Hello,

I have a Sony DVD201. Yesterday I recorded about 3 minutes of (important) video on a brand new Maxell DVD-R disc.

On the LCD screen/viewfinder, I am now receiving the message: REC. DISABLE

I can not record on the disc anymore. I can not fianlize the disc either. I can not transfer the video from the camcorder to the PC image mixer software.

I can however play the video inside the camcorder if I switch to the play mode.

The camera works fine/records with other discs.

Are there any sollutions for the REC. DISABLE problem?

thank you.

Sounds like either a serious problem with the cam needing servicing or some kind of fatal corruption on the DVD for whatever reason.

So lets take first things first.
Take the disc out of the cam.
Download and install the trial version of Nero 8.
Place the unfinalized disc into the computer DVD tray. Open Nero 8 StartSmart.
Click "create and edit" at the top of the screen.
Click "author, edit and capture video." NeroVision 5 will start.
Click on the disk tools drop down menu then click "finalize disk."
In the option box that appears choose "no menus" and let it run. Hopefully you now have a fully finalized disc that is readable.
Let me know how that part goes.

For the cam, put in a new disc and see if it behaving normally. Also please do not tell me you are using RW discs.

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So,... What's wrong with using RW discs in a DVD cam? I have a DVD403 and though I don't use it much now since I have the SR1, I used to use Sony DVD-RW discs all the time. I never used them for archiving though because they are far too unstable for that. But I used them to record video and download to the computer, and then repeat the process over and over again. I never had any problems doing this. In fact I had many more problems with R discs. During the finalize process on several -R discs, the data would become corrupted and unreadable. I lost two -R discs due to file corruption during the finalize process while on a Caribbean Cruise, and now that footage is lost forever. It was because of this that I started using the RW discs exclusively, because I never had any problems at all with them. Plus, I could delete unwanted footage if I accidentally left the cam on and recorded something like the ground for 10 min. And with only about 17 min. of space on a 8cm DVD, being able to delete unwanted footage takes on a new level. So I'm curious, what is your reason for disliking RW discs?

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Ernie
Sony HDR-SR1 AVCHD HDD User

At the time that the 201 was released, by far the most common source of problems was due to the use of RW discs. This was most likely due to the firmware Sony loaded on to the cam rather than a problem with the discs themselves.

With the release of subsequent models these problems seemed to disappear.

By the way if you still have those corrupt -R's you may be able to salvage them. Look at the sticky at the top of this forum for some ideas.

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Oh I see. That makes sense now. Did Sony ever release a firmware update for the 201 to resolve the problem?

I wish I did now. But at the time, when I lost the second one I was so angry that I just threw them both away and said something like "well those memories are gone forever". But that's what happens when you let your temper get the best of you. That episode was definitely instrumental in lowering my enthusiasm for DVD cams. That and constantly running out of media in the middle of something and having to frantically change discs.

__________________
Ernie
Sony HDR-SR1 AVCHD HDD User

"Did Sony ever release and upgrade?"...hawhawhaw! Stop it! You are totally cracking me up! No they never did.
I had one of those cams...my first. The end result was that I became an expert on DVD troubleshooting and the fine points of MPEG2 editing! Unfortunately didn't spend much time on actual videos!
I switched to a tape based cam as soon as I could allow enough time between the original purchase and then diplomatically raise the issue with my wife! "Uhhh honey, remember that money I spent on the video cam?"

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LOL!! I guess that was a pretty silly question. I never had too much trouble with the DVD403, with the exception of the failing finalize. But my experience with trying to edit the MPEG-2 files at the time was definitely de-ja-vu! I spent more time trying to find an editing program that would retain the 16:9 aspect ratio as well as the Dolby 5.1 sound, that I never actually got down to very much real editing.

Sony is very inconsistent about what they choose to supply support for. Some things, like your DVD201, they just let the consumer flounder and supply no support whatsoever. But then with things like my Blu-ray Disc Player, it seems I get a firmware update about every 3-6 weeks! In fact, I have one right now that I have to install. It's almost a nuisance all the firmware updates I have to install for it. But I am grateful that they're keeping on top of it so it plays correctly. Some day I'm sure all the bugs will be worked out.

__________________
Ernie
Sony HDR-SR1 AVCHD HDD User