Warning: Don't shoot yourself in the foot like I did

[Brent G.]

I thought I should let you know not to shoot yourself in the foot like I did. I had a Pioneer DVR-220-S and it failed, and I replaced it with a Pioneer DVR-233-S. Well, it won't recognize unfinalized DVD's made on the 220. OUCH!

So here is a warning to you guys and gals.
FINALIZE YOUR DVD'S AS SOON AS YOU MAKE THEM!

Your DVD recorder will fail within a year (or two at most). When you replace your machine with a different brand (or maybe even the same brand), you may not be able to read your unfinalized DVD's. I was lazy and didn't bother to finalize them, thinking I'd get around to it later.

I had to borrow a Pioneer 540H-S which is able to read the 220-S unfinalized DVD's and I'm spending the weekend finalizing them. What fun!

So don't be lazy like me. Finalize the DVD's as soon as possible because next week your DVD recorder could be toast, and you may not want to go out and buy the same brand and model all over again (if they still make it).

This is the end of your community service announcement.

Brent

[Frobozz]

The fact that you also found a way to do this at all is another "community service announcement." Good sleuthing!

[yoda313]

Thanks for the tip.

HOWEVER, one way to avoid this entirely in the first place is to use DVD+RW. They do not need finalizing at all. You can record over and over again and never finalize and they will work in other players.

Thats all I used on my liteon 1107 up until I got my tivo. Now that I have my tivo my liteon is sitting on a shelf. For stuff I want dvds of I record on my computer. BUT I can also transfer the .tivo file off my series 2 with my tivo-to-go adapter. Works great

[Brent G.]

I sometimes use DVD-RW's for recording temporary stuff but they are 10x-20x the price of a DVD-R. I also record a lot of movies so it has to be permanent. RW's aren't as reliable as DVD-R's for permanent storage.

Anyways, got to go back to finalizing DVD's. At this rate I should be done by spring.

Brent

[Bagheera]

So, Uhmm. Just curious Brent...

What did you do with that old 220-s if I might ask?

[RabidDog]

HOWEVER, one way to avoid this entirely in the first place is to use DVD+RW

SO true, so true.. I have never used a burnable DVD in my recorder, ONLY +RW
then re-author on Pc, and burn on Pc if necessary


*another Tip is to wear Kevlar shroud Boots, but then it can Rick O'Shea and hit you in the Nads

[retro junkie]

I too, a few years ago, made the same mistake. I had a whole stack of DVDs that I had not finalized! MY recorder died on me and I was in a state of panic. All of those long hours of recording lost. I did finally trace down the exact same model and brand on ebay, got it. And saved almost everything before it, that second recorder, died. It was well worth the $50.00 that I paid for the used recorder. I have never went without finalizing my DVDs since.
I was just forunate that it did recognize the DVDs from the other recorder.

[orsetto]

Brent G. got caught in an uncommon "branding trap" that didn't usually occur until the past year or so. Until very recently, most of the "big name" brands either made their own recorders with a consistent operating system over several generations, or they subcontracted to a single OEM mfr who followed the same precautions. Unfinalized discs are generally interchangeable for finalizing between most 2003-2006 models within lines of Panasonic, Pioneer, Toshiba and Sony.

Unfortunately in 2005 Pioneer took the unusual step of subcontracting its very last non-HDD model, the 233 (and its VHS/DVD combo recorders) to mediocre outside suppliers. It is obvious to users of any "real" Pioneer that Pioneer had absolutely nothing to do with the design of these units other than to put their name on them. These "budget" Pioneers lacked every identifiable Pioneer feature you can think of, and are unable to recognize or finalize DVDs made on "real" Pioneers. (For future reference to curious Pioneer owners, I have found that unfinalized DVD-R discs made on ANY hard drive equipped Pioneer can be finalized on any other hard drive equipped Pioneer, and also the earlier non-HDD models like the 210, 310, 220, and 225. Just this week I recorded some shows on a 510, moved the disc to a 450 to add more shows, then brought it back to the 510 for finalizing (I prefer the menu options on the older Pios for certain recordings). Considering the 4 year gap between models, and that the 510 uses a Pioneer burner while the 450 uses a Sony burner, that's pretty cool! I gather from similar reports by Panasonic and Toshiba owners that the same thing applies to those brands.

Beginning in late 2006-early 2007, the remaining mfrs of non-HDD recorders started farming out production to multiple subcontractors, and reliable finalization of discs between older and newer models of the same brand became impossible. The only non-HDD recorder brand that still maintains a high percentage of compatibility between old and new models is Panasonic.

[jjeff]

Unfortunately in 2005 Pioneer took the unusual step of subcontracting its very last non-HDD model, the 233 (and its VHS/DVD combo recorders) to mediocre outside suppliers. It is obvious to users of any "real" Pioneer that Pioneer had absolutely nothing to do with the design of these units other than to put their name on them. These "budget" Pioneers lacked every identifiable Pioneer feature you can think of, and are unable to recognize or finalize DVDs made on "real" Pioneers. .

Sure, '05 was the year I tried a Pio The VHS/DVDR combo you spoke of. I test drove it for a few days and promptly returned it to Sams club. Until I realized it wasn't representative of the Pioneer line I couldn't for the life of me figure why people liked them so I don't think that Pio even had the flexible record mode that it sounds like all the later ones have, I think Pioneer calls it Mn or something like that.
My guess is that the current Funai made Toshibas are also incompatible with the "real" Toshibas of the past but this is only a guess.

[ClondikeCat]

Can't those unfinalized discs not be finalized on PC using cdr-tools Frontend?

[SLK001]

Can't those unfinalized discs not be finalized on PC using cdr-tools Frontend?

I believe that IsoBuster can read the discs even if they are not finalized. At least you can transfer off what you want to keep.

And, DVD+RW CANNOT be read by all players.

But then, I might be wrong!

[retro junkie]

My guess is that the current Funai made Toshibas are also incompatible with the "real" Toshibas of the past but this is only a guess.

Just how many name brands is Funai making recorders for now? It would be interesting to know who makes what. My Magnavox that I picked up at Walmart is Funai made.

[wabjxo]

..

[zoobie]

are you ok?
which foot was it?