Toshiba DR430 -- chapter marks won't play correctly in other DVD players

As I understand it, from MY recording experience,
you have to WATCH the recording, and in the EDIT screen, make your
chapter marks, IF your recorder has a HDD.
In the early days BEFORE the HDD, you could ONLY select every 3, 5 or 10 minutes.
That`s how it is on my recorder that does NOT have HDD(Hard Disc Drive).

It is a known quirk of DVD recorders in general. There are two types of recorder: those that record directly onto a DVD, and those that record to a HDD first, let you edit the video, and then make a copy onto DVD. The simpler machines (like your Toshiba) that record directly onto the DVD are often limited in how much customizing they can do that will carry over when the disc is played on other hardware. Custom chapter points usually get "soft coded," which means the recorder detects those first and uses them, but riding underneath are "hard coded" conventional 10-minute chapter stops formatted so any hardware can detect them. These "hard coded" standard chapter points will override any custom chapter marks when the disc is played outside the recorder that made it.

There are exceptions, of course: some direct-to-DVD recorders can make permanent custom chapter points that "stick" when played on other hardware. Your Toshiba's instruction book is very confusing on this subject: it says custom chapter points can be created on +R discs and played by the recorder itself, but is very vague on whether the custom chapters will be picked up by other DVD players. Reading very closely, you can see the instruction book prioritizes the use of VR-formatted -RW and regular +RW "erasable" discs for all custom features. -R cannot be customized at all, and +R customization will apparently only be detected by your Toshiba and overlooked by other DVD players. You might need to switch to +RW discs, or use a computer program to make copies of your +R discs and create permanent, priority custom chapter marks on the copies.

You might want to consider buying a DVD/HDD recorder if you will be doing many such custom discs. At the moment these machines are sold out everywhere, but in a couple of months Magnavox is expected to release two or three new models. With a DVD/HDD model, you record the video to HDD first, and can make all sorts of custom edits. When you're ready to make the final DVD, it copies at high speed from HDD and your DVD is finished about 15 minutes later. All DVDs produced this way will have permanent custom chapter marks that will work the same on any player. The Magnavox units are made by the same mfr that produces the DR430 for Toshiba, so the remotes are very similar and the two brands operate almost identically. Think of the Magnavox as a Toshiba DR430 with a tuner and HDD added on.
Edited by CitiBear - 7/8/12 at 8:06pm

I hope switching to +RW discs will solve your problem, AvileeG, but if it doesn't and you decide to go for a Magnavox DVD/HDD rest assured you will be able to buy a "refurb" just like you did with your Toshiba DR430. The Magnavox units are sold primarily thru WalMart, and many many buyers take advantage of WalMarts generous return/refund policy to return the Magnavox three days after they buy it. Most of these returns are caused by consumers misunderstanding how DVD recorders work: they think they can use one in place of their subscription cable PVR, to save money, but quickly discover things aren't so simple because cable companies have a few tricks up their sleeve that frustrate such workarounds. The returned Magnavoxes are mostly in brand new condition, so they are repackaged in a refurb carton and resold thru clearance dealers like J&R Electronics.

For the last few years, a large number of AVS members have picked up refurbished Magnavox MDR513 models for $169 including free shipping. These still occasionally pop up on the J&R website, so you could try checking here once a week to see if they get any in stock. Right now demand is high and supply is low, but when the new models come out in the fall you'll see plenty of refurbs come into the J&R pipeline. Meantime, maybe you'll get lucky with the +RW discs.