Pioneer DVR-310 DVD Recorder

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Pioneer DVR-310

Write
~~CDR~~
~~CDRW~~
DVD-R
DVD-RW
~~DVD-R DL~~
~~DVD+R~~
~~DVD+RW~~
~~DVD+RDL~~
~~DVD-RAM~~

Read*

CDR
CDRW
DVD-R
DVD-RW
DVD-R DL?
~~DVD+R~~
~~DVD+RW~~
~~DVD+R DL~~
DVD-RAM?

*based on user reports.

Desktop, Firewire

$600

8.2/10
14 votes
Read 18
comments
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DVD Player features:
Video formats:
JPG
Audio formats:
MP3 WMA
Other features:

Visit manufacturer's site
Region code free hack

DVD Media comments for this DVD Recorder (click on the link to read the comments):
1 Fujifilm 2xDVD-RW (JVC_VictorW7) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Imation 4xDVD-RW (OPTODISCW004) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 Laser 2xDVD-RW (OPTODISCW002) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
1 Memorex 1xDVD-RW (ProdiscDVDRW) comments, 0 good, 0 mixed, 1 poor.
1 Radius 2xDVD-R (OPTODISCK001) comments, 1 good, 0 mixed, 0 poor.
Post your DVD Media comments here

Comments

18 comments, Showing 1 to 18 comments

Rob from Canada reported January 23, 2006:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR CDRW	DVD-R DVD-RW DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3 WMA CVD?	over 1 year	9 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
I love this DVD recorder...it's an oldie but a goodie !! The only problem I seem to be having is not being able to get the clock to auto set ...I set it to the local PBS channel which has a time signal, but the auto clock process outcome is always - "Unable to Set Clock" ? As soon as the recorder know it cannot auto set the clock, it will not "hold" the Channel selected for timeset ? Anyone know how I can get the autoclock set to work on this recorder ? I know you can set the clock manually, however, it's always nice to know your timer recording clock is set precisely. I have even tried to reset the machine and start the setup process all over and that doesn't help. Anyone run into this problem and what was your workaround for it ? Despite this minor little flaw....this is an outstanding recorder with loads of nice features for a reasonable price. I really like the remote...very easy to use and big buttons...although the channel up/down buttons could have been made a bit bigger

Kurt from United States reported March 23, 2005:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	60 days	3 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
This recorder is VERY finicky as to what media you use. I got 1.5 good burns out of a 10-pack of Sony DVD-RW media. Maxell DVD-RW seems to work OK. Fuji-Film DVD-RW works to varying degress. I can't remember all the brands I've used, but I would recommend just using the Maxell and not have to worry about making coasters with the others. I have had very simmilar problems to a previous reviewers when using the Sony media with the "repairing disc" messages, partial burns, splitting one title into 5 and skipping parts in the middle... and so forth. I haven't tried the following workaround with the Sony media because I threw it all out by the time I thought to try this, but it seemed to work with Fuji-Film DVD-RW. A pain in the ass, but it's better than not being able to use the recorder or throwing discs out. If you have a computer DVD-RW burner, burn an entire disc worth of whatever you want onto a blank disc. Then do a complete (not quick) erase of your entire disc. I use a Plexor PX-716A DVD burner and Nero 6 Ultra Edition (current updates). btw... apparently DVD-RW can hold slightly more data than a DVD+RW as I found out when I tried to convert a disc for my DVD player that can play DVD+ discs but not DVD- discs. So if you think you are going to completely fill up a DVD-RW and transfer it to DVD+RW, you may get a message saying that it won't fit. I figured out a workaround for this as well, thanks to the the Pioneer's hightly adjustable quality settings. Adjust the quality settings to 1 hr 10 minutes and only record one hour. The difference in quality is indistinguishable. A pain in the butt for transfering something from a TiVo to DVD because if you don't want to be babysitting the transfer, you have to set the DVD recorder timer to record for an hour and then hit play on the TiVo as soon as the timer starts recording. If anybody knows of a OTR (one touch recording) feature for this recorder, please let me know. (OTR: starts recording right away and the length of time it records depends on how many times you press the OTR button... say, 15 minutes each press of the button)

Pezza from Australia reported December 23, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR CDRW	DVD-R DVD-RW DVD-R DL?	~~DVD+R~~ ~~DVD+RW~~ ~~DVD+R DL~~	VCD XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3 CVD?	5 days	8 of 10
~~DVD-RAM~~
Comments:
Take the time to read the manual and understand how,why and what it does. A great device to back-up MiniDV. VBR and CBR work well. I use DV input all the time from my camera and PC NLE. PC does not read the DV ouput. Solid, quiet unit that does not run hot burn after burn. PS-need hack for "all region" play ability.

pabloantoine from United States reported September 07, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	8 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
A machine with versatile recording quality. By far for me the most important feature is the DV in AND out, which is a premium feature. Very few DVD recorders have DV out, although many have DV in. Playlist editing totally useless, same as the tuner feature, as long as you have cable box and premium channels are scrambled -you'll have to record everything through the cable box anyway. The unit seems totally obedient to the copy-protection paranoia, prepared even for the broadcast flag, although that is not even used yet and it will probably become a nuissance with the HDTV programs, for which this unit doesn't hold any features. Still, in his generosity Pioneer will allow you to record flagged programs, but only in VR mode, unfinalized (!?). I told you - paranoia. The main problem DVD dreamers will encounter with this unit is the fact that you cannot transform a Chapter into a Title. If you record a 2hr movie and hope you will have at the end of the recording a neat DVD with at least a rudimentary menu and several visible frames in the storyline to jump to - forget it. The ugly reality is that you will have a DVD with one (1) single frame (from the start) and nothing else. Ah, you will be able to jump blindly over chapters, which are split evenly at 10 or 15 mins, to who knows what point in the story- but that's a feature of your remote and the chapters are not visible in the Video Mode menus. The sad reality is that these film-illiterate designers gave us a recorder that will send us back to our PCs to reedit our DVD (made best in VR mode) and concoct a decent, usable menu, with a frame for each chapter. But that's another story and it seems that the stupidity of this title/chapter confusion is not only a Pioneer ilness. A great, unfinished machine. Any hacks?

Bill, the Broadcast Engineer from United States reported May 31, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	9 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
Recording DVDs is more like recording CDs than recording VHS tapes, and the Pioneer DVR 210/310 simplifies the process as much as possible. The setup/settings menus are well thought out, the record quality varies* depending upon the mode selected, and the playback quality is excellent. The unit is attractive, the controls are well laid out, and the features are numerous. The Pioneer DVR 210/310 has a built in NTSC tuner, VHF/UHF antenna in/out, 3 composite/S-video inputs, 1 Firewire input, 2 composite/S-video outputs, component output, optical digital audio out, and control in (for other Pioneer products). There are nine menu backgrounds to choose from, and an AUTO RECORD mode (which activates the recorder whenever video is detected from an external device such as a satellite receiver). Using a DVD-RW in the VR mode “unlocks” some desirable features such as chase play, simultaneous record and playback, and video editing. You can also assign precise chapters in the VR mode. (In the regular VIDEO mode, chapters are assigned every ten minutes or, optionally, not at all.) Unfortunately, most DVD players can’t playback VR mode discs. In summary, the Pioneer DVR 210/310 is pure joy to own! Costco has the machine reasonably priced at $300. So go get one before they’re gone! *The Pioneer DVR 210/310 offers four basic record modes (FINE, SP, LP, EP) and 32 manual settings to “fine tune” your recordings (1hr – 6hrs per DVD, variable bit rate). The FINE mode is 720x480 @ 10.08 Mbps (+/- local broadcast standards). The SP mode is 720x480 @ 5.19 Mbps (+/- standard DVD quality). The LP mode is 320x480 @ 2.59 Mbps (+/- SVCD quality), and there is a noticeable drop in picture quality. The EP mode is 320x240 @ 1.73 Mbps (+/- VCD quality), and there another noticeable drop in picture quality. (Whenever possible, I suggest using the manual record mode to squeeze in those extra bit rates.) The audio is recorded in 2 Channel Dolby AC3, except for the FINE mode, which is 16-bit LPCM (uncompressed), unfortunately there is no MPEG audio record option (which is occasionally useful).

Steve from United States reported May 25, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	7 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
I bought the DVR 210-S (same as the DVR 310-S) from COSTCO 2-weeks ago for $310.00. I love it except that my Dell 8100 laptop DVD will not play recordings on DVD-RWs (Fuji or Memorex) even when finalized in video mode. My Panasonic DVD players will play the discs and they also play on my TDK external DVD writer connected to the Dell laptop (firewire). Not a big deal since I don't routinely use my laptop to watch movies or TV shows recorded to DVD-RW. Great price on a piece of equipment that I have wanted for some time. I routinely use the DVR 310-S to record shows from my satellite dish to replay later on a different room TV (mostly for the kids). I have a DVR hard drive recorder in our family room, but don't like to move it from room to room--DVD-RW is the answer and a good replacement for what we used to do with good old low quality video cassettes.

Rose from United States reported April 20, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	8 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
I received the Pioneer DVR-310s as a Christmas gift. After being unsuccessful at recording to DVD any footage from input 1, 2 or 3. My original assumption is that I was using bad quality media. After a few months and 7 different brands of media I finally called Customer Support and they told to send it in for warranty repair. Here are some of the errors I was getting: At any point during a recording the recording stops and I get a message saying repairing disk and either the recording continues but is missing part of the footage or the recorder cannot repair the disc and stops the process. If I try to salvage a disk by deleting a title that did not record properly, the finalizing will not complete or will not be accessible from the menu (Grayed out). If it appears that I have a successful burn with a DVD-RW, when I try to copy (using my computer’s DVR105) to a DVD-R to play on my old DVD player, I get a disc error. (Cyclical redundancy error during copy to HD) I now have it back and happy to say it is working great! No more coasters. The packing slip said that all connections were checked and that the internal software was updated. I’m posting this because during that time, I was unable to find posting describing similar problems. Pioneer customer support was excellent and I am now happy with the dvr-310. TDK 2X DV-R are working great.

Douglas Anderson from United States reported April 10, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	8 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
For the price you cannot complain! I have been using for one month now with no issues. While there have been complaints about washed out color, I have been able to adjust to compensate using built in adjustments. I do feel that the white gain is a bit high though (I have AGC turned off).

Steve from Australia reported April 02, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	No rating
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
I have had nothing but problems with this machine Any input I have used has bad quality the color out looks pastel Yes I have played with all the settings. I have many dvd-r that skipped when played I cannot tape anything from the tuner as the quality is bad. Afriend with a sony can record 6 hours in better quality than I can one hour. I will be taking this back hopefully it is just faulty. Also the menu system is crap as the menu only comes up if I press menu on the remote other wise the disc won't start playing until play is pressed

Rub from United States reported March 17, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	No rating
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
I have had this Recorder for about 2 months now. $329.00 at Costco for the DVR-210-S. So far not a single problem. I have recorded quite a few things from my ReplayTV and a couple from VCR and all has gone perfect. I have used Fuji DVD-R's - Compusa DVD-R's and Fuji DVD-RW and all has worked well.

zagortenej from Canada reported March 03, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	10 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
Got mine at eBay for a bit over $200 USD (210-s, identical to 310-s) in February 2004. So far it is working flawlessly and I'm really happy with it. I especially like the manual recording mode which lets you maximize recording quality for a given length of a program. Because manual recording mode uses VBR encoding, depending on the type of material being recorded, you usually get about 5-6 min. extra recording time (on one occasion I had it as high as 12 min.) which, in practical terms, enables you to chose a bit shorter recording time and get even greater quality. So far I've been using my recorder primarily to back up my old VHS tapes and the results are superb. I use only Ritek DVD-R media and, needless to say, Pioneer recorder likes them very much (no unsuccessful burning so far). Overall, this is a great unit made even greater by the extremely low price you can get it at these days.

rr6966 from United States reported February 23, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	9 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
Bought the 210 at costco as well for $349.00 in December. I love this unit, it works well beyond expectations. I have burned probably 50 DVD's and had absolutely no problems.

Rub88 from United States reported February 23, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	10 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
I have the 210 from Costco for $329 So far not a single problem! I have burned about 5 DVD-r disk and only "played around" with the dvd-rw. I LOVE IT!

bobinga from United States reported February 19, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	8 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
Same as DVR 210 also. No hard drive, 510 has the hard drive. I love mine thus far, I do wish it had hard drive. I am no seeing benefits of DVDR/HD Recorders. I am even pleased with the extended play recording. VCR PLUS system works without a flaw. I would recommend wrapping your remote in Saran/Cling type of wrap. This will prevent you from rubbing off the letters and Characters on remote. Does not effect use. If it has no lettering the remote will be useless to you.

Ken from United States reported February 19, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	10 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
I had two Panasonics, and a Philips, that both shut down randomly during recording. I had two Apex's that would not power on after one week. The Pioneer works perfectly, 100% of the time, with any brand disk. The unit responds instantly to the remote. The encode quality is excellent, and very good in the longer time modes too. Plus, the unit looks nice. I've done about 50 recordings and have yet to see an error or anomaly of any kind. WHEW, this is refreshing! The 310 has some great features, like chase play (watch something from the beginning while you continue to record), and manual record modes, which let you pick the exact time you need to fill a DVD (like, if you want to fill a disc with 3 50-minute shows). It also has all the standard record modes and other features you'd expect. It has some nice editing (i.e. to let you take out commercials, etc) features for VR mode discs (I don't use these generally, as editing is easier on the PC, but for those that don't have a PC, it's a nice feature). For Video mode discs, it lets you pick the menu & title system you like, rather than put some nasty, stock menu up. So if you're tired of checking your recordings the next day, only to find a blank disc, I Highly recommend this recorder for those looking for a reliable unit. I don't know what it is with Pioneer, because it's not an expensive brand, but every Pioneer product I have has, and still is, performing flawlessly. No, I don't work for Pioneer, or have stock in them.

noa krauss from United States reported February 17, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR CDRW	DVD-R DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	8 of 10
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
$100 MIR if purchased from a authorized pioneer reseller.

Steve D from United States reported January 25, 2004:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R DVD-RW DVD-R DL?	~~DVD+R~~ DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	No rating
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
Player works fine but I couldn't record with the Memorex DVD+R 4x. It kept ejecting the disc.

stighenning from Other reported November 30, 2003:
Read features:						Time used:	Rating:
CDR? CDRW?	DVD-R? DVD-RW? DVD-R DL?	DVD+R? DVD+RW? DVD+R DL?	VCD? XVCD? XSVCD?	SVCD? SVCDSubs? SVCDTracks?	MP3? CVD?	N/A	No rating
DVD-RAM?
Comments:
Is the same modell as; DVR-3100-S DVR-3100 Looks like a great player to me! Looking for info on how to modify - to enable HDD. Sold both; standard and multiregional.

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Original Equipment Manufacturer.

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The manufacturer of the main chipset the DVD writer/recorder is based on.

Write support / Read support
DVD-R = Works
~~DVD-R~~ = Is not supported
DVD-R? = Not tested

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FireWire = Computer desktop DVD Writer with IEEE 1394/FireWire/i.Link connection (some standalone desktop dvd recorder supports this also but then it is usually to connect your DV camera to the recorder)

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