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  1. Member bahjan's Avatar
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    Hi,

    I have said model (yes, it is an old one, I know), and when I try to dub from HD to DVD - recorder now says 'disk is dirty' 'unformattable' even if I use a Verbatim DVD RW straight out of the box. DVD's will load and play however. I know this probably means the record/dub function is kaput. Is a factory reset worth a try? This is the second time a DVD/HD recorder has done this to me in resent months, and replacing it yet again doesn't fill me with confidence. My question is, what's best to do next:
    1. Replace the dvd unit. In which case, which dvd is compatible?
    2. Replace the record lens only - is this even possible? Do I need a particular lens?
    3. Can I hook up an external DVD to record off the HD? That might be a solution.
    4. I have read Sony is prone to this kind of failure, as is Pioneer. My other machines have all been dvd recorders. Is there are reliable DVD/HD recorder out there anyone would actually recommend?

    Thanks.
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  2. Hi bahjan, I have the 715 and I come across the "disk is dirty" issue once in a while. I suspect the rubber ring that the dvd sits on is dirty and it's not grabbing the dvd properly and not spinning properly so the unit cant read the disc and thinks it's a "dirty disc". I've tried cleaning the lens, didn't work.

    I came across this trick, had nothing to loose and tried it. It may sound weird and don't know if it will work for you but this what I do. I'll put a bit of saliva (yes saliva) on my finger tip and apply it on the inner edge of the center hole of the writing side of the disc which makes it wet and that makes the rubber ring grab!

    Works for me, The unit might work afterwords for a while before having to repeat the process but I don't mind as long as I can use the 715.

    Most likely you will not find any replacement drive for the 710 from Sony, no other drive would be compatible, same for the lens.

    You could use another dvd recorder and record via the line output in real time but no dubbing.

    The ONLY available dvd\hd recorders on the market today is the Magnavox at Walmart USA, online only, 2 day shipping or pick up at store. Two models (1TB or 500GB) with ATSC tuner.

    Hope this helps.
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  3. There is a distinct cutoff point between the "prehistoric" Sony recorders and "modern" Sony recorders. That cutoff is the RDR-HX525: earlier x00, x10 and x15 models are notorious for having burners from hell that torture their owners with spurious "dirty disc" malfunctions. Your 710 is unfortunately one of those "burner from hell" models: once it starts throwing "dirty disc" at you repeatedly, there's no cure. Best to real-time copy all your HDD videos to another unit via line outputs, and sell your 710 for scrap.

    CrazyCanuck's saliva suggestion does actually work for many recorders, so its worth a try, but don't expect miracles. CrazyCanuck has the 715, which was a transitional Sony model with slightly different burner design. Previous models like your 710 and the popular 900 simply had utterly pathetic burners that break down in umpteen ways (half of them flashed "dirty disc" within a week of being bought new). Beginning with the 525, Sony redesigned the burner to make it much more reliable: those models are more responsive to cleaning the spindle or saliva tricks.

    Replacement burners for the later models are still available from some UK web dealers for approx 100 euros: there's a small chance they might also have replacements for the 710, but you'd need to know the correct model number for the burner (not always clear from the label). Due to the unstable design of the 710 burner, any "new old stock" replacement could very well start in with "dirty disc" drama almost immediately after you install it, so spending 100 euros trying to fix a dying RDR-HX710 is very risky. If you feel its worth the money, check if this vendor can sell you a new burner for your 710 (note again, you would need to know the exact burner part number, these dealers do not track recorder model numbers). There are no spare burners available in North America from traditional parts dealers: perhaps once a year one shows up on eBay and sells within minutes.

    If you have specific need of a DVD/HDD recorder long term, the best investment is in a 2006-era Panasonic like EH55 (North America) or newer EH57, EH58 or EH59 (worldwide PAL/NTSC models). Panasonic was the only recorder brand that had near-indestructible burners: it is not unusual to hear of 7000 dvds burned and the unit still going strong. They hang up every couple years from dust accumulating on their clamps, cleaning this off is usually all thats needed to burn another 1000 dvds.

    In USA, the earlier Magnavox models were also known for fairly dependable burners. The MDR513 was particularly long-lived, the 515 slightly less, models after that had progressively shoddy build quality and high speed burning became useless (I don't consider 2x to be "high speed"). The 513 turns up regularly on eBay in good condition.
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  4. Member bahjan's Avatar
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    Hi,

    Thanks for the suggestion CrazyCanuck, but no luck I'm afraid - maybe for the reasons suggested by orsetto. Thanks to you for posting too. I will see about real time taping onto another unit and might think on about a Panasonic.....

    bahjan
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