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  1. Member
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    How do I finalize a recorded DVD-R when the machine won't recognize the disc ?
    I recorded two important TV shows onto my Toshiba DVD recorder to a blank
    Sony DVD-R disc (on a timer). Next day, turn the machine on, it gives a
    'disc error' message, and won't load. So the disc is unfinalized, can't watch the
    program material. I put the flawed DVD-R into several computers, there are
    program files on the disc, but I can't find anyway to read them, or finalize the
    disc. Any suggestions ?[/b]
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  2. Banned
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    IsoBuster may be able to recover the contents of the DVD, but my understanding is that IsoBuster is not free and while you can demo it for free, you can't really do much useful with it until you pay for it.

    Your disc may just be hopelessly corrupted. You need to accept this possibility. Sony media sold in North America is pretty crappy these days and as such not recommended. You'd do better to buy Verbatim or mail order Taiyo Yuden.

    Finally, there are alternate ways of getting TV programs, although not necessarily in DVD format. You can probably find your shows on various BitTorrent networks.
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  3. joecass might have simply gotten a bum Sony disc, but in his case I think the trashed disc is more likely due to his Toshiba recorder than his Sony disc. Toshibas, while fine machines in many ways, are notorious for their very twitchy burners that flake periodically for no apparent reason and ruin discs by "semi-finalizing" them. I have seen so many reports of this mishap that make it about 50/50 whether it was a bad disc or the recorder acting up. The GOOD news, if it was the recorder, is many people manage to "repair" their semi-finalized discs by putting them into a different Toshiba. Find a sympathetic store with a display model you can use for a minute to try and "re-finalize" this disc before giving up on it.

    The *only* oem mfr left still selling old-style, carefully-Japanese-made discs is Taiyo Yuden. If you can plan ahead and buy online, they are the last of the truly great DVD media. Get the TY Premium 8x while you still can, sooner or later it will be phased out in favor of their 16x which is not quite as stellar. I respectfully disagree with the slam against Sony media: like ALL other media (including the now-overpraised Verbatim which is currently in QC free-fall around the world), there are good and bad batches depending on factory location and date of mfr. I have the pickiest, most annoying g*ddamned burners of anyone on this forum, including a number of really old DVD recorders that won't burn anything currently on store shelves. For "archival" use, I hate relying on just one media supplier: I like to keep a backup copy on different discs. So in desperation one day I tried Sony DVD-R for my alternate copies and have never looked back: hundreds of discs in the last two years without a single reject or coaster on ANY of my hardware. I wish I'd known about Sony earlier instead of wasting my money on CMC-made garbage like TDK that fails 50-60% of the time. The only caveat I find with Sony media, whether - or +, is that the discs marked made in Taiwan work 100% of the time for me, and the ones marked made in Malaysia give me problems 2 out of 10. It is easy enough to check the wrapper for the country of mfr before you buy- stick to Taiwan in Sony's case. Note Sony Taiwan reliability is subject to change overnight just like Verbatim and TDK and all the other brand names did, so don't overbuy until you've tested them first.
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  4. Member
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    Thanks for the help...... Iso Buster would probably work - except it wants a registration
    and a key to extract the video files from the disc. Not worth paying to rescue one disc.
    I didn't think of doing a torrent search for the shows, good suggestion !
    More importantly than all this, I'll have to repeat this process on the Toshiba to see if
    it happens again. Normally I record shows onto the hard drive, then copy to -RW's
    to watch later, and eventually erase the -RW disc. I ran out of -RW discs, so I used
    an old Sony -R that was laying around. This is the first time I attempted to record
    directly to disc to save time copying shows from the hard drive, so I'm kinda pissed.
    As far as the Toshiba goes, I already replaced the DVD drive last year, so it shouldn't
    give me any sort of problem. I agree that Toshiba recorders are finicky, but prior to
    this happening, I used a Sony disc to archive an hdd recording and it worked perfectly.
    Normally I use inexpensive Staples DVD's and have had no problems with them.
    In case anyone's interested, I have three other hard drive machines..... Sony, RCA
    and just picked up a Philips refurb 3575H. Recently I bought a Polaroid DRA01601A,
    that was a god-awful machine. I wound up selling it on Craigslist. Now I'm trying the
    Philips with the ATSC tuner, it seems to work well, but I'm having a hard time pulling
    digital stations off my cable line.
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    On your Philips 3575, do you have it 1st on the coax, as descibed here?

    Here's another post that might be helpful on system connections.
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  6. Member DB83's Avatar
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    Did you record in VR mode or video mode ?

    If the former, I could extract mpeg video from an un-finalised dvd -r(-rw) using ulead video studio.

    You could also try mpeg stream clip.

    Does not work for video mode tho.

    If it's 'half-finalised' it's more likely to be trashed.
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    I recorded the DVD-R in Video Mode, so it will likely remain unplayable but I'll keep looking for software that might extract the mpeg video.

    As far as the Philips, even putting it first in the cable line doesn't help...
    only able to get 3 or 4 stations. On this same line, I have my LG HDTV
    and LG HDTV tuners hooked up, both get all available unscrambled digital channels with no problem. However, both these units have 'settings' for
    STD, HRC and IRC digital cable scanning. The IRC setting is what gets me
    everything, including HDTV channels from the major networks.

    On the previous Polaroid, it had twin tuner inputs for analog and digital,
    and scanned 55 digital channels..... except it wouldn't hold a picture long enough to watch or record. That's why I got rid of it. With the Philips, using the 'antenna' setting, I get about 4 stations from an indoor amplified antenna, but the picture also fades in and out, not suitable for recording.

    I read all, and I mean all the posts in this forum regarding the Philips before I bought it, nobody mentioned a weak tuner, everyone said the
    ATSC tuner was great, better than their TV tuners, etc. etc. I even have
    two signal amplifiers, one right from the cable co., and one I bought last year on line that boosts cable frequencies +15db. None of this helps the
    digital signal strength on my system as far as the Philips goes.
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  8. Member louv68's Avatar
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    The free version has worked for me in the past. You don't need to register it if you'll be using it's free capabilities.
    https://forum.videohelp.com/topic349749.html#1839247
    -The Mang
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  9. Member
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    Originally Posted by louv68
    The free version has worked for me in the past. You don't need to register it if you'll be using it's free capabilities.
    https://forum.videohelp.com/topic349749.html#1839247
    trying to extract .mpeg files from disc using Iso Buster..... pop up dialog box wants U to pay for a key....... only thing I could get Iso Buster to do
    was extract files called ".tao", which when I loaded a 1GB file into
    Divx2DVD converter, takes 3 hrs to convert and had error messages, too.
    Also, IsoBuster converted 2GB .vob files into smaller 1GB or less .tao
    files, which would mean I'd have to spend about 8 hours on the computer
    doing the conversion. Definitely not worth it. Maybe I'm missing something, when I tried extracting the .iso file, got the same pop up dialog box. I've used IsoBuster before to convert .bin files to .iso, that
    worked like a charm using free version.
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  10. Member louv68's Avatar
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    Seriously. I've used the free version a few times in the past to recover unfinalized or unreadable video DVD's.
    The last time I did this was a few weeks ago using v2.3, and the screen shot I made was during that session. Unless the free version has since been crippled to no longer allow it; follow the few steps I gave in the post I linked to.

    Just drag and drop to the HDD as shown. I hope it works for you too. Good luck.
    -The Mang
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  11. Member louv68's Avatar
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    joecass,

    Out of curiosity, I just attempted to extract video off another DVD to see if it was possible, using the unregistered/free version.


    This is version 2.3.0.1 and it works! I don't know why it doesn't work for you???

    I made screenshots of each step, so maybe you could try it exactly as shown.

    1. Expand ISO and select VIDEO_TS in the left window pane.
    2. Select all files in right window pane.

    3. Shrink the IsoBuster window slightly to allow you to Right Click and add a destination folder (I added one on the Desktop)

    4. Drag the files to that folder and as you'll see, they are being extracted with no message to pay having popped up.


    If it doesn't work, PM me your e-mail and I'll send you the file I downloaded here at Videohelp.com
    -The Mang
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    the file structure from the Toshiba DVD is not the same in the left hand window pane as what you show above...... I have the same version of
    ISO Buster, so it should work, but doesn't. When I right click the options of the highlighted files, every extraction procedure brings up the pop up
    to pay for the program. BTW, there is only one .ISO and one .BUP file for the whole disc, even though there are three .VOB files shown. Maybe the disc was defective when being recorded, that's why this procedure doesn't work. Thanks very much for your help.
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  13. joecass

    Your Quotes

    May 8,08
    I put the flawed DVD-R into several computers, there are
    program files on the disc, but I can't find anyway to read them, or finalize the
    disc.

    May 28, 08
    BTW, there is only one .ISO and one .BUP file for the whole disc, even though there are three .VOB files shown



    Can the vob files be trsnsferd to a PC. If So and they are valid. A program as PowerDVD should be able to play them. If not I might assume the files on the disk are corrupt.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------


    Orsetto ---Quote

    Toshibas, while fine machines in many ways, are notorious for their very twitchy burners that flake periodically for no apparent reason
    -----------------------------------


    I would very much agree with this



    I use 11 liteon /ilo units they will all play an un-finalized disk burned on one or the other unit.
    Also any unit will finalize a disk burned on any other liteon/ilo

    Some units will recognize a un-finalized disk burned on another unit but will want to format the disk to its liking which is ok as it can than be played and recorded as needed.
    I do not like to use 3rd party software as to often it results in lost files

    Recently a friend had a similar problem. The files were transferred in a PC the disk was not recognized in the liteon/ilo 04 units but were in a ilo05 made by Cyberhome and a disk recorded that could be played in most any player

    All this may not help but when its said that a disk must be finalized in the machine that did the burn. Is not necessarily so.

    I would try a similar unit or any unit firdt
    I hope that the use of software and a PC has not damaged any files
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    LCSHG: thanks for the info, but I don't have access to any Lite On or Ilo
    recorders..... Power DVD will not read the files, because any computer I pop the disc into reads it as a "CD" with audio files, rather than DVD video. In the Iso Buster examples posted above by louv68, the file structure on the left window pane shows a valid .VOB file, whereas on my unfinalized Toshiba disc, only the "Video_RM" is present on the left. There is no "Video_TS" folder in the main tree structure. Bear in mind that the Toshiba I use is an older model probably dating back to 2004 or so.
    I've also tried inserting the unfinalized disc into three other hdd/dvd recorders I own, all report a 'disc error' message and will not read it.
    I also tried using Sonic My DVD present on my laptop, which has a
    "finalize DVD-R" function in its Tools Menu, but as before, the computer
    won't read the disc as a DVD, it shows up as a CD instead. Maybe I can find an 'unlocked' Iso Buster file on-line, that's probably the only program
    that will work in this case.
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    so does the free version work to do this?
    i guess i should just try, i'm just afraid to potentially risk the disks
    will it damage them at all doing this?

    how do i make a new DVD out of the files?
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    Originally Posted by sunflowerturbine
    so does the free version work to do this?
    i guess i should just try, i'm just afraid to potentially risk the disks
    will it damage them at all doing this?

    how do i make a new DVD out of the files?
    You would probably be better off asking these questions in your original thread instead of digging up old threads.
    https://forum.videohelp.com/topic375431.html

    And NO, programs to get files off of dvdrs will NOT damage the disc, they just read the info on them and transfer them to your pc.
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    oh okay, you're probably right
    these threads were suggested to me, so i just replied as i was reading. sorry.

    i'll post my questions in the original thread
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  18. A quote
    "And NO, programs to get files off of dvdrs will NOT damage the disc, they just read the info on them and transfer them to your pc.
    ------------------------------------

    NO they most likely not harm the disk BUT could very well corrupt or futher gorrupt the FILES

    If a disk will not play on the recorder that burned it [finaized or un-finalized
    The burner or recorder dvd could be at fault but than should not have burned it [Or was a defective Burn Or some
    ERROR was done that caused an Error in the files in burn or finalizing
    It not always necessary to use the same machine to finalize a disk [ or read it if the files are ok]
    I would be Very careful when using a program To transfer files to a PC

    PS
    I thought that a user was encoraged to look through the threads to see if there if an answer was there and to use the thread
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    Get serious

    So she should spread ONE issue around several different threads instead of keeping it in her original thread ?

    And why address a problem she has not had and deal with the task she asked about ?

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    Originally Posted by joecass
    the file structure from the Toshiba DVD is not the same in the left hand window pane as what you show above...... I have the same version of
    ISO Buster, so it should work, but doesn't. When I right click the options of the highlighted files, every extraction procedure brings up the pop up
    to pay for the program. BTW, there is only one .ISO and one .BUP file for the whole disc, even though there are three .VOB files shown. Maybe the disc was defective when being recorded, that's why this procedure doesn't work. Thanks very much for your help.
    The free version requires you to extract track data to recover your recordings. Depending on the recorder, there can be one or several tracks on the disk containing recordings. The tracks have other data in addition to audio and video, and demultiplexing is needed to remove it. This is what I do:

    To extract the tracks:
    1. Open ISOBuster
    2. Select DVD drive (If you can see "Track 01" in the left hand pane, it can recover at least some of your data)
    3. Open Options menu
    4. Select "Image File"
    4. Select "ISO/BIN/TAO" Tab
    5. Uncheck both boxes
    6. Close dialog window
    7. Right click on "Track 01" in left-hand pane
    8. Select "Extract Track 01"
    9. Select "Extract User Data (*.tao, *.iso, *.wav)"
    10. Choose where you want to save the data. (It will copy everything it can find as one big .tao file)
    11. Repeat for any other tracks containing audio and video. If there are multiple tracks, the ones containing the audio and video will be much larger.

    To demultiplex:
    1. Run VOBEdit
    2. Click the "Open" button
    3. Under "Files of Type" select "All Files"
    4. Select the .tao file to demultiplex.
    5. Click "Open"
    5. After the file loads. click Demux
    6. Select "MPEG Stream" and click "OK"
    7. When it finshes, do the same for the audio. Select AC-3 for the audio stream.

    Depending on what the recording device does, editing is sometimes required to split the extracted data back into individual programs. To create a playable DVD it's necessary to re-multiplex the elementary streams and author.

    It's easiest to perform editing/authoring with aps that accept elementary streams. If they require mpegs and won't accept elementary streams, the audio and video can be multiplexed prior to editing/authoring.
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