Panasonic DMR-E30 / confused on what DVD-R media to buy

[teddyxox]

Hello everyone, yep, a newbie here!
I have searched and searched this forum till I am now completely confused, so I am asking straight out....what dvd-r media do I purchase for the panaconic DMR-E30 (december 2002)
I just want to transfer home VHS taped to dvd's.

What "speed" tho? I see 1x, 2x, 4x on the market, and I am confused.
I can not find in my instruction book anywhere that answers this question, it just states on the spec sheet for recordable discs:
12cm 4.7 GB DVD-R discs (for General Ver. 2.0)

I purchased a 3pk of DVD-R at Wal Mart by Sony, and they worked fine, I just can't afford 15 bucks for 3 dvd's!
Not a mention on the package either as to what "x" they are either. Just Sony DVD-R / 120 min / 4.7GB / 3DMR47L1

Now that the holidays are over, I bet alot of new DVD Recorder owners are searching for help, so would someone be kind, and please help with this question? Many thanks in advance.

Happy 2004 Everyone!
Teddy

[macleod]

I have used the cheapest media around on my e30 to do conversions, etc. Are you putting them on your home computer for editing and then transferring out to dvdr?

If so, read some of my recent posts as I go through the process of what I do convert vhs to dvd.

As an alternative to dvdr, you might want to get dvdram (about $4-$5 a pop) which is rerecordable and then make sure that your computer dvd reader can read ram so you can pull it into your computer.

For your actual original question though, personally, I have used princo and other generic brands. I buy my stuff online in bulk (60-80 per 100 dvd-r's). Try supermediastore.com rima.com are a few online stores you can check as well as newegg.com (if you need to get a dvd/dvdram drive, you can get one there for about $30).

PM me if you cant find my posts that talk about this more indepthly.

[teddyxox]

Thanks for responding, sorry I was not more specific in first post.
Panasonic DMR-E30 is a stand alone...no computer involved. Just that and a TV and a VCR.

[Barnabas]

Hello everyone, yep, a newbie here!
I have searched and searched this forum till I am now completely confused, so I am asking straight out....what dvd-r media do I purchase for the panaconic DMR-E30 (december 2002)
I just want to transfer home VHS taped to dvd's.

What "speed" tho? I see 1x, 2x, 4x on the market, and I am confused.
I can not find in my instruction book anywhere that answers this question, it just states on the spec sheet for recordable discs:
12cm 4.7 GB DVD-R discs (for General Ver. 2.0)

I purchased a 3pk of DVD-R at Wal Mart by Sony, and they worked fine, I just can't afford 15 bucks for 3 dvd's!
Not a mention on the package either as to what "x" they are either. Just Sony DVD-R / 120 min / 4.7GB / 3DMR47L1

Now that the holidays are over, I bet alot of new DVD Recorder owners are searching for help, so would someone be kind, and please help with this question? Many thanks in advance.

Happy 2004 Everyone!
Teddy

Many brands of media will not work with your unit, and there is no way to upgrade your firmware, so you need to find a disk that works and stick with it. Princo 1x media works great on your burner. You can only burn at 1x anyhow to DVD-R disks, so no point in spending more. The word out is that Princo will no longer be making 1x media after January, so stock up now while you can still get it!

[mumubunnylips]

Given that the E-30 encodes and burns in real time only, there's little point in buying anything but 1x media - except that 1x media will soon be phased out by 2x and 4x media as the prices drop.

As for brands, common sense would advise against using the cheapest generic discs (unless you know for sure who made them), but many users are quite confident with the Ritek brand, for instance, which is a less expensive choice than the brand names.

That said, when it comes to DVD media, you don't necessarily get what you pay for. Check this forum for more opinions.

[macleod]

aside from my posts, look for posts by "donpedro". He has done a number of discussions with issues that you will encounter with your panny.

When I was talking about using a computer, I know that the e30 (panny) is a standalone. I was thinking that you were doing the initial capture with the panny and then possibly transferring it to a computer for editing, etc.

Just to forwarn you, the dvd's that come out of the panny are not too compatible with other players. Actually, I believe the manual says to increase compatibility with other players, you must purchase panasonic media (could be a ploy to by their media, but everything I had burned direct from the panny would only play in my computer and minivan dvd player. will not play in apex players and many others). There will be posters that will say that it works in theirs, but I would say that the chances are NOT good that it will be compatible in a large number of players.

To save you some grief when it comes time, I would recommend buying tmpgenc dvd author and using your computer to make a compatible dvdr to play in the majority of players.

[teddyxox]

Thank You all for your advice!

[handyguy]

Im surprised your search didn't show up anything or those left column subjects: dvd media, dvd recorders, etc...

Accu -r media is fine, its about $74/100

[teddyxox]

I just purchased the Accu -r last night from a website someone recommended. It's nice to know that if they are defective, I can put in a return request for them.
Believe me....I have searched and read every post in this forum over the past few days, but all it did was confuse me worse...lol
Have A Great Day!

[dafoe]

I use Accu media on my E30 and HS2. But for really important stuff I would suggest a higher quality media like TDK. You can get this at Staples for $1.50-$2.00 depending on wether or not they are on sale.

[Shannafey]

I bought a unit last week. I have a Panasonic at work, but at home I opted for the cheaper Samsung R4000 (made by the same manufacturer), which I almost brought back, because it kept resetting itself. Come to find out, it was the media. DO NOT USE FUJI MEDIA IN THE PANASONIC OR SAMSUNG! It kept giving me weird error messages. I bought a spindell of Verbatim discs, which are on sale at Office Depot for 2 spindells of 15 each for $30. A Buck a disc! They work perfectly. Went through one whole one already!

[louthewiz]

I have always used the comp usa 1-x media and i NEVER had any trouble using it for my E80-H... Checkout www.compusa.com they have them at the website and in the stores and you can get them cheap ,a spindle of 25 cost 20-25 bucks and a spindle of 50 for 45-50- bucks....

[teddyxox]

Thank You!

[spectroelectro]

Two issues here: (1) which media will work at all with your DMR-E30, and (2) which media will last.
It seems pointless to backup a lot of your VHS tapes to DVD-R if the media go bad after 6 months or so. So per other advice above, I'd stick with relatively higher-quality media like Ritek 1x (about 95 cents per in lots of 100) or TDK (roughly double that cost).
Your Panasonic records at 1x so you do not need to waste money buying 4x media, decent quality 1x media will do just fine.
Optodisc and Princo are pretty infamous as media which (for some people) have gone bad, leaving 'em with a great big stack 'o coasters. That might not happen for you -- climate seems to have a lot to do with it, with folks in Florida and Nevada complaining the most, and people in more moderate climates reporting no problems -- but if I were you, I'd avoid those 2 brands just on general principles.