<p>Short synopsis of a frustrating experience:</p>
<p>Dad uses mini-DVD camcorder to take images of three events on two discs. Plays back all three events on both discs multiple times. Tries to show me said events and one disc is blank, the other has one of the two events but not the other. Discs in use are all DVD-R so, in theory, they cannot be recorded over. I purchased and ran downloadable data recovery software (IsoBuster) which confirms the discs are blank. What the heck??? How is this possible???</p>
<p>I am not familiar with mini DVD cameras, but is it possible that the videos are stored in the camera’s memory before they are written to DVD? If so, it is possible the videos were never saved to DVD.</p>
<p>my husband burns CD’s to play in the car… they deteriorate over time, and sometimes there’s nothing there when you play it.
I also seem to remember that we once bought a bunch of bad discs.</p>
<p>Some devices require the discs to be “finalized” for playback on other devices; if the disc has not been properly “finalized”, the data may become invisible. We have a HD/DVD recorder and a regular DVD player, and if I don’t “finalize” the recorded DVD, it will appear as empty in the regular player. Could it be the case with the empty disc?</p>
<p>Googling the subject reveals that there are plenty of services that offer data recovery, like this one, [mini</a> DVD Recovery Q&A | miniDVD.org](<a href=“http://www.minidvdrepair.com/faq/]mini”>http://www.minidvdrepair.com/faq/) but I’m NOT FAMILIAR with them and therefore cannot endorse them. So proceed at your own discretion.</p>
<p>It could be the disc’s directory is toasted but the data is still there. A basic issue with any disc is that reading it back relies on a couple of directory structures that tell it what to play, where things are, what sectors to avoid, etc. These can get bleeped up. Odds are greater this happened then that the disc itself got hosed. </p>
<p>I suggest trying to mount the disc without it playing so you can look at the data on it. For example, you can take a dvd, look at the data, find the actual movie files and copy them to a computer. There are a bunch of programs - like handbrake - which let you rip stuff from discs. You may also be able to mount the thing and look at it without any special program at all. </p>
<p>I’d also suggest trying the things out in another machine. If they’re in dvd player readable form, try one or two. They may play. You never know. But you’ll still want to get your data off the discs.</p>
<p>Handbrake also sees the dvd as a blank disc to be formatted. BunsenBurner, that’s what we thought (finalizing), but then why would some data show up initially and not other data on the one disc? The recovery service charges $100/disc! Seems more sensible to buy a new camera. </p>
<p>Incidentally, the event that I did witness playback of (on the camcorder) was missing the next time he tried to play it back. We have since recorded more on one of the discs and that video remains accessible two days later. Also, the camera is six months old and has recorded for MAYBE two hours tops.</p>
<p>At this point we plan to write Sony and beg them to take it back. The very ironic truth of this situation is that every product we have applied to viewing the data has been Sony: The camera, the discs, the computer, the dvd player, the tv. We are a family that loyally buys Sony products and we are very disappointed.</p>
<p>As always, thank you all very much for your consideration of the situation and your thoughtful input.</p>
<p>If you get a new camcorder, and still want a Sony, I’ve had very good luck with one of the Handycams with a built-in hard drive. You just transfer the files to your computer, and then burn disks if you want.</p>
<p>I second Hunt. I would not get anything that records to a tape or any kind of disc. DD has a Hi-Def Sony camcorder with a hard drive, and loves it. I like the fact that there are no removable media to mess with, but others prefer cameras that record directly to memory sticks (their point is that hard drive has moving parts, however, Sony’s hard drives have a special shock-resistant design).</p>
<p>I think the hard drive Sony will also take a memory stick. I just upgraded to a hi-def Handycam, and haven’t even tried it out yet. The old one worked very well.</p>