Pioneer DVR-510H - Quite the newbie question!

[MafaldaMay]

Hello,

I'm brand new here. I have a DVR-510H, which I purchased years ago. Here are my questions regarding this HDD recorder:

1) Why is it that DVDs that were recorded on the DVR-510H cannot be read on any other DVD players? I've tried with both VR and video mode, to no avail.

2) Why is it that such DVDs appear empty when I try to explore their content on my computer ? However, my computer doesn't consider it empty, as it's not asking me what I want to do with the DVD. Files are invisible...

3) Why won't movie burnt on DVD-Rs never play on the DVR-510? They inevitably are spit up by the player.

Anything I can do to remedy the situations above?

Thank you!

[orsetto]

1) Why is it that DVDs that were recorded on the DVR-510H cannot be read on any other DVD players? I've tried with both VR and video mode, to no avail.

The 510 is pretty old now, great machine but works best only with 8x-speed DVD-R media made by TY (Taiyo Yuden) or Verbatim DataLife. This media is available only from online vendors like supermediastore or rima. DVD-R discs need to be recorded in Video Mode and then Finalized using the disc setup menu. If you put one of your DVDs in the 510, and push the Disc Navigator button, and the standard Pioneer disc navigator window appears (4 thumbnails and a command center on the left), that disc has not been finalized Back out of the nav screen, go to the home menu, choose disc setup and then finalize. OTOH, if nothing happened when you pushed the navigator button, but a specific disc menu pops up when you hit the Menu button on the remote, then that disc is already finalized and should be playable on other hardware. If you can't get such a disc to play on another player or a PC, something is off spec: your 510 is dying of old age, or you are using 16x media bought from retail store which the 510 burns very badly. Worst-case scenario: if the unplayable discs are a few years old, they may have simply deteriorated (some disc brands of 2003/2004 had a tendency to "go bad").

2) Why is it that such DVDs appear empty when I try to explore their content on my computer ? However, my computer doesn't consider it empty, as it's not asking me what I want to do with the DVD. Files are invisible...

If you recorded the discs in VR Mode instead of video mode, they'll be unreadable on a PC (Pioneer VR Mode can only be played on Pioneer recorders or players, its incompatible with everything else). If you recorded the discs in Video Mode but didn't finalize them, again a computer will not know how to read such discs: put them back in the 510 and finalize them. Windows reacts unpredictably to DVDs that are unfinalized or VR mode: it sees something is on the disc, but can't make sense of the file structure.

3) Why won't movie burnt on DVD-Rs never play on the DVR-510? They inevitably are spit up by the player.

What kind of burned DVD-Rs are we talking about? Movies you burned using the 510 itself, or backup copies of Hollywood DVDs you burned on your computer (or that someone made for you)? If your Pio 510 won't play its own discs, either it or the discs is defective. If your Pio 510 won't play movies made using PC backup software, the software may not be creating proper DVD files. This happens a lot with Nero and other free "suites" that come with burners or PCs. Try using DVDFab to rip the original DVDs and ImgBurn to burn the actual copies.

I own a 510: it still records OK on quality 8x media and it plays nearly any DVD-R I put in it (except scratched or dirty rental DVDs). But I replaced its burner in 2006 and I use a newer Pioneer for my day-to-day stuff. Most 510 and 520 recorders died off by 2007 from burner fatigue. If it turns out your 510 is just worn out, you might want to simply replace it with a new/refurbished $159 Magnavox H2160 from J&R Electronics online. The Magnavox has improved editing features over the 510, a stronger burner, and includes a digital ATSC tuner for off-air DTV broadcasts. Spare burners for the 510 are now very hard to find, and you need a special service disc and service remote to make the 510 accept the new burner. The total cost of these items exceeds the price of a Magnavox H2160, which is a much more modern and usable machine than the 510 anyway (although its not as good as the more recent Pioneer 550 or 560). Pioneer went bankrupt last spring and dropped its recorder line, making recent leftover Pioneers very expensive on the secondary market ($400 and up).