OT, but did anyone notice Funai (Parent Co that make the Mag DVD-R) is selling a low cost BD player at WM for $298.

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=48943&highlight=funai

Wow. Funai makes Denon DVD players? Now that's a shock.

Still not interested until they record, though.

Wow. Funai makes Denon DVD players? Now that's a shock.

Still not interested until they record, though.Did you also notice the Insignia brand. Could the Zenith/Insignia CECB's be of Funai origin?

I saw that but it didn't even dawn on me. I wonder?

(They would have to be using some different electronics in the CECB boxes than they use in the Philips/Magnavox HDD/DVD recorders obviously, just based on the PQ.)

(They'd would have to be using some different electronics in the CECB boxes than they use in the Philips/Magnavox HDD/DVD recorders obviously, just based on the PQ.)Obviously. The point being, if they can use a really good tuner in an econo CECB, why not put it in the Philips/Magnavox. Maybe they wouldn't have gotten certified if they used the same tuners as in the DVDR's.

I purchased this at Sam's for $79 May, 2007. Just shy of one year it will not turn on. I contacted the manufacturer and while they said the parts were under warranty, the labor was not and it would cost $45 to repair it. I was not particularly fond of this recorder as it was very picky without reason on which disc it would recognize. I always use dvd-rw. Sometimes I would record on a disc but it would not recognize the disc on playback. I also didn't quite understand why sometimes I could edit a disc (to put a title on it) and other times I only had the option to play the disc. I never changed any of the settings. I also thought it was very slow in loading a disc even a blank disc just to set the timer recording. Another electronic device headed to the landfill.:(

I've used Maxell, Verbatims and Office Depot brands -RW discs for several years. I think probably 25 times is the most I've recorded to any one disc and still going strong. I reformat after each timeshift. I've only used +RW's a few times. Your situation sounds like a recorder problem to me.

I finally figured out a test which didn't use my Maggy- I took a DVD that plays perfectly and used the "Copy Disk" function on my PC to make a copy of it- first to a used maxell +RW and then to an unused Office Depot +RW.

The used maxell +RW made a poor copy which tends to stutter...the picture freezes regularly for 2-5 seconds then plays OK. (This was only the 4th re-use of this disk!!)

The unused Office Depot +RW copy appears perfect.

Soooo, it appears that it's the disks since both my Maggy and PC's DVD burner are making disks with video that freeze regularly.

Anyone know what might cause RW disks to do this after 2 or 3 or 4 uses? (Both +RW and -RW fail after a few uses?)

Is there any way to get these to work better? (Quick and complete reformatting each time makes no difference and there are no visible scratches on these disks!)

thnx

In my experience, it's not a matter of making a disc work better, it's a matter of using better discs. Drop the Maxell, avoid Memorex and stay away from Imation for +RW.
I bet if you did a scan on your discs they would look awful and you'd understand why your Maggy chokes on them. Some of those +RWs are bad after the FIRST burn. (The ODs quality really depends on who their supplier is... sometimes good, sometimes bad.)

Don't buy cheap media. Personally, I use HP branded +RW (PHILIPS 041) I've been using the same discs for 3 years now and have not needed to buy a new one yet. A lot of people swear by Verbatim +RW as well...

I bet if you did a scan on your discs they would look awful and you'd understand why your Maggy chokes on them.

I'll have to give those brands a try, but but do you mean by scan a disc???

thnx

My Maggy makes poor copies which tends to stutter...the picture freezes regularly for 2-5 seconds then plays OK.


I finally figured out a way to view my burned Maggy disks on my PC by using VLC to look at .VOB files.

Big surprise, a disk which was stuttering on my Maggy is perfect on the PC!!

Soooo, now the question is whether there is any way to have this 2 year old DVD recorder work like it used to or is it simply time to replace it?

thnx