Panasonic dmr es15 wont read any divx or dvd on dvd rw-+

[mammo1789]

Hi guys

after long period i decided to record some series that were in xvid format on dvd rw so i can watch it with my family in other than my working room ( where my pc is ) so i put the dvd in to my dvd recorder and after a while the dvd says that the disc has to be formatted if I use regular dvd-r or dvd+r than xvid file is read by the machine and it plays fine ( this is European model by the way that's why can play xvid/dvix files unlike us model ). I was suspicions ( never used dvd rw discs from outside (burned on pc) only blank for recording on the dvd recorder. I also tried to re compress it to dvd format and author it with tmpgenc and the same problem the dvd recorder will not read dvd-+rw formatted ( and recorded on another machine pc ) discs but if i use dvd-r or +r than the same movie plays just fine ( in xvid and dvd format ) i found somebody that also complained on the avs forum and didn't find solution i tried Verbatim and Maxwell 4x (should i try with 2x ) rewritables and the same is there, any solution (what format to use joliet udf or else during burning dvd rw in pc) so can be read in the dvd recorder?
The recorder is pany dmr es15ek by the way

[hech54]

Recorders, no matter how well rated they were....always had one or two quirks. I know it sounds strange but even the old Amazon page for this item does NOT say it plays RW discs even though it distinctly says it records to RW discs.
Bad wording or deceptive or deceiving wording?....you be the judge.

[sanlyn]

According to Panasonic spec sheets, the ES15 can read and record DVD+R and +RW. A DVD optical drive has to be in top shape to read any +R disc (and anyway, the single-layer standard for DVD is DVD-R. Some players can't read +R and never could). If stories from other ES15 owners is anything to go by, your optical drive needs cleaning and/or repair. My guess is, next thing you know it won't read DVD-R either.

[mammo1789]

Thanks sanlyn and hech

Recorders, no matter how well rated they were....always had one or two quirks. I know it sounds strange but even the old Amazon page for this item does NOT say it plays RW discs even though it distinctly says it records to RW discs.
Bad wording or deceptive or deceiving wording?....you be the judge.

by the manual it says that read all formats rw-+ r+- and dvd ram and this guy had it brand new it states what he finds wrong with es15

Hi,

Received a new panasonic DMRES15 yesterday and am thoroughly disappointed and am trying to return today (unfortunately I made the mistake of buying from savastore.com who are useless when it comes to returning goods - service is not available messages all the time!). Basically, the problems I found are as follows:-

1. It will not play ANY DVD-RW or DVD+RW disk that has been created on a PC (I use NEROVISION Express). It just states the disks are not formatted correctly. However, the disks in question play perfectly on every other player I have tried them on. Is this a known fault with panasonic dvd recorders as the recorder is practically useless if it cannot play DVD+RW or DVD-RW disks unless they are formatted on this panasonic recorder. When I copy the DVD-RW / DVD+RW content to a DVD-R / DVD+R disk then the recorder plays them but this would be a very expensive method of playing my own self authored DVD’s. I think the DVD Management system on the recorder only allows RW disks if they have been formatted on the actual recorder which is just plain daft).

2. The One Touch record facility (30,60,90 etc minute recordings) does not work at all. Once I set a recording going and subsequently press the REC button to initiate timed duration recordings, nothing happens and nothing is displayed on the screen. I have tried on all available disk formats including DVD-RAM.
3. Time slip function and manual skip (30 seconds) will only work on a DVD-RAM disk or a finalised DVD+R disk but not DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD+RW disks despite the manual clearly stating they should work. These functions do not even work on pre-recorded DVDs which is clearly unacceptable.

4. DivX files (AVI) put on any format of disk are unplayable as the recorder states the disks are unformatted (same problem as 1 above basically). This was one of the reasons for purchasing the recorder in the first place.

I would steer clear of this player! If anyone else has got the above to work with their player then I'd be interested to know how. Thanks.

According to Panasonic spec sheets, the ES15 can read and record DVD+R and +RW. A DVD optical drive has to be in top shape to read any +R disc (and anyway, the single-layer standard for DVD is DVD-R. Some players can't read +R and never could). If stories from other ES15 owners is anything to go by, your optical drive needs cleaning and/or repair. My guess is, next thing you know it won't read DVD-R either.

it reads them but says not formatted properly if I format them in the recorder and record something on the pany than i can watch the dvd disc without the problem dvd ram works also in recording and reading ( to my knowledge that's the first thing to go off in this units) the dvd was cleaned last month ( opened and cleaned ) and reads all dicss without problem the problem is with dvd rw- and + recorded and authored on the pc ( that's why I asked what format to use i tried with joliet and udf 4x speed and 2x speed) i will try once again and see how it goes i will also try with dvd instead of xvid.

Sanlyn i know you have es15 also did it reads dvd rw recorded on the pc ?

[sanlyn]

An ES15 was the first DVD recorder I ever purchased, way back when. It developed problems after about 6 months. It would read some retail DVD's but wouldn't read others. It would not read panasonic's own favorite format (DVD-RAM) and started freezing up whenever I inserted the DVD-RAM that came with the machine, even though I'd never used it. It would read only new DVD-R's I had made but wouldn't read older ones made on my PC earlier. It would read DVD-RW at first, then later claimed they were unformatted. It started freezing when it tried to finalized DVD-R's it had recorded itself. Warranty was a hassle and I saw other complaints on the 'net, so I didn't fiddle with it. Bought a Toshiba RD-XS34 and a refurbed copy of same, and later an ES-20. The ES20 wouldn't play any disc at all after about a year. I replaced it with a factory refurbished ES20. It works, but it adds flicker to recordings due to a bad power supply filter cap. Panasonic DVD machines didn't have the highest reliability or durability ratings out there. You could buy one of their old 1995 CRT TV's or VCR's and they would play until the cows came home (mine still work, but i gave the tv to in-laws). Starting about 2000 or so Panny went downhill, along with all the other big brands.

My retail Toshiba made about 1000 recordings before the optical drive failed. Toshiba replaced it about 2 years ago. The refurb never developed a problem and has probably been used a bit more than the full-price retail job. I have a Tosh DVD player from 2002 that doesn't seem to know know when to quit. I liked it so much I bought a refurb, but didn't try to use it for about 2 years (a year after the warranty expired). The refurb did OK via s-video, but the component outputs were defective.

You never know.

[mammo1789]

Nice explanation sanlyn.
First i bought the es15 2 year ago second hand. The spindle and lens were dirty as hell with white hair fiber dropped in i cleaned them both thoroughly before i used it the first time ( i always clean thoroughly second hand video audio equipment vhs or dvd recorders even digital cameras ) it is hygienically and beneficial to the working condition of the equipment and its durability and longevity. I also own e60 e55 es10 (broken) and es15 dvd recorders and never (knock on wood) had any problem with them. also interesting is that i used dvd-rw (although manual says it cant read it) burned in pc to be played in the e60 but the dvd-rw must be 2x ( 4x is not working ) so i believe there hidden features that someone can accentedly find it. I remembered in the good old days on my panasonic (national) vcr from the 80 ties( i don't remember the model number ) when i discovered that if you push rec ( and the tape was protected ) it will eject the tape (back then there was no eject button on the remote).

Regarding my problem i now encoded the xvid file to dvd with convertxtodvd burned inside software (previously i encoded and authorized with tmpgenc and recorded the folders with imgburner dvd pal template) into dvd -rw 4x and now it works it reads the dvd without problem so i guess is something with the format ( meaning recording format not media format ) being not recognized before by the dvd recorder now is ok.

Sad thing is that it cannot read xvid on dvd-+ rw ( i tried many combination of recording and different media ) and still haven't find solution, o sanlyn by the way as i sad before dvd ram works flawlessly in my recorder (recording and reading ) so i must say that it is not hardware problem there must be something fishy with panasonic software ( and being able to read xvid/dvix only the european model not even uk model or us) they done the job half way ( meaning can read from dvd+- r but not on rw which is huge minus that i didn't discovered this past 2 years.
If someone with european model can share his experience with xvid/dvix files that would be very good

[usually_quiet]

I have a US Panasonic DMR-ES10, purchased in 2005, which has burned several hundred DVDs. It can record on DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD-R. The manual says it can play authored DVD Video on DVD+R or DVD+RW disks, even though it can't record on them. I tried playing a Verbatim DVD+RW recorded in Video Mode by my new Magnavox DVD recorder, and the DMR-ES10 could play it. It won't play DVD+RW VR mode discs, according to the manual. Strange that a much newer ES-15 has so many problems.

[hech54]

I remember many members here referring to them as Pana-Chronic all those years ago. Panasonic and Pioneer owners all laughed at my Philips DVDR985....but believe it or not the last time I checked my Philips DVDR985 still works(records) and always played anything I threw at it. I admit however that I probably have the ONLY functioning DVDR985 on the planet by now...

[mammo1789]

I remember many members here referring to them as Pana-Chronic all those years ago. Panasonic and Pioneer owners all laughed at my Philips DVDR985....but believe it or not the last time I checked my Philips DVDR985 still works(records) and always played anything I threw at it. I admit however that I probably have the ONLY functioning DVDR985 on the planet by now...

This is 2002 model recording on + only if i recall right (i think LS and others have very bad words for + media)?
Does it reads xvid dvix files ?
It has component video out and in and composite spidif audio out which is very rare in dvd (readers and writers)

Good for you

[hech54]

I remember many members here referring to them as Pana-Chronic all those years ago. Panasonic and Pioneer owners all laughed at my Philips DVDR985....but believe it or not the last time I checked my Philips DVDR985 still works(records) and always played anything I threw at it. I admit however that I probably have the ONLY functioning DVDR985 on the planet by now...

This is 2002 model recording on + only if i recall right (i think LS and others have very bad words for + media)?
Does it reads xvid dvix files ?
It has component video out and in and composite spidif audio out which is very rare in dvd (readers and writers)

Good for you

No Divx/Xvid....and yes it has/had the MOST inputs and outputs I have ever seen on a DVD recorder....and +R only...and it loved the old Ritek discs as well(as long as they were under 4x).