Journey of a Refurbished JVC DR-M10S unit....

[BrokenOne]

Hey I am just a normal Joe who likes electronics. I am not as experienced in dealing with them or do I know how “the science” of everything electronic works. All I know when I get a new electronic I am like a little kid in a candy store. I have taken things apart to just see what makes them tick. And it’s interesting. But enough about me and my background. I just recently bought a DVD recorder. First one in my life. It’s a brand and model that everyone seems to be concerned or worried or pissed off at. So I decided after reading a few topics on this DVD recorder to put out a journal like entry for how my machine is functioning so far. This could help some people. It might not. It might change peoples minds about it or it will make people stick to what they think. So here we go….

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Day 1: November 25th, 2005/ Friday

Woke up late and saw an ad for Fry’s Electronics ‘one day only’ sale. I noticed they had a JVC DVD Recorder for 67 bucks plus tax. Then I read that it was refurbished. But I didn’t mind that. I knew it could be bad since it was fixed. But I said screwed it. I had sometime to checkout any reviews of this DVD recorder but in the ad there were no model numbers or anything. I looked it up on Epinion.com. I had to go based on pictures. There were two models. One had no reviews and the other one did. It had 6 reviews. Of course 5 of them were negative in nature and just one was kinda positive. That did scary me a little so I had to make a choice so I said screw it again. Went to Fry’s picked up the machine and bought it. I realized it was a refurbished JVC DR-M10S, the one who got 5 bad reviews. That scared me even more. But I said I would give it a chance. I didn’t even know about fatal loading bug errors or anything just yet. So I brought it home and started to unpack it. It was bigger then I thought. I was surprised because I have only seen two pictures of it. One online and the other in the ad. Both were only front views. This was a huge unit. I didn’t like that but o well…I read that the warranty is pretty bad. A 30 day warranty for labor and a 90 day warranty on parts. Pretty shitty if you ask me but hey it’s refurbished so I shouldn’t have been surprised at all. Anyways, I plugged it in and set-up a few things. I set-up my own settings as follows:

~DVD Set-up:
-Languages Set:
*Menu Language: English
*Audio Language: English
*Subtitle: Off

-Audio Output:
*Digital Audio Out: Dolby Digital/PCM
*Analog Audio Out: Stereo
*D. Range Control: TV Mode
*Output Level: Standard

-Utility:
*Didn’t change or do anything here….


~Function Set-Up:
-Video In/Out:
*Monitor Type: 4:3 LB
*Front AUX F-1: Video
*Rear AUX L-1: Video
*Rear AUX L-2: Video

-Recording Set-Up:
*Save as Library: ON
*XP Mode Rec Audio: Dolby Digital
*2nd Audio Record: OFF

-Display Set-up:
*Superimpose: Auto
*Gray Back: ON
*Dimmer: Dimmed 2
*Power Save: OFF
*On Screen Language: English

-Other
*Auto Timer: Off
*Resume: ON
*AV CompuLink Mode: DVD1


~Initial Set-Up:
-Tuner Set: Didn’t touch this….I did try it but It couldn’t find a signal….So I didn’t even bother since I have satellite Direct TV…

-STB Set:
*Didn’t touch this either…

-Clock Set:
*Auto Clock: Off
*Time: Put the time it was…
*Date: 11/25
*Year: 2005
*DST: ON….


So after that. I decided to try out a DVD that hasn’t been working in any of my DVD players since last Christmas. It was a DVD from Taiwan about 12 girl band or something. To my surprise it worked on this system. It was awesome. The picture was ok, considering the DVD quality on the DVD was crappy any ways. I was quite pleased with it. The sound was amazing. I didn’t view the whole DVD though just scanned through it. Next I tried my BaseKETBall DVD. It worked good but at first try the audio seemed down. It was pissing me off. But I thought nothing of it. I thought it was my TV….So I moved on and hooked up my old Daewoo VCR and my Playstation 2 to the unit. Both looked even better then what I was use to. It made the picture much better. I did notice that when I rewind and fast forward on my VCR that the screen gets bright or bright red like a capture card would do. So that was a little strange but it was all good. So I just left the unit on all night. Because I watch TV when I go to sleep. That’s my first day…

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Day 2: November 26th, 2005/ Saturday

Woke up. It was still on. Still shining its blue light. Just went about it the normal day. Watched TV and played some Playstation 2. Went online….It’s been on for a long time. It’s about night time so I decided to go check my e-mail. I stumbled on to Google and said hey let’s go checkout the facts on this DVD recorder. So I stumbled upon here on Videohelp.com. And what I saw really scared the shit out of me. I looked at topics and there were more negatives on here then positives and that wasn’t the greatest thing I could have read. I was so pissed and mad. I was thinking ‘what the hell did I just get myself into. Then I read and read for hours about this doing that. And that doing this. It really got to me and gave me a headache to tell you the truth. I mean sure it’s helpful and all that but it in my honest opinion is annoying to know you bought something that MIGHT have a problem with it. But I tried to calm down and try not to think too much about it. My unit has been on since I got it home on Friday. I got scared so I went to touch the top of my unit and it was cold not even a tad warm. That was good so far. Then I got scared so I kept playing with the disc tray…opening it and closing it for about 6 times. It still kept working like the first day. Then I tried to turn it off and on for about 4 minutes or less. Nothing bad happened. So that was making me happy so far. This was around 2 in the morning or so. Then I went to sleep and left it on. One note I read this and that about the power save so I turned the power save on but I quickly didn’t like waiting for ever for the unit to WAKE UP…So I quickly turned it off again. Went to sleep. STILL RUNNING AND STILL PLUGGED IN AND ON…..

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Day 3: November 27th, 2005/ Sunday

I woke up in the morning felt like watching a DVD for the first time completely. So I popped in my BaseKETBall DVD. It played awesome and the sound was great now. A tab dark but it could be my TV setting on my TV. But it played the DVD without any problems whatsoever it was great to see how it played and stood up to a DVD play. It stood up great, in my honest opinion. I even tried a CD I burned with pictures and it was amazing how the slide show worked. I was impressed with that. So yeah I just went to my every day thing watched TV and played some Playstation again. I would check the top of the unit to see if it would heat up and nothing. It remained cool. As if it was not even being used. So that basically was my Sunday with it. 3rd day and it hasn’t been turned off and I have yet to experience a problem….

I did notice though that at 12 am that the front clock display said 0:00am but when I went to see display…It said 12:00am so it was just the front display problem. I got worried for a second there. But it changed back to 1am when it was 1am. So that could be a glitch or minor problem for anyone who is anal. But it is still working like usual. I will try and get some TDK 8x blank dvd-r’s to try the recording, which by the sounds of this board was where the problems really started for everyone. So we will see what happens…Just touched it and the top is cool except for a little spot (near the middle of the unit) was Luke warm or as if someone held their hand their for awhile and left a warm spot, as best as I can describe it….Nothing bad….YET!!!

[gshelley61]

Refurbs generally come with a 90 day warranty. Nothing unusual or shitty about that. $67 is a steal for the DR-M10.

The DR-M10S is a very nice DVD recorder... but more than a few of them had a problem with bad resistors that would fail and cause the unit to overheat and stop working (the "loading" problem). JVC took all those customers' units in and fixed them at no charge. Those that were returned to stores for this problem have also been repaired and are sold as refurb units.

I've had a DR-M10 since they first came out and mine still works fine. I never did have the "loading" problem caused by failing resistors. It's still one of my favorite DVD recorders, and has probably the best input video noise filtering available on any machine. Excellent for VHS transfers.

[BrokenOne]

Thanx for the reply. But I am just doing this to maybe help someone who is just like me. Also which brand of DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM...would you recommend?

[trhouse]

If I owned an M10, the first thing I would do is take it apart and see if the slicone rubber thermal pad which is intended to remove the heat from the LSI processor chip is doing its job. On this thread,

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=255081

some thermal pads were too thin to carry the heat away. This can cause irreversible damage to the processor chip.

$67 is a great price.

[BrokenOne]

Day 4: November 28th, 2005/Monday

Well, I hit a bump in the road, sorta speak. I went to go buy a 50 spinal of TDK 1-16x dvd-r's. Brought the bad boys home to try them out. I opened them and popped in the first blank disc. The reading took longer then the usual dvd reading. It read it and said nothing. On the display panel it had a uncomplete red circle missing a part that was white-ish. I couldn't change the speed of the recording. I would get a huge censor/stop sign. in the upper right hand corner. I tried to see if formating did anything (I know, I know give me a break I am a newbie to this). Nothing. I got worried. So I tried the next dvd-r in the spinal. Same reading time and same thing happened. I pressed record and it said PLEASE INSERT RECORDABLE DISC. I was getting pissed and even more worried.

So I was trying to keep a cool head. So I went and did the third disc in the bunch and same thing. I opened and reclosed the tray with the same disc and it was in reading mode for a longer time and seemed to get stuck on it. Now I was worried and sweating bullets. I tried opening the tray but nothing would respond. So I unplugged the unit. I got a loading message and honestly I got scared shitless. because of everything I heard. To be honest the first Loading message I didn't wait that long because I freaked out and unplugged the unit. I waited a minute or two and plugged it back in. Got the loading message but I was cooled down a bit and waited for about 3-4 minutes maybe even less and then the display displayed the clock and everything was normal. Turned the power on and everything was back to normal. I tried reading the disc again. And the same message I got about it not being a recordable disc. It's been a scary night for me. Hopefully this will be a lesson or the last time. I am gonna go return the discs and get some other discs.....Peace Out!!

[BrokenOne]

Found this out over on the JVC website:

This if for the JVC DR-M10S model only
--------------------------------------------------------
DVD-R 1x - 8x (Ver 2.0)..........Will play & Record
1x - 16x (Ver 2.1)........Will play/Might Record
DVD-RW 1x - 2x (Ver 1.1)..........Will play & Record
2x - 6x (Ver 1.2)..........Will play/Might Record
DVD-RAM 1x - 3x (Ver 2.1)...........Will play & Record
2x - 5x (Ver 2.2)...........Will play & Record


And I found this on there too...

Q: My DVD picture is showing a split screen or vertical lines?
A: You may have activated the progressive scan feature and do not have a progressive scan TV. You would need to press the VFP button on the remote control until the picture clears up.

[lordsmurf]

16x DVD-R discs give problems to most DVD recorders. Some even get pissy at 8x media (not the JVC that I'm aware of, Panasonic tends to be the worst offender here).

Same for 4x -RW discs. and 4x/8x +RW discs.

Use 4x or 8x discs. Be sure to buy good discs too, not crap. Read at www.nomorecoasters.com

The JVC loading issue was confined the the DR-M10S for the most part, and further than that, it was mostly USA/NTSC machines that were manufactured during the summer of 2004. It was maybe 5% of all units at most. A few R2, R4, and 20/30 HDD machines had it, but very few. The newer models based off the DR-M100 have a different setup inside to prevent this.

When you read bad reviews online, you have to understand most people that leaves reviews are mad at a problem and went online to research it, happy people don't go online that easily.

Use VIDEO MODE on a -RW for temp work, or -R for permanent work. Don't use VR mode, and don't waste time on DVD-RAM.

[BrokenOne]

The legend Lordsmurf, has graced my post finally...lol...I have seen what you have said, which in my opinion seems very useful, and I have seen what others have said about you. Some were good and others weren't. But I think you are a trustable person. Can you answer me something? What's the difference between VR and Video Mode? Why do you say only use Video and not VR?

[lordsmurf]

VR mode is not compliant with DVD-Video, as it can uses resolutions not supported, like 480x480. It can also do odd things, like change the audio or video midstream (jump from AC3 to MP2, jump from 720x480 to 480x480), which is also NOT supported by DVD-Video.

DVD-VR has it's uses, just not for most people. If you want to make a DVD-Video, use VIDEO mode. Otherwise you'll end up making a disc that only plays on the recorder, maybe the computer, and only on a few DVD players.

DVD-VR is about as erratic was DVB or TIVO. All MPEG, sure, but a different kind of animal than normal DVD-Video.

[trhouse]

http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?p=VR+mode+advantages&prssweb=Search&ei=UTF-8&fl=0&...icp=1&.intl=us

VR mode does have its uses. For example, my Pioneer will load a VR mode disk to the hard drive without re-encoding but not a DVD-Video mode disk. If I have to off load some material to dvd-rw temporarily I use VR mode if I intend to later put the material back on the drive.

[edit] I called Fry's. The sale was good on Friday only. Wish I had known about it.

[BrokenOne]

Thanks guys for the replies....I am getting use to this unit...I am gonna go exchange the disks I got and get 8x....I just hope they work and I saw that site you posted LS....TDK is 1st class...so that's a good thing....

[BrokenOne]

Day 5: November 29th, 2005/Tuesday

Well, I went early tonight to Walgreens to exchange my 16xs for 8xs. I exchanged it fast and rushed home. I was nerves but I opened the spinal up and popped in the first disc. SUCCESS, the unit read the disc and it said it was ready to record. So I adjusted the speed for my first ever recording to XP high quality. I record one of my WWE wrestling shows that was an hour long. I even tried out the pause button during recording to see how it works and what not. So the show finished and I pressed stop. It told me 'Please Wait'. So I waited for 2 minutes at most. Then I played around because I had the save to library feature. So that was cool seeing it before you finalize it. I was messing around just seeing it in thumbnail form. I was happy it recorded what I watched. Then I went to finalize the dvd. It warned me that it will now be 'READ-Only' I said ok. Then it told me how long to expect the finalization to take place. It said 5 minutes. So it started finalizing. Everything was going smooth. I felt the top of the unit and it was slightly luke warm not even warm. Slight cooler on some parts. The finalizing was finishing up. It was about 95% when the unti qucikly turned off and the DREADED LOADING display started flashing. I am more patient NOW then I was the first day. I just like it go and crossed my fingers. It was about 3-4 minutes maybe even less then the unit turned back on. Everything seemed ok. No FINALIZE FINISHED message or anything but the dvd-r loaded as a dvd-video. So I just scanned the dvd to make sure everything was on there and SUCCESS. My first ever recorded dvd and it was the greatest picture I have ever seen. Of course it was on XP but the picture was as if I was watching it through my satellite system. I was impressed but I will review the whole dvd for tomorrow see if I see anything like glitches or bars or whatever. So after 5 days of having the unit...So good so far. I haven't turned off the power except for when I freaked out yesterday. And it's been running fine still.

[BrokenOne]

Day 6th: November 30th, 2005/Wednesday

I watched the DVD I recorded yesterday. No glitches or anything. Just a few notice-able vertical lines but that was only notice-able when full black background was shown. But I can deal with that and fix it easy. The picture and sound were amazing. I am not too anal about picture but what I recorded seemed to look like I directly ripped it from the satellite feed. It was flawless on XP mode.

I started on a LP dvd today. It started out good but when I got to Title 3 it recorded for 3 minutes and then the unit quickly turned to LOADING. I still being patient waited. It stopped doing that after about 5-6 minutes. Don't know what happened. But I resumed recording and it didn't happen again. I recorded from old VSH tapes so nothing was lost on this non-live recording. So yeah it took about 4 hours to complete this recording because I had to find my tapes and the right things. So I was done I went to finalize the disc. Nothing bad happen. The disc finalized without quickly turning off and going into Loading mode like my first recording yesterday did. So that's a good sign. Right now I am watching the completed dvd in my cheap Sansui vcr/dvd combo machine and to tell you the truth the picture even on LP looks amazing. And the sound is mind blowingly amazing.

The only problem is I don't know how to make the chapters/titles into a menu when the dvd player reads the disc....That's my only problem so far. It's been 6 days since I have had this unit and I am so far happy I bought it and glad it was a good price too. From the people who gave it negative reviews or marks. Maybe if they were just alittle more patient things might have gone better then bitter. But what can you do, right? So that's all for today....so far so good....

[Joakim_A]

16x DVD-R discs give problems to most DVD recorders. Some even get pissy at 8x media (not the JVC that I'm aware of, Panasonic tends to be the worst offender here).

Same for 4x -RW discs. and 4x/8x +RW discs.

Use 4x or 8x discs. Be sure to buy good discs too, not crap. Read at www.nomorecoasters.com

The JVC loading issue was confined the the DR-M10S for the most part, and further than that, it was mostly USA/NTSC machines that were manufactured during the summer of 2004. It was maybe 5% of all units at most. A few R2, R4, and 20/30 HDD machines had it, but very few. The newer models based off the DR-M100 have a different setup inside to prevent this.

When you read bad reviews online, you have to understand most people that leaves reviews are mad at a problem and went online to research it, happy people don't go online that easily.

Use VIDEO MODE on a -RW for temp work, or -R for permanent work. Don't use VR mode, and don't waste time on DVD-RAM.

Is'nt it so that you cant edit in Video mode like cutting out commercials??

What do you think about -RW VS +RW format? Which format is best and why?. The JVC can only take -RW discs!

Why do you say dont bother with DVD-RAM?

For instance with RAM you get more durability and chase play and Time shift etc!

Do this JVC take RAM discs in a caddy??

I read in a Swedish gadget magazine M3 that this recorder makes a really shitty and fuzzy(due to some video filter or something) low resolution picture when using R/RW discs and that you should use RAM disc to get the great quality in the picture. Is this correct or just BS?

I also read in tests that it has no RGB input on the SCARTS and that is supposed to be really bad when hooking it up to a Set top Box as you can only record from a S-Video input!.

What do you think about that??
Is it something to worry about??

[classfour]

FYI: Best price on the web on the JVC is about $150 (US) at the moment - very good price. Most of what I've read about it is good - as long as there aren't problems with the unit.

[BrokenOne]

16x DVD-R discs give problems to most DVD recorders. Some even get pissy at 8x media (not the JVC that I'm aware of, Panasonic tends to be the worst offender here).

Same for 4x -RW discs. and 4x/8x +RW discs.

Use 4x or 8x discs. Be sure to buy good discs too, not crap. Read at www.nomorecoasters.com

The JVC loading issue was confined the the DR-M10S for the most part, and further than that, it was mostly USA/NTSC machines that were manufactured during the summer of 2004. It was maybe 5% of all units at most. A few R2, R4, and 20/30 HDD machines had it, but very few. The newer models based off the DR-M100 have a different setup inside to prevent this.

When you read bad reviews online, you have to understand most people that leaves reviews are mad at a problem and went online to research it, happy people don't go online that easily.

Use VIDEO MODE on a -RW for temp work, or -R for permanent work. Don't use VR mode, and don't waste time on DVD-RAM.

Is'nt it so that you cant edit in Video mode like cutting out commercials??

What do you think about -RW VS +RW format? Which format is best and why?. The JVC can only take -RW discs!

Why do you say dont bother with DVD-RAM?

For instance with RAM you get more durability and chase play and Time shift etc!

Do this JVC take RAM discs in a caddy??

I read in a Swedish gadget magazine M3 that this recorder makes a really shitty and fuzzy(due to some video filter or something) low resolution picture when using R/RW discs and that you should use RAM disc to get the great quality in the picture. Is this correct or just BS?

I also read in tests that it has no RGB input on the SCARTS and that is supposed to be really bad when hooking it up to a Set top Box as you can only record from a S-Video input!.

What do you think about that??
Is it something to worry about??

I think this was aimed at LS.....But as far as picture quality, I think I can answer that having this unit for 7 days already. To me the picture looks awesome even in LP. And that was from recording from a pretty crappy VSH tape I had....DVD-r's are awesome. Just make sure you by good media like TDK or Sony....if you do go that route. If you want to record over and over again. I would go with RAM or RW of course RW cost less then RAM.....Of course the article you read could have been a different produce unit in that country then the one I am keeping a journal on so I don't know if they are BSing or not.

Also to LS, How do you make chapters so you can select what you want to see first. I don't know how to do that? I have just been able to make the dvd but it will not auto start or produce what chapters or titles are on the disc when read....any help will be greatly appericated...And I am talking about dvd-r dvds....Is it possible to do that with those kinds of discs?

[trhouse]

Lordsmurf may have answered your question on another thread. Here is his reply,

[BrokenOne]

Damn, so it might not work on DVD-Rs....:(

[Captain Satellite]

The legend Lordsmurf, has graced my post finally...lol...

So has his Stratocaster:

[BrokenOne]

I thought Smurf's were blue? lol

[JCWBobC]

That is the same menu you get whenever you finalize any disc, whether it is a DVD-R or a DVD-RW. The thumbnail menus, under Navigation, are only there until you finalize the disc and then it changes to the list view, as shown in the picture that was posted.

If the unit is shutting down and flashing "Loading" you should send it in to be repaired free of charge. Loading should only appear when you plug the unit in. It should not happen while recording or finalizing. You're better off sending it in now and getting it fixed than possibly losing discs if it happens during recording.

Go to www.jvc.com for locations of JVC factory locations as that is the only place these units are repaired. Also JVC Customer Service should reinburse you the shipping cost if you call them before shipping it in.

Hope this helps...

[JCWBobC]

I just wanted to clarify one thing about the menu on finalized discs. The menu does not come up automatically like a commercial dvd. You need to press the menu button to see the menu. If you name each title, using the navigation feature, you will know exactly what is on the disc and which title you want to view.

As far as chapters go the unit automatically puts a chapter mark every 5-6 mintues when it finalizes the disc. You can use the Next or Previous buttons to jump ahead or back through the chapters. You can also use the On Screen button to bring up the On-Screen Bar and select the exact number of the chapter you want to jump to.

Please feel free to ask any questions.

[Captain Satellite]

I thought Smurf's were blue? lol

[Joakim_A]

16x DVD-R discs give problems to most DVD recorders. Some even get pissy at 8x media (not the JVC that I'm aware of, Panasonic tends to be the worst offender here).

Same for 4x -RW discs. and 4x/8x +RW discs.

Use 4x or 8x discs. Be sure to buy good discs too, not crap. Read at www.nomorecoasters.com

The JVC loading issue was confined the the DR-M10S for the most part, and further than that, it was mostly USA/NTSC machines that were manufactured during the summer of 2004. It was maybe 5% of all units at most. A few R2, R4, and 20/30 HDD machines had it, but very few. The newer models based off the DR-M100 have a different setup inside to prevent this.

When you read bad reviews online, you have to understand most people that leaves reviews are mad at a problem and went online to research it, happy people don't go online that easily.

Use VIDEO MODE on a -RW for temp work, or -R for permanent work. Don't use VR mode, and don't waste time on DVD-RAM.

Is'nt it so that you cant edit in Video mode like cutting out commercials??

What do you think about -RW VS +RW format? Which format is best and why?. The JVC can only take -RW discs!

Why do you say dont bother with DVD-RAM?

For instance with RAM you get more durability and chase play and Time shift etc!

Do this JVC take RAM discs in a caddy??

I read in a Swedish gadget magazine M3 that this recorder makes a really shitty and fuzzy(due to some video filter or something) low resolution picture when using R/RW discs and that you should use RAM disc to get the great quality in the picture. Is this correct or just BS?

I also read in tests that it has no RGB input on the SCARTS and that is supposed to be really bad when hooking it up to a Set top Box as you can only record from a S-Video input!.

What do you think about that??
Is it something to worry about??

I think this was aimed at LS.....But as far as picture quality, I think I can answer that having this unit for 7 days already. To me the picture looks awesome even in LP. And that was from recording from a pretty crappy VSH tape I had....DVD-r's are awesome. Just make sure you by good media like TDK or Sony....if you do go that route. If you want to record over and over again. I would go with RAM or RW of course RW cost less then RAM.....Of course the article you read could have been a different produce unit in that country then the one I am keeping a journal on so I don't know if they are BSing or not.

Also to LS, How do you make chapters so you can select what you want to see first. I don't know how to do that? I have just been able to make the dvd but it will not auto start or produce what chapters or titles are on the disc when read....any help will be greatly appericated...And I am talking about dvd-r dvds....Is it possible to do that with those kinds of discs?

Thanks for your reply!

But I wonder where Lordsmurf are it is not natural for him to stay away from the forum for so long!

Do you know if this JVC take RAM discs in a caddy or if you have to take the disc out??.

Do the quality of the picture differ when recording to -RW discs rather then RAM discs??

Do anyone know if it would be possible to hook up a computer trough the DV IN on this JVC unit and record stuff from the computer that way??

[BrokenOne]

Day 8: December 2nd, 2005/Friday

It's been a week since I bought this unit and I really don't have a regret. I had a few mishaps but nothing bad happened. I did two recordings today. One in FR 3:06 and one in SP 2:00. Both look great. And something funny both recorded and finalized without any 'loading' mishaps. I dunno why it did it and in the first two runs. But today they did what they normally do. The finalization did well and came up with a COMPLETE message, which I am sure is what it should normally do. I have been checking the temp of the top of the unit, when I record, finalize, watch tv, watch a dvd. And everything seems too remain cool or luke warm. So far today nothing out of the ordinary except for a little clicking noise from where the dvd is sitting. It only happened when I fast forwarded the dvd in navigate original view {previewing what I recorded} and when I finalized the disc and watched it. It happened when I fast forwarded the finalized disc. Is that normal? I never noticed it before, just today. But the dvds play awesome.

And thanx to JCW for the point out the menu thing. I figured that out for myself. But it's good someone answered back. I wish they could do the chapter thing, but I am not complaining.

So far having this unit for a week now. It's been a great unit. I have had the power on for about a week now and nothing bad has happened. No heating up. No melted discs. No loading errors (except for two times). I have recorded some great stuff and I am impressed with what I have produced from this very unit. I would have bought two if I had the money. I will not be stopping this topic anytime soon. If a problem does come up, you can rest assure I will be on here telling you about it. I am not on here to side with one side. I am not here for personal gain. I am here as a normal everyday guy who loves electronics. And if I help someone, then good. If not, oh well. Peace Out...That's all for today....

[BrokenOne]

Thanks for your reply!

But I wonder where Lordsmurf are it is not natural for him to stay away from the forum for so long! :shock: :D :lol:

Do you know if this JVC take RAM discs in a caddy or if you have to take the disc out??.

Do the quality of the picture differ when recording to -RW discs rather then RAM discs??

Do anyone know if it would be possible to hook up a computer trough the DV IN on this JVC unit and record stuff from the computer that way??

Yeah that's what I heard. It is weird LS hasn't been in this topic since he last posted....

Well I dunno how good I will be in answering your question or questions. Because I have only been using DVD-Rs. As for the DVD-Ram...I would say you MIGHT not need to remove the disc from the caddy. The tray is big and I am sure it will fit in there. But I am just guessing. That's another thing I first noticed when I opened the tray. It's pretty big. Which I guess would mean DVD-RAM dsics could fit in there without being removed from the disc. I am sure you can do the computer hook up. I haven't done that but I am sure you can. That's all I can answer...I hope LS gets on and tells you what you need to know....


Capt. Satellite...Much better!!!

[lordsmurf]

DVD-RAM was not really made for video. Low compatibility, and it must use VR mode. It's great for editing in DVD recorder editing style, yadda yadda, but it's not a DVD-Video perfectly to spec, the end. So don't use it unless you ONLY want to watch the DVD-RAM in the recorder and nothing else. Maybe a forgiving DVD player or a computer.

TDK discs are still not the best discs (though very good), and if you get LOADING when you insert a DVD, it's the disc causing it. Try some VERBATIM DVD-R or some MAXELL (made in Japan!) DVD-R. Just experiment a bit. If it does LOADING at the end of a disc, it means the disc may be bad on the outer edges. Even a 100-pack of FIRST CLASS discs can chug out 5 coasters (95% success rate at worst!).

I use MKM, TDK and SONY DVD-RW discs in mine, not really a -R or -RAM user. I edit on the computer and make advanced custom menus.

The JVC made DVD does not play on all players. Hit play. It'll play the first track. If you want to see the menu, hit MENU on the player/remote. If you want to edit the menu entries, use the NAVIGATION function on the recorder before finalizing. I think "CONTENTS" on the menu is part of the menu image, so unfortunately this cannot be edited. I think -ALL- DVD recorder menus look pretty crappy anyway, so I re-author on a computer, which really does not take long at all.

Read the instruction book. I think it said it did Type I and II RAM discs. One of those has the caddy, "I" I think it is. Been a while since I read all that stuff, don't use it enough to remember it off hand.

As far as chapters go, read the instruction book. I think you can insert them, but I don't remember. I'm happy with 5 minute ones for the few times I do DVD-R work instead of DVD-RW work.

I decided to pass on the recent $100 units after to rebate that are "amost as good" as the JVC (LG, Samsung, LiteOn, etc). If I want another unit, I'll just buy the JVC. Get the winner, and not a runner-up. Nothing wrong with the others, but I'd rather have the best.

"Swedish gadget magazine M3" sounds like your typical doesn't-know-shit tech magazine that relies on the marketing crap it gets in the mail rather than actually testing the unit under normal operating conditions (and not some fancy foo-foo unreal test that will never be reflected in real-world use).

If anything, the -RAM recordings I have seen once or twice look odd. The colors were oversaturated and the IRE was off. It was a small anomaly, and I don't have enough real info to venture a guess. It may have been bad wiring on my end or something else that caused it. But I did ONLY see it on the DVD-RAM and ONLY a couple times. Something to watch for in the future, should I see it again. Since I don't really care for DVD-RAM, won't be soon.

Oh yeah, DVD-RAM is a PITA to read on a computer. Usually takes 30-60 minutes PER DISC to copy the big VRO file to the hard drive. It really sucks, it's not as fast or convenient as accessing the video through the IFO for computer transfer, using something like DVD Decrypter. So it's nauseating in that aspect too.

If there's ever a post you want me to look at, and I don't respond right away, PM me a link and I'll try to answer when I have some time. I don't visit daily, so I can miss things easily.

[BrokenOne]

Day 12: December 6th, 2005...

I have done and completed 6 more dvds without any incident. So far so good....

[BrokenOne]

Day 20: December 14th, 2005...

The unit has been working awesome. I have made some christmas dvds to hand out to my family. I am loving this unit.

[Joakim_A]

Can someone verify if this unit can be hooked up to a Computer trough the DV input and copy content of the computer that way??