Panasonic DMR-EH50 not finalising

[johnslad]

First posting. DMR-EH50 about 10 months old. Was finalising disks ok until recently. Now only finalises occasionally and often with a great deal of noise. Started with TDK x8 & Arita x8 DVD-R disks and all were ok. Changed to Philips x16 then trouble started. Was that just coincidence? Changed again to RiData x8 but problem persists. Is it just a problem with the disks or something more serious?

[Broadz]

Sounds more like a problem with the DVD recorder. Should still be under its twelve month warranty. Get it replaced while you've still got two month's grace. My Panasonic started playing up after about six months, Richer Sounds replaced it immediately with an LG, not had any problems with that so far.

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by johnslad

First posting. DMR-EH50 about 10 months old. Was finalising disks ok until recently. Now only finalises occasionally and often with a great deal of noise. Started with TDK x8 & Arita x8 DVD-R disks and all were ok. Changed to Philips x16 then trouble started. Was that just coincidence? Changed again to RiData x8 but problem persists. Is it just a problem with the disks or something more serious?

Welcome to the forum johnslad.

It is nearly always Disk problems.

Try Taiyo Yuden disks... I think it very likely you will find that all your troubles disapppear.

A cleaning disk would not do any harm either.

Have a look at:

http://svp.co.uk/

... and put Taiyo Yuden in their search box near the top of the page.

That should present a variety of disks that use the TY dye ... Taiyo Yuden sell under their own brand name as well as Panasonic, Verbatim etc. .

The thing to be aware of is that disks brands can use many types of dye and change often .. so it is no good going by brand name alone. Always check out the dyemaker.
For example , Verbatim use other dye makers too.

[johnslad]

Thanx guys. Machine has been returned to Panasonic for checking.

[Gebbly]

I'd be interested in hearing what panasonic have to say about this as I am experiencing the exact same problem. When finalising it sounds like the dvd is being spun up and then there is a rather unpleasent grinding noise a bit like plastic on plastic as though something was forcing the dvd to stop spinning.

I also had the problem start out of the blue when I started using different DVDs. I have used Tesco's own brand DVD-Rs and TDK DVD-R succesfully. When I tried Sony DVD-R I immediately started encountering this problem.
....
I have just thought to read the DVD spindle container label carefully and have just noticed in small print (and I do mean small) :

"Please read before using...Always read if your device is compatible as using this disc on some drives / recorders might damage the disc or device. For further information, please contact the manufacturer or browse http://www.dvdhs.com"

Didnt prove much help but mention of dvdHS then led me to wonder if the EH50 doesnt like discs compatible with 16xspeeds

I shall try a disc cleaner and then going back to the old discs and seeing if things are remedied <fingers crossed>

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by Gebbly

I'd be interested in hearing what panasonic have to say about this as I am experiencing the exact same problem. When finalising it sounds like the dvd is being spun up and then there is a rather unpleasent grinding noise a bit like plastic on plastic as though something was forcing the dvd to stop spinning.

I also had the problem start out of the blue when I started using different DVDs. I have used Tesco's own brand DVD-Rs and TDK DVD-R succesfully. When I tried Sony DVD-R I immediately started encountering this problem.

You have two confirming symptoms above that this is nothing more than a disk compatibility problem.

The disk platform arrests when read/write process is interrupted because of a failure in the optical link between disk and laser. The noise you hear is the momentum of the disk making it continue to spin at high speed and abrading against the disk clamp. [ Not good ]

If you try Taiyo Yuden disks , even the 16X versions, all your problems will disappear.

Apart from being excellent quality disks, they have excellent compatibility.

[Gebbly]

Originally Posted by Gavtech

You have two confirming symptoms above that this is nothing more than a disk compatibility problem.

The disk platform arrests when read/write process is interrupted because of a failure in the optical link between disk and laser. The noise you hear is the momentum of the disk making it continue to spin at high speed and abrading against the disk clamp. [ Not good ]

If you try Taiyo Yuden disks , even the 16X versions, all your problems will disappear.

Apart from being excellent quality disks, they have excellent compatibility.

Thanks Gavtech, a nice detailed solution to my problems. I will be switching DVD brands as soon as the last of my current batch is gone. hmmm, maybe sooner.

One last thought. The finalising does sometimes work. Once the disc is finalised should I expect any problems in future attempts to play the DVD?

[markgm77]

I had this problem with my Panny DMRES-15. It was sent off to be repaired, was waiting for parts but it took over 28 days and I got a refund.

[ROYOLD]

The Panasonic 1~16x DVD-R using the Taiyo Yuden TYG03 dye will work on all the Panasonic dvd recorders. I have used approx 220 of these discs on various Panasonic machines, old and new, without a single failure to date.

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by Gebbly

One last thought. The finalising does sometimes work. Once the disc is finalised should I expect any problems in future attempts to play the DVD?

Once the disk is completed you should have no further problem as it will never be written to again... It is only the writing part of the procedure that is problematic.

Royold's experience above is a sound recommendation for the Taiyo Yuden disks.
It mirrors my own experience of TY disks.