Can someone tell me if it is just me or is this a general problem with this DVD recorder. If I have a brand new + RW DVD disc and put in the recorder it formats the disc and allows me to record onto it. If however at a later date I take that same disc and copy some other data or unprotected movie on it using the computer then place it back in the recorder, it does not allow me to erase the data to format. Other brand machines do this, not sure why Sony doesn't.

More importantly if I erase the disc on my computer (with full erase) and put it in the Sony recorder it says disc error and does not allow me to erase it or format it, as all the tabs or buttons for these options being greyed out. - RW is never a problem because it allows you to format the disc to VR or video thereby erasing any data. It only happens with + RW. Anyone else have the same problem?

Sony, although it supports +RW, favors -RW, which is why you can only use -RW for the VR mode. This goes all the way back, for Sony to the RDR-GX7, and continues to this day with the 300, 500 and 900 models.

As for formatting, standalones do not accept blank discs that were formatted or erased elsewhere, like on a PC. This includes the Phillips recorders. Standalones want to format and erase their own discs, and if consumers "tinker" with formatting or erasing discs on a PC, standalones reject the formatting. At least Phillips allows you to "reformat" a "PC-reformatted" disc, but Sony doesn't know what to do, so it just gives you an error or refuses to let you do anything with the disc. Perhaps this is due to the Sony's operating system, which may well be Linux-based (who knows for sure though?).

In addition, the Sony's "dirty disc" error doesn't usually really mean the disc is dirty. You can take the same disc to a PC and it still works. In short, the Sonys are a picky lot when it comes to playing and recording, and still-useable discs are often proclaimed as bad, or as Sony says, "dirty."

So, perhaps the lesson to users here is: Don't reformat or erase your standalone discs on a PC; use the standalone's utilities to reformat or erase. This is not in any of the instruction books, but it should be.

Can someone please advise or give their views on dubbing from recorded videos from the hardrive to dvd disc. This is regarding the SONY RDR-HX900 but can be applicable to all standalone dvd recorders that do the same thing.

If a show is recorded to the hardrive in say SP quality then dubbed to a dvd disc in SP mode as well, is the final quality on disc SP as per the orignal source or SP of SP quality (ie a lower quality then the orignal SP)? If it is SP of SP quality is there a noticeable difference? What about HQ+ (exclusive to Sony which is suppose to be higher quality than dvd quality and can only be recorded on to hardrive)? if you record to hardrive in HQ+ and then dubb to disc in HQ mode is the result on disc HQ quality.

How can I maximise my quality by the dubbing process in trying to retain the same quality as the hardrive (other than HQ+) to disc?