LITEON LVW-5101 PROBLEMS SOLVED

[tipstir]

LITEON LVW-5101 DVD RECORDER
DVD+R / DVD+RW

Well it's been a month since purchasing the recorder from Sam’s Club, and found out yesterday I couldn't get the darn unit to turn on. Power button or the remote failed to respond to my commands.

1. To solve the power not turning back on.

1. Unplug the power cord the unit (wait 10 seconds)
2. Plug in the power cord unit
3. Press SETUP on the remote
4. Select INITIAL SETUP
5. Select USER PREFERENCE
6. Select RESTORE
7. Select DEFAULT

2. Update Firmware

Firmware location: http://www.liteonamericas.com/us/download_dvd.htm

1. Download LNMA1030.D20
2. Burn it as a Data CDR
3. Choose Finalize CD
4. CD DISC TITLE: Mediatek
5. Burn it
6. Turn on the Liteon 5101 DVD Recorder
7. Insert Firmware CD into your unit
8. Wait for the CD to eject and remove the CD from the tray
9. Tray should close and firmware update will continue until finish

Follow the unit onscreen message from there. I would recommend you do a complete Restore to Default again, because I had notice the unit started to record on it's own and weird things. Once that was done Restore to Default all problems are solved after the firmware update!

[Xyscaling]

Thanks for the info about the upgrade.

One question.

How does the "upgrade" help?? I know some of the Liteon "upgrades" left owners of other model Liteon recorders in worse shape than before they did the upgrade.

Just curious.
thanks, Tom

[tipstir]

Tom,

I think you had the same problem with your Liteon 5101 also? Where you just reset it and the problem was fixed, but other problems pop up.

Answer your question about the firmware

With the firmware release should fix this problem and the other problems (like weird info showing up by it self in the unit display window) I've notice, but I am keeping on eye on it. I didn't know other users with different Liteon Home DVD Recorder models were having problems after their firmware updates. Hopefully the folks at Liteon will solve these problems with the next release of its firmware for their Home DVD Recorders.



I think everyone who purchases one of these Liteon recorders should do a factory RESTORE TO DEFAULT after they program in the CATV AUTOSCAN even do it twice.

[Xyscaling]

Tipstir,
I just completed the update. Sure appreciate your 1,2,3 steps as this helped me know what to expect. Now let's see what kind of difference it makes.

Let me be the first to wish YOU a Merry Christmas. Many thanks. Tom

[tipstir]

Update since the firmware udpate!

Everything still looking good, improve speed and performance.

[tipstir]

Still working great!

[Xyscaling]

Same here.........
No more "lock-ups" when I turn it on.

This is an excellent recorder for transferring laserdiscs and videotapes.
Glad I didn't have to pay top $$$$ to do these things.
Tom Merry Christmas

[canadateck]

I'm going try the update tonight,Got the recorder on boxing day for 107$ set it up,and had a lockup about 2 hours of not using it. Anyone find the tuner is a bit bright? I also noticed I couldnt get audio out of the coax, had to use audio cables ,but it Does feed Audio to the T.V Coax on my T.Vs cable in,Is it just me??? Thanks for the tips tipstir.

[tipstir]

Did you change anything in the setup for the audio. Do the update and see what happens. Don't forget to do a RESTORE TO DEFAULT after the update!

[canadateck]

Did you change anything in the setup for the audio. Do the update and see what happens. Don't forget to do a RESTORE TO DEFAULT after the update!

Yup i did the update,Stoped the lock ups, Thanks tipstir. About the Audio i didnt do anything,On the back , Ant in and Ant out,set that up to the T.V, but had to add the Audio cables,but on the TV if i go to Video Source 1 thats where i have the Coax going,I get Audio,But if i go to Video Source 2 thats where the Recorder is,I get no Audio without using a Cable.

[canadateck]

Heres what I mean about the Tuner Being Bright, it looks like this.

[tipstir]

Wow your contrast (picture), brightness are way off.

Did you say you used both RF IN and RF OUT, Don't use the RF OUT and just the RF IN. Can you send a signal to your 5101 through the A/V and record something and see if you get the same results? If you do take it back to the store for another one. You might have got a bad one?

[canadateck]

The Cable/Coax coming from the wall goes into the "IN" of the Recorder, then i take the "OUT" and send that to the Tv..Is this not how i should do it?

[tipstir]

No don't do it that way..

I use a high quality low loss 2.5GHz splitter and that connects directly to the DVD Recorder RF IN.

I have Comcast Digital and Analog Cable feeds

So I use the splitter for analog channels 1-99
I use A/V-IN/OUT amp splitter for digital channels 100 and up. That connects directly to the A/V on the Liteon 5101 rear.

You might not have the same type of Motorola Digital Box and your cable might not do analog cable.

Does your TV have A/V connectors?

Can you hookup a VCR connected to the cable and then use the A/V out to the Liteon In on the front to see what type of Picture you get and post it here.

[canadateck]

I have 6 A/V inputs on the TV.What you said about the spliter sounds good. So i should Split the Cable/Coax to the TV then To the Recorder,then from the recorder use Svideo out to the TV With Audio cables?

[tipstir]

Yes!

[tipstir]

Download site to grab the firmware is backup!

[leo_canada]

Hi,

I just got a Lite-on 5101, and I have a problem
with the first DVD that I tried to produce.

I used the blank +RW DVD that came in with
this unit (in the package), I don't know which brand it is...

I recorded a couple of minutes of a Hi8 tape from a camcorder
via the S-video input, and then made the recorded
DVD "compatible" using the corresponding setup menu option.

I did not finalize the DVD because the "finalize" option was not enabled in the menu, I guess because there is no need to finalize +RW DVDs.

The problem: while the recorded DVD plays fine with the
Lite-On (and the picture quality is quite good),
I was not able to play this DVD in any
other DVD player.

More specifically, my Philips 727 (which is supposed to play almost anything), refuses to play it (it keeps flashing "loading"on its display),
and my Apple Powerbook spits it out.

Did I do something wrong while recording?
(This is my first DVD recording...)
Is there anything else I should do besides
activating the "make it compatible" option of the
set-up menu?

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

[Bridge]

I'm having the exact same problems with mine. My contrast and brightness is so blown out that it makes the whole picture all washed out and unwatchable. My Tivo/DVD combo unit just broke today but when it did work I had to turn the contrast down -2 and the brightness -4 (out of 7) to get the picture to look o.k otherwise the picture looks like the picture posted above. TV, VCRs and other records show a normal picture. Light on shows a blown out (contrast/brightness) problem. I tried all kinds of hookups with it but it does the same thing. Are all Lite On's like these two or is this not normal?

Also, I tried to burn some DVD+RW disks today. Only the now broken Toshiba (with Light On firmware upgrade first) and the the Lite on played them back. My other DVD/burners didn't. Not even my Sony which is suppose to play back DVD+RW and +R disks.

[ronsking]

"I did not finalize the DVD because the "finalize" option was not enabled in the menu, I guess because there is no need to finalize +RW DVDs.

The problem: while the recorded DVD plays fine with the
Lite-On (and the picture quality is quite good),
I was not able to play this DVD in any
other DVD player. "


On my Liteon 5005 I found that it's best to select ERASE the RW discs from the Guider.

Then one of the formatting choices will be to format the disc so all players can recognize it. It takes around 35-40 minutes. The other option is a quick format which says you'll have to FINALIZE the RW after recording to get it to play on other machines.

That didn't work for me. The long format did. Of course it will erase what's now on the disc.

[tipstir]

I never bothered to use the blank media that came in the box, I've been using what I have been using on the PC. Maxell 4x DVD+R and Maxell 4x DVD+RW.

Don't have any problems.

Now as to the wash out colors I haven't seen that, actually what I see is excellent.

How are you watching the playback through the RF-Out or through S-Video or standard video?

[tipstir]

Those of you with the wash out colors, try re-setting the unit back to factory defaults. How to do this is at the begining of this thread. If that doesn't work try updating the firmware. If that doesn't work take it back to the store and try another one if you like.

[canadateck]

I solved the Washed out/Brightness problem by Using the Tuner in my Sony VHS, I even tried using my Tuner from my TV it has 2 , and the Problem was still there.The tuner, I think maybe the Downside of this set up.

[tipstir]

What's the manufacture date behind your unit? I still don't have that type of problem you're saying you have. I might be lucky and don't have a Lemon.

[leo_canada]

Hi,

Thank you all for your comments...

Ronsking: I tried to erase the RW+ disk that gave me the trouble
(it was unreadable on other DVD palyers) using the corresponding erase option
from the disc menu. The erase process started OK, but then stopped
in the middle and displayed "error" on the screen!
Now this disc seems unusable...

Tipstir: Yes, the RW+ disk that was included in the box may not be compatible,
but it is pretty amazing that Liteon would supply a disk that actually
causes errors (and many returns to the store...). I would assume that
they would chose a highly compatible one. In any case, my troubles continued
with other blank DVDs that I tried:

I tried two R+ DVDs (both Verbatim x2.4, don't know the original manufacturer)
Twice the recording stopped in the middle of the recording
with no apparent reason. Moreover when I tried to finalize them,
I got an error message...

==> So far, I have three coasters...

By the way, I did update the firmware (that was the first thing that
I did, as soon as I installed this unit). On the other hand, I did
NOT reset the unit to the "default" as Tipstir explain at the beginning
of this thread: I could not find the USER PREFERENCE
option in the setup menu...

At this point I am close to giving up and return this unit
to the store (Walmart)!

Thanks,

ps. By the way, the remaining (available) time to record,
which can be displayed using the OSD key on the remote,
was suddenly halved during my recording trials:
when i tried recording with HQ, and it was showing
that I had about 1 hour left, it suddenly shifted to about 1/2 hour.
When I was recording at SP, and it was showing about 2 hours left,
it suddenly shifted to about 1 hour left!

[yg1968]

You must do a restore to default for these problems to go away.

Restore to default is one of the very last options in the menu on the right of the screen.

[tipstir]

Yes you have to do that, a few times until its set. I had an issue with the clock advancing ahead by 10 minutes. Just got back to home base and fixed the darn clock. Everything is working again.

[leo_canada]

yg1968 and Tipstir:

Thanks a lot for your suggestions, but I finally gave up on my Liteon 5101
and returned it to Walmart a couple of weeks ago.
(I could not find the "reset to default" anywhere on the menu,
and I suspect I had a defective unit).

Thanks for your help!

[Off-topic: I intend to buy a Liteon 5005 (also because,
in contrast to the Liteon 5101, the 5005 has some PAL
capabilities, and it can be modified to be multi-region and MV free :-}

But I am having trouble locating this unit in the Toronto/Canada
area where I reside: the Costcos around here do not carry them
like in the USA, and we don't have Kmart either.
Does anyone knows where one can get a Liteon 5005
around Toronto, for a reasonable price?]

[tipstir]

Where did you buy your Liteon 5101 from? You kept on saying returning it to Wal-Mart, only SAMS Club sold that model. The restore to default was in the main menu next to exit. The last tab then you scroll down. I know sometimes it doesn't appear, you have to have the unit on for a while for it to show up.

Try Radio Shack (TANDY) they have Liteon 5006.
Sears has Liteon 5007
Sams Club 5101
Kmart & Costco 5005

How come you didn't get a second one from the store and just return the first one. Now it might be too late?

[leo_canada]

Hi,

I found the 5101 in the Wal-Mart in the Toronto area (in
Canada), they sell them for 199 Canadian $ (at least
this was the price a couple of weeks ago...).

I checked at Sam's Club in Toronto, but it does
not carry any Liteons (and Costco doesn't either).
Plus, there are no Kmarts here, and I don't think
Radio Shack or Sears carry any Liteon in Canada...

==> Trying to locate a Liteon 5005 around here is a bit frustrating!

P.S. I could go and buy another 5101 from the local
Wal-Mart (I got a full refund for the previous one),
but I really want to try the 5005...