Can you rip the files from the compUSA onto a PC?

Ignore that stupid "preferred disc list". That thing is worthless. It gives "brand names" of all things, whoever wrote it should be shot with a bean bag gun.

CompUSA is garbage media. Just use any number of good discs.

Let me know what kind of media you need/want to use, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, etc, and I'll tell you of a good disc to run with. I own two LiteOn machines, and I have zero problems because I'm using good media.

What I use right now:
Shown as "Brand (MEDIA ID)"
DVD+R = Verbatim (MCC), Maxell (RICOH or MAXELL), Sony (YUDENT)
DVD+RW = Fuji (RICOH), Sony (SONY)
DVD-R = Verbatim (MCC), Maxell (MXL), Sony (SONY)
DVD-RW = Fuji (MCC), Sony (SONY), TDK (TDK)

MEDIA ID is important. I keep track of things, so if you want a certain disc type, e-mail me for some solid advice on what to get. Usually just "made in Japan" on the package will give away what the quality is.

The problem with not being able to read COMPUSA discs is the burns are bad, you wasted time most likely.

CompUSA is the only brand I had on hand that would burn in the LiteOn - it rejected Verbatim, Fuji, and Maxells from Japan. The TY02 discs I ordered haven't arrived yet - if they don't work in the unit, or don't duplicate in my duplicator, I think I may have to give up on this unit. If I do, I've certainly wasted some time, but at least I've identified the right episodes to use in making my 7 Brides for 7 Brothers set, and the fact that I have to have another recorder.

Ahmed - I suppose you could rip the files from the CompUSA discs to a PC, but I don't have the ability to do that with my laptop.

Open u the lid to the LiteOn record (unscrew it like a VCR, take the top off) and see what brand/model of burner is inside. We can use that data to refer to post over at cdfreaks.com where they dig into what drives work best with which discs.

You may also want to look into firmware for the unit, if there's any new firmware for it. Good discs not working on a machine is always an issue of (1) dirty burner, (2) dead burner, or (3) bad/old firmware. I'd bet on the 1st or the 3rd as your problem.

You may also just have a dud recorder. Not that the model/line/company is bad, but rather your single unit was a run of bad luck. I'm super happy with my 5001 and 5104 LiteOn units, as well as the JVC one. The Centrios and Panasonics I own also have their advantages.

Thanks for the advice. First thing I did was check the firmware against the web site, and read the reviews at vcdhelp - this can be a problematic unit for performance, but so far it's been good in that respect, so it looks like the latest firmware update - present on the unit - has stabilized a lot of the earlier issues.

Well, just got the batch of TY02 discs, and so far, it's not looking good. The first TY02 burned halfway, and the LiteOn decided it was full after 57 minutes at SP. The disc is clearly only half full. The other disc brands rejected on the "reading disc" stage, so this is progress, of a sort. And those other brands are definitely not on the preferred list, so I'm not concerned - yet. So far, the only brand to burn all the way through is the CompUSA brand, and those discs have not been copyable.

I'm not cracking this thing open and breaking the warranty - if this batch of discs doesn't work, I'm returning the unit for a refund. I haven't had it quite 30 days. I'll go for a unit with a broader range of compatible disc brands. :>

Opening the machine will not void the warranty. The LiteOn units should not have a sticker on it that would void it. You should be ablt to open it up with no problems. The top is just a lid, there is nothing connected to it inside.

Go ahead and ignore those "preferred" lists. They are written due to bribes and technically retarded most of the time. I have seen lists that say "don't buy this brand" and "buy this brand" but the discs are made by the same manufacturer.

I've already requested the RMA. The TY02 discs are consistently failing at 50%. Verbatim, Fuji and Japanese-manufactured Maxell won't even load. I'm not wasting any more time on it. I've given it 2 weeks. There's enough other stuff about this unit that I don't really like - like really convoluted editing that other users complain lock the unit up, the fact I can't build a play list to copy all contents of a disc at once, the fact that the manufacturer will not respond to individual requests for support (they specifically state that on their web site), etc. - that I'm not interested in trying anything more with it. I'll just add this to the list of brands I won't touch in future.

I'm now seriously considering the Pioneer 533. The 633 has pretty some bad reviews due to the TV Guide stuff that apparently cannot be turned off on that model, where it can on the 533.

What kind of editing options does it have, I forgot if I checked out this one.

Brent

I've just been looking through the manual on Pioneer's web site - it looks like the editing capabilities are very nice indeed. The one thing I did like about the LiteON was the ability to combine programs, but the editing was very imprecise - you could select a point to split, and find the marker was actually a second or two behind where you were, and the program didn't accurately split. Apparently with this unit, you have the option of setting it to frame-precise editing (which is what I'm used to), or within .5 second (which is still better than the LiteOn). Which mode you choose apparently affects how you can copy the material later (high speed or real-time). This unit also allows recording of disc images, which could be very helpful.

I don't know, it's looking like the best option for me. I haven't seen a good example of the disc menu, though - one of the things I hated about the LiteON was all the extraneous and meaningless information that was stored with the thumbnail and title - no one else ever needs to know what time and date the program was recorded, but there was no way to turn that off. Too much screen real estate taken up with useless detail. Made the menu very crowded and ugly. I definitely prefer my simple - yet under complete control - Panasonic text menus to that.

Just wanted to bump this up theres a bit of good info here :)

Brent