Hello - I'm new here but have been lurking for a bit while I researched DVD recorders. I've made my purchase (the SOny RDRGX315), and thought I would share my initial impressions. I hooked it up no problem. The first show I tried to record on a DVD was the new HBO show, ROME, that I have on my DirecTivo. Well, let me say that this unit respects CGMS-A because I got the message telling me that was a no go. More on that later. Next, I recorded a recent episode of Battlestar Galactica in 2 hr mode. This worked OK. After the show was done recording, finalizing the DVD for play in other machines only took a bout 2 minutes. Note: this was the first time I ever recorded anything using a DVD recorder, and it was very easy. Picture quality was great. A tad softer than what I see when playing from the DirecTivo, but only a little bit. I used 8x media, not sure of the brand. The recorded DVD did not play in my Toshiba TV/VCR/DVD combo (no big suprise there, it is a hunk of junk that gags on most burned DVDs) It did play with no problems on my mother's 5 DVD Sony Changer - I was a little surprised as we sometime have problems playing burned DVDs on that one as it is a few years old. My brother has the disc now and I have not heard back from him so I assume it is playing OK. Regarding the CGMS-A: I've done my homework and know what I need to get to back up on DVD shows with this. Once I have the gizmo I need, and have had a chance to test it, I'll report back. Likes: DD5.1 & DTS out (I use this to play DVDs, not just record) Easy to use (select speed, hit record, go into 'system menu to finalize') Low profile Dislikes: The Line-in on the rear of the unit does not have S-Video , RCA only. However, the front AV input does have S-Video. What's up with that??? The John Holmes-sized remote control (it is laid out OK, but man is it big) I can't really hold the CGMS-A thing against this unit as all units sold here in the US have to respect CGMS-A. All in all I'm very satisfied with the unit so far.
Don't quote me on this, but I read that new recorders (produced after Jun '05) must detect over-the-air copyright signals that older models like the GX300 did not.
Hello, I have just purchased the Sony RDR-GX315 DVD Recorder and I wondered if you wouldn't mind or perhaps someone else could share what kind of device is needed to bypass the CGMS-A? Thanks, pchar
I got the Sima CT-200 off of eBay. It should show up in a few days, and after I've had a chance to check it out, I'll post a report. I called the folks at Sima and they said that either the CT-200 or the older CT-2 would 'work for my application'. I believe the CT-200 does everything the CT-2 does, but also features auto-shut off plus maybe 1 or 2 more video enhancement features.
Pharvey, I also have the sony gx315, bought about 2 weeks ago. Like it very much. A few things haven't tried out yet, but have a bunch of store bought vhs tapes bought many yrs. ago, & of course can't record them on the recorder. I see you ordered a sima ct-200, which I also have looked into & got some pro's & con's on it. Would appreciate it very much when you get yours to post here like you said you would to see if it works out O.K. before I buy one.
The CT-200 came yesterday. I hooked it up tried to record one of the CGMS-A protected shows that I want to back up on DVD. I worked great, no problems! So, I can say this thing worked. I'm still tweaking the settings. The Sima unit has a 'normal' setting, two setting that brighten things up considerably, another one that does black and white, and then color bars. I did notice that what I was trying to record was lightened considerably from how it looks when viewed directly from the DVR. Now, I was looking into the setting on my recorder and it seems that the default for the recorder is to increase the black level - I may turn this off and see what I get. Either way, the resulting video looks good. Certainly a little softer than the original, but significantly better than VHS. I'll post another update once I have had a chance to play around with the settings a little bit, but the bottom line is that the CT-200 does work.
OK - after using this thing for a few more weeks, I'm not so happy. The Sima thing contuinues to do its job, but these days it seems I am burning more coasters than successful DVDs. I tried 3x to record a show onto a DVD today off my Tivo. The first two times, after pressing 'stop' I got the Disc Err' message that says I can neither play nor record the DVD. The third time I was able to record the show, but when I went to finalize the DVD it never finished. In fact, I think it is still finalizing as I write this, 30 minutes after I started. It has not taken this long ever. I am using Imation 8x media - I did sucessfully burn something a week or two ago using these DVDs. Thing is, if this machine is this finicky it is pretty much worthless in my opinion. I would be afraid to even sell this piece of junk on eBay. Does Sony offer firmware updates?
Pharvey, I have had no problems with my gx-315. Had it for a month now & no coasters. I only have dish network & use only Sony dvd+rw & use my pc to burn to a dvd+r. I only use fujifilm dics for final burn. The movies come out perfect in my dvd player. Never tried lp (3hrs) yet, but have lsp (2 1/2 hrs.) & no problems. Of course with dvd+rw do not need to finalize them. Might want to try some different media to burn. And the Sima ct-200 works just fine for my purpose. I really like this recorder & have done about 30 movies with no problems.
Could I burn a DVD+RW recorded on the unit onto a DVD-R using my PC? So far I have only been using DVD-R.
You might be able to burn to a dvd-r, if your burner has the function to write to dvd-r. I never have used dvd-r so can't help you much with this. The reason I use dvd+rw is if something screwed up with the recording process or the dish losed its signal, etc., then don't end up with a coaster. Just reformat the disc & use it again. Also if using the timer to record something, I can put it in the pc & edit the start & end of the movies so don't have all that crap, usually the credits at the end. I use decrypter to break it down & nero to burn. I do know you can do the editing on a dvd-r in the recorder, at least that is what the manual saids. But I like it much better the way I do it, & the movies come out great.
Pharvey, I also had bad experiences with the Imation 8x DVD-R discs. When I bought my RDR-GX315, I had a couple of Sony 8x DVD-R discs left. Those worked fine. I then bought a box of the Imation discs simply because they were on sale at Staples. I've found with the Imation discs that if I record programs that are 2 - 3 hours long in LP mode (in other words, using up most/all of the disc), I get the DISC ERR message. I tried a couple of short (30 seconds) test recordings on Imation discs and those worked fine. On the same disc with the test recordings, I appended a 3 hour sporting event. I didn't get DISC ERR (probably because the short recordings were there), but after I finalized the disc, only the test recordings were available in the title list. I've since switched back to Sony DVD-R discs...
Thanks for the tip. I have not tried the Sony 8x yet. I did have a few SOny 2x that my brother gave me, and those were the first DVDs I had trouble with. Thus I went with Imation. However, One of my co0workers has a Panasonic burner and he was recorded over 40 different movies using the SOny 8x media, and he reports no problems. I'll pick up some SOny DVD-Rs to try out as well. thanks for the info
Hi, don't know if this helps but I have found when recording with both the 315 and my old Philips that while doing a timer recording I could not use a record mode that left only 15 or 20 minutes left on the disc, the machines would not record the programs. If I left a half hour or more then it would record the program. The only time I could record to the end of a disc was if I was manually recording and then it allowed me to record to the end of a disc. I hope that makes sense?? and helps!
I bought a 100-pack of Ridata DVD+RWs from Newegg to use with my Sony. I can edit them and rewrite them just like a VHS tape. And if I like the results, I just burn them to a DVD+R on my PC. BTW, can you record premium channels like HBO with your Sony? I recorded on my older Sony GX300 without a problem.
HBO has implemented CGMS/A on their content. So, the answer is, probably not. I tried to make a backup copy of an HBO program previously recorded on my DirecTivo. The unit gave me the message about not being able to record copyrighted material, and stopped recording almost immediately. However, I got the Sima CT-200 . hooked it up in the video path, and have backed up HBO content no problem. I do not know for certain if I would have the same result had I been attmepting to record this 'live', but I suspect I would.
Hello. Sorry for bumping this. I know it is a few weeks older. But after reading this thread.... I could use some imput. I just purchased this dvd recorder. I want to use it to copy over some of my older vhs tapes to dvd as well as record some of my favorite tv shows. I did purchase a godvd ct-200 unit that the salesman suggested. But my dvd recorder will not recognize it. I can hook the vcr up to the dvd recorder. But when I use the godvd device.... I get nothing but a blank screen. Is there a special way of hooking them up? I tried using the s-video connectors as well as the normal red/white/yellow connectors. Both of them did not get recognized either time. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Was the AC Adapter plugged in? I would also recommend double checking and making sure you had the input/output set correctly: i.e., VCR ---> GO DVD -----> DVD Recorder also, just like a VCR, you may need to set the recording input on the DVD recorder. I believe the choices are TUNER, LINE 1, LINE 2. LINE 1 would be on the back I think. LINE 2 is probably the one on the front. If you did all these things and still get no picture try cycling through the modes on the Go DVD Unit. Good luck!
I did check everything. It was set up perfectly. Edit: I just was rechecking again. This time while I was hooking the unit up again I got a brief screen from the other unit. I think the s-video slot on the unit is defective. I tried 4 different s-video wires. So I know it isn't the wires. The unit only came up with a screen when I pressed down on the s-video wire slot on the dvd recorder. I am going to exchange the dvd recorder for another unit. LOL just my luck I get a lemon. Thanks for your help though. Your post encouraged me to recheck again and because of that....discover the problem. I never would have thought of a bad s-video wire slot.
I think I got a lemon too. I tried to record another show again this afternoon. This time I used an Imation 4x DVD+RW. I recorded the show in 2 hr mode via the line-in (off of my DirecTivo) and hit the 'Stop' button after the show was over at about 50 minutes of record time. Whgat usually happens then is 'INF WRITE' will flash on the display for a mnute or so, then you're done. Well, 'INF WRITE' was flashing when I left for a wedding this afternoon at 3pm, and it was still flashing when returned at 10:30pm. Coulnd't get the machine to eject the DVD or power down, so I pulled the power plug. After I plugged it back in, you get the 'LOAD' message, which goes on forever because the machine can not load this improperly recorded DVD. Furthermore, if I hit the OPEN button, it flashes 'OPEN' on the display for a few seconds, then goes back to 'LOAD' where it stays forever. At least the unit will now power down if I hit the power button. SO, to make a long story short, I've got a DVD stuck inside this pos and have no way of getting it out. It is long past the 30 day return window at Best Buy, and I'd be afraid to sell this piece of junk on eBay for fear of the negative feedback I would surely get once someone tried to record something on this. If anyone is thinking about buying this recorder, please think twice!
Ouch! That sounds really bad. I am so glad that I purchased the $30 -4 year warrenty! At first I wasn't going to get the extended warrenty. Your post made me so glad that I did. I am noticing that it takes my machine about 5 or 6 minutes to finalize a dvd+r disk that was recorded in a 4 hour mode. Is that normal? It makes alot of noise while it is doing it too. So it has me worried. I have put a few of my star trek shows from vcr to dvd and it does finalize them.... but that long period of time where it says processing.... freaks me out. Oh! when I bought mine last week, the guy said it has a 1 year limited warrenty. Maybe you should give sony a call and see what they say?
