JVC DR-M10 won't record
 

I just got a JVC DR-M10, it loads fine, plays fine, shows the dvd being a DVD-R, sp on the display, and a big DV on the display, no errors except the red circle when I try to record or change speeds, I have been through the setup menu, using s-video imput and changed ALL the settings in the setup to all s-video, but it won't change recording speeds, won't show/pass through the vhs video or sound of what I am trying to record and won't record, I get the red circle with the 45* bar...what have I missed?

The JVC will not read a verbatim DVD-R??? and the disks are fine, the samsung R120 records them, the jvc will read some real cheap old no-name-R dvd's I have, let me select the recording modes and seems to be working ok with the cheap ones in...strange.

I have the JVC hooked up directly to the Panasonic 1980 vhs which I can use fine with the samsung but the JVC will not receive the signal, when I try to record, it says "no signal" and the record light will not come on, I have the S-Video set in the JVC setup, I tried all three sets of imputs on the JVC and also composite video, the JVC is not picking up video or audio, do I have something set wrong?

Figured it out...I had to do "aux" to bring up "L-1" then I got signal, :) you can dis-regard the question, thanks for all your help!...still strange it will not do the Verbatim, I thought they were the best disks, is there any brand you recommend for the JVC, I quit using the cheap one because my players don't like them.

I use Verbatim DVD-R in it all the time. Are these Mitsubish 16x Verbatim made in India, Taiwan or UAE -- not the "Value Series" stuff, either?

I think I used some RITEKF1 TDK-branded 16x DVD-R a while back, for some one-off recordings. Those worked. $20 on sale at Office Depot (today is last day for that sale), 100packs. Not archival, but maybe okay for temp discs? Not used any Taiyo Yuden in it, don't really buy a lot of TY DVD-R discs for myself. PRODISC work well, too.

I also use Sony 2x DVD-RW, and those are still available from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0017TM9S4
These are okay too, but I like Sony's better: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B000YTRUP0

Yes, change input to L-1, L-2, etc... you were on DV input mode.

Maybe the laser inside is dirty if it won't write to Verbatim 16x DVD-R?

These are the Verbatim 16x ones sold by amazon, they worked fine in the old Panasonic I have and the samsung R-120, but won't work in the JVC, but the cheap "nexXtech" that someone gave me along time ago work...nothing else likes these and my players don't like them also. Which Verbatim do I need to use? and where do you get them?

I doubt the laser is dirty, the unit is real clean and doesn't look to have been used much, can they get dirty for just age?

Lasers age -- normal household moisture (5-40%) plus airborne particulates make a nice gooey mess on optical electronics, be it exposed camera lenses or laser lenses.

Just follow the guide for properly cleaning a DVD burner.

ok
Do the JVC's get hot like the Liteon's...do you suggest drilling holes in the case or is that not needed?

You'll notice a fan in the rear of the JVC. It keeps the unit well cooled. For extra cooling, raise it off the shelf/desk/whatever with some rubber feet (I use those door jams from Lowe's or Home Depot), and then don't put anything on top of it or directly beside it. Be sure hot air can freely leave the rear of the unit; it can't have a wall or wires blocking the fan or letting the hot air "hang" by the unit.

DVD recorders are not made to be jammed in a closed cabinet.

Bought some TDK and Memorex, neither would load...took unit apart, almost no dust inside, not even on the fan, there are 4 screws on top of recorder unit, removed them and tried gently to pry top off, a couple of what I think are tabs broke off, I guess to identify if it's ever been apart and stopped right there and can not remove from the body of the unit, there are cables that don't seem to have a plug...what do I do?

Attachment 734

Also tried a Maxwell...won't read, all these new ones are 16X and the old nexXtech are 8X, is this what I have to have for this unit?

Found out that his unit is to use...DVD-R which conform to DVD-R standard version 2.0....later it states use disk labeled "1x SPEED"

That's just old documentation -- and incorrect at that. These DVD recorders came out during the age of 4x DVD media. The firmware inside was native to 1x/2x/4x DVD-R media, and 1x/2x DVD-RW media. Also some DVD-RAM.

However, 1x-16x Verbatim ("16x Verbatim DVD-R") usually work well with this machine. It's very, very, very odd for it to not work.

Well I wonder what's going on, this unit looks brand new, inside no dust so even though I couldn't get the recorder apart, I bet it's clean, these nexXtech I have tried 20 disks, it read them all and pretty quick and records them!, and my three players, one Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba don't like to read these for playback that's why I don't use them anymore, but I have tried several disks each of the Verbatim, TDK, Sony, Phillips, Memorex and think I am missing one, all 16x and it seems to read them, no error but won't record, change recording speeds, etc, ie. "doesn't work"....what gives?

The only thing left to try is 8x Taiyo Yuden from meritline.

Since you're able to record on the Nexxtech discs, it's clear that you know how to record video.
This is very strange, never seen anything like this in 6 years of using JVC machines, and advising others.

Yes I feel I am descent at this, I have had the following dvd recorders, 2003 panasonic, fair and still works, samsung R-120, still works, RCA, POS and dead, now the JVC DR-M10S and have done as I said with the disks, probably put 30 in it so far, only these old nexXtech 8x will record...I build personal computers as one of my jobs, so I am not illiterate, just learning about this now...and enjoying it! Is there any firmware updates for the JVC's?
I have found the Verbatim 8x in regular and the digital movie ones and I ordered a pack of each.

I know the admin will only clobber/crush whatever I'm about to say, but I've had nice results using DVD-RAM discs in my own exact same model of your recorder. Any branded type that I've tried has worked: Maxell (MXL8), Panasonic (M01J3002), Fuji (M01J3004), etc.
Just offering this information as an option to you...

Are not ram disks more expensive? And I need just plain dvd's to record on, does your JVC M10S record 16x disks?

I've never owned a DVD-R that was rated at 16x...All the burners in all of my PC towers are rated at 8x (so I never bought a disc rated higher than 8x). No reason to- I write (burn) at only 6x on purpose, to minimize the margin for write errors.
-RAM discs are about $1.50-$2.00 each, which is nice- because you can record on them, then later re-write over them about a zillion times if you want!! I've been using them with great results since 2004.
I suggested a nearly endless re-recordable format to you in case you were using this deck to do a (hardware) capture...And later discovered you were not happy with your particular settings. You'd just erase and start again with a full, clean slate.
You can order -RAM discs from here, if you want to try out the format:

http://www.totalmedia.com/store/barg...case-1131.html

...Like I said, I fully expect the admin to refute my words about the -RAM format as soon as he sees these posts I've made...

This site has been very useful to me in the 5 years that I've been visiting it to look for information/answers to my own editing/encoding problems. I'll not ever be sleeping on any bed of money, so it's difficult for me to provide it direct financial support...But: When I believe I can offer a useful (and simple) suggestion to another member who asks a question here, I try to step up and contribute in that kind of fashion.

If you want to use DVD-RAM, you're limited to XP and SP mode.

The other modes create video that is not to the DVD-Video spec, but rather to the DVD-VR spec. A common DVD-VR "less than 720" resolution is 480x480, which can't be watched in a standard DVD player. In "video mode", the DVD recorder records in the standard DVD-compliant 352x480 resolution.

I mostly use DVD recorders as convenient replacements for computers with capture cards. And the better DVD recorders (like this JVC) come with the added benefit of noise reduction, removing both chroma and grain noise. This same kind of NR is just not really possible with a computer card, especially the chroma noise removal.

After the DVDs are recorded, I often rip them to a computer, edit as needed, re-author (either with nice menus or as a menu-less disc), and then re-burn to archival media ... and save an ISO to an external archive hard drive.

That's my workflow, when using a DVD recorder.

There have also been issues with DVD-VR recording on the JVC decks. The IRE can be pronouncedly lighter when using DVD-VR mode -- the source of many "my JVC is too washed out" complaints. I learned about this early on, back in summer 2004.

Since I only have about 60 DVD-RW, and can run out during busy times, it's not uncommon to use Verbatim 16x discs, and just throw them away when the project is done. For other times, the discs are used for samples, tests and other temporary needs. So I guarantee Mitsubishi-manufacturer 1x-16x Verbatim DVD-R work in the JVC lineage of LSI Logic chipset recorders, using at least several per month. Yours just does not want to cooperate for some reason. I wish I knew why.

I have about 10 DVD-RAM discs, Panasonic branded, forget the manufacturer and media ID. Discs are circa 2004. These get used only rarely.

Glad to know you're a 5-year reader/member, dyfan.
You've seen a lot of changes here, and you're about to see several more. :)

Are there just one speed disks, like when they say "16x" does this always mean 1-16x?

Most discs are rated for one maximum speed (and indeed, are calibrated to work best at this speed). In practice, you're better off burning at a half or full speed under that. For 16x discs, 12x or 8x burns are best.

Under tests, you'll see burning too slow can be just as bad as burning above the rating (18x-24x, for example, with 16x discs). A disc has to remain relatively flat as the laser writes data in a narrow groove. If the disc cannot spin flat enough at any speed -- be it too fast, or too slow --then the data write is poor. It can range from pure coasters, to some errors, to heavy reliance on error correction.

But Verbatim discs are rated for the full range of 1x-16x, and the discs often test well at all incremental speeds.

Other brands have started to mock this (like TDK-branded RITEKF1 DVD-R), but I'd suggest you test them thoroughly. The odds of good burns are all speeds are not in that disc's favor, being a Ritek blank. That brand/manufacture of disc often rates as mediocre in various tests and reviews online (including the review on this site), performing both well and miserable. Personally, I would not trust a RITEKF1 burned slower than 8x.

You are a little over my head this time...are you saying that 8x being wrote at 8x is not as good as 16x being wrote at 8x?

It is fairly obvious that my unit won't do 16x so 8x is what I am going to have to use...I certainly hope those nexXtech are not the only disk this unit will read and write to???

As mentioned above this unit looks brand new inside, either it's not been used much or repaired and they cleaned it nicely, there looks to be writing on the boards from a felt tip marker, don't know if you can see this in the photo, is this factory or has it been repaired and maybe it has a disk reading problem?

Yes, 8x media burned at 8x speed can be of lower quality than 16x media burned at 8x. To some people this sounds crazy, but it's a complex issue of physics, media design and drive firmware.

The term "quality" also refers to the amount of bad discs you'll burn. It does not mean the quality of content will be degraded, or anything like that. If the burn is good, it's good. but you'll get more bad discs on 8x@8x than you will with 16x@8x.

The JVC recorder writes with slower-than-1x packet style writing anyway.

I'll have to look inside my own DR-M10 to compare, but unfortunately I can't do that right now -- not for several weeks, at least. It's being used daily right now. It would be hard to tell anyway, if yours has been opened. If there is zero dust inside a 5-6 year old unit, I have a feeling it's been opened at least once.

I feel it's just not been used, came in the original box and remote looked to have never been opened, you can tell that piece of tape and bag was in perfect shape and when it is on it has that new electronics burning in smell, so I wonder why it won't do any 16??

I bought this to do the vhs to dvd transfer, will I get a better recording using the JVC with 8x than using the samsung R-120 using 16x?

It's back to the recording modes. If you do 1-hour XP mode transfers, both machines should work fine. 2-hour has more compression. The JVC has the FR180 3-hour mode, and I think you said the Samsung lacks a 3-hour option. The 4-hour mode looks the same as SP 2-hour mode, maybe a shade lower in quality. It's also compressed.

Is the FR 180 mode the timer recording or is there real 180 mode where you can pause it, etc? I can do a timer 180 on the samsung, but you can't pause and I haven't been able to play with the JVC yet thanks to the read problem...
And wouldn't the instant timer at 30min intervals accomplish the same thing?

All of the flex recording (FR) options are available both in manual recordings and timer recordings. The FR is available in 5 minute increments, from 60-240.

I generally use FR185 (few minutes extra, just in case).

If I know the video is under 3 hours, I use FR175. This is a great setting for most VHS to DVD, if the source is not perfect SP mode.

I only use FR60-FR90 if the input is SP mode VHS in perfect quality -AND- I'm using artificial sharpening from either the Panasonic AG-1980P S-VHS VCR or the SignVideo DR-1000 detailer unit.