DVDR05 post: Liked it so much, that I purchased another for the bedroom. Plays downloaded mpegs really well
I think that's what I'm going to have to do. I've only got 2 complaints about it. How it makes you navigate back to whatever input you're using and it's lack of compatibility with other units. No disk I've recorded with it will play on any player I have except my computer.
it's lack of compatibility with other units. No disk I've recorded with it will play on any player I have except my computer. Works well with apex players.
My goal the day I bought this recorder (ILO ver. 05) was to replace a VCR that died that morning, and I ended up with this. I'm skeptical about ANYTHING I buy at Wal-Mart lately because they're quickly replacing all their merchandise with pure crap, but I decided to go for it with the expectation of returning it in the morning. First of all, my ILO recorder has a manufacture date of April 2005; second, it seems to ship both region-free AND macro/copy-block-free; and third, I've accidentally discovered it does in fact record on DVD-R discs quite nicely. I don't know why it happens to do this, or if it's CyberHome 1600-clone is the same way, but it is, and it does. In fact, it wasn't until I realized I was using DVD-R discs and started using +Rs (I got ILO DVDs and the packaging is identical for +R and -R) that I started encountering "baddisc" errors. So far I've burned, finalized, and tested 10 DVD-Rs on other players with no errors, and done the same thing with about 15 DVD+Rs with TWO errors. I got one "baddisc" error while waiting to load a half-full +R disc to record more on, and the other happened just now while trying to finalize a +R with 5 mins left. I haven't tested any DVD+/-RW discs yet (I did buy some), but will as soon as I have time. The only other problem I seem to have is the unit seems to be dropping it's frame-rate about once every 20 mins, -- in other words, watching or recording through the recorder, paying close attention, you'll notice it seems to go into slow-motion (more noticeable using the S-video input). Like I said, it only seems to happen once every 20 mins or so, and it only lasts for about half-a-second, so it's not a HUGE problem (yet). All-in-all, it's a decent unit for the price. The mono tuner (largely responsible for the low cost) is an issue for a lot of people, but I simply use my dead VCR as the tuner when I need it, as most everything that ends up on DVD gets there via the DVR anyway. Do drop me a line if you're having (or not having) the same issues I seem to be having -- I have about a week to exchange this, and probably will anyway just to have a fresh return period. Being that this is my first DVD recorder, and this is a new model with some unknown bugs, it might be nice to hang on to the return option for awhile. However..."so far, so adequate"...I do recommend picking one up.
I've stated the problems I had with the 05 and it got worse this past weekend. I can now say I am NOT the owner of an 05. Every disk, no matter the brand, was getting the baddisc message when I FIRST put them in. The funny thing is after I returned it, I went to electronics to see what brands WM was carrying this week. I noticed the ILO 05 was now $118 instead of the $98 when I purchased it 2 weeks ago. I asked the dept mgr on the way out why the increase. She joked that it was to cover the cost of returning them to the factory. I wonder how much of a joke it really was!
i am returning my ilo DVDR05, i just got another bad disc error after a day of careful recording. yesterday i recorded another disc and lost track and filled the disk. this disk allowed me to finalize so it seems the players picks and chooses which recorded discs to damage. i usually use expensive MAXELL dvd's but this is too much. hopefully i will find a DVDR04 which people seem to prefer to this one.
Just went down to Walmart today picked up the new '05. ($98.74) Mine said it was for region 1 playback which was OK as I only have those discs anyway. The unit uses only +R and +RW's: as I didn't have any I purchased a 10 pack of Ilo +R's in the better jewel cases for $7.47 - which wasn't too bad. Set up was fairly simple...the only mistake I made was to program the tuner before using it the first time (it automatically does this the first time it's used) Copied a DVD from my Apex 500 (a disc without copyguard on it) and it did it well. The instructions never mentioned that +R's had to be prepared before recording - but the on screen prompt indicated this was so, I answered yes and soon it declared that the disc was ready for recording. There was some note in the manual that stated that if I went to the end of the recording space I may not have room to finalize it so I stuck around until the end credits, stopped the recording and finalized it. The recorded disc (2 hour mode) played on my Apex 500 - but froze up at anything past 2X- had to hit next scene to release it - replayed it only at 2X and it was fine. Disc played well on my Apex 1100 and could scan to 4X. Disc played very well on the Ilo with scan up to 8X. All players would freeze frame and step. I tried some of my older VCD's and SVCD's on the Ilo and it reconized them and all functions (Scan, Freeze, Step and Zoom) worked well. the movies relly looked best in 1/2 frame due to the lesser quality. The quality of the copy vs the original was equal you couldn't tell them apart on a Sony Trinitron (28") but I also used a S-video cable between DVD's which was recommended. Color was the same.
I'm completely changing my POV on this device as of NOW, one minute after my 05 took an airborne trip across the room -- My "baddisc" errors are now outnumbering the good ones about 10 to 1; I've tried different brands, different record speeds, everything -- no rhyme or reason, but after sitting here copying three hours of material only to end up with "baddisc" error # 29 and all that time wasted I'm done with this machine. It's in 10,000 pieces right now, held together just enough to return it. I appreciate the fact that Wal-Mart is now the exact opposite of what Sam Walton intended -- they sell cheap foreign crap, bootleg CDs, frozen foods that REAL grocery stores reject -- but dammit this was $100 worth of my money I just wasted on this "Coaster Toaster", not to mention the time and stress. DO NOT PURCHASE ANY, ANY, ANY, ANY, ANY ILO DVD RECORDER FROM WAL-MART!!!!!!!!!!!! Several people I've spoken to with what was supposed to be an identical CyberHome model do NOT report the same problems we all seem to be having with the ILO. Apparently Wal-Mart got the CHEAPER version of their normal "cheap crap"... Buy the CyberHome model if you can (from Best Buy), otherwise save your $$$... D.
The night before returning my ILO 05 I purchased the supposed sister machine the Cyberhome 1500. I experienced the problem associated with it immediately. The dreaded stuck drawer. I literally had to disassembe the box and hit the manual eject on the drive. After spending a couple of hours with it and only accomplishing a major headache, I reboxed it. I had intended to compare the two machines and return the worst of the two. Since it was a tossup, I returned them both. Anybody want to buy some DVD+R discs???? LOL.....
Maybe I should buy the rest of our local walmarts stock and sell them to you guys on the board. The two that I purchased work fine. The price is still below 100.
I wasn't even looking for it yet, and sure as &^%$ not expecting to find one anyway, but I have in my hands right now (well not RIGHT now, I had to sit it down to type) a brand new, still in a factory-sealed box, ILO DVDR04. A friend of mine called me from a Wal-Mart near his house to ask me about a DVD he found, and when I asked him to check the recorders he said they had one. Wow. Now, I'm hoping you all are right and this model is better than the piece o' crap 05 I just mutilated (after it mutilated half my DVDs), cause if not it's YOUR FAULT! LOL! Now, can someone point me to the firmware updates and give me a summary of what they do and what I need?
about a month ago I bought a ILO DVDR05 recorder at walmarts for $98.00 After recording VHS tapes to DVD's I experienced compatibility problems with all my recorded disc. Every disc I recorded would play on my new Emerson but none of the disc would play on my Toshiba TV. I recorded Maxwell DVDRW+/DVD+R Imation RW+/R+ and Memorex DVD+RW/DVD+R All three of these disc would play very well on the Emerson but would not play on the Toshiba. However, the Toshiba would play the Imation +RW disc but would occationally freeze the pitcure for 10 to 20 seconds. I took the ILO DVDR05 back to walmarts brought home a ILO DVDR04 and have experenced the same type of problems, however, the R04 came with one Mitsubishi DVD+RW disc and after recording to this disc it would play on the Toshiba TV. and also play on the Emerson. The Mitsubishi DVD+RW disc may very well be an answer to the compatibility problem. I am also having very good luck playing the Imation disc. Comparing the two recorders I would rather have the DVDR05 it is much more user friendly and has some features the R04 does not have and there is not that much difference in quality. I will be going back to Walmart for the DVDR05 recorder.
Wow! I've only been using this 04 for about 34 minutes and could not disagree more about which one is more "user friendly"! The 04 menus have fewer layers to dig through, the OSD is bigger and faster to respond (as is the unit itself when you hit "record"), and the front display has more info than the 05. As for setup, I literally got everything set that needed to be set (clock, channel search, record speed, etc.) in one minute -- the 05 took me 10 just to find everything! The 04 remote does NOT run on a watch battery (what's up with THAT???), it's bigger than a credit card, MUCH faster and easier to operate, etc. I'm most impressed by not having to dig through two menus to reset the record source everytime you want to use the 04 -- it keeps the source setting it was on the last time you used it -- the 05 really annoyed me in that area. I'm least impressed with the reduced record modes (LP, EP+) but hopefully if I install this firmware hack I can at least get my LP back, as that's what I was using most often. Overall, so far it seems to be a much higher-quality user-friendly unit. We'll see how I feel when I finalize a disc and try to use it elsewhere...
Well, I have taken my 05 back to Walmart. Though the first results were good, I attempted to copy a non-copyguarded VHS tape in the 2 hr mode. After about an hour I checked the recorder and found it to be Very hot to the touch. I was able to finalize the disc but the unit froze up after completeing this chore. It would not eject the disc. I couldn't turn the unit off..so I unplugged the electrical cord and let it set for a couple of hours. After that it was still warm but came back on and seemed to be OK...I ejected the disc. The unit had a hot burned electrical smell...so to be safe I returned it to the store.....Don't know what happened but I'll wait a while before getting another one.
All of the lower priced units I've tried so far have had the same overheating problem. The only one that came with an exhaust fan was a Sanyo model. It was also the longest lasting of the units. I read in one post in a forum where the person removed the case and used the unit without it. He reported no overheating problems at all. I did notice slightly less overheating problems if I had the unit free standing. Of all the equipment I own, the DVR seems to get the hottest. I have nothing on top of it at all. I think it would be interesting to buy one of the units and take out the drive. You could run cables back to the boards and have the drive completely outside the case. I wonder what kind of overheating you'd have then?
That was the first thing I noticed about the 04 model as soon as I got it out of the box -- a fan in the back of the unit! Thank you! I did notice the 05 got pretty hot, but nothing as severe as you describe -- then again I didn't really fondle it too much while I was using it...and I know that didn't sound good but you know what I mean.
Got one of thos 05's . Testing it now. Have not noticed any overheating. Had it crash once on me. (needed to be un-plugged) Later Dave
If you hook it up inline (like a vcr hookup) you'll have to leave it on all the time to get tv reception. IF (big if) I buy another 04... I'm only going to hook it up when it's used and see what that does. I wish you luck with it but don't count on it. LOL...
