ILO DVDR05 Anyone bought one yet???

I haven't seen any of the new units (06) but then again I'm not really looking for it either--but if you can use any media that's great-
That is the way this cyberhome is doing,plus it looks just like the 05,even has the same remote-WHO KNOWS!!!
Well after reading these posts for a few days I think that what allor at least a lot boils down to is this;if a person wants to save money and doesn't mind having a few problems (might or might not)then go for the more inexpensive machines and experiment.Those that want everything just so,do not want problems,and can afford the more expensive machines then by all means go for it.
Myself;I'm retired and have nothing to do but "play"--so everone sitback,relax,and have fun...c-ya!

 

In reading through these posts, to be fair to the ilo, I should talk about the DVD Recorder I bought as a replacement and how it functioned. I bought a Sony RDR-GX315 for $189 (after $50 mail in rebate) from B&H Photo, about $100 more than the ilo, about double the price.

The quality of the Sony was very good, much better than the ilo that had the warbly sound when recorded through the RCA left and right audio cables (and a constant whine on units 2 and 3 on sound recorded through the coaxial cable though I never hooked the Sony up to the coaxial cable to do a fair compare).

The advantages of the Sony over the ilo, aside from much better sound quality are that it can record on dual layer DVDs as well as -R/RW. The ilo could only record on +R/RW and so can the Sony. Too, the virtual key board works on the Sony. My first ilo did not. Thus I could not rename a title on the ilo.

Advantages of the ilo are that it has the S-Video input on the rear of the unit whereas the Sony only has the S-video on the front of the unit. Since I have the DVDR hooked up to the S-video out of the cable box, I have to have these wires in the front of the DVD Recorder which looks messy.

Another advantage of the ilo is that it is the only unit that I know of that records from the DV (IEEE1394 iLink, firewire...) in the TIMER mode. Some cable boxes have firewire out (in fact all D-VHS recorders can only record from the DV). I should imagine you'd get the best quality picture and sound if you could record a movie through the DV. You can still do it real time with the Sony, but not for a timer recording.

Finally, though the Sony quality was vastly better than the ilo, the Sony broke after two weeks and is now being repaired free of charge (so far) at the Sony factory in Texas. So I must add an additional $13 in postage it cost me to send the Sony to Texas to the $189 above for actual price I paid. Sony will pay return postage. The Sony stopped accepting discs of any kind. None of the three ilos broke. They just had poor sound quality.

 

I haven't noticed bad sound with the new 05 model its an upgrade that you get but I think they messed up and put in a recorder in the new ilo that can record on both -R/RW and +R/RW because I have a emerson that records on -R disk and so far they work on the ilo that suppose too work only with the +R/RW's but I have recorded several movies off hbo and and a movie off on demand so it works the only thing you cant do is use a unfinalized -RW from my emerson in the ilo it says its unknown media and I see that because.

The other thing is the editing on my emerson for RW disk is way better then the ilo.

But there is the fact that if you record on a RW disk in a ilo you don't have too finalize.

 

Reduced frame rate after 20 min.
I have suddenly found intrest in this ilo. It appear a good lettel device for the price. It helps that others seem tho think so.
You also mention that you are using -R DVDs. Forget that it can use -R even though it only clames to use +R. After a long carrere in test i mention that sometimes you only clame the features that work well, even if the machine can do more. Simply put 'you don't allways go to market with the machine you want, you go with the machine you have'. If you don't see this problem with +R then it may be why they didn't say it could use -R. Still if that minor flaw doesn't bother you and you have a lot of -R DVDs. What's to stop you from using them.

 

actually I have a emerson that uses -R's So thats how I found out they work because I use them in my emerson so I was curious too see if it worked.

 

I might have made a mistake and bought a DVDR05.
Using Maxell DVD+R disks
The unit records ok and plays back the disk it made.....problem is, the recorded disk do not play back in any DVD player that i own including the dvd that is in my puter.
Have not tried any other brand of disks..dont know if i should waste my monies or not.
This unit is a DVDR05/ZU with software V72
Checking their website, their is a newer V76 available for download.
The problem is, what to do with it after download. It is a .nrg file but it does not have any instructions on what to do after downloading.
Tried calling their "customer support", (joke of the day) and all u get is a recording saying that the extension is busy.......what extension, did not input any extension number......cheap people do not provide a toll free number or even have an email contact number that i can see of.
So, i am asking the Gurus of this forum "How To"

The download of iLo website says you need Nero burning software or something..what are they trying to say? I thought a .nrg file extension was nero....In other words, what file format does the DVDR05 want to see on the disk one is suppose to burn to do the upgrade. ISO??...i copied the .nrg file to a CD-R but the DVDR05 did not recognize. Also tried a CD-RW and that did not work either....Should i use a DVD+R disk

Will windows XP home vewrsion work in their copy to CD to burn the upgrading cd?

What is the difference in the 2 files listed on the iloservice.com website........one says front end the other says back end

If the DVDR05 wants an upgrade file with the file extension other than .nrg, maybe some one can post the file in the format that the unit wants to save my lazy butt from trying to tack down the nero burning software.

As you can probably tell by this post that i am new to this DVD recording thing so any help at all would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

WildWill
First the DVDR05 uses +R and +RW dvd's. Some people have had luck with -R but I would suguest +R. They cost the same and are as fast on most burners. Use +R on the Marsion. Second for the disk to be usable on an other DVD player it must be finilised, you will find it in the EDIT menue. Their are some rules here, as if you record 121 minuts to a 120 minut disk you won't be able to finilise it as all the avaiable space is used. I know that at first a few +RW (READ WRITE) disks might seem expensive however thay are a good envestment as they can be rewritten allowing you to learn from you're mistakes more cost effectivley. I like my DVDR05 however it is a bit user unfrendly. Don't give up on the ILO just yet, get a few +RW DVDs and re read the book.
As for the PC, NERO is well worth the price and at least for Audio it is excellent. If you just want to copy an occasional DVD and don't want to learn a heck of a lot about DVD formats I would suguest 1CLICK DVD COPY. 1CLICK is not the most versitel software I have ever seen however at least in my setup it makes it all but inpossable to turn a DVD into a coster.

 

I've never updated the firmware in a DVD player/recorder like this, but I think I can answer some of your questions.

The NRG file is presumably an image file, like an ISO file. It's "Nero" in that I think that's an extension specific to Nero. You burn image files to a CD/DVD using a special option, like File > Burn Image in Nero. That puts the _contents_ of the image file on the CD/DVD, as opposed to a copy of the file, which is what you would get if you just burned the file to a CD/DVD, like a regular data CD. I don't know if an NRG file is a propietary format or just a different extension for an ISO file. If it's really just a regular ISO file, you could presumably burn it to a CD/DVD using other software, as long as the software has the option to burn from an image file instead of just copying the file to a CD/DVD. I do not know if the DVDR05 requires the file to be on a DVD (as opposed to a CD) in order to read it and perform the update.

I have no idea if the newer firmware will help with your problems. If you read this whole thread, you'll find that plenty of people have had problems with these units, including me. In my case, I didn't try to update the firmware or anything. I decided to just take it back.

The DVDR05 "officially" only supports DVD+R media, but the ZU model also works with DVD-R. According to what I've read, the MU model does not (I had a ZU model). I say, use whichever works best for you.

Hope some of this helps.

James

 

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. going out today to look for +RW disks and a different brand of +R: presently using Maxell DVD+R.
This firmware bit has be bugged though; The unit manufacturer date is DEC 05 vith V72. Checking the iloservice site, the new is V76. The manufacturer must have found something to warrent the release of newer version.

Would sure like some instructions on how to update this unit. I would like to give it a chance to prove itself before i haul it back to wally mart.......this was the last unit they had available. Have tried to contact the iLo people several, several times. Soon, the amount of monies i will have spent on my phone bill in trying to contact these people will equal the amount of monies spent for the unit

The DVDR05 is working fine as far as closing out the disks and playing back the disks that it made. That is not the reason that i bought the unit...bought so i could record movies from sat tv and play back on different DVD player at a different location.

 

I have stated this before, but with all the messages, I guess someone missed it.

This unit DOES use GQ brand dvd-r and dvd+r (Must be 8x)
Go to outpost.com
I met someone on here that had the same problems I did, once she receives some of these GQ dvds then perhaps everyone else will too.

By the way, to answer the question, why upgrade the rear and the front? Upgrading the front MAY improve what you connect to the a/v ports in the front and likewise the same applies to the rear for some odd reason.

 

WildWil,

One would like to think that the newer firmware would be "better", but there's no guarantee. I noticed that they say not to update the firmware unless they tell you to, which could be because not everyone needs the update, although my first guess is that it's probably to try to cut down on the number of problems caused by people trying to update their firmware and screwing up the recorders in the process. If you can't reach them, I guess you'll have to decide if you want to try the new firmware anyway, and possibly void your warranty.

As for updating instructions, I have read that the DVDR05 is (more or less) the same as the Cyberhome DVR-1600. You can find some fairly detailed instructions for updating the 1600 at:

http://www.cyberhome.com/downloads.asp?Product=1600

If you'll notice, the front end update file has exactly the same name on the iLO and Cyberhome pages (the filename even starts with "DVR1600") and the back end update filenames on those pages are very similar, supporting the idea that the recorders are the same.

If you can't find any instructions specifically for the DVDR05, I would try using the files from the iLO pages and following the instructions on the Cyberhome page. Note that that page has separate instructions for updating the back end on the MU and ZU models, so make sure you use the right set of instructions.

Good luck.

James

 

I've had my DVDR5MU since sept and have made many a recording i mostly used it to record my VHS tape to disc . It's macro free with VHS but not DVDs i've been using mostly JVC discs which i get at Big Lots and they work great also i've used RCA, Maxwell and memorex. I never had any trouble untill i tried to use the timer it wouldn't read anything so i e-mailed ILO and a couple days later i got an e-mail and they said to leave the unite on after i set the timer and they would e-mail me the right upgrade. I waited a couple weeks without any e-mail so i went to their web site downloaded the patch and installed it. It worked great with the JVC both -R and +Rs Memorex about 1 out of 5 won't finalize and the maxwells won't work at all these all work if i don't use the timer.But for 98 bucks i think i got a great deal but customer service sucks as it's been months and i still haven't heard from them.

 

Has any1 had any success recording from a DVR to a DVD Recorder?

 

I have used both - and + in the ilo 05 model and if you use a R disk remember too finalize it or it wont work in other players.

 

Still working with the DVDR05......
I'm coming to the conclusion that it is not the unit that gives all of us the problem, it is the BRAND of DVD disks we use to record with....
more to follow........

in the mean time
i saw a program somewhere on the many of groups i have visited that would diagnose DVD disks and give you all the technical info about it.....who manufactured the disk, track preformance......etc
Anyone know what site this program may reside on?

 

Wildwil

Not sure if this is what u r referring to but scroll down about 1/4 way down the page within this link,

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/265933

If this is what u r referring to and u r going to test your discs I would recommend that you make sure u r using the most current software from Nero. Also check out Nero DVD Speed.

 

hey guys i have a dvdro5mu and i just got like 100 blank DVD-R Imation discs and so far they aint working, any suggestions?

 

dloux22
that is another quirk with the 05.
I am finding that only the imitation -R will work and play back on other units with no problems
Staples brand +R records ok but wont play back in any of my other units.....Yes, all disks were finalized OK.
I think each 05 has its own taste for different brands of disks
I'm still testing different disks
The book and website says only +R and +RW should be used to record
The DVDR05 is a www.cyberhome.com model 1600
Thay have a lot more info on their site than iLo

 

yeah thats what i figured, cause i had maxwell dvd+r's and some of them worked good but some of them were a lil scratched and didnt work at all.. and by the way i meant to say i have 100 imation dvd+r's, sorry for the mistake.. but who knows, i got 100 so ill just test them out and shit.. and a quick question.. how do i do this firmware to update my recorder?

 

dloux22
how do i do this firmware to update my recorder

you are suppose to contact iLo customer support first but if you can find a way to do this, i wish you would let every one know how you did it

I have not done the upgrade yet because i am testing the "as is" firmware that the unit came with; V72 ( new is V76 ), but should be easy enough to do

go to http://www.cyberhome.com
check support services at the top of their page
use this site for instruction ONLY...print them out for easy reference

note that their are 2 models........DVR1600 ZU and MU.....make sure you do the one that matched the model that you have

work your way to downloads
download the instructions for your model

go to http://www.iloservice.com
find the firmware update for your model and use this Firmware

The firmware file is in .nrg and that is a Nero Burn image so it is best if you have the nero burn or compatable program to make the upgrade disk

i hope that this works.....let us know how it turns out