Formatting DVD+R on a PC for use on Panasonic DMR-EH59

Er, if you need to format DVD+ discs, why aren't you using DVD- instead? I use 8X Verbatim DVD- discs. I don't need to format them and have absolutely no problems with my DMR-EH75V unit.

Panasonic does not "like" burning DVD+R media. It will do it, but many owners here on AVS report so much trouble that they give up and just stick to -R. There really isn't any particular advantage to either -R or +R when burned in a DVD/HDD recorder, so its best to use -R with a Panasonic because Panasonic is optimized more for -R. This is further complicated by the wide variance in recorder compatibility between different brands and batches of blank discs: your specific blanks may just not be a good "fit" with your recorder, making the reaction worse than usual.

Buy -R discs for your EH59, and save your +R discs for burning in your PC, which will not have difficulty with them. The PC also has more ability to exploit the burning advantages of the +R format than most standalone DVD recorders.

There are none, other than the ability to specify the layer break on DVD+DL media vs. DVD-DL. All the supposed technical advantages of DVD+R were never implemented in DVD burners. There are no advantages/disadvantages to using either disk format in a PC.

I have always thought that was the case, but several members here have been very emphatic and insistent that +R has "vastly superior burning specs and error correction" so I began qualifying my mentions of +R. I never use +R myself, never saw the point unless one had one of the early DVD recorders that would only burn +R. Of course +RW is different, and does have some feature advantages over -RW, while Verbatim +R DL is the only DL worth burning.

Akram, it occurs to me we may have misunderstood your question because you may have worded it wrong. Are you sure your problem discs are +R, or are they +R/W? The single-use +R does not generally require formatting, but the eraseable +R/W sometimes does. You should not be attempting to format +R for use in your Panasonic, the EH59 should just accept +R as a blank disc and use it (although as I posted earlier, Panasonic has problems with many blank +R so you should avoid it). People here have posted different ways of working with +RW in their recorders, formatting or erasing in a PC sometimes helps but can also make things worse. Unless you MUST have the better editing features of +R and +RW, you would experience less trouble with your EH59 if you use -R and -RW instead.
Edited by CitiBear - 8/27/12 at 9:54am

I'm not sure what you mean by cumbursome. You put in the disk, it asks you to format it, you say yes, it does it. It seems pretty simple to me.

As has been said, I highly recommend you use -R blank media with your Panasonic. The only +R media I use is Verb. +R DL disks, because -R DL disks are virtually unavailable.

The formatting that the Panasonic does to the +R disks makes them non-standard. Some of the +R disks I have made are not playable on some DVD players, and BluRay players too! I have no idea of how to format them for use on your Panasonic except in the recorder itself. You could get a second one and use it exclusively for formatting. I just don't recommend using +R disks with your Panasonic recorder.

ChurchAVGuy, thanks for clearing up that Panasonics actually DO require formatting of +R blanks before use. That is rather bizarre: none of my Magnavox or Pioneer recorders require +R to be formatted (they work the same -R: load and burn).



You could have a defective EH59: unlikely, but possible. Did you buy it new, or as a "demo" with previously-used discount?

More likely you have simply been buying the typical blank DVDs sold in stores. Retail DVDs are optimized for PC burning, they have unpredictable burning quality when used in DVD/HDD recorders. DVD recorders are all but dead as a consumer product and few blank media companies have cared about reliable recorder compatibility since years ago. It is pure luck that the +Rs you've been buying in stores worked better than the -Rs, but that luck could change at any moment. To avoid future problems, buy your blanks online from a media specialist like supermedia, rima, avedirect or amazon. The two most reliable and popular DVD-R types used by recorder owners here are Verbatim DataLifePlus 8x DVD-R (Product Number 94852) and JVC/TY Premium Silver 8x DVD-R. Both also come in other finishes like white top instead of silver. They are more expensive than the stuff you find on sale at stores, at approx $34 per 100 including shipping. But the guarantee of reliable burns that play well in computers and other DVD or BD players is worth the extra money. How much is it worth to you to not have to worry about burn quality or disc compatibility ever again?


This may be true in your specific neighborhood stores, but generally major chain stores always carry both. The reason you see more +R on the shelves might also be that -R sells faster and they don't restock right away. In any case, you should listen to what ChurchAVGuy confirmed: Panasonics don't much like +R, to the point they require special formatting, so why use them at all? The +Rs may seem to play better in your computer and DVD player, but that could change the second you get a different PC or DVD player. DVD recorders are just goofy machines that play by their own set of rules: half of this forum is always arguing with the other half about media. One faction insists that "a blank DVD is a blank DVD, the spec is the spec, so all DVDs should always burn well in all hardware.." The other faction says "the heck with that: it may be true for PCs, or you lucky people with easygoing recorders, but my DVD recorders choke on the DVDs I buy in discount stores yet work perfectly with the specialty DVDs bought online- why should I keep wasting time and money on blanks my recorder clearly does not like?'

Its understandable that you would be really angry that store-bought DVDs would cause trouble in your recorder but not in your PC, and of course it really is inconvenient to have to order specialty blanks online instead of just running to the store whenever there's a sale. But such is life: we can't always get what we want. If you just cannot force yourself to buy blanks online, at least try to buy only Verbatim brand -R or +R blanks at the store, and then ONLY the Verbatims that have an "AZO" mark on the wrapper. Verbatim sells a cheaper discount "Life Series" blank (without the "AZO" symbol) in stores that is actually the exact same blank sold under the TDK, Staples, Philips and countless other brand names. They all come from the same factory, no matter what the name, and most can have problems in a recorder. Your odds are much better with the "genuine" Verbatim AZO 16x DVD-R, but if that doesn't work for you just give up and buy the 8x -R blanks from a web dealer. The 8x -R blanks work well in every recorder, every time.

Did you finalize them after recording?

In answer to your other question, no, you cannot format them on a PC for use in the recorder.
Edited by Kelson - 8/27/12 at 1:49pm

Somewhat off-topc, BUT here is the lowdown. Whenever I put in a +R or +R DL (I have never tried an RW of any type since the -RAMs work so well with my Panasonics)... whenever I put in a +R or +R DL disk, the machine asks for me to format it. Okay, I never thought a thing about it until I got an unamenable DVD player that refused to play the +R disks. Ironically, a really, REALLY cheap (about $30) DVD player from Walmart played them just fine .

I rather later discovered something. I managed to get, from the UK, some -R DL disks (great expense, etc). THESE work just fine in ALL of my DVD/BluRay players. The DVD recorder does not ask for them to be formatted. Well, I made a DL disk using the -R DL disks, and wanted to make a copy using my CopyPal, and on a whim I put in a +R DL disk blank (with the -R DL original). I really wantd to know if it would work--it did! It copied just fine, AND THAT copy plays in all of my players! I don't get it, except to conclude that when the Panasonic formats the +R disks (of any kind) it makes them slightly nonstandard. If I make a +R DL disk with my Panasonic, and copy it to a +R DL or -R DL, those copies won't play on my unamenable machines. In my opinion, it's the formatting that ruins them.
If there is, I am unaware of it. As I said earlier, the only way I know of to make the +R disks usable in the Panasonic DVD recorer is to have the recorder format it. Sorry.