Panasonic DMR-EZ25EB (DVD recorder) troubleshooting

[Norma Wisdom]

Hello all,

This model has been trouble-free for 17 months, but last night it began making a horrendous scraping noise whilst recording ( naturally - I stopped it).

The error code U88 came up and the unit performed 'disc rescue'.

After this, no data could be read on the RW disc.

Error code U88 relates to a disc problem yet the manual states that it does not mean that the unit is faulty.

Assuming a rogue or dirty disc to be the culprit, I checked the entire batch, along with some +R and -R examples - and none of them are now 'recognized' by the unit.

Whether DVD-R +R or RW disc; the 'Unsupport' message comes up when they are put into the machine.

I can still play commercially recorded DVDs and CDs but it no longer records or allows access to Disc Formatting via DVD Management. Even edited and finalized discs register as 'Incompatible'.

If any of you have had experience with this or a similar model, I would appreciate some ideas.

Whilst I hope all that is needed is the relevant cleaning kit - I fear the worst!

[Lord Brett]

I can't remember the model, but we have a Panasonic DVD/Hard drive recorder. A couple of times it has started to fail to recognise discs, and we found the proiblem was due to the laser needing a clean, with a special cleaning disc I bought for £20 at Richer Sounds.



We have a large dog who causes a lot of dirt and hair to fly about the place, and think she's the cause, but the cleaning disc has done the trick - at that price it's certainly worth a try.

[Norma Wisdom]

name='Lord Brett']I can't remember the model, but we have a Panasonic DVD/Hard drive recorder. A couple of times it has started to fail to recognise discs, and we found the proiblem was due to the laser needing a clean, with a special cleaning disc I bought for £20 at Richer Sounds.



We have a large dog who causes a lot of dirt and hair to fly about the place, and think she's the cause, but the cleaning disc has done the trick - at that price it's certainly worth a try.

Blow me if it hasn't gone back to (almost) 'normal'. But a test recording took an inordinate time to finalize - so I can't really rely on it long-term.

I think your advice is sound M'Lord - because I don't want to risk the ruination of any much wanted recordings.

I forgot to mention that I only use Panasonic RW discs because I found that other (even Kodak) RW discs failed to finalize on a few occasions.

Many Thanks!

[CaptainWaggett]

I've had this happen a couple of times and the various fixes in the manual do seem to work. I've now moved to Verbatim discs (you can get a pack of 50 in Argos or PC World for c£13.00) and have never had one fail whereas I used to get regular problems with other brands.

[Norma Wisdom]

name='CaptainWaggett']I've had this happen a couple of times and the various fixes in the manual do seem to work. I've now moved to Verbatim discs (you can get a pack of 50 in Argos or PC World for c£13.00) and have never had one fail whereas I used to get regular problems with other brands.

Many thanks Cap'n. I think that the Verbatim brand is about the only one I haven't yet tried - and at the moment I'll give anything a shot! I've driven the old feller mad and kept him awake over this pesky machine - and I really don't want to have any recordings of Little Dorrit die on me in the style of Little Nell.

[Lord Brett]

I've never had any problem with Sony discs. Avoid Maxell and Memorex, especially their RW discs.

[CaptainWaggett]

I've never had much success with any RW discs...

[mrs_emma_peel]

I’ve recently started using Verbatim +RW DVD discs and found them absolutely superb – very reliable indeed.

I also use Panasonic and Sony +RW discs.

[sippog]

No discs are 100% reliable but some are less unreliable than others.



Maxell and Memorex should be avoided- as stated. Panasonic were my discs of choice but are no longer produced, Verbatim are the next best thing. Datawrite (in my experience) work for a while but are unreliable long-term. TDK are too often counterfeited, dodgy versions.



Most retail stores (PC World, Currys, Rymans) seem to charge between 25% and 40% more for discs than the prices at computer fairs and on-line. Not quite sure how they get away with it. It pays to shop around. For example, I pay on average £11 for 50 Verbatim discs.



Don't buy big cakes - 100 discs - the accepted wisdom is the edges of the discs get crushed by the weight. Whether or not that's true, I've noticed more failed discs in big cakes. I generally try to buy in 50s.



N.B. There are some useful threads here on storing your discs properly

[autolycus]

Sippog - i've seen panasonic disks recently at



Buy panasonic dvd-r 16x speed (lm-rs120ne50) pod of 50 branded - dvd-r - panasonic dvd-r 16x speed branded cap - UK buy online from aprmedia.co.uk media shop - APR Media Ltd



Cheap too :-)

[Norma Wisdom]

Thanks a million to all of you for your help and advice. I have been given a great deal of food for thought!