I wanted to pass on some tips from the School of Hard Knocks. I just received a degree from there this week. :-)

I own two DVD recorders of different brands. One is almost two years old, the other is brand new and the latest model.

Even though the world has DVD standards, it turns out that disks wriitten and finalized on one player do not always read on another player. I discovered that companies always have "firmware updates" for their recorders, which you can get from their websites, along with instructions on how to install them.

In my case, both recorders needed firmware updates, and it actually solved the problem. Bottom line, even when you buy a brand new model of a DVD recorder, check the website and get the latest firmware update. It can really make a difference.

(Plus, it's really exciting to do a firmware update, because if the power goes out in the middle, you are completely ruined! Adds a little drama to your life!)

I wanted to pass on some tips from the School of Hard Knocks. I just received a degree from there this week. :-)

I own two DVD recorders of different brands. One is almost two years old, the other is brand new and the latest model.

Even though the world has DVD standards, it turns out that disks wriitten and finalized on one player do not always read on another player. I discovered that companies always have "firmware updates" for their recorders, which you can get from their websites, along with instructions on how to install them.

In my case, both recorders needed firmware updates, and it actually solved the problem. Bottom line, even when you buy a brand new model of a DVD recorder, check the website and get the latest firmware update. It can really make a difference.

(Plus, it's really exciting to do a firmware update, because if the power goes out in the middle, you are completely ruined! Adds a little drama to your life!)

Is it a Philips 642 by chance? If so, I have the code (just punch it in your remote) to make it play ALL REGION discs and not just Region 1. It's a popular model is why I asked.

Oh wait, you said recorder, not player. Nevermind. I have a Samsung recorder that's never let me down in two years. Love it! And yes, you give good advice, I always flash the latest firmware updates.

Actually, the recorder I've been using to make my DVD's is a Panasonic, and I'm using DVD+R disks, and my Phillips 3575h DVD/DVR wouldn't read them until I upgraded the Panasonic firmware.

On a side note: I switched to DVD+R disks after some extensive reading about how much better they are technically.

I guess I'm spoiled from the days when if you bought something, it actually worked and you didn't need to change it immediately, but today they rush everything out the door and then try to fix it later.

Imagine the situation if music CD's that you bought in a store wouldn't play on certain players. There would be a revolt! Our stereo gear industry is fantastic about adhering to standards. You can buy speakers, receivers, and decks and scarcely worry about anything, but some of our other electronics is not cutting it when it comes to compatibility.

We have too many operating systems, too many "standards", too many technologies coming out before they are ready. The Hi-Def DVD format war is ridiculous, and no body wants to buy a Hi-Def DVD recorder until they get it resolved. It's a war they shouldn't be fighting in the first place.

It's even getting bad when it comes to connections on a TV or a piece of gear. You have two pages in a manual just showing you all the different types of connectors.

Imagine the situation if music CD's that you bought in a store wouldn't play on certain players. There would be a revolt! Our stereo gear industry is fantastic about adhering to standards. You can buy speakers, receivers, and decks and scarcely worry about anything, but some of our other electronics is not cutting it when it comes to compatibility.

We have too many operating systems, too many "standards", too many technologies coming out before they are ready. The Hi-Def DVD format war is ridiculous, and no body wants to buy a Hi-Def DVD recorder until they get it resolved. It's a war they shouldn't be fighting in the first place.

It's even getting bad when it comes to connections on a TV or a piece of gear. You have two pages in a manual just showing you all the different types of connectors.

I have music CD's that only play on certain players. Not to mention the extra hardware that I needed to make them work. They're called SACD's. Or "Super Audio" CD's. GREAT format. They sound a LOT better than regular CD's. But guess who made the tech.? Sony. That means that I can't use normal stuff to pass the signal around. HDMI? Digital Coax? Nope and nope. I have to run 6 analog cables from player to receiver to listen to them. Luckily, I knew this going in, and knew what to expect.

I could go on for days about how many ways Sony has tried to screw the consumer (root kits anybody?), but I won't. I also will no longer buy their products for the most part due to the way they lock everything down. I'm crossing my fingers that they lose the HD DVD/Bluray war.

Back to topic though :D I think it's getting better with the connections thing...HDMI is really making headway. Since I don't listen to the SACD's through the TV set...All my components are run into my receiver, and there is ONE cable going to my TV. HDMI. My DVD player also...ONE cable to the receiver. HDMI.

Oh, and don't pay $40 and up (some of them are over $100 for one cable) for a single 3' HDMI cable either. I bought 3 six footers for less than $20 including shipping from monoprice.com.

Interesting...good information, thanks.

I believe I read about a week ago that Toshiba made some headway in the Hi-Def DVD war against Sony, if memory serves.

I'll keep that in mind about Sony. I think I've been hearing things like that for a while.

The "cable cost" thing is a constant source of irritation. I've been seeing those overpriced "Monster" cables for years, and I've always doubted the need for some of those things. It's the same thing in music stores too, when you try and buy a microphone cable or something.

:fighting4
Well what else who you expect from Microsoft. Yes, the big M is sitting inside that DVR. The only exception that I know of is Tivo. They use a Linux system. Much more stable than Microsoft.

I've never had any "stability" problems per se, as a matter of fact, the players are perfectly stable; they fail to do what I need time and time again without fail! ;-)

Whoever wrote the code inside the Panasonic either didn't do a good job testing, or the people that wrote the code in my Philips recorder didn't do a good job of making it read DVD+R.

We have so many ridiculous types of disks now. I remember how bewildering it was when I went to the store to buy my first recorder.

There are also too many "flavors" of standard Unix too, just ask the people that work at Charles Schwab out in Arizona. The Hertz corporation has experienced it too, even when staying with the same vendor!! HP promised them fantastic portability and compatibility...they delivered neither, but they were happy to take hundreds of thousands of dollars of consulting fees to fix all the problems they caused with their first OS upgrade....

Oh man... don't get me started! ;-)

It's sad, because anytime Plug and Play works with a USB device, I feel it was miracle delivered from above. I'm stunned my DVD/DVR doesn't just catch fire and explode, with all the stuff that has to happen perfectly for it to work. ;-)