My dvd recorder always says "disc is not recordable" how can I fix this problem ?

If its an older recorder it could be the usual problem of a greasy center-disc =
95% OF THE TIMES I could fix a problem like this was by cleaning with rubbing alcohol the rubber ring on the little rotating disc in the center of the drive mechanism. !!!! Because users always stick their index finger into the hole of all the CD'S for inserting a disc into the tray that a tiny amount of grease gets deposited onto the little rotation disc which touches the center of any inserted disc at about half an inch from its center hole. (underneath) When its greasy the discs slide and the inserted discs speed stays uneven and slow.
You must open the drivebox ( after unplugging the power-cable) to see and clean it.
Be careful to not look at it with power "on" because the laser will make you go blind (danger!!!!!!!
I heavily use a Toshiba DVD recorder since 12 years and it is my most reliable and most versatile recorder, while my brand new Sony recorder lasted only 2 years - Others as well had problems with finalizing etc. but in general the cleaning of the little center-disc that pushes from underneath against an inserted DVD to make it spin helps the most.

I had mine for 2 years and within the first 12 months the tray would not always pop out when I wanted it to. Then finally the machine would not recognise the disc type. Its in getting fixed but although the dvd drive and associated pcb have been replaced the guy says it still can't recognise the dvd disc type. Still trying to work it out.

VR mode or Video Recording mode is a feature on stand-alone consumer and computer DVD recorders that allows video recording and editing on a DVD rewriteable disc.
In VR mode, users can create and rename titles for the scenes. Also, if a scene is deleted, the space allocated by it will be utilized later without the need of reformatting a disc.
If the user would like to record on the same disc again in later time, on VR mode, users may eject the disc and it will not be finalized by the recorder until it is manually initiated. For the sake of comparison, any DVD disc recorded in VR's competitor V mode (or Video mode) will be automatically finalized before it is ejected by the recorder. Disc finalization is still required if the disc formatted for VR mode will be played in another DVD player.
Currently, users can only record in VR mode with the use of DVD-RW, DVD-RAM and DVD+RW discs, (updated in 2000 to accommodate DVD-R (General)) [DVD players marked “RW compatible” and “DVD Multi” can play DVD-VR recorded discs] and on some recorders, also on hard-disk drives.
Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD also support VR mode-like features.

Accordingly when DVD recorders became a viable option the features offered by <Video Mode> were minimal - the linear structure did not allow post recording editting or non-linear playback. Thus the DVD Forum devised Video Recording (VR) mode.

Unlike DVD-Video this uses a much simplier file structure that allows non-linear modification to the recorded data. This means features such as partial erase, editting, playlists, simulataneous record/playback, mixing of different media types (JPEG, MPEG1/2/4, MP3, WMA, WMV etc) and, in future models, dual record are all possible."

That basically summerises the differences: video is a linear recording that should end up DVD-Video compatible, VR is a digital recording mode that allows HDD-like functionality on disc.

Do you need to always be able play your recorded DVD-RW discs on other DVD Players? If yes you have to use Video Mode, although some players will play VR mode discs, and you can test this easily by giving it a go.

The main differences are:

DVD Video mode on DVD-RW

Plus points: Provides good compatibility (70% plus). That’s the only plus, plain and simple.

Negative Points: Only simple linear editing possible, really just hiding a title. You can reuse space only when you delete the last title or completely reformat but lose everything in the process. No defect management. Requires finalisation to play in other DVD Players. No possibility of time-slip, i.e. recording and playing back at the same time.

DVD VR mode (Video Recording)

Plus points: Better use of recording rates by having intermediate resolutions. Defect management so reliable. Time-slip on 2 speed media if supported by the recorder, allowing record and playback at the same time. Non-linear editing. Any space freed is reused automatically (think hard-drive or Mini-Disc) and added to the remaining time.

Negative Points: Not very compatible with existing DVD Players, plain and simple.

Of course if you have a hard-drive based recorder then all the negatives are wiped out, as you use VR mode on the hard-drive which gives you all the pluses of VR mode, then record to DVD-RW in Video Mode to give you the compatibility to play the disc elsewhere.
- A recording on DVD-RAM will always use VR mode
- A recording on DVD-R will always use Video mode
- A recording on DVD-RW can be either Video or VR depending which is set before the recording is made.
- A recording to DVD+RW or DVD+R will always use Video mode
- Many HDD/DVDR combi recorders will record to the HDD in VR mode and allow you to dub (digitally) to DVD-R in Video mode.

Here is your manual:
http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/d/dvdr3545v_37/dvdr3545v_37_dfu_aen.pdf

Try cleaning the lens. A commercial lens cleaner should do the job, but if not, contact me again, and I'll try to help you clean it manually

Somtimes if you change brands of dvds will help!

ekimt,

Yes, it would not recognize any type of disc. The disc icon was always present on the display even though no disc was inserted. Also, mine went out while recording from HDD to DVD. Panasonic had mine repaired in two business days and it' s working great.

mjs8

The laser in 5101 could be defective or maybe just dirty.Try cleaning with a commercial cleaning disc,put a drop of rubbing alcohol on cleaning brushes.When this happens sometimes it will still be a usable disc but not always.Try putting in another dvd player or recorder or your PC if it plays dvds,the readers in PC are of a better quality and will often read discs that those cheap dvd readers can't.
R+ or R- discs need to finalized after recording RW+and RW- discs do not.It is always a good policy to finalze the second your recording is finished otherwise it may not play in other players or recorders.
When you make a recording in a dvd recorder an it doensn't recognize the disc it just recorded it quite often has a defective laser.This particular model has been plagued with early laser failure.

See the manual, page 8:

What are “Recording modes”? for DVD-RW
There are two recording modes available using this
recorder: VR mode and Video mode. When recording to
a DVD-R disc, recordings are always in Video mode.
DVD-RW discs can be formatted for VR mode recording
or Video mode recording.
VR mode recording
• 4 different picture quality/recording time settings available
(SP, LP, EP, XP)
• Not playable on regular DVD players
• Recordings can be extensively edited
• Total number of titles on the disc should be less than
99.
Video mode recording
• 4 different picture quality/recording time settings available
(SP, LP, EP, XP)
• Playable on regular DVD players (after finalizing)
• Limited editing features
• Total number of titles on the disc should be less than
99.
Note :
DVD-Video Format (Video mode) is a new format for
recording on DVD-R/RW discs that was approved by
the DVD Forum in 2000. You may therefore experience
problems playing recordable DVD discs in some players.
Symptoms include video artifacts, audio and/or
video dropouts and playback suddenly stopping.
Our company cannot take responsibility for problems
playing discs recorded on this VCR/DVD Recorder in
other players.

My recorder has stopped accepting NEW DVD-RW discs and ejects them.
There is no problem loading DVD-R (new or recorded)or loading previous recorded DVD-RW, initializing and re-recording
I have tried several different DVD-RW makes. Puzzling??