Format of Pioneer recordings Pioneer 433H ...

[Pioneer]

Good day,

I have an important movie on a Pioneer DVR 433H.
The device is broken and i only have the harddrive of the device.

Does anybody know the file format from pioneer? or know a tool to view?

Hope to hear fro you soon.

[hech54]

There is software for some older Medion and LG recorders.....but I've never seen anything for Pioneer.

[Krispy Kritter]

Typically, the only way to get video from a DVR is to play it on the DVR and capture it on another device/computer. The drives typically don't use a standard format that can be read by a PC and they usually have an encryption key to prevent simple copying.

[Pioneer]

@ Hech54 ... They should make it for Pioneer Thanks

@ Krispy .. Thanks for your reaction .... I thik i have to buy a used one and write it to DVD ..

[orsetto]

Like nearly every other DVD/HDD recorder, Pioneers use a variation of Linux file format for HDD videos. The files can sometimes be recovered, but not in an easy predictable way. You would need to buy and install specialty HDD salvage software, something like Stellar Phoenix or Python or SF Recovery Tool, and use that to examine the HDD. But it can be a lot of trouble to find and rescue the complete video: if you've used the recorder a long time, the video may be scattered all over the HDD in small pieces with nonsense names that you'd then need to re-assemble properly. Sometimes, you're lucky and find it as one complete file, but not usually. Recorder file systems were designed for the dedicated automatic operating system of the unit, not human logic or salvage utilities trying to recover a broken machine.

Having followed a number of HDD rescue threads over many years, my impression is the success rate is hardly worth the effort involved. Often, it comes down to luck: some brands and models are more amenable to having their HDD files read by a computer, but there is no consistent pattern. Pioneers (and similar Sonys) tend to be more difficult and resistant. So I would strongly recommend just buying another Pioneer with a functional DVD drive, installing your HDD into it, and burning the files to disc as intended.

You do not need to have an exact model match to your DVR-433: any Pioneer DVD/HDD model made prior to 2007 can accept your HDD (after 2007, the HDD connection changed from EIDE to SATA). So if you find a better price on models like 510, 5100, 520, 920, 530, 540, 543 or 640: all are suitable. HOWEVER: do be aware that you will need a Pioneer-Sony Service Remote and Service I.D. Data Disc to "mate" your HDD to the new recorder (even another DVR-433). Genuine service remotes are impossible to find, but generic clones are available from remote control dealers, eBay, and Amazon. Clones of the Sony version (model J6090203A) are less expensive and easier to find than clones of the Pioneer version (model GGF1381). The service dvd is available from the site PioneerFaq, contact Hakan via the email link and he can provide a download option after a small donation for site expenses. Get the new recorder before seeking a service disc: there are two different service discs, so you'll need the correct one ( Pioneers sold between 2002 - 2005 use the GGV1302 Type 1 disc, the 2006 and later models like 540 need the GGV1305 Type 2 disc).

After putting your old HDD into your replacement recorder, follow the instructions at PioneerFaq to use the service remote and disc. It only takes a couple of minutes, and then the recorder will work normally. The multi-lingual PioneerFaq instructions can be a little confusing, below in English are the steps involved:

1. Remove the HDD from your new Pioneer and set it aside.

2. Install your 433 HDD in the new Pioneer.

3. Power up the new Pioneer, and it will flash HDD ERR or CPRM Err on the front panel as well as your TV screen.This means you need to reset the CPRM code on the HDD from the current 433 code to the code the new unit expects. Look on the rear panel for a secondary small white label with a nine-digit code number, its located near the fan or the AC socket. Write down the nine digits.

4. On your service remote, press ESC and then STEREO. Service mode will activate and a service display will appear on your TV. Enter the nine-digit number you wrote down using the service remote number keys, then press STOP.

5. Press ESC and STEREO again, enter the nine digit number again, and press SEARCH.

6. The recorder will ask for the ID Data Service Disc. Load the service disc and close the tray. After a moment, your TV should display "Rom Write OK!"

7. Press CLEAR on the service remote. The recorder will exit service mode. Remove the service disc BUT DO NOT CLOSE THE TRAY. Turn the recorder off, the tray will close itself. Wait a moment, and turn power back on. Your new Pioneer should load your 433 hard drive contents and work normally with no ERR alerts from this point on. When you press the HDD Nav button on the normal remote, it should display the contents of the 433 hdd normally and let you burn DVDs from it.

(If your TV displays Rom Write NG! instead of Rom Write OK! in step 6, don't panic. Sometimes the recorder trips over itself, or you enter the nine digits in the wrong order, and have to start the CPRM process over again. It nearly always "takes" the second time around.)

A couple of clarification points that aren't always obvious from reading the pioneerfaq instructions:

During steps 4 and 5, you need to enter the CPRM number *twice.* A lot of people don't realize this and get stuck. You hit ESC+STER, enter the number, press STOP, then ESC+STER a second time, then enter the number a second time, then press SEARCH (instead of STOP).

In step 7, be careful NOT TO CLOSE THE DISC TRAY after removing the service disc. Just take out the disc and turn off the power, the recorder will close the tray by itself. If you close the tray by hand before turning off the power, the entire CPRM process can get corrupted resulting in HDD Err, meaning you have to start the whole thing over.

This is much more complicated to describe in words than it is to actually do, it only takes about 2 minutes to reprogram your 433 HDD to work in another Pioneer. After you finish dubbing all the videos off the 433 HDD, you have several choices how to proceed.

You can leave the 433 HDD in the new unit and just use the recorder as if nothing had changed.

Or, you could put back the HDD that came in the new Pioneer. Returning the original HDD does not involve using the service tools, when you power up after the swap the new recorder should just recognize its own original HDD as if it had never been removed.

Regarding your 433 HDD, it is now reprogrammed to be recognized by the new Pioneer, so it can be used any time without activating with service tools again. Keep one of the two HDDs as a spare for emergencies.