[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by DVtyro

I have a Panasonic DMR-ES35V (link to Youtube video) - a VHS+DVD recorder with built-in time base corrector (TBC). I haven't used its DVD Recorder part, I just only as a makeshift TBC for digitizing VHS tapes.

I have had three VHS-DVD recorders, all of which have failed apparently in the same way - the DVD recording quit working. I have heard that failure of the laser recording diode after a time was common.

EDit: depending on the unit, it might report that the media was bad, but testing discs on a computer optical drive disproved that.