DVD burning problems

[jtval 0]

I'm at wits end(yea, yea ,yea. It didn't take long)
I am having problems burning DVD.s

I Must have gone through 20 dvd's some from an old batch and some from new batch. on 2 computers and they won't burn properly.

Can anyone help?

Here's what I did:

I had no problems for a while I render the project as an image file. I've burned LOTS of dvd's successfully before but all of a sudden they won't play properly on ANY DVD player/computer.

I've tried deleting the image file and rendering the project again and no fix. I tried different computers, different players and they all lock up.(in different places)

WTF????


there is no consistancy but I am tired of wasting money trying to figure this shit out. anyone got advice?


I am working on buying a new computer (for a thousand reasons) but I don't think that's the fix since I rendered the project on two computers and burned them in each.

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[sinjin 0]

this is not a solution, so sorry to get your hopes up. i have had a similar problem. i was using a certain burning program and then i switched and i cant get anything under any setting to play in a DVD player.. i am finalizing the disc and feel like i am using the settings i am supposed to. i am interested in hearing the solutions. i was using Nero 7.0 when it worked and nero 6. something when it did not.

P

dont let life pass you by

[DSE 5]

Specifics might help.

Burning tools?
Brand(s) of media?
Bitrate?
content type?

[jtval 0]

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Specifics might help.

Burning tools?
Brand(s) of media?
Bitrate?
content type?

Roxio Easy DVD creator 6
Memorex DVD-R
I've successfully burned 100's of dvd's with each.
But I am not sure what you mean by bitrate or content type?

its the same Skydive DVD I had saved as an image file. when it stopped working I deleted and rendered a new file.
I burned the dvd's at the lowest speed. 1X or 2X

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[DSE 5]

First, contrary to popular belief, burning slower is more likely to cause errors than burning at higher speeds. Data is buffered differently.
Second, if you created an image file and then altered the image file, you must rebuild a new image file and it's generally best to build the image file with a new name, don't use the old one.
Just because you've successfully used one brand of DVD for 100's of DVDs doesn't mean much. Memore x for instance, buys their bulk from a very low end manufacturer. They don't make their own. What you may have been using in the past likely isn't what you're using today or next week.
I'd guess you've got a problem with your current image file. Can you burn a clean DVD as a Roxio project vs image file?

[jtval 0]

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First, contrary to popular belief, burning slower is more likely to cause errors than burning at higher speeds. Data is buffered differently.

REALLY? damn. I'll try this (along with some other tips you've given) THanks.

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Second, if you created an image file and then altered the image file, you must rebuild a new image file and it's generally best to build the image file with a new name, don't use the old one.

Hmm, didn't think it would matter if the name was the same. I had rebuilt a new image file...but I used the same name. I'll redo the process.

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Just because you've successfully used one brand of DVD for 100's of DVDs doesn't mean much. Memore x for instance, buys their bulk from a very low end manufacturer. They don't make their own. What you may have been using in the past likely isn't what you're using today or next week.

Hmm, I never thought of that I used to have brand loyalty because "they " always worked. Do you suggest just buying the cheapest DVD on the shelf? Are they getting the product form the same manufacturer?

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I'd guess you've got a problem with your current image file. Can you burn a clean DVD as a Roxio project vs image file?

Yes I can burn from roxio project. I will try that also. I just hate to have to wait for the render process every time I burn a batch, and if I hit a bad DVD I have to re-render the whole thing. That has happened and ,boy, does it waste ALOT of time.

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[DSE 5]

I actually buy the best of the DVDs available, TY is the best running, but costs about a dime more. I buy in bulk from Meritline or MediaRight.
On occasion I'll use the cheapos from Walmart or Target, when I'm in a jam. Occasionally those do fail.
Yes, rendering sucks. No doubt.
ISO *should* be able to use the same name, but Nero and Windows cache info that doesn't always allow this to work. Dunno why, haven't dug into it. Adobe Premiere has a similar issue when rendering AC3 files to the same file name sometimes. Sony Vegas does the same with MPEG4 files...

[jtval 0]

I was never able to successfuly burn a DVD from Premiere. That's why I use roxio.

I have Encore but haven't gotten into learning it yet.


am I being stupid by using roxio when I have Encore? I hear that program can do miracles

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[DSE 5]

Encore is a good app. Miracles? I'd debate that point. DVD Studio Pro is the best of the affordables, with (IMO) Sony DVD Architect a reasonably distant second, and then Encore, DVD Lab, etc as thirds. But IMO, *all* the apps are very good. Only DVD Studio Pro and Sony Vegas offer more or less an "iron-clad" guarantee that whatever discs you burn will be compatible/playable.
One thing I like about both of them (depends on which computer was in my bag before going to the DZ) is the ability to pre-render and package extra media, so that I'm only adding stills (as Extras folders) and the tandem video or fun jump video to an already existing template complete with intro, outro, end actions, and "If you had fun on your tandem, did you know you can take the AFF course and jump solo" video.
DVD Studio Pro has the sexiest templates of all, IMO, Sony's are LAME but you can easily build your own.
Encore works sweetly with PShop, so it's also easy to roll your own.

[jtval 0]

Cool. I gotta look into DVD studio pro than. Its on my list of things to "get to." BY the time I get to it I may be 100 years old but its on my list.

Thanks for all your help. I just finished burning my first dvd of this new batch.we'll see if it is smooth playing

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[jtval 0]

I just don't understand. I was hoping it would work, it didn't.

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[howardwhite 6]

AFAIK, DVD Studio Pro is no longer available for standalone purchase, but only as a part of the full Final Cut Studio package. That includes, (in addition to FCP,) Motion, Live Type, Compressor and Color-- an entirely new part of the Apple Pro stuff.)

It's a great, powerful package, but pricey and a bit fussy about the hardware it likes to run on.

The new Motion has a very cool motion stabilizer component which I've already used, with some success, in taking the shakes out of handheld ground-to-air footage.

HW

[The111 1]

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I actually buy the best of the DVDs available, TY is the best running, but costs about a dime more. I buy in bulk from Meritline or MediaRight.
On occasion I'll use the cheapos from Walmart or Target, when I'm in a jam.

I use TY too, from am-dig.com, and I use the Sony's from Wal-Mart for less important stuff. Funny thing is I've had two TY's fail (out of a few hundred), and none of the Sony's. Good thing I back up the really important stuff TWICE.

Another weird thing, back in the days of CD-R everybody swore by Mitsui (gold) and I remember qualititative destructive tests being done to prove that Mitsui had the greatest longevity. I bought Mitsui DVD-R's for a while too but then read that they had sold out and become very low quality. Ritek CD-R's were always supposed to be crap (and they supplied virtually every brand being sold at chain stores), but now I've also read Ritek DVD-R's are fairly decent. What is the world coming to?

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[DSE 5]

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What is the world coming to?

The lowest bidder.
TY even got caught stamping their name on crap DVDs two years ago, allegedly there were 10 million discs in that lot. The coating flew/blew off the discs kinda like how some printables blow off their coating.
JT, can you be more specific about how this isn't working? Error messages/codes. etc?

[jtval 0]

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JT, can you be more specific about how this isn't working? Error messages/codes. etc?

It's only the first dvd I burned with the new file. My next gig is to render striaght to burning, but the dvd "burned" it just won't play all the way through.
It locks up in the same place on 2 players.(although, each dvd locks up at random places.)

I checked each edit, played them, to make sure that they weren't flawed. they were fine.

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[DSE 5]

I still don't know what you're burning.
Stills/slideshow?
Video?

I'll assume video, as you say they "won't play through."
What bitrate are you burning? Some encoders attempt to burn at max bitrate, which is rarely compatible. CBR? VBR?
I know it's a lot to type, but you're assuming that I understand/know what you're doing in each step.
For example, I don't understand why you build an ISO for each video; it's not needed. You can build/have the authoring app build a VOB straight from the MPEG files and menus. If you build an ISO and add to it, it needs to render the new content along with the old content, depending on how you have the DVD laid out.
I'm happy to try to help you offline if need be.

[jtval 0]

I am at work right now but if you don't mind I would appreciate help later on.

how do I find out what bitrate I am burning?

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[DSE 5]

Bit rate is determined by your encoder (the software that converts your DV to MPEG) and there should be a menu somewhere in there. If you're using Roxio as your encoder, you can set the bitrate there. A bitrate of around 6.5Mbps should be very suitable, even though you have the ability to go up to 9.2Mbps. Some DVD players can't manage this speed.

[jtval 0]

Well, I tried to just render and burn the project. BIG FAT ZERO.


I am wasting all kinds of DVD's


My Next move is to look for the bit rate and see what speed it's burning.

I don't think that's the prob since I haven't had problems for about 2.5t years.

The bitrate may have been adjusted somehow, but since I had no clue what you were talking about I doubt thats the case.


I have a feeling I will be asking for offline assistance soon.

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[jtval 0]

oh, some of the disc's (I've resorted to trying 3 differnet batches and brands,
Imitation burns at1.4 speed only ( i think) it was 1880bits. ( i think)

discs that burn at 1X only were buring at 1400 bits
Discs that burn at 2X only, were burning at 2800 etc.

Soem discs let me burn at 4X 5600bits and NONE of them worked.

I tried burning from image file, rendering to disc, I've tried different projects both ways as well.

ALL OF MY DISCS lock up at different places. WTF?!

oh and I am burning movies (homemade skydiving movies)

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[Low-Mao 0]

Hello,

I may not have the answer you're looking for, but it may help.

I ran into your problem only one time, and that was when I encoded my video with a lower quality bitrate (transcode setting). I than made an image file and burned it using nero at 16x.

You need to figure out how to set the bitrate. I don't use roxio but i'm sure they have that feature. When you find it make sure it's set to High Quality 7mb CBR 1 pass or 8mb CBR 1pass
I have never had a problem with these settings. If its set to anything other than those, I'd have to expect there would be problems.

Next, I would buy new DVD-R's that can burn up to 16x. If your DVD's can only burn 1-4x than they may just be an older batch or they may be DVDRW's that are not ideal for DVD video.

I use encore to burn image files and eventhough my DVD's can be burned at 16x, encore automatically burns at 8x. So, if you use nero to burn your image, set it at 8x.

Also, you may want to update your DVD burner's firmware. Find out what brand of burner you have and you should be able to download an update from the companies site. It may be a bit of a hassle to find this firmware especially if it's a generic DVD burner, but you can usually do a search on yahoo or something and find a website that has a download for your Burner. Old firmware may not be your problem but it is always good to have it updated as this allows for your DVD's to play in the newest DVD players.(if the DVD is good in the first place)

I would also try cleaning the DVD Burner.

If none of this works, your burner may just be getting old, but before you buy a new one, I would try learning Encore and repeat these steps. It may seem very confusing at first, but after about 8 hours, you'll have it down and will love it.

I hope this helps, I feel your pain.

Best Regard,
Corey

*note: if your video is somewhere between an 60-90minutes you may not be able to encode at the 7mb cbr setting because it would create a file larger than what can fit on a DVD. If this is the case you would have to to encode at a lower bitrate or make 2 seperate DVD's. The lower bitrate may cause a problem, but just burn it at 8x and maybe it will work.

[Low-Mao 0]

Let me know how it goes...if your still having trouble give me a call. 661-600-7306. if worse comes to worst....you can send the video to me and I'll do what i have to, to get them damn dvd's burned.....

[jtval 0]

I haven't gotten to it since my last post but Are you sure you want to put your phone number up in a public forum? I copied it down and THANKS but I would remove it if were you.

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