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  1. Member
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    Hi folks,

    I am in the process of converting home videos to digital files, and I've got a problem. Below is a lengthy description of what happened.

    I copy the video tapes onto a DVD using a Samsung DVD stand-alone burner (camcorder plays the video).

    I then copy the 5 VOB files to my hard-drive. I've done this with no problems for about 40 DVDs. Then yesterday, I had a problem copying one of the 5 VOB files. It would stop copying and display this error message: "Cannot copy VTS_01_3: The request could not be performed because of I/O device error."

    The DVD looked like it was fine - no scratches.

    I opened that particular VOB file on my PC. With some luck, I found the portion of video that had the error. WHen it gets to this part, the video stops playing and just shows the last scene before the problem. By playing around some more, it seems like the trouble area is just a few seconds long (by selecting specific parts to start playing from). I'm using DivX player so I dont have really good control over time, nor editing capabilities.

    At any rate, I tried re-burning twice more. The problem showed up again in the second DVD in the same VOB file VTS_01_3, but at a different location in the file (as determined by how much of the file was copied before failure).

    I tried a third time. This time I was able to copy all the files, but it seemed like there were some problems with the first 2 VOB files - it took much longer to copy then the similar sized files 3 and 4.

    Then I tried the next video tape. I burned it and it has the same problem on the 3rd VOB file. Then I started searching around and found this forum.

    Of the 40 or so DVDs made so far, about 35 were Office Depot brand (DVD-R type). Then I started using Verbatim DVD-R discs. I made 3 DVDs using Verbatim DVDs and they worked fine. Then the problems started happening.

    With this last DVD, I took special care to not let the playing surface touch anything except the DVD drives. And the surface looks perfect. I can't see any scratches.

    I'm guessing that this copy error is due to uncorrectable data read from the DVD. BUt it seems strange that the 3rd VOB files seems to be the problem so far. Could this be a manufacturing error in the Verbatim DVDs?

    At any rate, is there a recommendation for a free VOB editor so that I can delete the faulty portion of the VOB file and then save the rest of the file to my PC? Or any other suggestions?

    Thanks,

    Jae
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  2. It could be one of three things. It could be either bad discs, a dirty lens or your drive could be going out on you. I would suggest trying different discs first and go from there. You could also try a different computer, if you have another one.
    Believing yourself to be secure only takes one cracker to dispel your belief.
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  3. Member
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    A good tool for checking dvds is freeware Nero CD/DVDSpeed (now NeroDiskSpeed), ScanDisc tab. It will show any areas which have soft or hard errors. I check all dvds I burn. Your file transfer errors may be doing the same thing but do not show the exact extent of the errors.

    I stick to Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden blanks. Never had a problem with the disks; it's always the burner failing for me!

    The other thing to bear in mind is that sometimes a dvd burned on one burner will not play on all other burners. I have 4 burners and some commercial dvds will only play on 1 or 2 (my own creations play fine on all).

    I use a payware VOB editor. You should find something free in the "How To" guides top left.
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  4. Member PuzZLeR's Avatar
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    It could be:

    - A failing burner. This is more rule than exception.

    - A failing computer. Maybe you have alot of junk on the drive that's accumulated and is conflicting with the capture/burning process. A hard drive reformat every year, or so, always freshens things.

    - Bad discs.

    I would retry a recent process that did work just to see what happens this time now that this problem is surfacing "all of a sudden".

    And if you wish to edit these VOB files, run them through NeroVision (if you have Nero) and import them to .mpg and use an MPEG editor is what I'd do with ease.
    I hate VHS. I always did.
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  5. Member
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    Thanks for all the suggestions, folks.

    I tired copying from a different PC - same problem.

    I tried copying previously burned good discs to see if the PC drive was acting up. The good discs still were good, and the bad disc was still bad.

    I got a copy of the NeroDiskSpeed and it showed that the bad disks had bad sectors(?). One of the discs had 1 bad sector and the other had 2 consecutive sectors that were bad.

    So, it looks like the Verbatim discs were at fault.

    I'll have to look to see if the Samsung burner can check the disc and work around the bad sectors.
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  6. Member
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    In diagnosing these things, it's helpful to break the problem down into pieces. Try creating an image first, instead of a disc, and then mount and play the image from the hard drive. If that seems to be ok, then you've narrowed it down to a burner/media issue.

    Now, just to make sure that we're making the same assumptions, let me state mine:

    1) You're handling the discs properly -- you're absolutely not ever touching the optical surface. Fingerprints kill burns. Reads, maybe not. But burns -- fingerprints are deadly.

    2) You've disabled any apps that may be competing with the burner for attention.

    3) You're not jarring the burner while it's doing its thing. In fact, don't let it move at all.

    4) For dodgy media or a marginal burner, it's sometimes helpful to throttle back one or two speed notches. Burn 16x at 12x or 8x, and see if life improves.

    There are others, but these are the ones that come to mind right now.
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  7. Member
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    Originally Posted by jaekim86
    So, it looks like the Verbatim discs were at fault.
    I'd have to disagree with that! All you have shown is that the burn process is faulty.

    Something that confuses me is what type of standalone burner you are using. External and standalone can be two different animals. Is the camcorder playing directly into the burner (no pc involved at all)? Is there any indication that the burner is keeping up with the video rate?
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  8. Member
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    You're right Starman - I can't make the conclusion I did. Especially in light of what tomlee59 said about making sure that the burner does not move.

    More info to clarify (hopefully

    1. the Samsung burner is a VHS to DVD copier. I've copied all my VHS tapes to DVD. Now I'm copying my 8mm tapes to DVD. The input to the burner is directly from the camcorder. The output of the burner goes to the TV. No PC is involved in burning the DVDs.

    2. The input is analog, so I don't think there is a problem keeping up with the video rate.

    3. I am very careful not to touch the record surface with my fingers.

    4. The burner sits on a glass entertainment center - granted it's a DLP TV that weighs less than 100 pounds, but I would think it still is about 150 pounds total. And some of the faulty ones have been burned while there was nobody in the house or when everybody was sleeping. So, I don't think jarring the burner was a problem. But who knows.

    5. I tried to see if NeroDiskSpeed could check a blank disc for problems, but apparently it can't. That makes sense - I suppose it checks CRC for each sector.

    But I've only had problems with those 2 tapes for some reason. I made copies of several tapes on Verbatim DVDs before the bad copies and several after the bad copies.

    Hopefully, this is an aberration and won't ever happen again!
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  9. Member
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    With such a machine you can't really see what's going on. In a pc burning, you can run the various tests with NeroDiskSpeed including blanks, and look at buffer levels with the burning software. That's why I asked if there were any indicators on your machine.

    I'm not pushing Verbatim - you can always try a different brand! Sometimes it's horses for courses. With a pc burner, updating the firmware may solve the issue. I've no idea if you can update your Samsung. Burners are supposed to do a power calibration prior to burning and should stop the process if it fails.
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