Unplugging the device for several minutes has been done. Many times. I need to do it three times before it lets me open the door. I tried changing media brands, always with the same effect. I am pretty sure the thing is kaput, but I posted here hoping to hear of a software update unknown to me before buying a new recorder. Thanks.

Hi - Have a Panasonic stand-alone DVD recorder, model DMR-HS2 (three years old). Manual says says machine will record on DVD-R, 4.7GB & DVD-RAM 4.7GB, V2.0. So far, have used only Panasonic media (OK, it's what was recommended in the manual, surprise, surprise). No problems, but would be interested in knowing what other DVD-R brands have been used successfully with this model. Saw TDK mentioned in another thread? Maybe Maxell? If it makes any difference, I will want to finalize the DVDs for playback in this unit as well as other DVD players. TIA

I'm no expert on this, but I have fiddled around with my own home entertainment components for several years now. Are all your uses video-based? I mean, will you always have the TV on? If so, that might be a good distribution device - everything into the TV (assuming it has enough inputs). Are you using a separate sound system, or using the TV's built-in amps? For my home system, I was (and am) very concerned with high quality sound, so I built my system around a Yamaha surround sound amp with many more inputs than I need. The cable box (or satellite box if that's what you have) goes into it, and from it HDMI to the TV. The sound comes from the cable box to the Yamaha (and then to the speakers), so it bypasses the poor quality amps in the TV. I connect my Apple TV, CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, etc all through the Yamaha. I have a separate antenna feed directly to the TV and pipe the sound connection from the TV audio out to the Yamaha, so I get good sound when I am not using cable. If you want to use the system without the TV (such as listening to CDs, audio from your computer or Apple TV, or radio), then you will need a sound system similar to my Yamaha, so you don't have to have the TV on all the time. You have a lot of flexibility, so decide what's best for you. I hope my observations help you.

To each his/her own...but I wouldn’t bother. You can decide for yourself after reading this. I was given a JVC DVD Recorder in 2010 and used it successfully for approx 7 years. During the 8th year I began to experience many recording failures. My opinion is that the machine was responsible for some...but not all...of the failures. I particularly wanted to record movies from TCM. After several failures, I began to understand that my cable company had begun to prevent recording of certain channels. This was a deal-breaker for me. When the machine would no longer play discs I had previously recorded, I threw it away. I made an attempt to buy another DVD Recorder, but none of the ones I could find then had a built-in tuner like mine did. I would’ve had to find a third-party tuner to even attempt to make them work. Even if you do find something that you think will work for you, I advise that you check out possible copy-protection on whatever source/channel you plan to record from. Considering that you want to record GoT, I will be very surprised if you are able to do it. Please let me know if I’m wrong.