anyone have either emerson dvd recorder from Walmart and do you like it?

Angie21m,

You said can you use a DVD+R?

These only use DVD-R. Maybe thats your problem.

Forget the download on the net and call Funai.

The problem (I think) people are having with the download is
that there are 2 versions of this upgrade. If you install the
version that is not right for your unit it will end up toast.

The best way to upgrade is to call funai. They will walk you
through the steps you will need to get the right upgrade.

By the way, when I got my disc I got thru to customer service
right away and it took 6-7 business days to get the disc. NOT WEEKS!

Be a little patient!

(Ps. most staples locations still stock Maxell 4x DVD-R. Also, try Walgreens for Maxells 4x. You can get Verbatim Digital Movie 1x-4x DVD-R at Best Buy as well. Both are kinda pricey if you don't wanna order online)

 

Finally got the F***ing firmware upgrade from them. It worked great and I think that they messed up and fix it to record everything including protected DVD's.

 

blackreaf, why can you copy copy protected movies now after the firmwear update???

 

Does anyone have an extra copy of the 8X upgrade? I would gladly pay for one. Funai wants me to wait until I get my unit before they'll consider sending me the upgrade. By the time they actually send me one, will be way too late. Or does anyone know where I can order one? Thanx!

 

Why will it be to late Primanox?

The will send one to you whenever. If your afraid that 8x media is going by by think not. To many people just upgraded to 8x drives. *x media will be around for a while.

Like I said, you can still find 4x media in stores too!

 

The reason for the rush is that my family is going on vacaction for 2 weeks in October. We homeshcool with a satellite curriculum, and we need to be able to tape up to 10hrs at a time. That's why we're buying the DVD recorder. I am affraid that by the time I get it off layaway and get the upgrade ordered, it won't arrive in time. I know I can still get 4x... Is there a huge difference between 4X and 8X? Also... all the discs I saw at WalMart, regardless of *X, says on the package, they will record up to 2 hours. The machine I put on layaway says it will record up to 10 hours. Who is telling the truth? HELP!!!

 

Works like a 2 hour VCR tape. Records at different speeds. The slower you record,the longer you can record, but you give up quality.

 

When recording off your satellite you are recording in real time, so there will be no advantage with 8x over 4x.

 

There is no advantage to using 8x over 4x.

The only thing the upgrade does is allow you to use 8x discs. The burn time is a maximum of 2x in this recorder anyway.

ie a 4x disc is going to only burn at 2x. An 8x disc is only going to burn at 2x.

The upgrade was created because it was getting harder to find 4x media and Funai didn't want the recorder to become obsolete as it was released just as 8x media was coming out.

So to answer the question, there will be no difference in 4x or 8x in this machine.

Primanox, if you are near an office max stop by and see if they have the Imation 4x media that is 6 bucks for 25. You can order it online too! Many varieties are available on clearance (officemax.com) search DVD-R.

Many Walmarts no long stock Maxell 4x discs.

 

Hey!

Something interesting for those that doubt how good these Funai recorders are...

Seems that Mitsubishi Electronics makes the DVD Drives in these units!

No wonder Verbatims work so great in these machines as well as all other media.

Story:

http://nikkeibp.jp/wcs/leaf/CID/onair/nbe/features/354072

 

Primanox:

First of all, the recorder is crap beyond 2 hour recording. Four hours are ok, but after that, don't even bother. The ewr10d4 does Constant bit rate recording. This results in lower quality vs Variable Bit Rate recording In order to get 10 hours on a dvd, it decreases the resolution and bitrate beyond anything that you would ever want to watch again, unless you want to use for surveilance.

The point is, the dvd is not limited to a specific bitrate. If you want to double the recording length time in CBR mode, all you have to do half the bitrate. The quality is crap but you can get 10 hours on a dvd.

 

Hi GregRod,
I have a post on here from a few weeks ago. I got the 8X upgrade disc from Funai sometime in May and it started having problems in late July to early August. It is about done now.
And yes, you are correct, they send the upgrade disc pretty fast.

Budman28

 

I like to stack multiple movies on my Emerson EWR20v4. I usually use 8 hour compression. I use an RW disk to create a master and then copy it to R disks on my PC.

Far too often, after I finish recording a movie, I play it back to test it and the movie stops with "Freeze" in the upper left corner.
I've even had this happen using an R instead of RW disk.

Anyone run into this problem and have an answer? I appreciate any help I can get.

 

Hey Chuck J..

No I have not had this problem. Never tried it, but you probably run into issues because of the 8hr setting. A computer burner is not set up for that time span.

Also, if you read the Emerson manual it states that there could be compatability issues with the Emerson and Computer Burners.

 

All Maxell DVD+/- are on sale along with Maxell CD. By one Get one Free! Sale ends this Saturday. Cop both 4x and 8x DVD media!

2 50 pack DVD+/- R $34.99

2 25 Pack DVD+/- R $20.99

2 15 Pack DVD+/-RW $19.99

2 50 Packs of 8x DVD+/- R Printables $39.99

I picked up a 25 pack 4x DVD-R (Taiyo Yuden) and 8x (Hitachi/Maxell)!
Good stuff, but you gotta fish for the "Made in Japan".

Just thought I'd pass this along.

 

Thanks for responding, Greg.

I should have made it clear that my errors occur when I preview the DVD on the Emerson, so it never gets put on the PC until it's clean. Perhaps you are right though, maybe the Emerson burner is erratic at higher densities. Incidentally, a friend of mine with the same unit reorded 10 hr with no trouble. Maybe it's the DVD reader feeding the Emerson. I think I'll try swapping it out.

 

What kind of media are you using Chuck?

Ok break it down. What are you doing exactly?

1. You are recording 8hrs on the Emerson.....

Then are you putting the RW in the Computer Burner and ripping it or are you playing it back thru the emerson and attaching it via USB to the computer?

Do not do anything on the computer while burning. This causes errors.

8hrs is not recommended on any media. The Emerson is the only recorder that I know of that allows recording past 6hr. That's where the compatability issue will creep in.

Also, the drive in these Emersons are very very good so I doubt its your drive. Its gotta be burner record to set top record mismatch.

Choose the best media as well.

 

OK -- I record a 2 hr movie from a DVD player to my Emerson, set for 8 hr compression ...using rewritables (kind of old). Then I preview the movie on the Emerson. If it's OK, I go on to the next movie. If not, I delete it and start the recording again. Most of the time after 3 or 4 times it works. I then record the next movie repeating the process until I have recorded four movies. Once this is accomplished, I copy the disk on my PC successfully. Unfortunately it is a very labor and time intensive process to get to the final product.

I am using old R/W's, 1 or 2X but I have also tried 4X R's with the same problems. On the input side, I have used original DVD's and copies, same thing.

Chuck

 

Ok..

First, you can not use 4x rw's in the emerson.

You can always copy to a computer, however, burn media from a computer may not play back in the emerson recorder.

Its a fact.

Try playing it back in a different DVD player. It "may" work.

 

I figured out how to hook up my dvd recorder and had to figure out that my other dvd player-vcr had to be set to dvd to get the setup message to show up on the tv screen. Now I can't get the setup message that is shown in the book. It just has the options of quick setup, display, and initiate. I don't see the disk options or fromating options. I can't figure this out. Help!