best dvd recorders

It seems like some recorders are more reliable and will have copies
that play on more machines than do others. I guess sony is a safe bet.
any suggestions on the most reliable machines, or the most reliable
brands of dvd-r media.

count

On 21 Sep 2006 21:31:54 -0700, "count" <> wrote:

>It seems like some recorders are more reliable and will have copies
>that play on more machines than do others. I guess sony is a safe bet.

Stay away from Sony. They sell OEM units and then won't service them.

>any suggestions on the most reliable machines,

Pioneer has a high rating.

Check out the many forums for comments.

http://forum.videohelp.com/viewforum.php?f=28
http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=89

>or the most reliable brands of dvd-r media.

There is only one brand to consider - Taiyo Yuden. Do not buy anything
else in +/-R. If you want +/-RW, then only get MCC Verbatim.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=146146

Whereas other brands used to be reliable, that cannot be said today
because everyone but TY buys cheap crap from Taiwan. Only TY makes
their own products in Japan.

And the good news is that TY is inexpensive, if you know where to
look. I buy TY 8x -R discs at rima.com. I don't trust burning at 16x
and the time difference between 12x and 8x is not enough to justify
the higher cost of 16x discs.

Some people get 4x but I have found TY 8x -Rs to be extremely
reliable. Out of several hundred burns, I only had one coaster. Just
make sure you run the "Verify" function, because most errors show up
on readback.





--

"There is no distinctly native American criminal class save Congress."
--Mark Twain

On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 11:27:10 GMT, (Citizen Bob) wrote:

>>any suggestions on the most reliable machines,

>Pioneer has a high rating.

No more than I posted this comment than I found out that Pioneer is no
longer developing standard DVD recorders. They will sell products made
by others, in particular Panasonic.

http://www.dvdrecorderworld.com/news/368
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/...fx2791621.html

I am becoming more convinced that the smart way to deal with this is
to get low end unit from Best Buy with an extended warranty. The price
would be cheaper and it now becomes Best Buy's headache, assuming you
get a full replacement warranty.


--

"There is no distinctly native American criminal class save Congress."
--Mark Twain

In article <>, wrote:
>On 21 Sep 2006 21:31:54 -0700, "count" <> wrote:
>
>>It seems like some recorders are more reliable and will have copies
>>that play on more machines than do others. I guess sony is a safe bet.
>
>Stay away from Sony. They sell OEM units and then won't service them.
>
My RDR-GX7 has been rock solid for years now. I in fact just bought 2 more of
them off of ebay.

>>any suggestions on the most reliable machines,
>
>Pioneer has a high rating.
>
Good burn, crappy tuners.

>Check out the many forums for comments.
>
>http://forum.videohelp.com/viewforum.php?f=28
>http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=89
>
>>or the most reliable brands of dvd-r media.
>
>There is only one brand to consider - Taiyo Yuden. Do not buy anything
>else in +/-R. If you want +/-RW, then only get MCC Verbatim.
>
>http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=146146
>
>Whereas other brands used to be reliable, that cannot be said today
>because everyone but TY buys cheap crap from Taiwan. Only TY makes
>their own products in Japan.
>
>And the good news is that TY is inexpensive, if you know where to
>look. I buy TY 8x -R discs at rima.com. I don't trust burning at 16x
>and the time difference between 12x and 8x is not enough to justify
>the higher cost of 16x discs.
>
>Some people get 4x but I have found TY 8x -Rs to be extremely
>reliable. Out of several hundred burns, I only had one coaster. Just
>make sure you run the "Verify" function, because most errors show up
>on readback.
>
>
>
>
>

"GMAN" <> wrote in message
news:ef1948$467$...

> My RDR-GX7 has been rock solid for years now. I in fact just bought 2 more
> of
> them off of ebay.

I have to agree with you. After using the Sony RDR-GX300 for a few months I
liked it so much I bought another two (much cheaper floor models from
Tweeter and Sears), because it had already been replaced by the GX-315. The
GX-7 and 300 seem better made than their later models. I've had no problems
with them...excellent recording quality and their on-screen menus are really
slick, or sleek, or both.

On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 15:45:14 -0400, "Alan Grossberg"
<> wrote:

>> My RDR-GX7 has been rock solid for years now. I in fact just bought 2 more
>> of them off of ebay.

>I have to agree with you. After using the Sony RDR-GX300 for a few months I
>liked it so much I bought another two (much cheaper floor models from
>Tweeter and Sears), because it had already been replaced by the GX-315. The
>GX-7 and 300 seem better made than their later models. I've had no problems
>with them...excellent recording quality and their on-screen menus are really
>slick, or sleek, or both.

What about customer support and new firmware?


--

"There is no distinctly native American criminal class save Congress."
--Mark Twain

In article <>, wrote:
>On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 15:45:14 -0400, "Alan Grossberg"
><> wrote:
>
>>> My RDR-GX7 has been rock solid for years now. I in fact just bought 2 more
>>> of them off of ebay.
>
>>I have to agree with you. After using the Sony RDR-GX300 for a few months I
>>liked it so much I bought another two (much cheaper floor models from
>>Tweeter and Sears), because it had already been replaced by the GX-315. The
>>GX-7 and 300 seem better made than their later models. I've had no problems
>>with them...excellent recording quality and their on-screen menus are really
>>slick, or sleek, or both.
>
>What about customer support and new firmware?
>
>
Why do i need to constantly update firmware if they workd the way they are out
of the box? They have yet to puke on ANY brand of disk fed them. 1X , 4X , 8x,
16X media has all worked fine on these units. I dont need a hack or such to
disable macrovision ans i use a pro TBC made by FOR-A

http://www.for-a.com/products/fa350p/fa350p.html

The only thing the GX7 doesnt support is DVD+R , but thats due to the players
age. The DVD+RW camp never originally planned to do a write once + format.

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 17:04:39 GMT, (GMAN)
wrote:

>>What about customer support and new firmware?

>Why do i need to constantly update firmware if they workd the way they are out
>of the box?

That's a huge assumption. Products do get to market with embedded
flaws that can be fixed with f.w revisions.

Then there's the matter of updates. For example, my daughter and her
husband have a Sony but it does not play AVIs because is is missing a
DivX/XviD codec, which could be installed with a f/w update.

My son bought a Sony DVD burner but it was producing too many
coasters, so I contacted Sony and they told me they did not support
that unit because it was OEM. I contacted LiteOn and they told me that
Sony was responsible. That's when I swore I would never get near
another Sony piece of **** again. I managed to talk the vendor in
exchanging it for a NEC 3540 at no cost.

Sony is a bunch of arrogant assholes.

..
--

"There is no distinctly native American criminal class save Congress."
--Mark Twain

In article <>, wrote:
>On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 17:04:39 GMT, (GMAN)
>wrote:
>
>>>What about customer support and new firmware?
>

I never have had a problem with Sony and their online or phone support. And
they use english support personnel unlike many of your other brands like
panasonic or NEC, who outsource to pakistan and India

>>Why do i need to constantly update firmware if they workd the way they are out
>
>>of the box?
>
>That's a huge assumption. Products do get to market with embedded
>flaws that can be fixed with f.w revisions.
>
It doesnt always have to be a user option . If there were any catastophic
firmware flaws, Sony allows you to take the unit to a repair shop for a free
firmware flash. I already walked in and had one of the three done since it was
a earlier firmware. But yes i agree that a user firmware is preferrable but is
not needed.

>Then there's the matter of updates. For example, my daughter and her
>husband have a Sony but it does not play AVIs because is is missing a
>DivX/XviD codec, which could be installed with a f/w update.

I don't expect functions to be added that wasnt advertised when i bought it.
Yes , its a nice addition to add AVI support but i dont expect what i didnt
buy

IMHO, Divx/Xvid is a hack codec.




>
>My son bought a Sony DVD burner but it was producing too many
>coasters, so I contacted Sony and they told me they did not support
>that unit because it was OEM. I contacted LiteOn and they told me that
>Sony was responsible. That's when I swore I would never get near
>another Sony piece of **** again. I managed to talk the vendor in
>exchanging it for a NEC 3540 at no cost.
>
>Sony is a bunch of arrogant assholes.
>


If it wasn't bought directly from Sony, or frm a retailer in a retail Sony box
then they are correct. It is the responsibility of the OEM like Dell, Mad Dog,
etc to provide support and firmware and service... What part of that don't you
understand?

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 20:26:37 GMT, (GMAN)
wrote:

>IMHO, Divx/Xvid is a hack codec.

Why do you say that? It's does a pretty good job for medium
resolution.

>If it wasn't bought directly from Sony, or frm a retailer in a retail Sony box
>then they are correct.

That is how it was sold to my son. It was sold as a SONY unit.

It is the responsibility of the OEM like Dell, Mad Dog,
>etc to provide support and firmware and service... What part of that don't you
>understand?

The part where there is the name "SONY" on the unit. And the part
where the firmware was burnt into the unit by SONY. When the BIOS
reported the drive at POST, it reported a SONY drive with SONY
firmware and SONY model number..

"Sony DW-D26A 16X DVD+/-RW DVD Burner, Double Layer 4X DVD+R, OEM"

I buy "OEM" products all the time, and the brander makes good on them.


Since the unit was a LiteOn, I contacted them and they told me that
the unit was branded by SONY who was totally responsible for it.

Remember that SONY burnt its firmware into the unit, and by so doing
branded it. But they would not acknowledge their responsibility so I
threw it back at them - and swore I would never buy anything made by
SONY.


--

"There is no distinctly native American criminal class save Congress."
--Mark Twain