Sorry - it's me again!

[Grumpy1]

You techno's were very kind and helpful when I needed help in getting video off my Sony Handicam Digital 8 tapes onto my PC/DVD, and now I'm asking for some help with another problem I have concerning VHS. Some years ago I bought a full size ('sit on your shoulder' type) VHS camera. No longer used because the batteries are 'you know what', and I can't find replacements anywhere, but that's by the by. A year or 3 ago I bought a Panasonic VHS/DVD player/recorder, model number DMR-EZ48VEB, which until recently has been fine for 'one touch' copying from VHS to DVD. Now, however, it refuses to recognise any blank DVD disc when I want to copy from VHS to DVD using the 'one touch' option. It shows messages such as 'no disc', 'disc not recognised', 'this disc cannot be used for one touch copying' etc. I'm using the same discs that I've always used, namely DVD-R of various makes including Panasonic's own. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Chad.

[coolcat]

Hi Chad,

Couple of things likely to cause this.
The first thing to try is playing a cd ( not DVD ) in it and see if it recognises that.
The laser has far less work to do playing a cd as the information is less tightly packed.
If it does play that back you could try a cd lens cleaner in your unit.
It may just knock some dust off the lens and restore operation...I do stress this is only a maybe.
If that fails then I'm afraid it would have to go to a repair shop to be looked at.
It may need a 'proper' clean and service to the dvd mechanism.
There could also be a problem with the switch mode power supply in the unit causing the malfunction.

One thing to bear in mind is, did you finalise all the discs you copied on this machine?
If not and the machine is beyond economical repair then you may have a problem playing back your previous recordings!
Good luck and hope you get it sorted

[Grumpy1]

Originally Posted by coolcat

Hi Chad,

Couple of things likely to cause this.
The first thing to try is playing a cd ( not DVD ) in it and see if it recognises that.
The laser has far less work to do playing a cd as the information is less tightly packed.
If it does play that back you could try a cd lens cleaner in your unit.
It may just knock some dust off the lens and restore operation...I do stress this is only a maybe.
If that fails then I'm afraid it would have to go to a repair shop to be looked at.
It may need a 'proper' clean and service to the dvd mechanism.
There could also be a problem with the switch mode power supply in the unit causing the malfunction.

One thing to bear in mind is, did you finalise all the discs you copied on this machine?
If not and the machine is beyond economical repair then you may have a problem playing back your previous recordings!
Good luck and hope you get it sorted

Hi Jeff,

Playing is not the problem. It plays fine, it just doesn't recognise any discs when I want to record. Sorry if my post did not make this clear. I'll go and edit it now.

Chad.

[coolcat]

Originally Posted by Grumpy1

Hi Jeff,

Playing is not the problem. It plays fine, it just doesn't recognise any discs when I want to record. Sorry if my post did not make this clear. I'll go and edit it now.

Chad.

Hi Chad,

Ok , now we know its playing then you can move to the next step of trying a lens cleaner.
The lasers gain and focus are adjusted for recording so the lens not being optically clean could still cause a problem.

Let us know how you get on

[Grumpy1]

Originally Posted by coolcat

Hi Chad,

Ok , now we know its playing then you can move to the next step of trying a lens cleaner.
The lasers gain and focus are adjusted for recording so the lens not being optically clean could still cause a problem.

Let us know how you get on

Tried that a few times Jeff - guess what? It wont play either now. Never mind, I've got a Blu-Ray player for that. I just think the machine is kaput. So now I need another way of getting my vhs tapes onto my pc and on to dvd. Copying to dvd shouldn't be a problem after all the help I got regarding my Digital 8 tapes, so it's just (?) a matter of getting the tapes onto my pc (W7). The vhs player works ok on the Panasonic but it's too far away from my pc to connect that up. The actual camera can be used for playback but the only connections on that are the usual video/audio outputs, red, white and yellow. I've been searching the net for gadgets to use and there are loads of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1410556089...84.m1438.l2649 on there, but they look too cheap to be any good to me. Do they work? I can't believe I gave a brand new VCR away to a charity shop last year because I didn't think I'd ever need it!!! I suppose that would have had more outputs.

Sorry to be a nuisance again, but I haven't got a clue what to do next.

Chad.

[coolcat]

Originally Posted by Grumpy1

Tried that a few times Jeff - guess what? It wont play either now. Never mind, I've got a Blu-Ray player for that. I just think the machine is kaput. So now I need another way of getting my vhs tapes onto my pc and on to dvd. Copying to dvd shouldn't be a problem after all the help I got regarding my Digital 8 tapes, so it's just (?) a matter of getting the tapes onto my pc (W7). The vhs player works ok on the Panasonic but it's too far away from my pc to connect that up. The actual camera can be used for playback but the only connections on that are the usual video/audio outputs, red, white and yellow. I've been searching the net for gadgets to use and there are loads of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1410556089...84.m1438.l2649 on there, but they look too cheap to be any good to me. Do they work? I can't believe I gave a brand new VCR away to a charity shop last year because I didn't think I'd ever need it!!! I suppose that would have had more outputs.

Sorry to be a nuisance again, but I haven't got a clue what to do next.

Chad.

Hi Chad,

Plenty of video capture devices out there.
How good the things off eBay are I couldn't comment.
Best to look for branded products like Pinnacle or Hauppauge
A really good place to look is a company called www.keeneelectronics.co.uk
Very good products and service from them