approx 100 HD to DVD dubs in the past 15 months with no problems so far.

Anyone got any idea what the problem might be?

I've experienced the same dubbing problem which you've described in more detail on the other thread. Your were reporting there that 2 titles dubbed OK and the 3rd caused a reboot and recovery. I'd suggest you try dubbing the 3 titles again but for the problem title change dubbing mode from Fast to SP. Dubbing of that title will take actual program time, maybe you can run it overnight.

Hi
Thanks for the response.
As it happens I never use fast dub anyway. I do all my dubbing in real time, usually SP.
I had actually considered doing the opposite of what you suggest, ie. dubbing in fast mode, thinking that I could get the job done before any crash happened.

I don't know how, but I think the problem might lay with the actual titles I recorded in the first place. I've had several sucessful attempts at dubbing other titles since, yet whenever I try to dub these 3 titles I get the same problem, the unit loses power.

I understand now, you have a different problem in that certain titles won't dub at all. Have you tried dubbing to RW disks as I sometimes find they work when title won't dub to DVD-R disks?

If the title(s) you want are broadcast regularly you could try catching the repeats. Otherwise all I can suggest is to borrow a 2nd DVD recorder and connect same to your HXD710, play the title(s) and record on the 2nd PVR. You should then be able to dub them from the other machine.

This might work, but it will be a bit long winded. You could dub just the title that seems to cause your 710 to hang-up via SP to either a DVD-R or a DVD-RW (make sure you do it SP as that is the resolution you want on your so far failed compilation DVD). Then copy the title back to the hard disk (from the DVD you have just made). The programme will then appear twice in your HDD title list (the HQ original and the SP copy). Finally you can make a new compilation of the three titles using the SP copy of the third one rather than the HQ original.

Convoluted, but it might work. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

The 710 now has latest software ver - v1.00.03 but fast dubbing continues to be problematic. Of the DVD-R's on spindle, Maxell seem to give best results at present but can be extremely variable - 10 in a row from one spindle work fine but then 10 in a row fail with C1300 'disk is dirty' error. Overall around 30% success rate with Maxell disks v barely 10% success rate with Sony disks.

There's no doubt that 8x's work much better but currently unit price online is 3 or 4 times that of 16x's due to increasing lack of competition as production of 8x's is steadily phased out by the market leaders. I've not tried the 8x's from Tesco which another poster refers to...it's a 45 mile round trip to Tesco's from here which does not make purchases there cost effective.

Overnight dubbing in real time seems to be the only answer I can come up with right now. It's a shame about this problem as otherwise the 710 is an excellent machine.

I've found that Kodak 8x DVD-R also work very well. I tried some recently when Tesco were doing a buy one get one free deal. The 50 spindle is about £18, as against £14 for their own brand. You should be able to get the Kodak ones elsewhere easily. Otherwise you could try Tesco direct. The Kodak disks (202-5983) are listed at £20 for 50, their own (100-9716) still at £14, or a twin pack (901-0300) of 100 for £20. Delivery is £5, except that this week if you spend over £50 it's free. Also, of course, it's free to collect from one of their stores.

I've also tried, and failed, with Tesco's 8x DVD +R and Sony's own 16x DVD -R.

I have found that fast dubbing onto a DVD+RW won't work if the content is in 16:9 format.

In fact, on my first recorder, the RDR-HX900, The TV would always jump to 4:3 (pillar box) screen size on a DVD+ playback and had to be reset to 16:9.

I don't know if the smartlink data was getting confused but 16:9 was supposed to be impossible to view from a DVD+ at one time, according to some posts.

Now, I notice that the only time my TV jumps to 4:3 is when the title list is displayed. No, I don't know why.

Unless they've changed it recently, Sony recorders cannot record 16:9 anamorphic onto +R or +R/W discs. Instead they convert the picture to 4:3 with the 16:9 pic letterboxed in it. This is the reason you cannot fast-dub, it has to convert the entire programme to letterbox. Use -R or -R/W discs instead!

Fast dub may also fail if there's a mix of 4:3 and 16:9 material in the same recording.

Steve

If it's any use, I've never had a single failure using these discs on my 710 (or indeed in any other burner I've used them in).

http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=164&prepg=

Steve

I was passing the Tesco Extra at Perth yesterday and picked up a couple of their own brand 50 spindle DVD-R 8x and it immediately solved the problem - fast dubbing now back in business. They also had 2 for £30 offer on Kodak 50's DVD-R 8x but I thought I'd try their own brand first.

As I posted earlier it's some way to nearest Tesco, and even further to a Tesco Extra. I suspect that choice of DVD's on spindle is more restricted at smaller branches vs 'Extra' stores but, in my case, home deliveries are best way to go in future.