Problem with Panasonic DMR-BWT700

Rutlandbelle

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My recorder/player has been working perfectly but has suddenly started to not recognise discs that are partially recorded and therefore NOT finalised. When I first burn them, I can immediately see the titles and check that they have recorded o.k. but once they have been removed from the machine, if I try to play them, no titles are shown. I tried to add more material with the idea that if I could do this and finalise the disc, it would show all the contents. However the machine just asks me to insert a suitable disc, not recognising that one is in place. My other personally recorded material which HAS been finalised and my commercial discs all play o.k. I have my machine set to automatically download software updates, so I am wondering if one of them has somehow caused this (clutching at straws!). Anyone else had this issue or think they know a fix? Thanks
 
Welcome to the forum.

This symptom is typical of poor quality / poor batch of disc blanks.

Try another disc type or batch.

Anything made in the Taiyo Yuden factory in Japan is recommended. ( All JVC Brand, some verbatim, also available under the Taiyo Yuden brand.)

You should expect a return to 100% reliability.
 
Thanks. I've always used Panasonic discs because they are reported to be reliable and never had a problem, so I assumed it must mean a recorder problem. Will try something else
 
Indeed they should be reliable - but batch problems can hit any make.

It would be a good idea to give the unit a power reset ( 15 minute mains disconnection) to reset all parameters to base level.

Incidentally - are you using / referring to Bluray blanks or DVD blanks?
 
Thanks, tried turning off overnight but sadly no change. Rest of this batch of discs have been fine. Tried some other trouble shooting -
Unfinalised dvds read ok, but am I right in thinking that they use a different laser? Also just tried to use a new rewriteable to check if reading back would be a problem on that too and it couldn't format it, said disc might be damaged, scratched. This is looking more like a machine/laser problem to me, would a lens cleaner be an idea to try. Feeling a bit lost because although I can use the machine (an early one of it's kind so not that user friendly) I don't really understand how they work!
 
Yes the units have tri-mounted lasers for separately reading/writing to CD, DVD and Bluray respectively, so if the unit can read one format type of disc but not another, and it is is not a disc batch problem, then it is probably a weakening laser.

Cleaning discs are not recommended in these machines - besides which their effectiveness in any circumstances is highly dubious.
 
Thank you, that's really helpful. It seems to be the blu Ray laser that is the issue. I will take on board what you advise about the cleaner. May look into a repair or at least see how much that would cost!
 
Hi sorry for no responding before now, been away.

Have you gone into service mode on the 700 and looked to see what error is report?
Attached is pdf of how to get into service mode on the 700 and interrogate the blueray disk error log.
It stores the last 99 error codes.
 

Attachments

  • 700-ServiceMode.pdf
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Sorry, I should have copied you Panasonic's cleaning instructions for the BD drive.
It's attached.
 

Attachments

  • 700-CleaningDrive.pdf
    125 KB · Views: 189
Sorry for not replying but like you I have been away. I will firstly try looking for an error report using your link, I feel I might be getting closer to understanding what's gone wrong - or perhaps I am just feeling optimistic after Christmas! Thanks again
 
We've had a similar problem, but our DMR-BWT700 has stopped burning to disc reliably. We've been using DVD-R, have tried DVD+R with some success but it's inconsistent. Thought they were bad discs (ordered from the internet) so have bought Verbatim but are still having problems. No problems playing pre-recorded or previously downloaded discs. Sometimes the download seem fine but the process fails when trying to finalise. Any suggestions will really be appreciated, thanks!
 
Suggest that you look to see what the errors are reported as, see post 9 of this thread.
Try cleaning the optical system - see post 10 of this thread.
Have you tried CDs and Bluerays to see if they are OK - each of the three disc types has a separate laser system?
 
Hi and thanks for the quick reply! I thought the error report in post #9 was for using blue ray discs. Does the process work for seeing errors on 'normal' discs?
Will try using CDs and Bluerays and see what happens
 
Hi and thanks for the quick reply! I thought the error report in post #9 was for using blue ray discs. Does the process work for seeing errors on 'normal' discs?
Will try using CDs and Bluerays and see what happens
 
No the error report covers all drives. It will record the error number but then to interpret that number will need to look up meaning in a service manual for the drive itself.
 

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