New to the forum. This is my first post.
1. Why would I create a playlist on my DVD? Will that make it look better after I finalize it?

2. As to finalizing: Will that provide me with a movie selection screen if there is more than one movie on the DVD?

3. My Kodak digital camera can also create movies. I have all the .mov files on my PC. I have tried to create a nice looking main menu on my PC DVD creation software without success. Can I do something with it on my Sony DVD recorder? Like produce a playlist where each separate film is listed?

4. And finally, how do you distinguish between the different recording modes, like VR mode or Video mode?

Thanks in advance...

I just bought this model about a week ago. This is my first DVD recorder but In case you're still looking for answers to your questions, I'll take a shot at it.

Some functions, like the programmable playlist, only work with certain kinds of discs or when using modes that will only work on this player. However, there is a standard menu on each DVD you create that with separate titles for each movie or item you record on the disc. It's not editable except for giving the title the name you want. The picture is created from the first frame of the item. This seems a little pointless since in most cases the first frame will be the black before the fade-in.

The VR and Video modes have to do with making the disc playable on only on this unit or on any DVD player. You can do some editing in VR mode that you can't do in Video mode, but the discs may not work in another player. I've found using DVD+R discs seem to work best for creating stard type DVDs that play on other players. This format has no extra options and is formatted automatically when a DVD+R disc is inserted.

I have a few questions of my own about the Sony RDR-VX530.

It's the first DVD recorder I've used except for burning discs on my computer. It's pretty easy to use but there are some things about it that bug me and I thought someone here might be able to help me out.

A lot of the VHS tapes I an transferring contain movies and TV shows which I recorded years ago. I always carefully cut out the commercials to make the shows as seamless as possible. For some reason, when the DVD recorder sees these edits, even though they are very clean, it pauses the tape then starts recording again creating a new title on the disc where each commercial break was cut out. Instead of having one continuous hour long program, it chops the recording up into five or six separate short programs. Really irritating. Anyone know if there is any way around this?