Page 1 of Philips DVDR3305 Query

I have had a Philips DVDR70 for 3 years and it played everthing OK and now I also have a Philips DVDR3305 - and, yes I know that Philips dvdr`s are not exactly popular on here but I just wanted an extra cheapie and it cost under £80 on ebay.

It records fine and plays back all recordings ok and also plays back all shop bought discs fine.

But it has problems playing any PC burnt discs ie. films on dvd+r or dvd-r or backup movies etc.

I have a number of these which have always played back on all other machines but on this one it freezes up on every single one after 20-60 minutes or whenever I try and search thru chapters.

Am I right in thinking that DVD recorders have problems playing this type of disc whereas it should play ok on a dvd player?? And have I stumbled across something else I`d been wondering about for a while in my technical ignorance - is this what is known as DIVX capable?

I have been told today by somebody that all DVD recorders struggle to play PC burnt media yet generally plain dvd players are OK, yet my old DVDR70 had been playing these discs fine for years.

Are there any cheap (its for the kids room) DVD+ recorders out there that are particularly good at playing this sort of burnt disc as the kids have loads of these they watch? I don`t really want to have a seperate stand alone player for these discs

This item was edited on Wednesday, 22nd February 2006, 18:02

I have been told today by somebody that all DVD recorders struggle to play PC burnt media yet generally plain dvd players are OK,

Bollox. tbh thats absurd, a recorder should play everything a player does, with the edition of recording facilities.

if you`ve had 3years good service from your recorder then it`s probably just a glitch thats begun to show itself due to wear & tear on the laser, or your recorder simply does not like the way the disks are authered, also many machines with less than sensative lasers "can" have problems with discs that have been burned at high speeds, if your burning your own dvd`s then try this, if the video your burning is a download, & it`s an iso or similar, burn the disc then run it back through dvd shrink then see if the resulting dvd plays better, this is what i used to do & it usualy sorted out the odd "awkward" movie that had been authered in an odd way ;)

But tbh i don`t think thats the problem, i honestly think it`s a case of the recorder going south. & i would consider replacing it, don`t worry to much about the whole +r vs -r thing it`s largly irrelevent now, most players inc the panny`s will both play & record both formats, tesco do the technika dvd2005 for around £65 notes this records to +r & +rw, & i believe it also plays divx & xvid (divx/xvid is a highly compressed video format that allows you to have around 4 to 5 full movies on 1 single dvd`r whilst maintaining very high quality, tho not quite dvd standard) divx & xvid format movies are almost exclusively downloaded content, & can only be played on pc`s or specificaly designed player/recorders, but it is becoming a common feature on many home machines now. tesco are also doing a panasonic recorder for around £100, these recorders primarily use the -r & ram formats, but newer machines can also handle +r/+rw But check the box first, imo, if your not bothered about divx the panasonic machines are by far the best, Especialy in the sub £100 market.

hope this helps.