Daytek DVD Recorder

[ROBERT BLACK]

I believe it's called the P-30? It may be a rebadged daewoo. Does anyone here know anything about it? Canada's Futureshop(our BestBuy) just got a shipment of these in. They're very new and they don't have a listing on they're website yet. I've tried to gather some information via the net but they're doesn't seem to be anything about it. It's +R,+RW and has a DV port and is going fairly cheap(apparently going on sale for less soon) It's shell looks a lot like the Phillips models.

[ROBERT BLACK]

Here's the specs on the Daytek. It doesn't have a couple of the functions of other more expensive recorders but it doesn't have the pricetag either.


http://www.daytek.ca/dvrp30.html

[Gil T Pleasure]

It may be a rebadged daewoo.

Reading the manual, I believe this is a rebadged Liteon 5001.

[ROBERT BLACK]

Reading the manual, I believe this is a rebadged Liteon 5001.

What in the manual alerted you to that conclusion? I saw the Liteon a week back and although the shell looks similar(quite a few models do)The Daytek seemed smaller and lighter. I'm not saying you're incorrect but that's how it looked to me. If it is the LiteOn, the quality compared to the Malata DVDR-R3(see other thread) is substantially inferior.

[ROBERT BLACK]

According to support over at www.Daytek.ca It's NOT the LiteOn DVDR 5001. They wouldn't say if it's a rebadged Phillips or Daewoo.

[Gil T Pleasure]

What in the manual alerted you to that conclusion?

Compare the Daytek manual to the Liteon manual. Looks similar, don't you agree?

[ROBERT BLACK]

Yes it does. But Daytek support denied it being the LiteOn. Either they lied, in which case they're goes they're credibility, and possibly a few sales, or they're telling the truth, and it's a clone of the Daewoo or Phillips.

[Georg T]

I can absolutely confirm for you that it is a Lite-on LVW 5001. I purchased one, popped the top to look inside and screened right on the motherboard is LVW5001 rev4. It also has a Lite-on 411s drive inside.

I don't know why Daytek would tell you otherwise, that kind of concerns me. It is so obvious that it is a Lite-on. The manuals are almost identical and the Daytek has a "Guider" button on the remote which is a registered trademark of Lite-on.

The image quality is very good, I managed over the last couple of weeks to purchase a defective Malata and a defective Toshiba. By far the Daytek has the best picture quality in 4 hour mode.

So if you are looking for more information you can now search out for the Lite-on. The Gateway A230 is also the same box.

[ROBERT BLACK]

I don't know why Daytek would tell you otherwise, that kind of concerns me. It is so obvious that it is a Lite-on. The manuals are almost identical and the Daytek has a "Guider" button on the remote which is a registered trademark of Lite-on.

Georg this may have cost them my purchase. They're loss. But thank you for posting this information. It's appreciated. I suspect they went to a few AV forums and didn't like what they were reading about the LiteOn. Regardless I don't like being lied to. I'm more curious as to the experience you encountered with that defective Malata(I assume the DVDR-R3?) Please elaborate.

[Georg T]

Robert, The Malata that I bought was the DVR-R2, which was rebranded as the Polaroid 0900. The drive inside was a standard IDE NEC model ND 1100a, which is the same drive I have in my PC.
I had a number of problems with it however. First they put in a cooling fan as an afterthough, it was just placed inside the case with no vent holes in site. The fan was cheap and out of balance, you could hear the vibration from it throughout the house. Second the disks that I burned would not always play in the machine, but would play in my 3 year old Panasonic dvd player with no problem. Thirdly, as stated in the manual it only likes Memorex or Maxell blanks, which I confirmed with the inability to use the Mitsumi disks that I use on my PC. The final and bigest problems was that when watching tv, not even recording, the video and audio would go out of sync. It was like watching a badly dubbed Japanese movie!

As for the problems that I have read about with the Lite-on they seem to have been heat related. They may have solved this problem with the Daytek revision. They have added a cooling fan, I think as an afterthough since the wires are held in place with hot melt glue. I was impressed by the fact that Lite-on updates the firmware on a regular basis to address compatibility issues and add functionality. I have read where someone with a Gateway model updated theirs with the Lite-on firmware with no problems. Just to check it out I went to the Lite-on site, entered my serial number and it allowed me to download the latest firmware. I have no intention of updating it yet however.

I was really looking to get a Lite-on LVW 5005 with the dual, format drive. But I can't seem to find any, I am not sure if they are available yet or ever will be in Canada.

So far I have been impressed with the Daytek, but I have only had it going for 4 days so far. I will update with any problems that I encounter.

[ROBERT BLACK]

I was really looking to get a Lite-on LVW 5005 with the dual, format drive. But I can't seem to find any, I am not sure if they are available yet or ever will be in Canada.

Thanks for the info. I'm curious as to where you got that Malata DVDR R2 from. I've only seen the dual tray R3 around Toronto. It does have a cooling fan and a ventilation slot. About the same as the Daytek, it seems. I admit I'm leaning toward purchasing the R3, but I'd still like to hear some feedback from people who have it, before I do.You may be able to eventually find the LiteOn LVW 5005 here, www.PacificMallToronto.com Go to the store called AVcentre. They currently have the LiteOn 5001 and the LiteOn 2001 DIVX DVD player. I'm sure they'll get the 5005 model in. Probably special order it if you ask.

[ROBERT BLACK]

I was really looking to get a Lite-on LVW 5005 with the dual, format drive. But I can't seem to find any, I am not sure if they are available yet or ever will be in Canada.

Thanks for the info. I'm curious as to where you got that Malata DVDR R2 from. I've only seen the dual tray R3 around Toronto. It does have a cooling fan and a ventilation slot. About the same as the Daytek, it seems. I admit I'm leaning toward purchasing the R3, but I'd still like to hear some feedback from people who have it, before I do.You may be able to eventually find the LiteOn LVW 5005 here, www.PacificMallToronto.com Go to the store called AVcentre. They currently have the LiteOn 5001 and the LiteOn 2001 DIVX DVD player. I'm sure they'll get the 5005 model in. Probably special order it if you ask.

[Georg T]

I picked up the Malata at Costco here in Edmonton, it was 469.00 discounted to 399.00. It was the last one they had, if they had any more I probably would have given it another try.

Another place that I have seen Malata is The Brick. I only saw the hard drive model and it was going for around 450.00.

[ROBERT BLACK]

Another place that I have seen Malata is The Brick. I only saw the hard drive model and it was going for around 450.00.

Holy crap,that was quick. I wasn't expected that model for a while. I''ll phone the Brick today,and ask. If I see the LiteOn LVW 5005 available at a national chain or for Canadian mailorder I'll post the info.

[derrick972]

Robert, The Malata that I bought was the DVR-R2, which was rebranded as the Polaroid 0900.

Just as I thought, the Malata R2 is a rebagged Polaroid(or vice versa), so the Coby R1000 must be a rebagged version of one of the 2. Is the R2 still in production. I heard through the grapevine that it wasn't. Too bad that George is experiencing difficulties with the recorder. Hopefully, I won't have those problems with the Coby, but knowing my luck I will!!!..Thanks for the info on the Malata, George!

[the wordsmith]

Yes it does. But Daytek support denied it being the LiteOn. Either way they lied, in which case there goes their credibility, and possibly a few sales, or they're telling the truth, and it's a clone of the Daewoo or Phillips.

Since Daewoo and Daytek are one and the same, it figures that the model in question would be the Daewoo under another badge. Since I have never seen the Daewoo product around Toronto, I would concur that either way this is definitely the Liteon.

Ignoring Daytek's credibilty (after all they can't even bother to get their manual localised in proper English) I went out in the week and purchased one from Best Buy (got a good deal on a pristine customer return).

Set it up last night and tested several formats. Some problem with a Memorex DVD+R burned on my computer (did I not finalise correctly I wonder?) but hugely happy with recording of Without a Trace in the 2hr compression mode on a DVD+RW. Should be slightly better in the one hour mode I assume. I won't use higher compression unless movie really calls for it by being too long. I never subscribed to substandard VHS performance by being chintzy on tapes - use the best recording level compatible with the size of the media. )

I have been doing video capture on my computer and invested far too much money on hardware. Even at the full price ($CDN 399) this is a steal if it proves to be reliable hardware.

Does anyone know what CODEC these things use to render on the fly? The ones that shipped with my Leadtek card are the pits - dropped frames and blockky pixels make the direct to disk "fast burn" impossible. I now use HuffyUV Codec with VVCR and Virtualdub, but it is painfully slow. The Daytek makes the whole thing much more user friendly.

So, screw credibility. Save some cash and go with what works. I'll keep you posted.

[Thomas Davie]

I've had the Daytek/Liteon for a week now, and have no complaints about it. The fact thgat, out of the box you can apply a simple code entry and macrovision defat is amazing for the price.

I've tried recording in 1, 2 4 and 6 hour mode. The one time I had a write fail, I looked at the bottom of the disc and saw a huge greasy pizza tytpe fingerprint (oops!). Cleaned it and the disc worked fine. All of the inputs work fine, and copying DVD's is a breeze, if all you want to do is capture the movies and not the menues/extras.

So far, so good.

I've used Memorex +RW (4x) and Optodisc +RW (2.4x). Haven't tried any other kinds or +R's. So far, the discs I've recorded work on a Citizen JDVD3842, and Initial DVD9510, my computers and girlfriend's DVD player (don't know what kind).

Tom

[oldfart13]

Apparently, these decks (P-30) have problems when burning 4X media as the drives they use are older units that would have to be upgraded (as was the case with a friend's Pioneer A04) to allow proper usage of the 4X media. I notice that the Liteon 5005 uses a +-R/RW drive that will handle the 4X media just fine. Has anyone pulled the drive out of their P-30 to find out what it is and upgraded it to work with 4X media? I do like the macrovision and region free menu but the units have too many quirks otherwise...

[ROBERT BLACK]

I believe the drive is the NEC 1100a. The Daytek IS VERY picky with 4x media. But works fine with Maxell 4x. Not sure if it burned at 4x all the way through though. You can upgrade the firmware through the LiteOn website. Just use the 2002 model upgrade it works on all LiteOn clones as well. Only ONE PROBLEM with upgrading the firmware it removes the No Macrovision protection option. So if you want that, it's advisable to either keep the current firmware or wait for the LiteOn 2005, or some other model. I am. What 4x media did you try OldFart?

[the wordsmith]

I have now used Memorex +R and +RW with no noticeable problems. I don't think the unit is quirky at all - so far!!! Time will tell. I am not sure that upgrading the firmware is such a great idea unless there are some serious problems with the unit.

All in all, I am finding this a great value for the price but I also expect all these things to eventually come down even more in due course. Watch for Best Buy and Future Shop to have them on sale sometime soon.

I want to try the cheaper RW disks from TigerDirect, also. Does anyone have any experience with these KHypermedia +RW media?

[oldfart13]

My buddy actually had problems with the Memorex +RWs he got when he got the P-30 (unreadable even in his computer drives). The 4X Memorex +Rs work just fine, so he is happy. I'm going to check out The Brick for the Malata HDD units. I do like that the P-30 does PAL anamorphic widescreen just fine in NTSC. Now I can watch all those UK horror movies that a friend imported...

[flybyu]

I have had the Daytek unit for a couple of weeks so far and no problems
on Memorex +R. The dvd drive sounds a bit noisy when it winds up but
also cool.
I have to dump some digital video off my Sony mini DV this weekend with the firewire, hope the final quality will be good or close to original.

At 400.00 CND with 10 Memorex +R DVD's cannot go wrong, also with
macrovision kill included, big bonus.
Only thing better would be a added HD (5020) but all ready have a Dishplayer,
UTV and Vu PVR.

[the wordsmith]

Just an update for anyone interested. I tried the KHypermedia RW disks (they had actually dropped 7 bucks at TigerDirect since I last looked). They seem to work fine, but since there is a sale on Memorex DVD+RW that brings them down to the same price at Future Shop I will stick with those for the time being (plus they are 4x versus 2.4x - does anyone know if that makes a difference on this type of recorder?)

However, speaking of quirks, I am having great difficulty with the timer on my unit. If I test it during the day, it always seems to function properly, but as soon as I set up to record a movie during the night, I seem to have a problem. I wonder if it doesn't like changing dates (set up at 11pm on the 18th to record at 2.20 am on the 19th, and nothing happened - checked the timer settings next day - still set and tagged as OK) On another occasion, I set up the night before, and next morning got "Failed" message. I even tried pre-formatting the RW disks as an added precaution (using Guider of course).

Maybe I have a bad unit, but before I rush back to the store, does anyone else have anything to report on this topic?

[kidkurrupt]

I'm wondering, since it is basically a Liteon 5001, has anybody tried flashing it with the Liteon 5001 firmware?

Has anybody successfully found a code to bitset using the remote?

[Sam Ontario]

I'm wondering, since it is basically a Liteon 5001, has anybody tried flashing it with the Liteon 5001 firmware?

Has anybody successfully found a code to bitset using the remote?

I would like to know as well. I am not touching my DVR-P30 unless some one tried sucessful.

[Thomas Davie]

I'm wondering, since it is basically a Liteon 5001, has anybody tried flashing it with the Liteon 5001 firmware?

Has anybody successfully found a code to bitset using the remote?

I would like to know as well. I am not touching my DVR-P30 unless some one tried sucessful.

Been done already. I've had it working with the hacked 1163 firmware for over a week with 0 problems. But, you will have to do it in 3 steps.

1) 1163.ds1 from Liteon (hangs at 97%, just unplug, wait a few seconds, and restart by pluggin it in and turning it on).

2) 1163.d11 from Liteon.

3) 1163.d11 hacked (removing macrovision and giving you the 3 hour LP recording mode).

I am assuming that your Daytek has the 1141 firmware. If you needs the specific files, email me at tdavie7@mts.net, and I can email them to you. Total size of the 3 files is ~6 mb if my memory serves. Other people have also converted the Daytek as well.

Tom

(ps, when you turn on the upgraded Daytek, you now get a splash screen that says 'Liteon')

[Sam Ontario]

Tom,

Pls advise the differences between 1163 and 1141, thanks. Basically, I only used Maxell 4x DVD+RW in the P30 and then use my LG GSA4082B in my PC to delete commercials and unwantedd scenes in my VHS tapes with DVD Shrink.

[Thomas Davie]

Tom,

Pls advise the differences between 1163 and 1141, thanks. Basically, I only used Maxell 4x DVD+RW in the P30 and then use my LG GSA4082B in my PC to delete commercials and unwantedd scenes in my VHS tapes with DVD Shrink.

I'm going off of memory because I am at work at the moment, but here goes (these are the most important features for me).

1. Ability to do 'One touch recording', whereby each press of the record button will increment the recoding time by 30 minutes up to the limit (1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 hours).

2. A 'text' mode added to the playback screen which gives you the option of adding much longer and more descriptive titles when you edit.

3. A 3 hour record mode (this is in the hacked firmware, nit the official one).

There's much more, but these are the ones that stick in my head. Somewhere on this site, I posted a list of changes.

As for the blanks, I am using Mitsumi +RWs only because I was able to buy them cheap at Future Shop.

I use DVD Decrypto to get the files to my hard drive, and then mpeg-vcr to cut out the commercials.

Tom

[flybyu]

Well after repeated use of my Daytek unit and burning lots of my kids
hockey games the Daytek finally decided to pack its bags and give up
peacefully.
The unit would not format the DVD's anymore and would sometimes die
during recordings.
I took it back to futureshop with my extended warranty in hand and they
told me they did not carry the unit anymore, they offered a replacement
or me to wait for the Daytek to be fixed and a 8 week turnaround time.

So i said Fuckit and went with a Pioneer 520 with 80Gb HD, much better
unit, functional menus etc.
So now i can download of the sats to the HD and then just burn what i
want to DVD.
On other commercial disks just use my computer and DVD shrinks to make a copy.
Well I tried the Daytek out and it worked well for the first 6-8 months and then died.
If they had another replacement I would have stayed with it, but no luck so Pioneer i am.

[electrical]

I have a new Daytek Reccorder built Aug 2004.
I am having problems upgrading firmware DTEA1090.
Any ideas?