It didn't for me. +R and +RW only. It's not the + or - that's causing your compatibility problems. It's the brand of disc. ILO lists 8 on the help page for the unit (onscreen menu). The ILO tech help (what an oxymoron) people only gave me 3 that they approved. Sony topping the list. It sounded good at first, but didn't solve a thing.
I called the tech at ILO and he told me the problem was the disks...He recommended Fuji,Sony and Verbatim...Said that should work...I went out and bought Sony and no difference... I really had hoped that the different DVD's would help...The tech also recommended NOT to use the ILO Dvd's... So any recommendations on what a good mid priced DVR might be? I am taking this one back to wal-mart...just not happy about the compatibility issues...I prefer that the disks work on a PC... I also read an article that if your computer is a year or older that the DVD's wouldn't work... anyway... Casper
on my second 05 in 2 days both play commercial dvd's in color but when using as monitor or when playing back a dvd burned on the 05 all i get is black & white picture. same problem on both machines. what am i doing wrong???????
<i> what am i doing wrong??????? </i> sounds like you need to contact them. have you tried the fine tuning thingie? <b> does anyone know how to get the green tint out? It's appearing at times, not a problem, YET </B>
I took my 05 back yesterday...Customer service wanted a reason why i was returning the unit...I told her it was a piece of crap... She said that happens sometimes...lol... At least i got all my VHS recorded on DVD with the thang! Just can't play them on my computer...but i'm happier...lol.. Casper
i downgraded to the [bold]DVDR-04[/bold] and i am very happy with the results. i managed to download the firmware from guitarman and now i am a happy ilo owner. yes i had to sacrifice some features, for me a biggie was timer recording, the dvdr04 only gives you upto 5, the dvdr05 gave 8 or more. also with the dvdr04 i can not delete chapters. the problem i was having of discs getting destroyed because i recorded to the very end of the disc does not exist now. knock on wood, no coasters yet! and of course MV. I just love it!
I replaced my Ilo 05 with a Panasonic DMRE-S10S...The panasonic was a bit harder to hook-up...and it had no coaxial hook-up for surround sound... But the DVD's now play on my computer...I do miss the simplicity of the Ilo...It was fairly simple to program...this one seems a bit complicated...but i will say i am happier with this one... casper
tnwriter; I had good luck with my ILO DVDRO5 and I was really pleased with the recordings and thanks for wishing me luck. But one day the 05 could no longer recognize when a blank disc was installed. Just kept saying "NO DISC" No matter how many times I put in a blank disc, the ILO would indicate "No Disc" I had to take it back I'm out of the recording business for right now.
Any body run the firmware updates for the 05 yet? I checked mine and do have the ZU model. 2nd question, anyone know why there are two firmware updates (frontend and backend) and what the differences are? I downloaded both but hesitate to run either because it does not make much sense to me to have two firmware updates for the same model, I would think that the 2nd would cancel the first one out? Anyone has any info please post. Thanks Mike
Welp I had a panasonic 5 disc changer and it took a dump on me on Sunday. It gave the error that the motor is going out on it while I found some guides to temporarily fix the problem i decided to bite the bullet and look for another dvd player that would play my burned DVDs I already had. I use Prodisc media which is made by MCC ive never and I mean never in now over 200 burns had a misburn that was a result of the media. I am using the stock DVD+-R burner that came with my wifes Sony Viao. Anyways......went to walmart and they didnt have any panasonic players.....BB and CC were already closed. I noticed the ILO DVDR05 (ZU) in stock and while id never heard of them I decided to give it a shot. So far so good. Last night using SVideo cable hook up to our dish network DVR I was able to copy our recorded TV shows to DVD+RW (Memorex) which I then tried to read into my wifes PC. No dice. Well i tried my PC which has the same brand but a newer model burner in it. And whalla. I am guessing the ILO burns at a faster rate then my wifes RW drive which was why it wasnt able to read the disc. At any rate ive had success with the +RW memorex in the ILO and ive been reauthoring them on my computer to DVD-R prodiscs. Id recommend this burner to anyone on a budget - I think alot of the complaints on this thread are user error. Sonickat p.s. you do need to finalize teh RW in teh (ZU) model after finishing to make it readable in other drives. p.p.s. Region hack didnt work on the drive (the one that isnt a firmware update) dont plan to try the firmware updates either.
Glad it's working for you Sonickat. Keep it ventilated and keep the ILO web address and 800# handy. You'll need both before it's over. I also think it's good for folks on a budget. Whenever it goes bust in a month or so, the cash you get from the refund at WM always comes in handy.
I did read that the Ilo DVD's would playback on a newer computer...Mine is only a year old...so there goes the budget...do i take the ILO back or buy a new computer? I tried all the DVD's the tech people told me to try, to no avail...sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn't...so i basically think the Ilo is a better player than a recorder... I have had no problems with my Panasonic since taking my Ilo back to where it belongs...Wal-Mart... May your Ilo bring you much happiness... casper
tafkam, I'm pretty sure the 2 updates are one for the drive and one for the system, unlike the R04 which will have updates for both (if needed) in one update file.
I was sent two updates from ILO techs when I had my unit. Neither of which did much good. The biggest problem I had with mine was after it became overheated and ceased to operate.
tnwriter, I have heard quite a bit about the R05 overheating, since there is no fan. What recorders are you trying now. I have a Pioneer DVR-420-H-S along with my ILO HD04 (both with HDD's) and both have served me well. If you are looking into a mid-priced recorder, try one of the Pioneers. Excellent features and recording quality. For those having overheating problems, Make sure there is nothing setting on top of the R05 and, if possible, on its own shelf and not setting on top of other A/V components that may give off heat. This may help in keeping the R05 from getting to hot.
I don't have a recorder now. I'm looking and researching before getting another one. It's not only the frustration of getting a piss poor unit but the cost of the media etc. I did everything that you suggested about the overheating. I even went so far as to unplug the unit and let it get completely cold. Then I removed the case and had a fan blowing into the unit. That helped a little but a little extreme on the aestetic end. It still overheated to the point of the discs being very warm to the touch when removed. Thanks for the unit suggesstions. I'll add them to the list.
I'm amazed we found one person happy with this piece of garbage -- not only did we ALL just get insulted, but apparently one's ownership of the 05 is considerably less than a month. I fail to understand how "user error" can cause overheating, "baddisc" error messages, or the complete inability to even RECOGNIZE most DVDs (blank or pre-rec) after about four weeks. I'd estimate 90% of us posting here have had the exact same problems and issues with this recorder, and for you to come in here and basically call everyone an idiot is just plain rude. The ILO 05 model is a piece of sh%# and this is only one of around 50 websites I've found detailing such. Interestingly though, it looks like the "sister model" (CyberHome 1600) has a much, MUCH lower rate of return/refund, so if you find yourself having problems with the ILO 05 and are just hell-bent on HAVING one, I'd recommend returning it and going to Best Buy or Target and trying the CH version for the same price. The overheating problem will remain, but many other issues may not. My educated guess after three months of research is that the ILO models technically failed to achieve "CyberHome" status and were sold to Wal-Mart for rebranding and unloading -- "ILO" is a Wal-Mart exclusive brand and generally speaking should be avoided. Geek freaks like myself can compare this to "Pentium versus Celeron" -- while both processors come from Intel, Celerons are simply Pentiums that failed to successfully test. If you try a CyberHome 1600, please let us know here what happens. I've moved onto other brands/models while I wait to unload this also-defective ILO 04 model, so I'm just a tad above the $99 price range at this point with few complaints so far -- I have a cooling fan in my current DVD recorder, and the unit is considerably larger than the ILO/CH suppository...
I just bought the R05 as I could not find the R04 at any walmart in my area. So far, I've been happy (Keep in mind just as I am it's been less then 24hours). It's played every disk I've thrown at it and I even tried recording on -r disk since I have about 300 of them laying around and it worked like a champ. I'll keep you updated if/when (Hopefully it won't) goes down hill.
