Using DVD-R/W's

[Michael Lucent]

Hey fellow Tivo-philes!

I have the Pioneer Elite DVR-57H DVD burner with Tivo and have successfully burned many DVD-R's with it (so it would seem that the drive works fine), but don't want to keep copies of everything I record. It's wasteful and gets expensive to just keep burning DVD-R's, watching them, then either letting them pile up or throw them away. I purchased 25 TDK DVD-R/W's from NewEgg (have always had good luck with them and their products) for what I thought was my first step into new and exciting territory. Well, my first attempt to use DVD-R/W's wasn't what I expected. Much to my dismay, I was told by the software that it wasn't a supported media and invited me to insert a DVD-R or DVD-R/W. I thought it MIGHT just be a bad disc, but I got the SAME inability of the Tivo to recognize the media with all 25. Is it likely that ALL 25 of these DVD-R/W's are "bad"?! I would appreciate suggestions on how to get it to start recording on the DVD-R/W's as it advertises.

thanks!

[ashu]

It is unlikely they're bad, but it IS possible they are too fast and not recognized by the Pioneer drive & the firmaware on it! I've had good luck with older DVDRWs that I stocked up on - all of them 4X.

[Michael Lucent]

Thanks for your reply Ashu,

The discs say 1-4x on them. It would've been great if that'd been the answer.

thanks again!
M

[sledhed]

Thanks for your reply Ashu,

The discs say 1-4x on them. It would've been great if that'd been the answer.

thanks again!
M
I have heard of quality issues with TDK's DVD-R's although I have not experienced problems with the few I have used, and I realize you are talking -RW. I have used Maxell 2x DVD-RW from WalMart over and over in my Toshiba DVD unit (rs-tx20) successfully. Only time the save failed was when the same program failed to save to DVD-R's. Give a different brand a try before giving up, and I would say only buy a few until you are sure they work...

Keep inmind that DVD-R's are so cheap when on sale, it might be better / cheaper to burn DVDR and toss the ones you decide not to keep, rather than tying up RW's with programs you decide you DO want to keep... I think I pay 10 - 20 cents a DVD on average, doing sales and rebates, for off brands as well as verbatims and imations.

Good luck!

[robomeister]

I also have several Pioneer TiVos and have done some experimenting with DVD-RWs. The DVD-RWs must be 1x or 2x max speed. The 4x will not work. There is a small section in the manual that describes the specific type of DVD-RW that will work in the Pioneers. If you have the manual, look in the Users Guide on page 32. The DVD-RWs have to be compatible with ver 1.1 and ver 1.1/2x, what ever that means. I've been able to find this on some packaging.

Finding these discs has become a real challenge. I've had some success at MicroCenter. But I had to read the packaging carefully in order to get the right kind of discs. Good luck.

Hope that helps.

robomeister

[ashu]

Ahh - good point. The Pioneers ARE a bit older. I have a Humax and a Toshiba burner/TiVo - and both handle TDK, Maxell and Sony 4X DVD-RWs

[Michael Lucent]

Thanks for the replies all.

Sledhed, you have a good point, one that I considered and frankly figured would wind up being the answer. I just hate the concept of waste. Being able to use and re-use a DVD-R/W just seemed to be a more elegant solution.

Robomeister, I appreciate the experience you bring to the table on this. Manual...read the Manual? Yes, I do have the manual, just had it filed away. Guess I should've been a little smarter and thought about reading the manual before starting all of this. My dad used to say, "When all else fails, read the instructions." How quickly we forget the simple advice. I appreciate the page reference. I'll dig it out today. It doesn't seem to make sense that the TDK's that're rated from 1-4x wouldn't work, when you say that the 1x's do, but I can't deny the obvious...mine are not working. I've written MicroCenter to see which they recommend. You don't remember which brand or specifics you got that worked? :up:

thank you again for your comments. It's been very helpful getting me on the right track.

-M :cool:

[robomeister]

Michael,

I went to Microcenter today and found only one type of DVD-RW that will work in the Pioneer. They are Memorex DVD-RWs, with a big red '2x' on the front. It has a light green background. The UPC is 0-34707-05536-0. But be careful, there is also a Memorex DVD-RW with '4x' in the same type of packaging.

I was able to find a bunch of the right kind of discs in Japan, but that was about a year ago, so that won't help you now.

I also found some on ebay, but it was hit or miss trying to find the right type of discs that would work.

Hope that helps.

robomeister

[Michael Lucent]

Robomeister,

that does help a great deal, thank you for your kindness. I'm going to go there now!

thanks again!

[Michael Lucent]

Hey Robomeister,

I called Microcenter and ordered what we believe matched what you referred me to. I'm eager to get and try those. I also called Pioneer and learned that the issue here is that there are actually different formats of DVD's. THAT's what the version 1.1 business is about. Apparently every couple of years they have a new/upgraded DVD format come out, and the newer ones don't work in the older players, and therein lies the problem. I hadn't fully understood that.

thanks for the help!
M

[robomeister]

It would be great if Pioneer and TiVo could get together and create a firmware update for the DVD burners in the Pioneer TiVos that could handle the newer discs. I know a firmware update exists, because I have the same DVD burner in a computer and it can handle the newer media, after applying an appropriate firmware update to the burner.

And it would be nice to be able to replace the DVD burner if it stops working with a similar drive. This is currently possible with the Humax and Toshiba TiVos.

But, alas, the Pioneer TiVos, while in my humble opinion are the best TiVo/Burner combos available, are but a small subset of the active TiVos. And these wishes will probably never come true. It really isn't worth the trouble. Plus, the chances of a bad firmware update increases the likelihood of a trouble call along the lines of "My Pioneer TiVo won't play DVDs anymore," or "My Pioneer TiVo has a broken DVD icon/weird icon on my TiVo Central," etc.

The problem is further complicated by the fact that the Pioneer TiVos use two different burners in them. I have several with a Pioneer DVR-105 series burner, and a couple with a Pioneer DVR-106 series burner. The firmware update would have to be able to figure out which burner is in the TiVo and use the right update. Imagine testing this. You would probably only get one shot at it, and if it doesn't work, you've destroyed the burner with the wrong firmware.

Ok, enough ranting. :) I feel better now, kinda.

robomeister

[Michael Lucent]

well, I got the DVD-R/W's and THEY WORK! Thanks so much for the hand holding. I can now do (almost) everything I could with my VCR and Tivo! Plus, I hate just throwing away DVD-R's.

you sound like a man not only with much knowledge, but sad experience. Keep wishing, it's where change begins!

thanks again for everything!

-M