It used to be no matter what brand name disc I bought it would record and it would duplicate in a stand-alone duplicator. I have always preferred Sony as my 1st choice DVD-R for both recording and duping.

BUT, recently it seems most all the Sony discs I put in the duplicator will not duplicate, I get a Can Not Read Target Drive message on the duplicator. I even bought a new duplicator thinking my old one had finally worn out. But even my new duplicator gives me the same message with Sony discs. Now when I put in Verbatim discs in the duplicator, it doesn't have a problem duplicating on these discs. It only seems to not duplicate onto Sony discs.

SO, what's happened to the Sony discs? Are they making them to purposely NOT be used to duplicate?? I had this problem a year or so ago with Memorex DVDs, the duplicator wouldn't duplicate on Memorex either. But this was when I had my old duplicator, I haven't lowered myself to buy Memorex again, but MAYBE they'd work today in my new duplicator.

All I know, I never had a problem duplicating onto Sony before, but now it's impossible. THank goodness for Verbatim. What's going on? Are DVD-R companies now making their discs with some sort of stop copy in them??:confused:

For many years I had problems with Sony tapes and Sony discs.
I replaced the machines and the problem seems to have cleared up.

This new duplicator is only about 6 months old, but when I first got it, it didn't have a problem with Sony discs, now it doesn't read any Sonys. So I wouldn't like to think a 6 month old duplicator is all thru already (my old duplicator lasted 5 years), but maybe you're right. It still duplicates on Verbatim discs though. I'd have to spend another $200 for yet another duplicator to carry out your experiment to see if it's another new machine I need. For now, I'll save the 200 and just use Verbatim discs for duplicating. But if anyone else has experienced problems duplicating on Sony, I'd like to know. I don't duplicate on a computer, only with a stand-alone duplicator.

If I may, it seems as if the controller (the brain) from your duplicator responds to the firmware data in most cases. It is possible to update that information but the process requires you to connect your dupe-tower to your pc. To my recollection the firmware is free. Not sure how hands on you are but an inexpensive alternative would be to replace the (controller) acard is a preferred brand for me. Had to replace one recently after a yr & 1/2 of service.

Yes
Update your firmware. Most times that's all it is

You can copy the new firmware onto a disc and pop it into one of your duplicators drives to perform the update.
There should be instructions in the duplicators manual on how to go about it.

And if the writer drive dies on you, just take it out and put in a new drive instead of buying a new duper everytime.

what is the best duplicator to get? i need a new one myself

Thank you all for your advice. I only wish I had the technical ability to follow what you're saying. I may have to bring my duplicator to a repair man and I will copy what you all have advised and see if he can do these things.

It's odd to me, just speaking from a common sense point of view. Why did Sony discs work 3 months ago the last time I used my new duplicator and now Sony's won't read in the "target drive"? The Verbatim discs do work (at least at this moment) but Sony's no longer work. How could a duplicator just sitting idle for 3 months suddenly not be able to read Sony discs to duplicate onto that it was able to read just 3 months prior? See, it doesn't make sense to me how this could happen. As I say, this is a new duplicator, my old one kept turning disc after disc into coasters, no matter what the brand. So I bought this new one and it did work fine at first, now it only works with Verbatim. Just doesn't make sense. But I appreciate the advice on how to fix this, hopefully a electronics repair store guy will be able to fix it.
Thanks again.:)

Hazel, it's time for you to move on. Burning DVD's is unreliable, expensive, time consuming, frustrating and an almost obsolete way of backing up your videos. I remember along time ago I would spend hours and hours trying to back-up my videos, only to have a garbage can full of rejects and a stack of dvd's many of which would not play or eventually became scratched and skipped. I know many of you are still using this method because it's traditional - but I have some advice for you that will be cheaper, more convenient and much much simpler;
Buy yourself a 2TB or 3TB hard drive, most are selling for well under $100. Then buy yourself a media player, there are many available these days for under $100 bucks. Rip your videos then transfer them to your media player. Connect your media player to your TV and enjoy!
You will never again have to handle a DVD or have a DVD that skips or won't play. Plus, you have access to all your video's simply by using the remote control. A 2TB hard drive will hold almost 500 dvd's and thousands of AVI movies. You can also put home movies and pictures on your media player. And anything that you put on your player can be erased or replaced or re-labeled. Good Luck!

I'm also a believer in what Yort is saying ....
I own 2 media players myself but my disc collection is so huge I have not started the archiving yet

I use the media players for the hundreds of files I download ... Cartoons, tv shows, documentaries movies, sports, etc etc ... Anything u want is available these days on file sharing sites and a lot of it in HD quality
No need to put the files on disc anymore - just stream them through the media player .. I love it and highly recommend also. Everyone should have one of these in their setup at home.

I concur about the 2 or more TB hard drives. I am looking to move in this direction later this year. However, I have some questions.

To those who have done this - how do you handle trades? Are the files on your hard drive saved in a format that can be easily burned to DVDR?

I ask because I have a lot of VHS tapes I want to transfer to a digital medium of some sort. I was thinking of capturing the tapes in either AVI or MPEG and saving those files on the hard drive. Then, if someone wants a DVDR copy, I can just render and burn.

I don't see any obvious problems with my plan per say, but I would be curious to know how others are handling this.

Thanks.

I concur about the 2 or more TB hard drives. I am looking to move in this direction later this year. However, I have some questions.

To those who have done this - how do you handle trades? Are the files on your hard drive saved in a format that can be easily burned to DVDR?

I ask because I have a lot of VHS tapes I want to transfer to a digital medium of some sort. I was thinking of capturing the tapes in either AVI or MPEG and saving those files on the hard drive. Then, if someone wants a DVDR copy, I can just render and burn.

I don't see any obvious problems with my plan per say, but I would be curious to know how others are handling this.

Thanks.

Yes, almost all media players can play ISO files which is the exact format that you would burn to a DVD. When you want to burn a video to DVD, simply transfer the ISO file back to your computer and burn. I am assuming that most of you are using DVD Shrink to rip your videos to an image file (ISO).
As for your VHS tapes, I have a small video camera that I can plug into my VCR and it will record my VHS tapes to a digital format. My camera happens to have this special feature, but there are many other inexpensive devices that you can buy that will do the job - check Amazon.
I realize this should be a separate thread all together, and I'm not trying to belittle anyone, but burning DVD's is old school technology, it's never really been a good, reliable way of archiving.
Also there is a much more efficient way to trade video these days. Burning DVD's and sending them through the mail is becoming obsolete. Once any video has been put into a digital format it can then be transffered using the internet.
I don't want to get into trouble here. I'm not sure what the rules are in this forum, but if anyone is interested I would be more than happy to start a new thread.

Thanks to all, but the technical advice given to a "where do I turn it on?" kind of guy is flying over my head. First, I don't own a compter. And I'm assuming this "Media Player" I've been recommended to buy is something that hooks up somehow to a computer. I make all my recordings on DVD-R with a DVD recorder, from there I make copies of said discs with a Stand-alone duplicator, I never even have to use a computer for my collections and my DVDs. I play my DVDs on, get set for this, on a DVD player!!! Yes, I am actually so backward as to play DVDs on a DVD player. It's Sony though, if that counts in my favor. Besides, if what I'm being told about here, putting all shows on a hard drive or on a media player, I really don't understand this stuff, I do know that it sounds highly corruptable. Something that I never have to worry about with a hard copy DVD in my hand. This hard drive/media player business sounds like it might be good for temporary storage, but what about in 20 years, are you going to have your Media player/hard drive still sitting around to supply you with shows you put there 2 decades earlier? Granted, I'm getting to the point where in 20 years I'll be lucky if I'm still alive, but assuming I was immortal, I wouldn't trust a hard drive/media player for my long term storage of TV shows and movies it's taken great pains and time to collect. Nothing like being able to hold a disc in your hand and know it's not going to be corrupted or ruined by a virus or wiped out if your computer dies on you.

While I appreciate your advice, I wouldn't trust a Media Player or the hard drive with my valuable old shows and movies even if I knew how or what it is you're talking about.

All I really wanted to find out was if anyone else was having problems with Sony DVD-R discs on their duplicator the way I am? But with Verbatim discs in the duplicator it's no problem. I wanted to know if this is just a problem I'm having or have others experienced the same?

What it really comes down to is that some drives on dvd players or on the computer hate certain disks and spit them right out. I have drives in three computers and one refuses to read Imation disks. The other two love them. Swap out the drive for another and I bet the problem ends.

Harvey

Hello, new member here. I've been visiting these boards for awhile but I'd really like to chime in on this thread and maybe give some insight.

Anyways, coming from someone with a strong multimedia background who does all the above mentioned "data" methods on a daily basis both professionally and for home use, I can see why Hazel Anyday wants his collection on DVDRs. I believe his chosen method with a DVD recorder & duplicator is probably the best for someone who admits they know little about computers. Duplicators can be temperamental, regardless of age, and media can be a huge factor. It is indeed widely thought that Sony and Verbatim are among the best of the "consumer" grade blank media. However Sony has changed their disc manufacturing before and they may have done it again.

I know this sounds like a pitch but believe me, for the best in longevity, reliability, and compatibility nothing can beat Taiyo Yuden, which is considered "professional" grade. You can't find them in stores - you pretty much have to purchase them online. They actually cost about the same (or sometimes even cheaper) when purchased in bulk. supermediastore.com usually has the best deals on them. I almost guarantee they will work in your duplicator where other discs won't.

So I highly recommend getting your hands on some TYs. Use them for both the masters you record in your DVD recorder and the dupes too. Also burn the dupes at a slower speed (if your duplicator allows you to). Preferably no faster than 8x. Ten years from now they will work when you need them to.

TY's are my disc of choice also ... Best quality/compatibility disc out there.

this thread is why i had to leave the trading hobby in 2007, because I couldn't keep up with the technology

It's not the BRAND NAME that counts, but who makes them for the Brand Name.

Several months ago, Sony switched switched to a different Dye process.

http://www.digitalfaq.com/reviews/dvd-media.htm is the best site about DVD media,etc.

TY's are my disc of choice also ... Best quality/compatibility disc out there.

I Second This! :D