Can I prevent [i]Unsupported [/i]disks???

[Newsgirl]

Greetings! We currently use several Panasonic DMR-E50 recorders for daily tapings. After several attempts to find the best and most reliable blank DVD's, we have settled with TDK DVD-R, 2x4.7GB blank disks.

However, we still experience the problem of blank disks coming up as 'unsupported'. Since the recordings we do often begin AFTER we leave the office for the day, we don't realize the disk is unsupported until the next morning, when it's too late and nothing recorded.

Strange and probably stupid question, but is there some sort of test or way to see if a disk is 'unsupported' before we try to use it? Obviously, a very short test taping is an option, but even then - some of the unsupported disks will record a little, before deciding it doesn't want to finish.

Any help would be appreciated - thanks so much!!

[samijubal]

Have you tried Prodiscs? I have never had a problem with them no matter what they were used in. I would think TDK would be a good disc. Can't you just put the disc in and wait for it to scan it before turning off the power? It should come up with however much record time is left on the disc. I don't know how many times you use each disc, but I found the more times a DVD-R disc is optimized the greater chance that it will have trouble scanning it once in awhile.

[Newsgirl]

I do let the Panasonic recorders scan (or read) each disc before I turn it off. And yes, it does show me the recording time left.

A few times (albeit rarely) the recorder will read the disc and display the 'unsupported' message - which is awesome! More often though, it will not let me know it's unsupported until it tries recording.

Can I ask how much the Prodiscs are? Thanks for your help - have a super weekend!

Go Tribe!

[lordsmurf]

Your drive may be dirty or going bad.

[Newsgirl]

Your drive may be dirty or going bad.

When you say that, you mean the tray in which I place the blank disc? And these Panasonic recorders are 3 months old - could they all be be dirty and going bad at once, so soon?

Considering I would get this 'unsupported disc' message shortly after we bought the recorders, that doesn't make sense to me.

[Capmaster]

I had that problem with my Panny LF-D311. I took it apart as far as I could and hit it with compressed air all over. A canned duster should work fine too

[Newsgirl]

I had that problem with my Panny LF-D311. I took it apart as far as I could and hit it with compressed air all over. A canned duster should work fine too

I'll certainly try it - thanks so much for the advice. Have a great weekend!!

[samijubal]

I get the prodiscs for 40 cents apiece from Rima.com when buying 100 at a time. I had the same problem you are having only when putting 11 episodes of a series on a disc. At first the disc would be fine, but the more episodes I put on the disc and the more times it scanned the disc it would not work once in awhile when I started getting to the last episodes. I was recording them not timer recording them, so I would just open and close the tray and it would scan it the second time, can't do that when timer recording. I don't know why the Panasonics have to scan the disc twice, when it's inserted and again when it goes to record, that's just more times being optimized, more wear on the drive and more chance that the disc won't be recognized. I always hated that about the Panasonic. The JVC scans the disc when it's inserted and not again till a new disc is inserted, much better.

[Capmaster]

I had that problem with my Panny LF-D311. I took it apart as far as I could and hit it with compressed air all over. A canned duster should work fine too

I'll certainly try it - thanks so much for the advice. Have a great weekend!!

Thanks. You too

I forgot to mention, get yourself a laser lens cleaner (about $10) from Walmart or Walgreen's and use it after the compressed air cleaning, and regularly. With that Panny I had to use it every 20 or 30 burns or it'd start giving me errors

[louthewiz]

Why don't get a dvd recorder with a hard drive, that way you can audition and make sure the recording is good before burning and that way you won't lose any more recordings.I have the DMR-E80H and I always use ritek go4s and I never have a bad burn ,I have tried tdk and they always give me trouble.I hope this helps.