Accessing files from a Daytek DVR-950S

[Forge]

Hi Folks,

I just recently bought a Daytek DVR-950S to record some kids television shows for my daughter to watch later. I'm having a couple of problems with the unit:

1. Once I burn a DVD with the unit, I cannot play it on any other DVD player in the house.
1a. But I can watch the DVD in the Daytek unit its self.
1b. When I look at the burned portion of the disk it is seperated from the rest of the disk with a almost silver line. So unlike most burned disks where you can see the discoloration due to burning, this has that, but also has an extra bit of discoloration that seems to make other DVD players think the disk is empty.
2. I have recorded television shows to the 160GB IDE Hard Drive, but when I take it out of the unit and try to extract the files to my computer to burn to a regular DVD it doesn't allow me access the files.
2a. I can view the folders just fine. There are two of them and one of them contains what appears to be MPEG files, but my computer cannot access them.

Daytek appears to have gone out of business and I was wondering if any of you folks had any experience with this rig or know what I'm seeing and how to work around it. Anyway, great site. Thanks.

Forge.

[jman98]

Is it possible that you are not finalizing the DVDs? That would certainly explain the "won't play on any other player" issue.

I'm not familiar with this device but DVD recorders with hard disks may use proprietary file formats for recording. Sometimes these devices use Linux file systems for reasons of cost (no licensing fees) and PCs will not normally be able to access such file systems. You'll need to find a Daytek expert for help. If no one here has experience with it then you should try to find a forum elsewhere that is specific to Daytek DVD recorders, if one exists.

[Forge]

Hi jman98. Thanks for your time. Yeah I'm going to check the finalizing issue today. I heard from the guy I bought it from and he seems to recall needing to do that as well. See I bought it used and I don't have a manual for it so I'm doing all of it by feel. I'll check to see if I can find a finalize option that will take it DVD that I can play elsewhere.

As for the file system, I'm pretty confident that its a fat32 system. I was able to plug it into a computer and view all the files, I just wasn't able to play the only MPEG's on it. But I'm going to work on that too.

Thanks again for taking your time. I will take you advice and look into finalizing the DVD in hopes that solves my issues. I really don't need to take the drive out, I just would like to be able to watch the recordings on other players. Thanks again.

Anyone who might know where I can find a Daytek support sight please let me know. The company appears to have closed shop, and I can't really find anything online.

[usually_quiet]

Hi jman98. Thanks for your time. Yeah I'm going to check the finalizing issue today. I heard from the guy I bought it from and he seems to recall needing to do that as well. See I bought it used and I don't have a manual for it so I'm doing all of it by feel. I'll check to see if I can find a finalize option that will take it DVD that I can play elsewhere.

As for the file system, I'm pretty confident that its a fat32 system. I was able to plug it into a computer and view all the files, I just wasn't able to play the only MPEG's on it. But I'm going to work on that too.

Thanks again for taking your time. I will take you advice and look into finalizing the DVD in hopes that solves my issues. I really don't need to take the drive out, I just would like to be able to watch the recordings on other players. Thanks again.

Anyone who might know where I can find a Daytek support sight please let me know. The company appears to have closed shop, and I can't really find anything online.

What type of DVD media did you use, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW or DVD+RW?
What recording mode did you use for the disc, Video mode, VR mode or +VR mode?

DVD-R, DVD+R and DVD-RW require finalization to be playable in a DVD player.

Discs recorded in -VR mode will usually not be playable in a DVD player even when finalized. However, it is possible to copy the VRO file(s) containing the video to a computer, split it into individual recordings, and re-author for a playable DVD.

[Forge]

Hi jman98. Thanks for your time. Yeah I'm going to check the finalizing issue today. I heard from the guy I bought it from and he seems to recall needing to do that as well. See I bought it used and I don't have a manual for it so I'm doing all of it by feel. I'll check to see if I can find a finalize option that will take it DVD that I can play elsewhere.

As for the file system, I'm pretty confident that its a fat32 system. I was able to plug it into a computer and view all the files, I just wasn't able to play the only MPEG's on it. But I'm going to work on that too.

Thanks again for taking your time. I will take you advice and look into finalizing the DVD in hopes that solves my issues. I really don't need to take the drive out, I just would like to be able to watch the recordings on other players. Thanks again.

Anyone who might know where I can find a Daytek support sight please let me know. The company appears to have closed shop, and I can't really find anything online.

What type of DVD media did you use, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW or DVD+RW?
What recording mode did you use for the disc, Video mode, VR mode or +VR mode?

DVD-R, DVD+R and DVD-RW require finalization to be playable in a DVD player.

Discs recorded in -VR mode will usually not be playable in a DVD player even when finalized. However, it is possible to copy the VRO file(s) containing the video to a computer, split it into individual recordings, and re-author for a playable DVD.

Wow thanks usually_quiet! I am using DVD+R, so I guess I'm going to have to check into finalizing the DVD. As for what recording mode, I don't know, but I'll check the menu's to see if I can find out. Any recommendation as to which mode I use should I have the option?

I've never used a DVD recorder before. This is my first time trying so excuse my lack of knowledge. Thanks.

[usually_quiet]

DVD Video mode has the best compatibility, but for some DVD recorders, +VR mode is the only option available for DVD+R discs. My DVD recorder doesn't use DVD+R media or offer +VR mode recording, but from what I remember reading about it, +VR mode on a DVD+R disc will usually be playable in a DVD player after finalization.

[Forge]

What type of DVD media did you use, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW or DVD+RW?
What recording mode did you use for the disc, Video mode, VR mode or +VR mode?

DVD-R, DVD+R and DVD-RW require finalization to be playable in a DVD player.

Discs recorded in -VR mode will usually not be playable in a DVD player even when finalized. However, it is possible to copy the VRO file(s) containing the video to a computer, split it into individual recordings, and re-author for a playable DVD.

Wow thanks usually_quiet! I am using DVD+R, so I guess I'm going to have to check into finalizing the DVD. As for what recording mode, I don't know, but I'll check the menu's to see if I can find out. Any recommendation as to which mode I use should I have the option?

I've never used a DVD recorder before. This is my first time trying so excuse my lack of knowledge. Thanks.

Okay an update. Taking the advice of both Jman98 and Usually_quiet I did find the "Finalize" option in a remote corner of the setup menu. Strikes me as a weird place to put it but its there and it worked! Now I'm going to work on another couple of things, including recording to hard drive and then direct extraction from it directly, but so far I'm a lot happier with my purchase. If there is anyone else with advice I'd love to hear it. Thanks guys.

[usually_quiet]

Okay an update. Taking the advice of both Jman98 and Usually_quiet I did find the "Finalize" option in a remote corner of the setup menu. Strikes me as a weird place to put it but its there and it worked! Now I'm going to work on another couple of things, including recording to hard drive and then direct extraction from it directly, but so far I'm a lot happier with my purchase. If there is anyone else with advice I'd love to hear it. Thanks guys.

You can try copying files from the HDD, but be aware that DVD recorders often employ some form of proprietary encryption on all files recorded to their HDD. This is done to make sure that recordings cannot be copied easily by connecting the HDD to a computer in the event any of them contain programming that has been marked "copy once" by the TV provider.

[Forge]

Thanks usually_quiet. I appreciate all your advice. I'm not super concerned about the direct to computer now that I can create DVD's. That really is my primary goal. So again, thanks!