connecting a DVD recorder

Ahhh yes, that's the ticket!  I knew it was something like that.  It has been a while.  Thanks.

Many thanks... I'll give it a try!

I asked the geek and he said most domestic DVD players play DVD-R discs.  Make sure any discs you buy and burn are DVD-R not DVD+R.  And probably not DVD-RW or +RW as re-writable discs tend to give most DVD players a headache unless they say they support them. 

Some DVD players will not play burned DVD's unless they are multi region (region 0) players.  You might need to unlock the DVD player you have upstairs.  Check out http://www.dvdhacks.co.uk for instructions on how to set your player to region 0.

 

My discs are DVD-RW 

My discs are DVD-RW 

Ok, so you need to buy the right discs and still possibly need to unlock the player upstairs.  Then it should work just fine! 

Cheers... will have a look!

I finally got the DVD recorder connected up, thanks to an AV-savvy friend who is easily bribed with Mexican food.   We tested it, it works, and last night i recorded something... and took it upstairs to play on the little portable DVD player i keep in my bedroom.

It won't play.
It gives me a message saying 'invalid disc'.

   anyone?   

I have a DVD recorder, too, and you can't play a disc on any other machine UNLESS you finalize it (you may even have gotten a message when you opened the machine asking you if you want to finalize the disc). Once you finalize, you can't record anything else on that disc. The only way around this might be to buy another DVD recorder, the exact same one, and put it on your other TV. Which is a rather expensive option.

A cheaper option, if you really want to watch the discs on another DVD player, is to record several shows on a disc and then finalize it. Then you can play it on a different machine. Once finalized, you won't be able to record over that disc again, but at least you'll have several shows to watch on your other TV. If you look online, you should be able to find some cheap deals on discs so that it won't be a big deal if you finalize a couple a week. And if they're shows you don't want to save after you watch them, you could always see if anyone you know hasn't seen the shows. Or just toss the discs when done (wasteful, yes, but still much less expensive than buying a second recorder).

ok my turn to be thick. Ive never owned a dvd recorder before and havent really read much about it............so....here comes a possibly stupid question.....................
Does it record stuff on the tellly like a VHS recorder would do?
Or does it just burn one dvd onto the other....................................

Both, as long as your dvds aren't protected.

A cheaper option, if you really want to watch the discs on another DVD player, is to record several shows on a disc and then finalize it. Then you can play it on a different machine. Once finalized, you won't be able to record over that disc again, but at least you'll have several shows to watch on your other TV.

The whole point of buying a recorder in the first place was so that i could watch stuff on my portable player.

The instructions for my recorder also offer steps for 'unfinalising' the disc, which sounds odd, but it seems i can finalise the disc, then watch it on another player, and then 'unfinalise' it, so that i can continue to record on it.

If i'd known it was going to be this much faff, i might not have bothered. 

If it's any consolation, you're far from being the only person to discover that switching your own recordable DVDs between units isn't as straightforward as taking a VHS tape from one VCR to another. 

The different formats, the need to finalize disks, the regional coding system, and the fact that some players simply don't "like" certain disks -- It all makes things more complex.  Oh, and I've found that some supposedly re-recordable DVDs simply will not erase properly on some machines, even if they are supposedly compatible. 

The instructions for my recorder also offer steps for 'unfinalising' the disc, which sounds odd, but it seems i can finalise the disc, then watch it on another player, and then 'unfinalise' it, so that i can continue to record on it.

If i'd known it was going to be this much faff, i might not have bothered. 

Ohh, "unfinalising" sounds like a cool option. Don't worry, it will be as pie once you've spent a little time fiddling and figure it all out.