Any opinions on the Sharp DV-HR300?

Shaxta, As I've already stated several times on this forum. The Sharp 300 is my first DVD recorder with a hard drive. I am more than happy with it and would definately buy another.I've even managed to make mine multi-region with the help of this forum thus increasing it's capabilities. For the price, I think it's a very sweet machine and it has done everything I've asked of it and I don't think you will be disappointed if you get one, it's a mega-leap beyond VHS. In general it's very easy to operate and set-up. Just remember it takes longer to get going than a VHS recorder (in common with a dvd writer in a PC) but I am sure you won't find it difficult to get the hang of using it. There are many DVD recorders with HDD on the market nowadays and I am sure owners of Panasonic, JVC, Pioneer, Liteon etc etc will say theirs is the best but in my opinion the Sharp's as good as many and better than some. If you do get one and are not sure of how to operate it or need help in any aspect then you only have to put your question on this forum to get assistance Best of luck Silver

 

Many thanks Silver. What a great bunch of contributors on this forum. Really helpful for the beginner.

 

Anyone tried the Multiregion fix on the 300"S" version yet ?

 

Hi Silver, these are average prices for both kinds of media. I've used Verbatim with great success.

Verbatim DVD-R 4.7GB 16X Branded 25pk Spindle $21.95

Memorex DVD+R 2.4x Double Layer 8.5GB 3 Pack $19.88
Just to give you an idea Silver, the prices for the dual layer are still pretty high as you can see.
I haven't burned the dual layer method yet, but I will very soon and let you know how it works.
By the way Silver have a safe and wonderful trip, keep in touch ole friend.

 

i've just noticed that when i play dvd's on my sharp there is a noticeable interference noise. It happens all all my dvd's, burnt or otherwise. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

Hi Wook. If you didn't have a sound problem before and its happening with all dvd's then I would suggest it's a connection problem. I'm sure you've already done so but I would suggest you check all your audio leads and plugs. I certainly have never had this problem.

Manny, thanks for the info. In the UK we are paying about the same I.E GBP 25 for 50 Verbatim 16x. I haven't tried dual layer as yet and frankly I cannot see me using these due to the dramatic price difference compared to a single layer 4.7 disk. Cheers Silver

 

Silver at least for now. I'm quite sure those prices will drop as the format becomes more mainstream. They are quite expensive. But then again 20 years ago who ever thought we would be able to record on thin pieces of plastic.

To Wook, I too haven't encountered any sound issues. It does sound like a connection problem. If you don't have much on your 300, perhaps starting from scratch might help, if it turns out not be your connections. Re-intialize (reformat) the hardrive, worst case scenario. Make sure you don't have any speakers or magnetice devices too close to the unit or the wires. Sometimes this too can have a weird effect on sound. Just some ideas to play with. Hope you find the problem without having to send it in for repairs. Perhaps one of our other forum members can offer some advice.
kind regards, Manny

 

Thanks for the replies dudes. I found out what the problem was. After checking the plugs on the sharp and the tv and still having audio interference, I decided to unplug my stereo which sits beneath the shelf that the sharp sits on. Problem solved . But its strange that this setup hasnt caused problem before.

Here's another problem I have. The sharp handles tdk dvd-r's and rw's with no probs, but I have put in a jvc dvd-rw and a verbatim dvd-rw and it spits them out saying 'this is a non standerd disc please remove'. Yet i have made a dvd using these discs on the computer and they play in the sharp. So I then tried iniatilizing the disc in the sharp and after the process it said iniatilizing failed.Anyone have this happen to them?

 

Hi Wook
Glad you got the sound sorted out. Re the probs with the RW discs. Could these be 4x? I seem to recall an earlier post that said the Sharp didn't like 4x RW media. I can't advise as I've only used 2x -RW discs so far.
Cheers Silver

 

yes they are 4x

 

Hi again Wook
Looks like you'll have to stock up on 2x DVD-RW

 

Hi Stovdal
Is the default region of your 300S Region 2 Europe?
If this is so I don't think there would be a problem.
EA5E was the guy who kindly gave us the details of how to download the MR fix and his 300 was an Australian model (default region 4.) My model 300H is a region 2 and other forum 300H users haven't had a problem. Best of luck Cheers Silver

 

Hi Silver64,
Yes, the 300S is Europe Region 2. I have downloaded the files provided by EA5E. From the file names it appears to be a firmware version upgrade, very similar to the ones provided by Sharp Germany/Austria destined for the S version. The MR fix seems to be designed for the X unit. Therefore I have been hesitant to try the MR fix. Cheers Stovdal

 

Hi Stovdal, All I can say is that I didn't have any problems when I used the M R fix with my 300H which is the UK Sharp and there are a couple of other 300H forum members who have done so as well and haven't mentioned any difficulty. I was a bit reluctant to install the MR fix initially as EA5E got this from Sharp Australia and uploaded it for the use of other Sharp owners. May be worth asking Sharp Electronics in your area for advice but I rather get the idea they might be reluctant to do so. Region coding of DVD's makes no sense given that DVD's released in one country before another can be easily purchased over the Internet thus making the whole thing crazy! Cheers Silver

 

I purchased a DV-HR300 US model and I took the plunge and updated the MR software and now all the machine will output is PAL and my Cable tuner doesn't work only UHF/VHF 2-69.

Any advice?

At this point I'd just like to have it factory again.

I reset it many times and I also initallized the HDD with no luck.

Thank you

 

Hi Wook,

Regarding your DVD-RW problem. I don't think it has anything to do with their being 4x, as I have exactly the same problem with Traxdata (Ritek) 2x -RW discs.

Whenever I use a DVD-RW disc that has been used in the computer (even when used to make a video DVD), the Sharp doesn't want to initialize it anymore. I found out that I could reuse such disks in the Sharp by performing a FULL erase on them in the computer.

Tell us if that works for you.

 

the 4 speed dvd-rws dont work either fresh out of the packet to the sharp or fully erased on the pc first. they only work in the sharp if i record something on them using the computer

 

Operation manual states that DVD-RW Ver 1.1 are compatible with this product. It does not say that Version 1.2 DVD-RW are compatible. Some disc covers provide warning that use of Ver 1.2 DVD-RW in non compatible device may lead to loss of data.

Anyone think that a firmware upgrade will come along one day similar to the region free upgrade to allow 4 speed dvd-rw discs to work?

 

Operation manual states that DVD-RW Ver 1.1 are compatible with this product. It does not say that Version 1.2 DVD-RW are compatible. Some disc covers provide warning that use of Ver 1.2 DVD-RW in non compatible device may lead to loss of data.

Anyone think that a firmware upgrade will come along one day similar to the region free upgrade to allow 4 speed dvd-rw discs to work?

 

Wook, personally I don't think they will release a firmware for this problem. The DVD burner inside is probably not made by Sharp itself, so they would have to get a firmware for the burner from the burner manufacturer.

Besides I have never seen any firmware for this DVD recorder that you can download from their website. Why the hell don't they make their firmware available for download, they don't even inform you that a new firmware is available. My Sharp DV-HR300F had a lot of problems when I bought it (timer recording problems etc.). When I called Sharp and a few sharp repair centers about those problems, they told me many newer firmwares have already been released to correct them, but that I had to send my machine back. I asked them if I could not download the firmware somewhere and do the flashing myself, with a bootable CD. They said NO I had to send it back. Which I didn't as I didn't trust them, and all sorts of problem could arise from sending the machine by post etc.. A short while later, the shop where i bought the sharp sent me a letter telling me that they had a firmware upgrade available, and that I should bring my machine back and they would do the upgrade for me immediately. So I brought it back to the shop and they made the upgrade using a bootable CD from Sharp, and the problems (not all of them but the most significant ones) were solved. So what the hell is going on with Sharp ? Why don't they inform people about fixed issues, new firmwares, and why don't they make it available for donwload, or even send the CDs by post, like Pioneer does ? I don't think I will ever buy Sharp again.

I have read that a guy managed to change the hard-disk in the Sharp for a bigger one. And he said he was planning the change the DVD-burner inside to replace it with something better. So if you can find a burner that is compatible with your 4x DVD-RW and feel like experimenting, you can always try to replace the burner inside your sharp.

May I ask what is the brand of your 4x DVD-RW, and what kind of layer they use ?

The 2x DVD-RW I use are Traxdata, and they have Ritek W01 layer. I bougt them on the web, and it's kinda annoying actually that there are several versions of DVD-RW (probably the same for the other DVDs -R +R etc), because on the web, they don't say what version the DVD-RWs are. But when I look on the box of my Traxdata 2x DVD-RW, it does actually say version 1.1 on the back of the jewel-case. But on the cover box of 5 DVDs, it doesn't say, so it doesn't make it easy either for us to choose what DVDs to buy in a shop.

Furthermose, on Traxdata website, I couldn't find what version their DVD-RW are. But they have a compatibility list where they say that their Traxdata 2x -RW are compatible with the Sharp, but their 4x -RW (Ritek W04) are not.

The DVD media and burner market is a big mess !
Specific burner for specific media brand etc. etc....