ILO dvdr04 recorder

[djbri2]

I purchased an ILO dvdr04 ($149.00)on the weekend and tonight while turning it on..it turns on to the hello welcome on the lcd and then just sits...and sits. IT will not respond to remote commands but it will turn off and on from front panel. I unplugged for few hours thinking it is a heat issue but no go.. It is going back to Walmart on FRI.. I would maybe watch out for this unit..it did work good when it did work ..quality was good. I would like to get a unit that will record from a source but let me watch something else at same time. not sure if any of these units do this.

[Xyscaling]

I'd go into the setup menu and see if it has a "reset" option.........

[NightWing]

Try ejecting the disk. Powering off. Then power on without a disk. Notest on one disk if I left it in. It got a bit cranky. But did not on others disk.

[EvilWizardGlick]

Mine works fine. It sounds as if you got a bad unit, or maybe a return repackaged one.
Either way there are enough threads about the DVDR04 and it's sibling the HD model for you to understand exactly what you are buying.
http://220.130.29.146/ikonboard.cgi?s=4f51e7e7d92398f61c844c7a80d8a61e;act=ST;f=2;t=832
http://www.techolio.com/forums/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=7&sid=9fc98c3f81dd29a32b3f363baaeebc91
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=238412
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=725&Search=Search&list=0#comments
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=770&Search=Search&list=0#comments
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=4696&Search=Search&#comments
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=4689&Search=Search&#comments
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?select=iLO+DVDRHD04

I burn four or five disks a day, I'm archiving tape. I have not had a problem yet. Walmart has an extended warranty you can purchase only through Walmart.com, I think it is three year coverage, including replacement, for around $20.

[djbri2]

I tried it all ...unplug ...all buttons on front .."off and on" is the only one that works. It goes to hello on lcd and sticks there..thats it!!! no open and close no menu nuthin it is stuck so reset cannot be done...I really like the unit but I do not know if I want to try another one. walmart has a 90 day warranty for returns it prob has a manufacturer warranty. I emailed the company 24 hours later nuthin called em was on hold for 30 mins...so lots of red flags with this unit. I may get the Pioneer DVR-320-S DVD Recorder it has all the features I want.. The one with hard drive is alot of money and my wife would never go for it ..she thinks I am spending to much already..she says nuthin wrong with vcr..So maybe I can slide the pioneer by her...hehe...

[NightWing]

If you dont need the firewire port the 220 is about 100 cheeper. Its the only difference that I know of. The 220 has not failed me. Have both the 220 and the R04.

[MarmotMom]

Unit will say loading for quite some time when it formats a dvd+rw for the first time, I thought there was something wrong with the unit and it was my own impatience.

[NightWing]

Its farelly quick on R's

[djbri2]

There is no longer any disk in unit and the one that was in there was a closed dvd+r. It is still stuck on "HELLO" so I feel it is cooked and will be returned!! So far no return email from ILO. So thier tech suppport is non existent. I could never recommend this product..

RATING.....0/10...

I am going to buy pioneer 320-s. it is 499.00 here in canada. the Pioneer DVD Recorder - DVR310 from target looks good too.


thanks for everyones input I really appreciate it...

[EvilWizardGlick]

There is no longer any disk in unit and the one that was in there was a closed dvd+r. It is still stuck on "HELLO" so I feel it is cooked and will be returned!! So far no return email from ILO. So thier tech suppport is non existent. I could never recommend this product..

RATING.....0/10...

I am going to buy pioneer 320-s. it is 499.00 here in canada. the Pioneer DVD Recorder - DVR310 from target looks good too.


thanks for everyones input I really appreciate it...

It sounds more like you want to bash the Ilo than fix the problem. You have posted the same thing in other forums, and more experienced people than I have given you excellent advice.
You may have a bad unit, it happens. That is why there is a return policy. So far the only other problem like yours is the HD unit, but that was after a firmware upgrade.
But you know that already, from the other forums and if you have read any of the threads.
Tech support may take a couple of days to get back to you, no big deal. I posted a question to them on a friday, they replied on a Tuesday. I replied to that same day and they got back to me the next.
I have seen far worse.
Here is a clue for you, no matter what make or model product you buy there are defective ones. Check out some of the product reviews at Amazon for example. For every person who gets a bad product, there are ten who get good ones.
As you well know from the other forums you have posted your problem to, most of us have no problem. Other than the HD units, I have seen only minor complaints about the DVDR04.
Except for the minor annoyance of some vcr's setting off a false macrovision flag, nothing important exists. I have had a reply from tech support on that and updated firmware is due out this week that addresses the issue.
The only reason I am replying here is I know you have had your problems addressed on other forums. And they were addressed well before you posted here.
So it looks as if this post from you is just to bash the Ilo instead of addressing the quality control issue of your individual product.
My Ilo DVDR04 rates a ten for ease of use, a ten for pq, and a ten for cost effectiveness. Tech support gets a ten from me as well for rapid response, and as I have seen after reading all the threads they try to correct issues as swiftly as they can.
Maybe you suffered a misconception about the unit you bought. After all it is only an inexpensive standalone burner, nothing more.
For me it fills a niche that my computer burner can't. I archive mainly video tape with it. I use only the rear s-video and audio inputs. I am not using mine to record television or as a player. So far my dvd's play on four of the five players I tested it on, and a quick reburn through the computer made it playable on the fifth.
So yes I am happy.
But I also knew what I was buying and any possible problems associated with it. I try to be an informed consumer.
Before your next purchase take the time to research your product. There are reviews here, and at various other sites.
It will save quite a bit of anguish in the future.

[djbri2]

Well I may of recieved a defective unit sure.. The only misconception I got was that I thought I was buying one that will work for a while. not 2days!! when I spend my money "a working unit" is usually a selling point. I bet if I get another one it will be fine...maybe... When the unit did work it worked great, the picture quality was great even using the longest mode. actually it was surprisingly good. It was exactly what I wanted a cheap stand alone unit to record with. My only complaint was that you have to watch the source it was recording. otherwise I was happy. I have a plextor external 708UF I have burned alot of dvd's with it (capturing authoring ripping) and I am using it on a PC I custom built (amd64 3200. msi 754 plat 1 gig corsair xms with leds)). they both work perfectly. So I am no newbie on that front.. just a little unhappy...so sorry if I came across harshly on the beloved ILO maybe I expect to much for so little.. When I go to Walmart I am going to ask the audio-video manager if he has had any more returns..and I will post the results of that conversation here. Truthfully..that should tell it all.

[EvilWizardGlick]

As I said I have read your posts on two other forums. You returned the unit before your second post here. Issue resolved.
You already had much support from those other boards, again issue resolved.
You just wanted to bash the Ilo, nothing more.
You know Walmart has a 90 day return policy, just in case you get a bad unit. You know Ilo has a year service policy. You know you can purchase the Walmart three year extended warranty that includes replacement.
But you came to do nothing but bash AFTER your questions were answered and AFTER you returned the unit.
You did NOT replace it with another to see if yours was one in a hundred.
You just returned it and continued to complain about it, nothing more.
Your problem was solved BEFORE your second post here. And from reading your posts here and on the other forums, your mind was made up well before you returned the unit.
If you had received two in a row that were bad, then you may have had a VALID gripe. But only one, not taking the time for tech support to reply, and returning the unit as fast as your legs could carry you, illustrates you desire to just badmouth the product.
What is truly tiresome is your tone here is much harsher than on the other forums.
Did you think no one would recognize you as the same poster on other sites? Did you think we are stupid?
I could probably work up a nifty little timeline from your post to your last, in all forums, and see just how much real effort you put in.
But I don't want to embarass you any more than you already have yourself.
It is one thing to complain when your problem has NOT been solved, and another to whine AFTER the resolution.

[djbri2]

well I am going to make this my last post to this thread until I get to Walmart in Detroit and speak to them and return the unit. As far as other posts..nope not me.. sorry. I have posted a few postive posts for plextor here thats it. any others are definately someone else...That may explain the tone difference ..I may trade unit in for new ILO and still get the pioneer for upstairs here...we will see...need to talk to wify. anyhow is it not the first thing I bought that was defective or broken!! no I had an HP 4x cd burner long time ago..that is another story. With ILO Daytec Cyberhome and Lite-On all releasing cheap recorders will only bring prices down. Good for everyone? YES!!l will there be bumps YES. Thats ok just another shopping trip for me and the wify. SO please do not take me as a disgruntled type person. I enjoy my electronics as much as anyone. So I will try to be not as hard on ILO until I have my issue resolved. By the way HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my american friends..

[MarmotMom]

Tech support has been very good as far as getting email replies, but I'm noticing that we are all being told a week for the new firmware and in some cases it's been more than two. I got a reply dated yesterday about protection copy on homemade vhs to dvdr ... new firmware will be posted next week. Oh well, all in all it is a nice little, inexpensive stand alone and I don't feel that my money was wasted.

[EvilWizardGlick]

Tech support has been very good as far as getting email replies, but I'm noticing that we are all being told a week for the new firmware and in some cases it's been more than two. I got a reply dated yesterday about protection copy on homemade vhs to dvdr ... new firmware will be posted next week. Oh well, all in all it is a nice little, inexpensive stand alone and I don't feel that my money was wasted.

Same here on the firmware.
Possibly they are trying to be more cautious with all the problems that came from the HDD firmware upgrades. Everytime they fixed a problem a new two seemed to crop up.
I would hate to have the vcr sensitivity fixed but hang on boot.

[InnocentCat]

I have a few questions regarding my Ilo DVDR04 Recorder...

This is the equipment that I have in my entertainment center and the way they are set up......

Outside cable from wall into the Comcast Digital Video converter....output from cable box to ILO DVDR04 DVD recorder...video output from DVDR to Sharp TV and audio to speaker system...I also have a Panasonic VCR player (although it is not connected to anything at the moment)


1. When I go to Setup...Video Output and try to switch from Component
to Progressive I get a grey TV screen with a black stripe down the
middle. After a few seconds it will go back to the Setup screen and
Component is marked again. It will not stay on Progressive.

2. Setup-Playback....if I choose the Ascept Ration 4:3 L. Box it will not play back in Letter Box. And I am not sure what Slide Time and
CD PBC are.

3. Setup-TV Tuner...TV Signal....no matter if I choose Antenna,
Cable, etc the display screen on the Setup menu always show static.

4. Is there any way to record a DVD and watch another program at the
same time ?

Thanks for your help

[tipstir]

Except for the home entertainment equipment you and I have pretty much the same setup some more stuff I have, oh well with the Comcast Digital CATV box. You can watch CATV and record another with the DVD Recorder. Just follow below;

Btw: Radio Shack sells the 4-way audio/video amp

Audio/Video

1. 4-way amp splitter audio, video and s-video
2. Take the audio and video output from Comcast box to step 1
3. Step 1 would go back to your TV
4. Step 1 would go back to your DVD Recorder
5. Step 1 would go back to your Digital Surround Receiver
6. Step 1 would go back to your VCR

Use the best Gold Plated Audio and Video cables even Philips sold at Wal-Mart works the best or spend a lot more for Monster or AR cables, Philips Ultra Gold Series works the same filters out all the noise just the same.

RF

1. 2, 3, 4 way 2GHz splitter for RF 6 2.3GHz or 3GHz AWG 18 Coax
2. Since Comcast still has analog cable you can tap into that
3. Step 1 would go to your Comcast Digital Box In
4. Step 1 would go to your DVD Recorder Tuner In
5. Step 1 would go to your VCR Tuner In

On the Comcast Digital Cable Box loop the out to your TV. Again use the best coax cable you can afford or buy. Stick with R6 all the way. Even better buy R6 Quad Ultra Coax in 2.3GHz to 3GHz AWG 18.

Btw don't loop DVD Recorder Tuner out back to anything also the VCR if you have one.

[Tersanyus]

I had my DVDR04 go south on me over the weekend. I record a lot of shows from my TiVo to the iLO and edit out the commercials while recording to the iLO.

I noticed the sounds coming from the unit where much more frequent than normal. Didn't think a lot of it. When I tried to pause the recording as a commercial came up the unit did not respond. It would not pause the recording. The unit would also not respond to any commands from the remote or the unit itself.

Finally had to unplug it. I shrugged this off maybe a bad disk. Started this procedure again. Unit made the same noises. This time it paused ok. But after about 15 mins into recording I got "Write Fail." I was using Fuji +R's (Ricohjpnr01's I beleve) so I switched to higher quality Fuji +R's (Yuden000T02's) and got the same thing.

All in all I went thru 4 different +R's and all failed on write. Also tried playback of several recordings it made and they paused on their own frequently.

I think the drive went bad. I took it back and got another one as I have faith they will make things better in the future with a firmware upgrade.

FYI, I have had that unit since late September and this is the first problem I have had with my R04.

[EvilWizardGlick]

I have a few questions regarding my Ilo DVDR04 Recorder...

This is the equipment that I have in my entertainment center and the way they are set up......

Outside cable from wall into the Comcast Digital Video converter....output from cable box to ILO DVDR04 DVD recorder...video output from DVDR to Sharp TV and audio to speaker system...I also have a Panasonic VCR player (although it is not connected to anything at the moment)


1. When I go to Setup...Video Output and try to switch from Component
to Progressive I get a grey TV screen with a black stripe down the
middle. After a few seconds it will go back to the Setup screen and
Component is marked again. It will not stay on Progressive.

2. Setup-Playback....if I choose the Ascept Ration 4:3 L. Box it will not play back in Letter Box. And I am not sure what Slide Time and
CD PBC are.

3. Setup-TV Tuner...TV Signal....no matter if I choose Antenna,
Cable, etc the display screen on the Setup menu always show static.

4. Is there any way to record a DVD and watch another program at the
same time ?

Thanks for your help

How is the cable box connected to the Ilo?
How is the Ilo connected to the tv?
Is there a component connection from the Ilo to the tv? Are the cables in the correct jacks, red/green/blue?
For tuner to work you may need to run the cable (coax) directly into the Ilo and NOT through the cable box first. If you run cable out from the box set the Ilo to channel 3 or 4.
You should be running s-video out from the cable box to the Ilo.
You should have the Ilo set to S-video in.
Answer for 4, no.
Buy your self a nice video switcher with TWO outputs, one to a monitor another to a recording device. Run the cable box into the switcher, s-video, and run one of the s-video outs to the tv (monitor) and another to the Ilo. If your tv supports component in run the Ilo into that using component cables.

[EvilWizardGlick]

Except for the home entertainment equipment you and I have pretty much the same setup some more stuff I have, oh well with the Comcast Digital CATV box. You can watch CATV and record another with the DVD Recorder. Just follow below;

Btw: Radio Shack sells the 4-way audio/video amp

Audio/Video

1. 4-way amp splitter audio, video and s-video
2. Take the audio and video output from Comcast box to step 1
3. Step 1 would go back to your TV
4. Step 1 would go back to your DVD Recorder
5. Step 1 would go back to your Digital Surround Receiver
6. Step 1 would go back to your VCR

Use the best Gold Plated Audio and Video cables even Philips sold at Wal-Mart works the best or spend a lot more for Monster or AR cables, Philips Ultra Gold Series works the same filters out all the noise just the same.

RF

1. 2, 3, 4 way 2GHz splitter for RF 6 2.3GHz or 3GHz AWG 18 Coax
2. Since Comcast still has analog cable you can tap into that
3. Step 1 would go to your Comcast Digital Box In
4. Step 1 would go to your DVD Recorder Tuner In
5. Step 1 would go to your VCR Tuner In

On the Comcast Digital Cable Box loop the out to your TV. Again use the best coax cable you can afford or buy. Stick with R6 all the way. Even better buy R6 Quad Ultra Coax in 2.3GHz to 3GHz AWG 18.

Btw don't loop DVD Recorder Tuner out back to anything also the VCR if you have one.

Quick question here, since there are so many Ilo threads,
http://www.techolio.com/forums/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=7&sid=9fc98c3f81dd29a32b3f363baaeebc91
http://220.130.29.146/ikonboard.cgi?s=4f51e7e7d92398f61c844c7a80d8a61e;act=ST;f=2;t=832
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=238412
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=725&Search=Search&list=0#comments
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=770&Search=Search&list=0#comments
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=4696&Search=Search&#comments
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=4689&Search=Search&#comments
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?select=iLO+DVDRHD04
and they ALL mention just how crappy the Ilo tuner is, why would anyone choose to run a cable into it instead of using the much clearer and preferable s-video?
As for your setup, why not simply run the box and vcr into a nice video switcher with two outs one to the monitor and the other to the recorder. Then you can run the coax or optical from the box to the receiver and coax or optical from the dvd recorder to the receiver. Obviously you need to run either the coax or optical into the receiver for dd or dts.
You could still run cable coax out from the box to the vcr as that doesn't matter much signal wise.
Or just spend the couple of hundred bucks on a really good video switcher and run everything into that and out to the various recording devices?
http://www.videoguys.com/
carries
http://www.videoguys.com/jvc.htm
"The JX-S777 is the First Fully Digital In/Out including DV (i. link) Component Video and Optical Digital Audio Connectors. Professional quality A/V Switcher with 8 A/V Inputs, 5 A/V 0utputs, 2 Component inputs, 1 Component output and a Monitor output. Also has 2 Optical inputs, 1 Optical output and Full Digital (DV) in/out. "
And
"The JX-S555 is a video switcher with component video and digital audio connections. This professional quality switcher uses the highest quality circuitry for no signal loss at any point. It features 5 A/V Inputs, 5 A/V Outputs, 2 Component Video Inputs withDigital Audio, 1 Component Video Output connections."

I have the slightly older version of the s555 the JSX700. It works like a charm. I could output to five devices and input six. It has a loop protect as well.
I also have a Sima svhs 4 with 4 inputs and two out. This what I run to my Ilo.

Amazon carries these
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005USA7/qid=1102347260/sr=8-1/ref=pd_...onics&n=507846
"# A/V switcher with 5 A/V inputs and 2 A/V outputs
# Includes 2 S-Video inputs and 1 S-Video output
# Switch either 3 Component video devices or 2 S-Video devices to corresponding single output
# Passive design means no electric power required"

For all the complexity and cost, a simple video switcher is worth the money.

And if your receiver has a single optical in and no coax in, you can buy an optical switcher from Radio Shack for inputs one out.

[Guitarman]

I have updated my ILO Firmware Page to include the DVDR04. It now has the new firmware update for the 04 that is suppose to relax the Macrovision sensing.

[InnocentCat]

I have noticed something weird with my Ilo DVDR-04. When I played back a DVDR that I recorded last night I noticed that the sound seems to be about a second behind the video. So it looks like everyone is lip-syncing !! I will note that I am recording in the SLP mode (6 hrs). Can this have something to do with it ?

[MarmotMom]

I have updated my ILO Firmware Page to include the DVDR04. It now has the new firmware update for the 04 that is suppose to relax the Macrovision sensing.

Just out of curiousity, I went to ilo's site and can't find this file posted... has ne1 tried this upgrade? TIA

[EvilWizardGlick]

I have noticed something weird with my Ilo DVDR-04. When I played back a DVDR that I recorded last night I noticed that the sound seems to be about a second behind the video. So it looks like everyone is lip-syncing !! I will note that I am recording in the SLP mode (6 hrs). Can this have something to do with it ?

I noticed something similar with slp mode. But I kept hitting the next button. I thought that may be the problem, too much chapter skipping.
Were you chapter skipping? Did you play the dvd straight through?
Mine were set for five minutes.
I will have to watch the dvd with out any type of chapter skip or fast forward.
I recorded from a couple tapes duped to one eight hour one. I stopped after the first two and started again on the third. So I will have two titles. For the second title, it did not seem to have the synch problem when chapter skipping.

[InnocentCat]

I have noticed something weird with my Ilo DVDR-04. When I played back a DVDR that I recorded last night I noticed that the sound seems to be about a second behind the video. So it looks like everyone is lip-syncing !! I will note that I am recording in the SLP mode (6 hrs). Can this have something to do with it ?

I noticed something similar with slp mode. But I kept hitting the next button. I thought that may be the problem, too much chapter skipping.
Were you chapter skipping? Did you play the dvd straight through?
Mine were set for five minutes.
I will have to watch the dvd with out any type of chapter skip or fast forward.
I recorded from a couple tapes duped to one eight hour one. I stopped after the first two and started again on the third. So I will have two titles. For the second title, it did not seem to have the synch problem when chapter skipping.

Yes I was fast forwarding and commercial skipping (as I have not yet edited those out) while watching the DVD. Today I tried watching it all the way through and just letting it play and the sound problem disappeared. Thanks for the tip.

I also saw somewhere on this site the hack for the Regions and made my recorder region free. How do folks come up with these 'hacks'? Is it more of a lucky find, or a inside tip ? I was just wondering if there was someway to go about looking for those.

[EvilWizardGlick]

The hack was a Liteon hack that someone applied to the Ilo.
Hacks can be a bit of both. Some techie slips the information out, or someone stumbles upon it.
I imagine most hidden menus are service related. Some, as with certain dvd players, make it easier for worldwide distribution.
How will you be editing out the commercials on the DVDR04? I know the HD unit can do that, but I didn't think the R04 could.
Also, when recording to a dvd+rw you need to title the recording to make it playable, chapter 23 in the manual. To make a dvd+r playable you need to finalize it. When finalizing there is no empty title on the dvd+r, but after titling there is on the dvd+rw.
I can't figure out how to get rid of the damned things.
Any ideas?

[Tersanyus]

I use my TiVo as the source input for my R04. When playing back a program on the TiVo and recording it to DVD I simply hit Pause on the remote to edit out the commercials. When commericals are over, hit Record.

[FKrueger]

For the DVDR04, this saved my machine from going back after getting 2 bad updates in the email.

http://www.ss3f.com/ilo/

And I notice the audio sync problem in the 6hr mode but it looked like it was dropping frames because the picture skipped here and there. Otherwize I like this better than the Philips DVDR75.

[InnocentCat]

I have my dvd-r set up to record at 6-hrs on the dvd-rw that I am using. This is something that I am trying to figure out and maybe someone here has some ideas. The dvd-rw so far is recorded as follows:

[program #1] - 1 hr
[program #2] - 1 hr
[54 mins blank]
[program #3] - 1 hr
[10 mins blank]
[program #4] - 1 hr
[program #5] - 1 hr

This is the part that I need help with. I want to record another 1 hr program. But as you can see I don't have 60 mins available together....I have 54 mins in one spot...and 10 mins in another spot. How can I set it up so that I can use the 54 mins and 10 mins to record another 1 hr program ? I tried setting the timer for 1 hr just to see if after the 54 mins it would picked up the additional time from the remaining 10 mins but it didn't work. The dvdr player stopped after the 54 mins was used up.

Thanks

[lordsmurf]

Record 6 hours on one disc?