DVD recorders and HDD recorders

ctdctd

ctdctd wrote: »

My Liteon LVW-5026 (Same as the 5045 but with a smaller hard disk) has just started to conk out 10 days out of its two year warranty:mad:
Will be trying their customer services later on to see if it can be fixed and how much:-(

Update - just phoned then and they got me to update firmware and try a couple of other things which didn't fix it.
They are arranging for it to be collected and repaired all for no charge so a thumbs up for Lite-On Customer Services:-)

stphnstevey

PaulSten wrote: »

I bought a DVD recorder a couple of months ago and tried to record my daughters Disney videos but a message appeared on the screen telling me they were copy protected by something called Macrovision. I bought a copy decoder from e-bay which you plug between the scart sockets of the video and the DVD and it allows you to record protected videos. I was sceptical at first but the decoder worked a charm and cost about £15.

And protected DVD's?

HaroldHamsun

It takes many goes before it will read a DVD. Once it does, it is OK. Having Googled this fault, it appears the DVD drive is about to fail and it seems quite common. Will be trying their customer services later on to see if it can be fixed and how much:-(

The most likely cause is a dusty lens and/or dust on the laser guide rails.
If you're reasonably confident and competent with small screws &c, it's a fairly simple job to remove the top of the box and clean the laser and its mount.
It *is* a bit fiddly, and it might be an idea to take some digital pics as you go along, in case you forget the order in which the pieces were dismantled, but with an out-of guarantee machine, what have you got to lose?
If the DVD drive really fails, you can actually replace the entire unit (depending on the exact model) with a standard, cheap PC DVD recorder.There are a couple of sites that give you a step-by-step guide on how to do it.

ctdctd

HaroldHamsun wrote: »

The most likely cause is a dusty lens and/or dust on the laser guide rails.
If you're reasonably confident and competent with small screws &c, it's a fairly simple job to remove the top of the box and clean the laser and its mount.

Thanks - but already tried that one as I fiddle with IT for a living:-)
Anyway, they have agreed to a warranty repair so well done Lite-On!

never_red_Paul

stphnstevey wrote: »

And protected DVD's?

I haven't tried yet, I'll give it a go over the weekend and post if it works.

never_red_Paul

For stphnstevey , yes it does work on protected DVD's, I finally got round to trying it last night.

dc

Liteon are basically a major manufacturer of computer DVD writers, with ties in the past to Sony and HP.

The consumer products will be put together by another firm using the Liteon name under licence, and the DVD recorder will probably be the only Liteon made item inside the box.

jimmyfloyd_2

Sorry to be ignorant, but with a hdd recorder can you record from anything you connect to it, e.g. video camera, cctv, etc?
Also, whats the quality of the hdd recording like? Is it comparable to a Sky+ box which seems as good as the original.

King_Of_Fools

jimmyfloyd wrote: »

Sorry to be ignorant, but with a hdd recorder can you record from anything you connect to it, e.g. video camera, cctv, etc?

It depends on the HDD recorder - if it has a Scart or video in socket then maybe, otherwise not.

Cazzdevil

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.202-2438.aspx

How about this one, dual freeview thingy (so you can record 2 different channels at once), 160Gb hard drive, Top-up TV compatible, and only £100.

OH and I are gonna get one for our Christmas pressie to eachother.