Sony DVD Recorder DVDs won't play elsewhere?

My husband has a Sony DVD Recorder RDR-GX3, he is transferring Video films onto DVD discs, he is using DVD-R discs, when he tries to play them back on other DVD's they won't play. Can you tell me if this is a problem with the DVD or the the discs that he is using.

Dave's Answer:

There could be any number of different problems that your husband is encountering in this situation:

First, is he finalizing the disks? In order to use the disks on other players the disk must be finalized, something that might not be necessary for the Sony player itself.

Second, most, but not all DVD players will play DVD-R. Look in the users manual to see what formats yours will play. (My friend's unit will play -R but not +R and I have one that will play +R but not -R). If that's the problem, double check whether it can have its firmware upgraded (go figure) and then play DVD+-R discs. You could also try using DVD+R or DVD+RW disks to see if that makes a difference.

Is he making Video-CD's (VCD) in the transfer process? VCDs will only play on certain DVD player equipment.

Are the disks he is using able to support the recorders write speed? Using disks that do not support the write speed will cause unreliable results. These disks may or may not work on the recorder but will not likely work on other devices.

Will the disks play back in the recorder once finalized? if yes and it won't play on your player see if you have a friend that can play it in their player.

If all the of the parameters are met, i.e., it's the right right speed, format and it is finalized the disk should work in a player that supports the format.

So if it still doesn't work, then you might want to talk with Sony support.

Hope this all helps. Lots of questions and ideas, but this is a tricky question.

Thanks to Larry, Maladon, Chris Thomas, Mike Clark, Chris Buechler and John Marshall for their input on this answer

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Reader Comments To Date: 32

C Duckett said, on September 12, 2005 8:30 PM:

I have a Sony 23" LCD TV, a Sony DVD Player/VCR, and I just bought a cheap DVD Recorder and Player. I "connected" things, but the recorder doesn't work. And now the VCR won't play. I am now thoroughly confused. Where can I find "plain English" help in connecting all components so they work?

Laurie said, on March 16, 2007 12:22 AM:

Dear Dave, We have a JVC DVD/VCR recorder (it's about 3 years old). Today, when we tried to play a DVD on it, the screen came up black instead of the blue screen with the words JVC. Nothing would operate on the DVD section. The VCR section works perfectly. We have two separate remotes, one for the TV and one for the combo. Could we have pressed a button on one of these remotes to cause this to happen? Thanks for your assistance. laurie

Ros said, on April 13, 2007 7:00 AM:

I have a sony dcr-dvd 201 recorder. The discs are finalized and all the video play back and photos can be viewed on my computer. I can copy the photos with no problem The files are .info. From the disc they play back in winDVD and Nero. But when I copy the video to my computer they will not play back in any program. Any suggestions on why the files work on the disc but not on the computer?

ray said, on April 15, 2007 7:48 AM:

I have recently bought a sony w series lcd,and
want to get a dvd recorder to go with it,I have
been told that it must be digital,is this so ?

Clive Temple-Court said, on May 8, 2007 12:57 PM:

Dear Dave
I recently bought a refurbished Sony RDR GX210 DVD recorder. It started and recorded ok and I used RW+ discs successfully. I have now tried using R+ blanks and while they record well I am unable to finalise them. It could be a problem with initial formatting although they play ok on the Sony or perhaps a software fault on the finalisation . Any ideas /suggestions. Phillips used to supply software updates which cured most of their problems PS the gtee proved useless as the company has gone into liquidation (Isoldit)
I am using good quality x4 or x8 speed blanks Thanks

jerry cassidy said, on November 28, 2007 10:59 AM:

every dvd i try to burn on my sony elicits a message "this disk is dirty. Ciuk\ld this be a or\problem with the machine of a bad batch of disks?

J. Nordstrom said, on December 23, 2007 11:28 AM:

re:sony GX330 dvd-recorder. Usual great Sony quality, logic and remote control. Great flex for the scheduling and selection of record time. But with two different units, can't get the recorded CD to play in other players. Your advice above missed the mark. Have tried +r, -r, +RW, and -RW and idfferent brand discs. What am I doing wrong?

W.Spivey said, on January 1, 2008 2:33 PM:

What other brands of dvd-r 4x 4.7gb will work in my Sony RDR-VX500 Recorder,other than Verbatim...which i have always used,but can't find them available anywhere.

Thank......

michael randall said, on February 15, 2008 11:41 AM:

Hi I have a sony dvd recorder RDR-GX210.When I try to play a dvd the dvd tray opens and a message on the tv screen tells me it can not play disc. please can you help many thanks michael.

Sharyn said, on January 10, 2009 8:14 AM:

I have just bought a Sony DVD recorder PDR-GX350 I recorded and played back OK but when I try to record on the same Disk it come's up disc full all the time, how do I clear it?

gary said, on January 14, 2009 12:42 PM:

I have the sony rdr-gx300 dvd recorder. Until recently it would format drd-rw disks. I bought some new ones tdk rw disks and I get a message saying this is unrecordable. The DVD on my computer records on them and after recording THEN the rdr-gx300 will play them. Why doesn't it format disks anymore?

denise leese said, on January 26, 2009 10:20 PM:

I have a jvc everio camcorder hybrid and I bought a sony muti function dvd recorder VRD-Mc5 and it say it can be use with any camcorder well tell how to burn with a sony but not with a jvc I try every thing and i can't get it to burn /copy the vidoes that I have in my camcorder and what I need to do to copy my videos. can you help me out
thanks
Denise

Geoffrey Thomas said, on January 27, 2009 3:21 PM:

I'm having problems with my DVD recorder DVD movies I created worked fine for a while untill one by one began the habit of not responding any more. My machine has got into the habit of sometimes plays movies and somretimes it dosn't. The ones that don''t play play seems to respond well in my laptop intervidero software. Why the unpredicability?

Loney McKee said, on April 6, 2009 5:28 PM:

I bought a Sony dvd recorder model gx330 2 years ago and have not had any problems with it until 3 days ago.
I was going to record a show when all of a sudden, it turned off and when it came back on, the only thing that appeared was the WELCOME, and I could not get it to go off.
I did everything my manual said, but so far nothing has helped it.
I can also hear the hard drive spinning after it has been on for about 30 sceonds.
What, if anything could I possible do to correct this problem or is my unit fryed?

joseph kammerer said, on April 28, 2009 2:49 PM:

i have a dvd player/ video cassette recorder

slv-d380p

cassette portion works fine, with cd in it comes

up "insert disc". i open and reinsert but it

comes up insert disc. please help

Dennis said, on May 24, 2009 10:52 AM:

I have a RCA DVD/VCR Recorder. Up until about 3 months ago I could record on discs DVD+R/DVD+RW. Now my DVD recorder will not finalize my discs...could you tell me what might be wrong?

dhiraj said, on June 9, 2009 3:38 AM:

i have sony dvd but not nero what can i do

Dr.Wahed Noor said, on September 1, 2009 3:58 AM:

Dear Sir
Thank you for your ood cooperation.
bughted one Sony dvd DCR-DVD905 when i take photo or play i cant dowonload to my cumputer what i shuld to do .

Jay said, on October 23, 2009 5:46 PM:

I own a JVC Everio GZ-MG330 camcorder and a Sony VRD-MC5 DVD recorder. I am not able to transfer video from the JVC to the Sony. The Sony recorder posts a "waiting for input signal" message even after I plug the JVC camera in and try to proceed with transfer. I have read that the JVC MPEG 2 file format is an odd one, and now wonder if it might not be compatible with the Sony, but I'm not sure that this is the problem. An older Sony Handycam transfers video over to the VRD-MC5 without any issues. Am I screwed here? Or is there a fix. I certainly appreciate any help in this matter.

eric vinson said, on January 18, 2010 8:14 PM:

dear dave. i am using my sonyhandycam dcr-dvd as a camera for my streaming show. we use it thru a video capture device.so we can play dvd as b-roll footage.you can see video great.. but cant hear audio.. PLEASE HELP...

gunnnzz said, on March 31, 2010 9:53 AM:

I have a JVC karaoke machine and its being very tempromental. Sometimes it plays copies and some times it doesn't. Any Ideas?

charlie crawford said, on June 17, 2010 5:32 PM:

I have a jvc drmv 150 dvd recorder that won't open or stay on it says hello for about 30 seconds and then either shuts itself off or just stays on. I have unplugged it, turned it off and on and nothing seems to help. I have only had the unit for 6 months with a 90 day warranty and used very little. Can you please help or tell me if it is worth repairng or is it a trash can special. Thanks Charlie

ronald said, on June 29, 2010 7:33 PM:

i have recently purchased a sony rcdw500c cd recorder, and i am trying to record my church sermons to it,and i have no clue please help, thanks

George Tsuda said, on August 8, 2010 5:08 PM:

I have a Sony DVD Recorder, (RDR-VX555), that I can't get the unit to function. The input is from UVERSE cable tied to Sony TV via receiver.
I had some problem with my TV / recorder, and by trying trial and error type corrections, my remote for the DVD receiver does not function. I could turn on the unit, but nothing else. There is a small red light on the front panel which I can not get it turned off. When I press one of these buttons, DVD 2 is displayed. I can not get the sistem menu to go further. Please help.
\
George Tsuda

jason said, on October 28, 2010 10:58 AM:

hi ive just received a recordable dvd player off ebay .ive used dvd-r and dvd+r discs to copy video footage off camcorder,,ive formatted disc when asked , and it copies and plays perfect ,but it wont play either disc in my daughters tv/dvd..is it because i pressed long play ?? her tv plays all other copies weve tried off family in the past .films etc

REJI said, on November 4, 2010 6:21 AM:

My player isnt reading any branded DVDs. But it reads most of the locla DVDs. It isnt reading branded DVDs which it read once in the earlier days.
What may be the prblm?
Please give me a solid n clear solution for this problem..

Jessica said, on February 3, 2011 10:18 PM:

Hi somehow my DVD Recorder is on copy one mode and i don't now how to turn it off HELP PLEASE.....

r man said, on September 13, 2011 4:14 PM:

hello dave, i have a toshiba video to dvd recorder, dvd- r type, and it does finalise and then will play back in the toshiba, but the dvd's will not play in my laptop compaq, and a samsung 2011 model the disc shows as having no space used / when i check t via the properties , any suggestions please ....

r.man

Joseph said, on November 12, 2011 7:45 PM:

I would be most grateful if you would kindly help me. I bought a sony 40" LCD TV(KDL-40V3000)+ DVD Recorder (RDR-HXD1070 500 GB HD) as a package approx 2 years ago. I hardly used my DVD Recorder (perhaps 10 times max) - It is some times now that my TV does not detect My DVD and as a result I haven't been able to use my DVD recorder. One thing I have noticed is when I tune digital TV it detects less channels (62) than when I bought first(approx 80 channels).
I look forward to receiving your expert advice.

Joseph

Raj said, on August 23, 2012 1:51 AM:

I have a no of VHS Video tapes converted into DVD discs, using Philips DVD recorder and finalized. These discs work very well with the LG, Panasonic Recorders and also Sony DVD Player. Now I have got Sony DVD Recorder model RDR Hx750 which does not recognize and read any of these discs. It simply says the disc is unreadable. Any solutions please.

David said, on November 11, 2012 12:05 PM:

Hello,

I have a Sony DVD Recorder-Player Model RDR-GX330(had recorded fine with DVD-R , DVD-RW and DVD+RW )
then after recording some shows on DVD-R (and getting back from a local camera store a HVS- transfer to DVD-R ) + Video but No Audio on the Sony Trinitron KV-35S42 T.V. , then tested the Store's Transfer to DVD-R as well as DVD-R 's we had made on a iMac computer and both audio and video played just fine . (?) checked all the connections and set up sequence on the DVD recorder/Player as well as the TV itself (and googled a lot and checked Sony esupport but nothing like this scenario appeared. TV by itself no issue with Audio/Video just DVD-R
and they were formatted per usual scenario (we have had both units for quite awhile , just out of the blue (and unless we had checked the Camera store transfer would not have recognized the issue yet or for awhile.
Any Help-Insight would be appreciated
David

Dennis Bonk said, on February 4, 2013 8:29 AM:

I have a Video Cassette Recorder/DVD recorder SONY RDR-VX500. I transferred some VHS tapes to DVD disc with Maxwell DVD-R 1X, 2X,& 4X, write speed only had 2 disc and it worked. I purchase some Sony Disc 1X to 16X write speed wouldn't play or finalize. So I purchased some Maxwell DVD-R up to 16 write speed still wouldn't play or finalize. This is disc that store told me would work. Is it the recorder or do I need to use lower write speed as the first 2 disc I used in this recorder? Your help is appreciated I can't keep buing disc that won't work. Also the version of the disc matter I think it said version 1.0 Disc won't work for this recorder

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

Sony DVD Recorder DVDs won't play elsewhere?

Reader Comments To Date: 32

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

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