Hello All,
First, if this is not the correct area for this post please tell me accordingly. If moved to another area please tell me where. Thanks!!!
I have a Toshiba DVD Video Recorder D-R2. The model No. located on the back of the unit says “D-R2SU”. Not sure where the SU comes from??? The DVD burner inside this unit is model SD-W3002. Some of the information I have come across on the internet suggest it’s manufactured by Samsung. Yet, a search on the Samsung website did not reveal anything.
I have however come across a URL where one gentleman details how he swapped out burners on his Toshiba RD-XS32 HDD-DVD Recorder. This model is essentially just like my unit except it has a hard drive inside, is set to region 2 and is 220 volts. Other than that we have identical looking machines. This person posted his instructions at:
http://www.esbuilder.com/rdxs32/rdxs32-replace-dvd.htm
As can be seen in this example, his burner is being swapped out with the LG GSA-H10N DVD burner. At the conclusion of these instructions in STEP 5 it is said:
"As pointed out on the AVS forums this drive won’t play unfinalized disks. For me this isn’t an issue as I collate what I want to burn in advance and then create and finalise the disk in one go. If playing unfinalised disks is important to you the suggested alternative drive is the HP DVD840 (which is actually an LG GSA-H20L).
As mentioned by Eric Wilson (Memphis) the replacement drive won’t play audio CDs. Thanks Eric."
I purchased the “GSA-H20L”, NOT because watching unfinalized disks was important to me but rather because it was the only unit between the two described in the instructions that I could find. In any case, my unit is described as being a Hitachi/LG brand. It is stamped as being manufactured in January of 2007. The model is stated as being GSA-H20L.
Please refer to attached pics.
On the burner of my GSA-H20L the firmware version is stamped as well. It is S853. I can go into setup on my DVD recorder and see this number as well so it’s confirmed. The Toshiba firmware for my broken burner model SD-W3002 has two releases. These being DVD 1314 and DVD 1416. The one I was using was 1314.
Firmware updates for my D-R2 with original burner can be found at:
My unit can also be found by visiting:
and typing in the correct model number.
I have removed the broken SD-W3002 burner and replaced it with the GSA-H20L. No firmware updates were applied. As it stands, the GSA-H20L can play region 1 DVD’s. When a region 2 PAL DVD is inserted The following statement comes on the television screen: “This is a PAL Disk. It cannot be played on this set”. I can also play store bought MUSIC CD’s in this recorder as well!!! Thus, leading me to believe that the statement above “As mentioned by Eric Wilson (Memphis) the replacement drive won’t play audio CDs”, is refering rather to the LG GSA-H10N and NOT the GSA-H20L which I used in my replacement.
Here is what I need help with. When I insert a blank TDK, HP, Maxwell or Verbatim DVD-R disk into my DVD recorder I get the following message:
“A blank DVD-R is loaded.”
However, when I try to record a television program I get:
“Recording failed. DVD disk might be dirty”
QUESTION:
- Should I try to upgrade my DVD burner (GSA-H20L) with firmware provided by HP for the model HP DVD 840? If so, how do I know which version to use? I visited"
http://h20180.www2.hp.com/apps/Lookup?h_lang=en&h_cc=us&c … mit=Go+%BB
And 4 different versions exist.
-
Or should I try to load the Toshiba firmware onto my GSA-H20L?
-
Or should I use LG’s firmware and which one?
Would anyone happen to have any good strong, solid advice to offer???
Thank You very much.
But the hardware must be identical, not only similar.