DVD "Unreadable"

[TechFool83]

Hi,

I am new here and I have a problem but am unsure of where to post this topic as there are so many sub-topics on this forum so I thought I'd give it a try under this one...

As of this morning, I've experienced a very strange problem with my Parasonic DVD/VHS player/recorder that has been working fine. I was recording this programme (the time slot was conveniently moved to 4am so I figured on scheduling recordings while I snooze) and it was working fine on a DVD-RW dvd. the DVD had approx 1hr and 15 min left and I could watch all the episodes I had recorded the past few days. So it came to my surprise when I woke up this morning only to find a light on my DVD and a blank screen on the DVD deck. I tried to find out what the problem was and the dvd itself is being read as "unreadable." What made this happen when it was working fine just yesterday? I just couldn't figure out how a dvd that was working is suddenly no longer able to be read or is compatible with the dvd player. I thought about trying to somehow back-up the episodes I recorded by inserting it in my computer...Problem is, I cannot play this DVD (Or any blank DVD disc for that matter), until the disc has been finalized by my DVD player. Naturally, my plan was to record this last episode that aired this morning and then finalize it so I could watch it on any other player.

I really want to find out how I can make this dvd work so I can least backup the recorded stuff I had on there. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

-TechFool83

[TechFool83]

P.S. I also tested another DVD-RW disc that hadn't been finalized and it turned up fine. I also tested a regular dvd movie and that was working fine as well. Obviously it must be the dvd disc itself (weird because it's never been used before). Can anyone help please?

[TechFool83]

Is the dvd useless? Any responses would be helpful...

[orsetto]

This is a known timer-firmware issue with a couple of the newer Panasonic models particularly, not sure if yours is one of them. In any case it also commonly happens with other brands/models. Your DVD is probably hosed but there are some software programs on the PC which can sometimes salvage and extract the video from damaged discs: check a few of the computer-related forums for details until someone with more "rescue" experience than me chimes in with their advice here.

DVD recorders are not as fail-safe as a VCR. Multiple unattended timer recordings made direct to DVD media over the course of several days or weeks are vulnerable to a mis-write or crash before you have a chance to finalize them. This happens only occasionally with some recorders, very often with others, and a lot depends on the media type and brand. The only reliable option is to use a DVD recorder that has a hard drive: you record your shows to the internal HDD until you have enough to fill a DVD, then burn and finalize the blank disc all at one time.

Unfortunately HDD-equipped recorders are now rare birds in the USA, and many folks are limited to DVD-only units for budget or other reasons. With your Panasonic you at least have the option to use DVD-RAM discs: these tend to be MUCH more reliable for your kind of recordings than DVD/RW. You would later need to transfer them to standard DVD using a computer if you wanted library copies that would play on most regular DVD players, then you could erase/reuse the RAM discs. Or, if you were not interested in keeping the shows after you watch them, just erase and reuse the RAM discs without bothering to make DVD-format backups.

[TechFool83]

Thanks for the info! I didn't know that was an issue with Parasonic dvd/vhs recorders until now (I have a DMR-EMS30V model) so the DVD-RAM disc is included. I've used both DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-R discs and they've all had to be finalized before I could use them on any other dvd player including my computer so I think from now on I should probably give the RAM discs a try instead since you explained why they are more reliable.

I've tried Isobuster on my comp but it couldn't retrieve the data on the disc. I'm going to post this under a more appropriate topic and give it a try to see what suggestions others may have regarding software programs to retrieve it. Again, thanks for all your help!