My Philips 3576 has stopped dubbing onto DVD-R's

[lacywest]

have a look:-

Before you sling your problematic Panasonic in the bin, you may want to try cleaning the spindle. This has worked wonders for me on my current recorders: I have a 3 year old DMR-E55 recorder

What you posted about the spindle cleaning is interesting ... I will try it out.

But we have have been talking about a Philips 3576 ... I looked through the posts and didn't see any reference to Panasonic DVD Recorders ... is this a generic fix ?? ... that can be applied to other DVD Recorders.

I have one Panasonic EH50 that was in my living room and it stopped working right ... picture output all jacked up ... does this whether using the Tuner or the DVD player or from the Hard Drive ... so I disconnected it and put another one in its place. Hopefully one day I can get it fixed.

A few months later ... I decided to remove that EH50 that I put there because it wasn't being used to record DVDs ... just play DVDs ... so I put a Panasonic EZ27 there instead ... and put the EH50 away.

Blank DVDs .... the only DVDs I can use successfully on the EH50s that I have in my home are the TY value pack DVD-Rs ... other brands ... nope ... they never ... sometimes ... but usually never ... complete finalize operation.

I've got one Panasonic DMR-E85H with a 160 GB harddrive in it ... bought on Ebay ... with knowledge that it no longer records to DVD-Rs ... DVD-RAM... etc ... etc. It will play store bought DVD movies but it wont play any movies that I've burnt or made in the past. So the Ebay seller sold it for this reason. It does record to the Hard Drive just fine ... just wont recognize any blank DVD-Rs I put in it. Any suggestions ??? Would a spindle cleaning work for this machine ??

[victoriabears]

It was a suggestion that all dvd recorders might benefit from this.

[PhoneMatt]

The funny thing is that my 2 Panasonics are having no problem. I don't think that the Philips has this problem. It was less than 6 months old when the problem started and I never hold the disc by the hole, just the edges. I avoided doing anything with the unit while Philips was playing games for fear of voiding the warranty. Of course, now I know that there is no backing of the warranty, I'll give that a try. I'm willing to try things like this. I really like the unit and, given a chance, would have exchanged it for a new one.

[samijubal]

You can still buy the Magnavox for $249 at Walmart online if you don't wait too long. They are both Funai.

[joecass]

PhoneMatt - I seriously hope you don't go out and buy a Magnavox ! Another Funai piece of junk wouldn't make any sense......
In reading the post regarding cleaning the spindle, there's something I've done in the past to resurrect a failed DVD burner.... besides cleaning the lens, removing the tiny ribbon cable attached to the lens assembly both from the lens and circuit board, sanding it down a bit and cleaning with alcohol, after re-insertion the drive worked normally again.

Nobody is mentioning what we will all do when our Philips 3575/76's begin to fail, if parts are no longer available and Philips won't repair them, the prospect of buying an overpriced used unit on EBay or Amazon seems
ridiculous........

[victoriabears]

Yes, it seems Pioneer is the way to go.

[PhoneMatt]

Joecass-
I'll try that. As I said, I haven't cracked the case because of the warranty issue. That's no longer an issue. I'm going to play with it this weekend and see what happens. From what I've read, the burner seems to be a standard burner with nonstandard connections, which makes it almost impossible to replace with stock parts.

"Nobody is mentioning what we will all do when our Philips 3575/76's begin to fail, if parts are no longer available and Philips won't repair them, the prospect of buying an overpriced used unit on EBay or Amazon seems
ridiculous.."

That is the only reason that I am considering the Magnavox. There really is no other reasonable choice, at the moment. (I'd love to drive to Canada, but not during the winter.)

[lordsmurf]

Look at the number of units left, about 5-6 days ago there were 3, now there's 1. Never underestimate what a fool and his money will do. Many millions have been made from fools and money. Yesterday both those were $599. They keep going from $599 to $849. Ships within 1 to 3 weeks means they sold the 1 they had left for $599.

Amazon ads expire like eBay auctions. I would not be surprised if the items ended, rather than be sold.

[samijubal]

They didn't end, they sold. Dealer ads like that don't end. It said 3 left, then a couple of days later it said 2, then 1, then usually ships in 1-3 weeks. I saw them sell when I had a recorder up there.

[victoriabears]

Phonematt, you can get them here to the USA:-

Not wishing to sound cranky but I enjoy helping everyone by researching but it just takes a google search, I am a awkward son of agun though, tell me it cannot be done, I will still look.

blimey, quite the relative bargain:-

http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-DVR-460H-K-DVD-RECORDER-WITH-160GB-HARD-DRIVE_W0QQitemZ150326621135QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDVD_ Players_Recorders?hash=item150326621135&_trksid=p3 286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3 A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

http://shop.ebay.com/items/__pioneer-dvd-recorder_W0QQFeaturesZHardQ2520DriveQ2520Incl...86Q2ec0Q2em282

http://www.jr.com/pioneer/pe/PIO_DVR550HS/

http://www.jr.com/pioneer/pe/PIO_DVR650HS/

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-DVR-650H-S-Recorder-Hard-Drive/dp/B000WX9HS6

They say designed for pal/secam use but lower down says pal/ntsc recording, as most of use a cable box, who needs a tuner.

Just takes a bit of looking, this is where I bought mine:-

http://www.regioncodefreedvd.com/pioneer645.html

[samijubal]

There's a new Toshiba RD-XS35 that ends at about 7:25 mountain time tonite on ebay. The Toshiba recorders were the best ever made, stellar PQ and all the options you will ever need and then some. To find a new one now is fairly rare. If you're looking to buy another recorder you definitely should check it out. It's $208 plus $12 shipping right now. They sold for about $400 back in 2006.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Toshiba-RD-XS35-160-GB-DVD-Recorder-HDD-Recorder_W0QQitemZ26035860...3A1%7C294%3A50

[joecass]

What you fail to mention, Samijubal, is that although Toshiba recorders are stellar machines ( I know, I have one ), that model is prone to early DVD and/or hard drive failure, has an Analog Tuner, and only records
to DVD-R/RW. Plus if I'm not mistaken, the horrible TVGuide O.S., which was analog-based and no longer valid in the DTV transition. At least the
Philips was a more modern design, possibly the defective DVD drive can be repaired or replaced, rather than spend money on this old Toshiba.

[samijubal]

The TVGOs still works and will after the transition, Gemstar has already said that. I had a Funai and I had an XS-35. You can throw those lousy Funais in the trash, PQ blows compared to the Toshibas. The Panasonic burners aren't as bad as a few people on here will have you believe. They don't fail in a few months like the OP's Funai did and the HDDs are as hard to replace as dropping a new one in. With a new recorder you can buy a 3 year Square Trade warranty for less than $10 a year. That beats the crap out of any Funai junk. A more modern Funai is a many years back Toshiba.

Who cares if they don't do + discs? That's about the dumbest reason ever not to buy a recorder.

[joecass]

I care if a machine doesn't do Plus R discs, all my other machines are compatible with +R/RW, which is easier to write to, no Finalizing.
Yes the Funai PQ blows compared to the Toshiba, but why invest in old
technology ? The original poster PhoneMatt had many +R/RW discs,
why would he want a -R/RW machine that doesn't even read Plus R ??
Can't tell you how many XS-35's I've seen on EBay that were non-functional or needed repair over the last few years..... bad investment !

[samijubal]

The recorder is gone. Arguing about it is senseless.

[orsetto]

There are two types of user who come to VH asking for help with their recorders. One type is the "average consumer", who wants a brand new recorder that will handle ATSC, time shift to HDD, make passable transfers of their VHS tapes, and burn any media conveniently available at the local superstore. For that person, the only game in town is the Magnavox or Phillips. We can argue until we vomit that a five year old broken down Toshiba XS records a better picture, but that fact is utterly meaningless and useless to the "average consumer" inquiry.

The other type of VH inquiry comes from the obsessive compulsives among us, and I include myself in that group. Depending on our individual tolerance for screwball hardware, some of us prefer to use older recorders because of better PQ, exclusive features, or sheer habit. But there is a price to be paid for using the old stuff: they can't tune ATSC without an external converter, which completely blows for multi-event OTA timeshifting. Most of them choke on the brands of 16x media sold in retail stores. Their hard drives and especially their burners flatline with alarming frequency. The burner issue is a particular deal-killer for anyone who isn't prepared to either geek their way thru a home repair or pay good money for factory repair. Parts are getting scarcer every day for DIY, and certain units like old Sonys, Toshibas and Panasonics really require a factory-original replacement for full functionality. Sony recently "ran out" of burners for its older high-quality recorders, leaving their owners in the dust. Panasonic has a reasonable post-warranty repair service, but its still $130 and requires shipping the unit. Toshibas are now subcontracted to Funai because Toshiba gave up on the North American market years ago, their current recorders are disposable, so their motivation to keep burners in stock for the sainted XS series is nil. Pioneers since 2006 are made with Sony burners that can't be replaced at all. The situation brings back ugly memories of the mid to late 1990s when VCRs became disposable unrepairable commodities, even the high-end models. None of these factors make older DVD recorders attractive options for "Joe Average".

The Magnavox H2160 or Phillips 3576 are no more or less likely to fail prematurely than any other currently sold USA-market recorder. Current-model Sonys and Toshibas are disposable junk infested with uber-paranoid copy protection, Samsungs and LGs are beneath contempt, and Panasonics with ATSC are buggier than Atlanta in August. The days of consistent-quality manufacture and name-brand dependability are over. For the typical consumer who wants the convenience of ATSC multi-event OTA recording onto a hard drive, there is no reason to avoid a Magnavox or Phillips, which are in fact your only options anyway. If you get a "bad" one, just return it to Wal*Mart. Your chances of a breakdown occurring ten minutes after the warranty expires are no better with any other brand. The majority of Phillips 3575 units are still operating after two years, which is maximum trouble-free life expectancy for a DVD/HDD recorder (any brand). Between 16-24 months, most recorder burners start acting up, and buying an old machine made in 2004/5 increases your odds of burner failure, even if its a "new old stock in box" Toshiba XS or Pioneer 520.

[PhoneMatt]

Orsetto, I have to agree with much of what you say, but you seem to forget about a large group of us on this board. We are certainly not Joe Average, don't mind doing a little electrical handiwork, but have our OCD under control. I would replace my burner in a heartbeat, if there was one available. I spent the weekend opening the case and cleaning the spindle and the cable connections. It's still dead, Jim. You're right, for most people the Magnavox and the Philips are the only game in town. I balk at buying something that is 3-5 years old, even if it is new. Plastic gets brittle, rubber degrades and there is our old friend dry rot, not to mention the firmware changes that have left this unit in the dust. It would be nice if I could have spent half the time I spent on hold with Philips working on this unit and have it running.
From reading other boards, the last batch of Philips seems to have been made with bum burners. I'm not the only person bitching about it. I wish I got 2 years out of it, I only got 6 months. (Even though, my old Panasonic DMR E-10 lasted nearly 7 years before going crazy. Yeah, the burner went on that too.) I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about a HDD recorder.

[joecass]

At least a few of us are in agreement about certain things regardless of our own peculiar OCD's. I was suspect about these Philips machines, as right after their introduction I started seeing refurbished 3575's for sale. And I, in my own dumb way, decided to purchase a refurb thinking the factory would have corrected any potential problems. I was wrong, but after almost a year the machine does what I want it to, and I have no regrets. If and when the burner on my 3575 fails, the first thing I'll do is take it apart and look to see if the burner can be replaced with a
non-OEM unit. Or scour the Internet for replacement parts. I've seen
other Forums where people have motherboards, power supplies and other peripherals relating to DVD machines for sale, if you look hard enough you can find just about anything.
I bought a Toshiba XS-32 on EBay a few years ago with a defective burner.
Read a few forums, found a replacement LG drive that worked, and voila ! It's been performing happily ever since. This is not to say that my logic will apply to a Philips/Magnavox, Pioneer, Sony, Panasonic, or any other brand. But it's worth a try. Maybe, in consideration of the points
Mr. Orsetto posted, we should start our own Network of DVD recorder owners with sufficient OCD's to trade parts, machines and theories.

[lordsmurf]

If a serious consumer wants a good answer, they come here and ask, and they accept the answer -- even if that means buying a machine from a few years ago. If Joe Consumer expects a brand new machine that does everything and is sold new in stores, then let him go to Walmart or Best Buy and buy whatever piece of shit is on the shelf. Good luck finding a machine that does everything desired.

[orsetto]

In case anyone missed it, I included myself as part of the group willing to put up with the care, feeding and maintenance issues of older recorders. So I certainly "get it" that the older gear blows current gear into the weeds, IF your needs coincide with this older gear and IF you have the personality to work with their various foibles. My remarks were addressed to the typical consumer-oriented inquiry we get, which is essentially "I don't wanna pay for cable anymore but I'm spoiled by my PVR: what can I buy with no monthly fee that will record these new-fangled ATSC broadcasts?"

The ONLY credible answer to that is the Phillips or Magnavox, anything else involves additional boxes wiring and fuss, or a TiVO subscription. If Funai is putting out a run of bum burners in the latest Magnavox shipments, of course thats a drag, but no worse than Toshiba did with their XS "erase one DVD-R/W and the burner croaks within 48 hours" crap. Recorder burners are dodgy, they always have been. If all you want is convenient timeshifting on the cheap and to copy a few of your kids VHS to DVD, you're still better off the Phillips/Mag: since they're new, and backed by Wal*Mart, at least you can return them if they croak. If you blow $400 on a used Toshiba, Panasonic or Pioneer and the burner blows, enjoy your new paperweight. That's all I'm saying.

Those of us heavily invested in editing features, archiving vast VHS libraries, or with a preference for DVD-RAM will of course continue to pay extra, in money and effort, for our vintage recorders of choice. We are not exclusively using the machines for mindless timeshifting, we're exploiting them to the hilt. In our case its worth the effort, and we can argue the merits of tearing them down and replacing their hard drives/burners wherever or however possible. I just get tired of newbies being immediately diverted to the Toshiba XS as if that will solve all their problems: it won't. For every lucky bastard who gets away with a $25 LG burner transplant to a dead Toshiba, there are TEN who never get the machine working right again until they send it in for factory service. Buying a "new old stock" unit with a Square Trade warranty means only you'll get some money back if it croaks: you won't get a replacement, because they were discontinued nearly four years ago! This stuff matters to a non-techie neophyte, and should be considered before trashing any thoughts of a Phillips/Magnavox, or a newer Panasonic. I love my Pioneer 531 and 533 but I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy: they are sent straight from hell to torment anyone who wants to keep them running, resisting every burner or hard drive repair with a tenacity that makes me wonder if Kervorkian had a hand in their engineering. Can they be maintained? Certainly, but only with a LOT of patience and technical savvy. Ditto the beloved Pioneer 640: oh, you can maintain its burner alright, but don't try it unless you're a master at building ships in a bottle. And good luck replacing the burner on a classic JVC or Panny yourself. Lets get real here: if your brother in law asks what new recorder can replace his DiSH service, recommending a vintage recorder will result in a family meltdown within six months.

[victoriabears]

With the cost of an appropriate computer at $400, whats wrong with using that as a PVR?

I thought that was the way the world was going, integration of home entertainment.

and ...........Slightly off topic if you'll allow me.

In over 37 years of living in the UK and enjoying the way TV is(was?) broadcast there, I cannot recall anything like the reference to cost that occurs in USA/Canada.

Yes people moaned when the BBC Licence fee went up,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/licencefee/#information

but all you had to do what point out that actually it is currently less than 12 uk pounds per month for 2 commercial free channels (almost 24 hours a day) countless local radio, commercial free and less than commercial ridden Satellite channels and folks soon shut up.

That was all we used to pay and all the brits need to pay, then along came Rupert Murdoc and SKY TV and offered all the other choices:-

http://packages.sky.com/see/

adds up to about 50 pounds a month, so at todays rate about $75 but realistically more like $85.

Since moving to Canada in 2000 I have found very little to watch or archive, as it is , that which is worth watching is ruined by ads.

I think its that, partly, which has seen the death of Hard drive dvd recorders, who wants to archive, whereas they are very available in the UK.

Just some points of view.