DVD recorder/DivX player €99 in Dunnes

transporter-d

i was up in harvey norman the other week and they had the recorders for 99 but the beauty about them is they play divx and they are multi-region:cool:

Paul Mc Gann

Still no one has come up with a solution. Your best bet is probably to bring it back. I've been too lazy--but if there is any whiz that can sort this out please lets hear from you.

transporter-d

go into the main settings and highlight factory settings,or any reset feature it has

bravo

Hi Guys,
Picked up the Plustron BDR1300 in Dunnes (€98) and trying to get to grips with the USB connection....all advice appreciated.
Works fine with 2GB Flash Key but won't read from 250GB Ext HD formmatted Fat32. Any ideas or anyone got any codes for the remote control?
Thnaks guys

TM

bravo wrote: »

won't read from 250GB Ext HD formmatted Fat32. Any ideas

Do you mean multiple 32GB FAT32 partitions or something else? If the latter then try the former!

bravo

Hi TM,
Thanks for the reply. PC shows the external drive (250GB) as formatted to FAT32 (no partition). DVD recorder does not see the drive but will recognise a 2GB Flash Key when inserted through USB.

TM

Is it possible for you to try repartitioning your hard drive to create one or more <= 32GB FAT32 formatted partitions and see if your player can see these? Obviously this will destroy any existing contents of your drive.

How did you format your hard drive as a single (?) 250GB FAT32 formatted partition or did it come that way? If I recall correctly normally you can only create <= 32GB FAT32 formatted partitions other than with the FDISK that came with W9x or some earlier versions of Windows.

bravo

Hi TM,
Re: formatting large drive to FAT32, found this article somewhere on the web, not my own work unfortunately, followed instructions and it works:

QUOTE-
How to format a large drive in FAT32
Solution for formatting a volume bigger then 32GB in FAT32

It turns out that Windows XP won't let you format a volume bigger than 32GB with FAT32. You could use NTFS, but that's not what FATlib supports. NTFS can only be written safely by Windows XP - there are no other drivers for other OS's, unlike FAT which is supported by virtually anything.

As Microsoft put it here:

You cannot format a volume larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size using the FAT32 file system during the Windows XP installation process. Windows XP can mount and support FAT32 volumes larger than 32 GB (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create a FAT32 volume larger than 32 GB by using the Format tool during Setup. If you need to format a volume that is larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system to format it. Another option is to start from a Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup disk and use the Format tool included on the disk.

Using Windows 98 obviously opens up other issues - It doesn't support USB 2.0 or SATA as far as I know. Formatting a huge disk will take ages. It suports IDE, but not 48bit LBA, which is required for drives greater than 137GB. Also, you need to patch format.exe and fdisk to work with disks greater than 64GB. Even then scandisk will corrupt large disks unless you disable it. It can be done, but basically, this is ancient 16 bit code, and using it on modern hardware is not a good idea. There is a port of mkdosfs from Linux to Win32. I tried it, and chkdsk complained about being unable to test a RAW filesystem. It also uses funny cluster sizes, only 4K for normal sized disks.

Actually, looking back at the Microsoft comment, if I could format the volume myself, all would be OK. Fat32 is pretty simple, so it occured to me to write a fast format routine to do the job. Note that the 32GB limit is a limit of the formatter in Windows XP. FAT32 itselft should be OK to 2TB, limited by a 32 bit sector count in the boot sector. XP comes with a partitioning tool, called Disk Management. It even has Wizards for partitoning. This should be a cinch.

I've tested this with a SATA disk as follows. Power off the computer and connect the disk. Power up again - check the Bios finds it. If you have a IDE or SATA disk, make sure you power off before connecting, USB and Firewire ones can be connected with the power on.

Click Start menu, select Run and enter diskmgmt.msc

If it asks you to initialise the disk, make sure you select a Basic disk, as opposed to a Dynamic.
There's a guide on Disk Management here You need to find the disk with unallocated space. Right click on it and select "New Partition" and follow these steps, clicking "Next" to get move on at each stage.

1. Partition Wizard starts, just click next to move on
2. Select Primary Partition.
3. Enter the maximum size for the Partition Size
4. Choose assign a drive letter. I used F:
5. Select "Do not Format this partition"
6. There will be a dialog box, summarising all the previous stuff. Click Finish

Now you have a drive letter, this is what we will pass to the formatter

Now download fat32format. Extract the single EXE file to somewhere suitable, like:

C:. Click Start->Run and enter cmd.

CD (=change directory) to the where you extracted the fat32format exe, e.g. by typing

CD /D c:

Now you're almost done.

Type this fat32format f:

You should see this displayed

Warning ALL data on drive 'f' will be lost irretrievably, are you sure (y/n)

Now when it says this, it really means it. If you format the boot sector, FATs and root directory will be filled with zeros. By typing pressing Y and hitting return, you're also absolving me of liability for whatever was on the disk before.

Assuming you don't bail out at this point you should see something like this -

Warning ALL data on drive 'f' will be lost irretrievably, are you sure
(y/n) :y
Size : 250GB 488392002 sectors
512 Bytes Per Sector, Cluster size 32768 bytes
Volume ID is 1bdb:2c1d
32 Reserved Sectors, 59604 Sectors per FAT, 2 fats
7629261 Total clusters
7629260 Free Clusters
Formatting drive f:...
Clearing out 119304 sectors for Reserved sectors, fats and root cluster...
Wrote 61083648 bytes in 0.988463 seconds, 61796609.106193 bytes/sec
Initialising reserved sectors and FATs...
Done

This means that all has gone according to plan. It should take about 4 seconds per Terabyte to format the disk. You can run chkdsk f: at this point if you're curious, and see something like this -

The type of the file system is FAT32.
Volume Serial Number is 1BDB-2C1D
Windows is verifying files and folders...
File and folder verification is complete.
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.
244,136,352 KB total disk space.
244,136,320 KB are available.

32,768 bytes in each allocation unit.
7,629,261 total allocation units on disk.
7,629,260 allocation units available on disk.

This shows that my calculations match up with the ones inside Windows, which is good news

It is also possible to set the cluster size with a -cN parameter where N is the number of sectors per cluster. On a hard disk, which is the only sort we support, one sector is 512 bytes. The cluster size will be N times 512. I played around with this, and it seems that Windows XP supports small cluster sizes, except that chkdsk runs very slowly, presumably because it needs to read the huge FAT that results from these settings. Given the nature of FAT32, you can't reduce the cluster size such that the number of clusters is more than 228. I'd recommend using the default cluster sizes, which are the Microsoft recommended ones, unless you need to force them for testing or something

There are a couple of things you need to know before running fat32format. You need to have Administrator rights on XP for it to work, since it opens the drive in raw write mode. You also need to make sure that there are no open files on the volume - if there are you will see a message like this -

Warning ALL data on drive 'f' will be lost irretrievably, are you sure
(y/n) :y
Failed to open device - close any files before formatting
Are you SURE you're formatting the RIGHT DRIVE!!!

This should make it a bit harder to lose data, assuming that you have at least one open file on the drives with data you want to keep. The drive that Windows is currently running from will have lots of files open - the pagefile, registry etc. I usually keep an Explorer.exe open in the root directory of any other drives to block format from running. Finally, it will only work with hard disks with 512 bytes per sector. If you have a DVD-Ram disk, format using the Windows formatter.

One last thing - fat32format is designed to format disks quickly. It doesn't check for bad sectors. If you need integrity checks, run a chkdsk /R f: after the format.

Finally and most importantly, it isn't possible to recover your data if you format the wrong disk, be careful using it. It is licensed under the GPL license.

-END QUOTE

ISOT

bravo wrote: »

Hi TM,
Thanks for the reply. PC shows the external drive (250GB) as formatted to FAT32 (no partition). DVD recorder does not see the drive but will recognise a 2GB Flash Key when inserted through USB.

how long are you giving for the plustron to see the hard drive.?
i reformatted my 320gb ex hard drive to fat32 (it could not see it before i done this) but it takes maybe 4 minutes after plugging it in before i can see it on the menu.then everything plays fine. plug it in again and give it 5 minutes before you try to navigate to the usb menu.
by the way i used the free utility swissknife to reformat the hd.

stwome01

Hi,

I got one of these Plustrons yesterday. This was after returning a Philips DVR3575. The picture through the philips was aweful. I think I had a faulty unit. :mad:

Anyway back to the Plustrons. It was able to read my 300GB Seagate Hard Drive (FAT32). It takes about a couple of minutes before it will allow me to see the USB drive after plug it in. All avi etc played fine for me.

It region free and the recording are of a acceptable quality. The user interface is fairly easy to use. All in all I am delighted with it so far. Budget wise the €98 is alot nicer than the €300 I spent on the philips.

Seán

Collie Collins

i was happy enuff with my one of these until 2 weeks ago wen the remote broke, now i can't access any menu's etc hence rendering it generally useless to me. anyone know were i cud get a repleacemnt remote for it? i bought a 'works on any machine' one in lidl last week for 8 euro but no joy....

bravo

Hi guys,
Still having trouble seeing a 250GB ext HD on the plustron - it has about 200gb of avi.s but i can see it on another usb/dvd player.
I have tried a 300gb ext HD on the plustron and I can see the avis on this (just 6 GB).
Both HD's are FAT32 with no partition and I've waited ten minutes for the 250GB to connect. Is it possible the 300GB will disappear when I use over a certain amount of space? Any ideas?

Charisteas

Paul Mc Gann wrote: »

Any help re Plustron BDR1300 (BEOND)
Quick question!
Most DVDs I've tried either play one or other of A)video, background sound and speech sound with subtitles
OR
B)video, background sound, no speech sound or subtitles but with commentary (obviousely for visually impaired)
In other words I have full sound with subtitles or no speech sound at all other than commentary.
Any idea on how to play DVD without the additional features?
Thanks

plonker wrote: »

I'm having the same problem as Paul with the subtitles and or no voices with some dvd's and copies and cant get it sorted,had ye any luck before I throw it back?

I had the same issue, but managed to solve the problem.

-click the setup button on the remote
-scroll down to the second option (playback)
-scroll down to digital audio output and change it to raw
-scroll down to analog audio output and change it to 2ch

(i dont think you need to change both the digital and analog audio output, but im not sure which one is causing the problem so i changed both and it worked for me).

But you can only perform these steps when there is no dvd in the machine (i think).

Let me know if this worked for you ok

bittihuduga

what is the return policy of dunness?
I bought one 2 weeks back and the remote stopped working...
after some bangings it started working...
i am not happy with this now.
may be one of the dew disappointed customer of this player.
will dunness accept my return?
will i get full refund?
any suggestion?

Collie Collins

yeah you should get a full refund ok, provided you have the recepit der shudnt be any problem

nontechie

plonker wrote: »

I'm having the same problem as Paul with the subtitles and or no voices with some dvd's and copies and cant get it sorted,had ye any luck before I throw it back?

did you get this sorted as Im having the same problem. Im a complete non techie and cant return it as no reciept and threw away the box!

nontechie

did you get this sorted? I have the same problem and have tries the setting every which way . I am a complete technophobe but cant return it as the receipt is lost and box thrown away

Charisteas

nontechie wrote: »

did you get this sorted? I have the same problem and have tries the setting every which way . I am a complete technophobe but cant return it as the receipt is lost and box thrown away

-click the setup button on the remote
-scroll down to the second option (playback)
-scroll down to digital audio output and change it to raw
-scroll down to analog audio output and change it to 2ch

But you can only perform these steps when there is no dvd in the machine (i think).

Charisteas

Is anybody able to play MP4 files?

It says on the box that it can play MP4 files but the plustron cant read MP4 files from my external hard drive.

Paul Mc Gann

Charisteas wrote: »

I had the same issue, but managed to solve the problem.

-click the setup button on the remote
-scroll down to the second option (playback)
-scroll down to digital audio output and change it to raw
-scroll down to analog audio output and change it to 2ch

(i dont think you need to change both the digital and analog audio output, but im not sure which one is causing the problem so i changed both and it worked for me).

But you can only perform these steps when there is no dvd in the machine (i think).

Let me know if this worked for you ok

At long last!! Charisteas has solved my problem---everyone take note follow the above instructions as Charisteas says without a disk and you're sorted.

Thanks a Lot Charisteas you must be some kind of teck genius.

Esel

Paul Mc Gann wrote: »

Thanks a Lot Charisteas you must be some kind of teck genius.

Ther'es your problem!

ISOT

Hi,
just wondering if anyone has managed to record on double layer (8.5gb) discs in this player (plustron DBR1300) . I wanted to find out if they will record before I buy any.
I am nearly sure that the player play double layer discs.

Thanks in advance

Charisteas

Paul Mc Gann wrote: »

At long last!! Charisteas has solved my problem---everyone take note follow the above instructions as Charisteas says without a disk and you're sorted.

Thanks a Lot Charisteas you must be some kind of teck genius.

Haha.

I'm not that much of a genius though because I still havn't figured out how to play MP4 files.

CyberWaste

Are dunnes still selling this? And can I get some basic yes or no answers please with these questions:
1. Is it multiregion?

2. Can you plug in a usb stick after putting a AVI video file on it and will it play it back on the dvd player?

3. Can it play data dvd r discs? Where you use the 4.8 or whatever it is gb's, and put files on it like a data cd.

4. Can it record off sky tv, like off your tv and burn it to a dvd?

5. Does this dvd player burn files to dvds like if theyre on a usb disk?

6. Finally, is it genuinely worth buying as ive been looking for one of these.

7. EDIT: Is the picture quality good if you have a philips hd tv? Cos when I play files on my xbox, which I cant do anymore bacause of theyre stupid divx license crap, I would set the res to optimal resoulton and it would look fine.

8. Does this play dvd's in 5.1 dolby or DTS if you use a standard dvd you buy in a shop that is in dobly?

Anyone from kilkenny know if dunnes is selling this?

ISOT

CyberWaste wrote: »

Are dunnes still selling this? And can I get some basic yes or no answers please with these questions:
1. Is it multiregion?

As far as I know yes.

2. Can you plug in a usb stick after putting a AVI video file on it and will it play it back on the dvd player?

yes and plays them very well - a lot better than a phillips model that i had to return to argos because of stuttering picture on usb playback

3. Can it play data dvd r discs? Where you use the 4.8 or whatever it is gb's, and put files on it like a data cd.
yes

4. Can it record off sky tv, like off your tv and burn it to a dvd?

yes - because i have sky plus i just copy over the odd program so i dont have it ran through the sky box like people would normally set it up.

5. Does this dvd player burn files to dvds like if theyre on a usb disk?

not sure , i dont think so as the usb port is just for playing output but i will check and let you know if it does.

6. Finally, is it genuinely worth buying as ive been looking for one of these.

i have mine for 6 months or so and have found it excellent. the picture quality is excellent ( on a normal tv) and i also can connect my canon powershot G7 camera, run a slideshow of my home movies or pics and record them all onto dvd in the original canon slideshow format. It also has a dv imput for hooking up a camcorder but i have never used this function.

7. EDIT: Is the picture quality good if you have a philips hd tv? Cos when I play files on my xbox, which I cant do anymore bacause of theyre stupid divx license crap, I would set the res to optimal resoulton and it would look fine.
dont have a hd tv put the picture quality is better than any other dvd player that i have had.

8. Does this play dvd's in 5.1 dolby or DTS if you use a standard dvd you buy in a shop that is in dobly?

sorry dont know.

Anyone from kilkenny know if dunnes is selling this?

still available in dunnes in mayo, so i would imagine they are availabe nationwide.


so i would recommend one at the price.

norbert64

Argos have this one now
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055319164

on the plus side, it's dual format
on the negative side, it's seemingly not DivX compatible.

cathymcc

Hi I purchased one of these and have had no problem...until this week. Having decorated the living room and re-connected the DVD to the TV I have been unable to get the DVD to go from standby to on. I have checked all the connections and just can't figure it out.......:o
Cathy

santry_goonshow

Charisteas wrote: »

-click the setup button on the remote
-scroll down to the second option (playback)
-scroll down to digital audio output and change it to raw
-scroll down to analog audio output and change it to 2ch

But you can only perform these steps when there is no dvd in the machine (i think).

Hey, thanks. This just worked for me but the subtitles will not go so a bit annoying.

Nonie

fergie13 wrote: »

bought the plustron last week. done automatic scan but will only pick up 4 stations channel 4, E4,living and discovery, will find all channels on manual search but cannot store them as automatic scan only found 4 slots, tried auto scan from another house in case signal was bad still the same. tried everything i could think of but no joy, brought plustron back got a new one exact same problem. any help very much appreciated

I have the same problem and would also appreciate some help

suppafly

this isn't the appropriate forum. if you ask over in the Audio/visual or home entertainment forums u'll get the help you want

Dec4

Dunnes obviously clearing these out. Now reduced to half price. Was €108 (don't ask me when they increased the price!) Now €54.
Decided it might be worth that!

Jimdagym

Dec4 wrote: »

Dunnes obviously clearing these out. Now reduced to half price. Was €108 (don't ask me when they increased the price!) Now €54.
Decided it might be worth that!

Where did you see it for that price?

Dec4

Where did you see it for that price?

Dunnes Newbridge - had about 6 or 7 on shelf

Nonie

I bought one of these but they are only good for playback. I've scanned many times and I can only recieve 4 stations so they are no good for recording

bmaxi

Nonie wrote: »

I bought one of these but they are only good for playback. I've scanned many times and I can only recieve 4 stations so they are no good for recording

I've been recording from satellite for more than a year now with no major problems. Have you got it set up properly i.e. connected with scart and sourced to scart?

Nonie

I thought I had but if you have been recording without any bother maybe I,m doing something wrong .Thank you for the reply
Kind regards Nonie

norbert64

most of these ''value'' recorders are more suited for a scart set up, lol.

Mind you, another option perhaps.

Goodmans DVD Recorder - Dual Format - No DivX - Powercity - €60 or €55 online.
http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-17-VDR319

Nonie

OK thank you

Jimdagym

Dec4 wrote: »

Dunnes Newbridge - had about 6 or 7 on shelf

Was hoping for somewhere closer.:p Thanks though.