Okay, Dylan's comng up on Monday and we've got a Panasonic DVD recorder. But we've never been able to get it to record.

It's got 'timeslip' and all sorts, but all I want it to do is record a DVD (of Dylan on BBC2).

Put in a pre-recorded (ie a bought one) DVD and it's superb. Stereo sound, great picture, the lot. Put it in, push the button and away it goes. Could not be simpler.

The video machine also records without any problem.
I also spent a fair bit of cash at a high-fi shop (the one in the former bank at Heeley) buying a scart connection.

So what am I doing wrong when it comes to recording?

I desperately want to record Dylan, but it seems I cannot.

WOW... That's pretty vague dishwasher :o

Are you saying you can't view channels through your DVD recorder or are you saying that you put a DVD in and it refuses to record?

Off the top of my head i'd say to make sure you have formatted the DVD. If you don't format it, it will never work.

Originally posted by dishwasher
So what am I doing wrong when it comes to recording?

Connecting it up incorrectly and\or selecting the wrong recording source channel on the recorder.

Does this DVD recorder have a built in tuner?

I would imagine the best scenario would be to set the DVD recorder to record from the tuner of the VCR if this sin't the case. To do this use a SCART lead from the VCR's SCART output to AV1\Line1 or whatever the primary input is called on the DVD recorder. Select the channel on the VCR you want to record and then select AV1\Line1 on the DVD recorder and press record. If there is another SCART socket on the DVD recorder connect that to the TV.

The above is a rough guess as to what may work and is generally a basic working setup. You might want to try removing things and testing bits one by one, gradually building up until you get it all working.

I would say go and chat to the people you bought it from,you say you spent lots in there.Take your instruction book with you.
They might even send someone to set it up for you.
Good Luck,
PS there might actually be a fault on it.

Originally posted by vidster
WOW... That's pretty vague dishwasher :o

Are you saying you can't view channels through your DVD recorder or are you saying that you put a DVD in and it refuses to record?

Off the top of my head i'd say to make sure you have formatted the DVD. If you don't format it, it will never work.
I don't format DVD's,stick 'em in and off we go,unless we are talking about a PC setup,but I don't have to format them either.

If its that desp then go and ask someone from the shop you bought it from or get a neighbour who has one to come round and sort it. Ensure you have the correct format of DVD to record onto.

Hi
I've had a Panasonic recorder for ages - brilliant piece of kit. What are you using as DVD blanks. The Panasonic uses 2 different types - DVD-RAM which you can use again and again, like a video tape or DVD-R which is a write once disk. You're not using DVD+R or DVD-RW are you ?
I'll be recording the Dylan thing myself so if all else is lost, give me a shout and I'll drop it onto DVD for you.

As above - check you've got the right format, I know of someone who was trying for months to get theirs to work and felt a bit sheepish when I had a quick look and told them they had the wrong discs :)

Yeah we had the same prob too, turned out to be nothing more than using incorrect discs, so you need to check whether yr machine needs DVD+ or DVD- to use for recording.

I'm sorted!

I cannot believe, either, how simple the solution was.

When it comes to DVD recorders, mobile phones, computers etc, I'm no use whatsoever.

I was out at work when the guy from Coles came to set it up and I'd always believed - as I was told - that to record using the DVD player that the video channel had to be on one.

To record using the video, it's on five.

So when before I've recorded one one, I've go nothing at all. Just fuzz.

Saturday morning, after reading what you kind people had told me, I popped in a disc, pressed record (with the video channel on five) and guess what?

It recorded!!!. As easy as that! How silly am I?

It was only a Sky News broadcast but it worked!

But here's the downside. I was explaining this to my 17-year-old son, who has always professed to know nothing about the DVD recorder, and guess what he said?

'Oh, I knew that. I knew how it recorded all along!'

I'm astonished! What's the use of teenagers if they can't show you how to use modern technology? Talk about communication in the house!

Thanks for all your advice. If I'd not posted I would never have experimented. Dylan will be DVD'd on Monday and Tuesday, thanks to you lot.

Cheers again.

Glad you got it sorted dishwasher :thumbsup:

Thanks Vidster. Your help, and concern, is appreciated.

Originally posted by dishwasher
I'm sorted!

Thanks for all your advice. If I'd not posted I would never have experimented. Dylan will be DVD'd on Monday and Tuesday, thanks to you lot.

Cheers again.

Glad to see your sorted.

Talking of Dylan, did you see "The Last Waltz" on BBC4 last night. Must be the best music film ever made :thumbsup:

Glad to see it was sorted Dishy. I hope you got to record Dylan.
PS re your son, then maybe you could take him back to Coles for a refund?