Advice needed for Recording using Alba DVD recorder

[rhicel]

hello all,
I'm very new to this forum and to DVd-recorders, so please bear with me if I sound ignorant in my message.
I am in the UK, for the record, and have just purchased an Alba RDVD 1002 DVD recorder from eBay. I have tried recording onto a blank disc and have been unable to get past the formatting stage. I press "yes" when it asks do I want to format, it says "formatting, please wait", it fnishes and then just asks me again if I want to format. I am using discs bought from Asda, own brand, which for those who don't know is a cheap store, owned by Walmart.
Is it possible that it's because of the disc type that I'm having this problem? I've looked in the manual and it offers no advice on this situation. Can anyone recommend a good brand which will be liekly to be accepted by this recorder?
Please bear in mind that I'm unfamiliar with a lot of terms about this subject so please explain things on an idiot/novie level for me.
Many thanks,
Maria

[m.yolles]

I do not know too much about this either. But my experience with an Alba DVD recorder has been that this happens using a 16x speed DVD. An 8x speed seems to work.

[jman98]

Cheap discs are not a good idea. See
http://www.nomorecoasters.com
We generally recommend Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden for use as they work reliably well for almost everyone and the quality is high. Some companies that used to put out very good media, like TDK and Sony, have now outsourced to much inferior manufacturers. Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden are the only ones that seem to have kept up their quality standards. You might find Verbatim discs in stores in the UK, where they may very well be made by Taiyo Yuden but sold under the Verbatim name. You'll have to order TY discs from an online store if you want to get TY branded discs.