I bought a DMR-EX75 just under a year ago. Initially it copied reliably to Verbatim DVD-R discs. Then it started getting noisier when copying and/or finalising, then started failing to finish finalising more and more frequently, until eventually it wouldn't copy onto Verbatim discs at all.

My sister then said she'd had the same problem with her Panasonic (a slightly earlier model than mine), and had switched to Maxell discs, which seemed to work reliably.

So I started using Maxell DVD-Rs, and copying was OK for a while. But recently, the noise when copying/finalising has started getting worse with these discs too, and now I have the same problem of it frequently failing to finish finalising. My sister then said her Panasonic had recently started complaining about Maxells too.

I thought this was only a problem with DVD-Rs, so switched to DVD-RWs (Verbatim) which I'd occasionally used before. But I have the same problem with those too now.

I've seen various recommendations for other good quality discs, but if I find one type that works, might they too stop working after a while?

I don't understand what's happening with this unit - why this grinding noise (what is it trying to do?) and why the deterioration over time? Can anything be done, eg cleaning it? Or do I need to return it to the shop before the guarantee runs out in a couple of weeks?

Panasonic DVD recorders are supposed to be good quality units, and yet as well as my sister and me, I've read of other people having similar problems with finalising discs.

Does this model copy to DVD+R/RW? The manual isn't clear - it simply lists "+R" and "+RW", rather than DVD+R and DVD+RW. Are the plus discs more reliable?

I'd be grateful for any advice or information to help me decide what to do.

Hello Zita.

Firstly, the disc noise problem is the most important thing to cure.

See my post no 4 in this thread about how to go about that:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...d.php?t=746079


Secondly, there are number of factors involved in your disc problems. As lasers age they lose their tolerance for discs which are not entirely compatible. So you should be able to improve matters by buying closely matched ONLY high quality discs.
The problem is knowing what is high quality. You cannot go by brand as it tells you nothing.
Identically branded and packaged discs can be made by different manufacturers using different dye formulations, in different parts of the world, employing different quality standards.

One of our members on another forum has several Panasonic machines of various vintage and has burned over 950 discs without a single failure.... because he uses the best discs available.

The best factory in the world is the Taiyo Yuden factory in Japan... especially discs using the TYGO3 dye.
These match ideally to your machine as well as being the best available.

Get them if you can. They make under their own name but also make for Panasonic and Verbatim, but note that not all Verbatim discs are by TY.

Unfortunately these discs are now difficult to get... and Panasonic have currently changed to TDK as a producer - using the TTHO2 Dye. I am pleased to report that these seem to be reliable also.
Of the users I know [ including myself ] they report 100% success.

I'll report back with some links for suppliers - Online is usually a good way to obtain discs because they usually supply the information regarding maker / dye.


Regarding your points about - or + R types ... the machine will use all types. However, unless you have special reason to use + types , you are better sticking to - types as support for them goes deeper in these machines and they tend to be more flexible in use as a result.

3 reputable suppliers:


http://www.aprmedia.com/

http://svp.co.uk/

http://www.ukdvdr.co.uk/shop/



...and this particular disc - will be excellently suited to your machine... good price too.


http://ukdvdr.co.uk/shop/Panasonic-D...-pr-20043.html

Gavtech,

Thank you very much for your reply. I've looked for information about that noise on-line, but this is the first time I've had an explanation for it. I've opened up video recorders and DVD players occasionally in the past, so I'll give this a try.

As for the quality of the discs, I'd heard of Taiyo Yuden, but never found any of their discs. I'll try the Panasonic DVD+Rs that you link to, and maybe also these Verbatim ones?

http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=2894

Thank you again for the information - I'm grateful to have an explanation for what's going on and what will suit my machine, rather than floundering in a sea of different DVD brands and that rather alarming noise.

I take it these would also be appropriate? They seem to be the DVD-R equivalent, and use the TYG03 dye you mentioned.

http://ukdvdr.co.uk/shop/Panasonic-D...-pr-20049.html

Absolutely. These are the very best discs you can get.

Many thanks - I'll be ordering some of those then!

Gavtech, Can I assume that these rings you mention in the other thread are applicable to any DVD / CD player - even hi-fis?

Yes - All Disc drives usually have them.

Are you seeing a problem with another device?

Only my micro hi-fi in the bedroom that doesn't register some CD's I put in it (usually more recent ones). I'm sure the quality of pre-recorded music CDs these days is less than those say 10-15years ago. And yes it does make he grinding noise and the CD continues to spin when ejecting.

I'll clean it next week.

You have nothing to lose by trying obviously, but I have much less faith that this will make any difference in this case.

DVDR drives have some control sophistication, and they know when they are not getting information off the disc and so go through routines to slow down the disc and retry an initialisation when laser lock cannot be found / is lost... which is what causes the spinning disc problem in those cases.... and why failure occurs, because the disk does not arrest because of the poor grip problem.

With players like the one you describe there is likely no control sophistication so the motor continues merrily spinning away with the laser trying to lock and failing for other reasons .
When you press eject , the system is so dumb it has no knowledge of the disc status and unclamps the disc to open the drawer... which is why it is spinning on those occasions.

So I don't think cleaning the ring grip will make any positive difference to the behaviour unfortunately.

Gavtech,

Many thanks for your help earlier this year. Because my EX75 was still within guarantee, I didn't want to open it up and try to clean the ring grip as you suggested because I assumed it would invalidate the guarantee. I took it back to John Lewis and they repaired it (fitted a new laser unit?). But within about three months it was getting noisy again. At the moment, it's still burning DVDs, but that's probably because I took your advice and got a large supply of the Panasonic DVD-Rs with the TYG03 dye.

I have a two year guarantee on the unit, so I could take it for another repair, but I'm guessing it won't last very long. I assume the only solution to the problem will be to bite the bullet and try and clean that rubber ring regularly.

Unfortunately, UKDVDR don't seem to be selling those Panasonic discs made by Taiyo Yuden any more and I've nearly run out of them. I've found some on SVP which I assume are pretty much the same - will they be more likely to be usable when my unit is in this state (ie noisy when burning)?

http://svp.co.uk/product/taiyo_yuden...printable_3248

Is this a problem that only Panasonics have? If I finally get fed up with this machine, would I be better trying a different brand, or are they all vulnerable to this? This seems to be a common problem - when I took the machine back to John Lewis and started to explain there was a fault, the sales man immediately said "Oh, is it getting noisy?"

I think these are likely to be slightly better:

TY Discs
The problem is just one of the unfortunate peculiarities of this model, and it amounts to a 'stock fault' ...which normal testing would never show up... It has to be 'out in the field' for some time before the problem shows.... and could easily have been circumvented by a slightly stronger clamp magnet, a larger rubber ring, or a change of airflow... although cooling around the laser area is important.

It does not show up in subsequent models... as they use a different drive....and despite this problem, according to independent testing, over the past two years, Panasonic have proved to be THE most reliable make of DVDR's.

So if you did decide to change , I recommend sticking to the make.

Good luck.

Thanks very much, Gavtech!

It's reassuring to know that I can carry on with Panasonic - I'd also seen them highly rated for reliability and other than this problem, I do like them.

I think what I might do, rather than asking John Lewis to repair this again, is to ask them if they would exchange it for the EX77 (since I assume that is new enough not to have this problem). It seems to be a similar model, but with a larger hard drive.

My sister had the same problem with her EH50, but her new unit is an EX87 - she hasn't seen this problem yet with that model, and I hope she won't.

And thank you for the link to the other TY discs - I'll order some of those.