If I burn a DVDR with Sonic DLA can it be played in DVD play

[fooswolf]

I created a DVD title with 15 family slide shows and a couple of videos. When I burn straight to the DVD+R the DVD will play in my set top DVD player. However, I would like to add some additional data onto this disc for archival purposes. Therefore, I created a DVD folder using MyDVD and it contained the following directories: “Jacket_P”, “OpenDVD”, “SlideShow”, and “Video_TS”.
I added my additional data to the “SlideShow” directory and copied all four directories to the DVD burner using Sonic DLA. When the disc was done copying the data, I selected the “Make Disc Compatible” choice. This disc will play fine on my computer, but not on my set top box. The disc that I copied with the extra data to the DVD-R disc using Sonic DLA was 4.20 GB in size. The disc burned directly from MyDVD was 3.13 GB in size. I suspect that I put too much information on the DLA DVD. What is the max amount I should put on a DVDR to insure compatibility with set top DVD players. I would appreciate any advice or thoughts please. Thanks.

Dan

[Firk99]

Add a AUDIO_TS directory. You can leave it empty. Some dvd-players require this directory or they do not recognise the dvd.

[fooswolf]

Thanks Firk, I'll give that I try.

[tompika]

What is the reason you burn your DVD's with a packet writing application?

[fooswolf]

Adding an Audio_TS folder did not help, the DVD player says that it can't read this kind of disc.

The reason I would like to burn my DVD with a packet writing application is so that I can cram even more family information onto the DVD that can be used in a computer but not on a DVD TV combination. I would like to put archived music (My Dad's) and Genealogy PDF's onto the disc, not just the videos and slide shows.

Dan

[bottle-necked]

Many commercial DVDs contain extra files. I suggest you simply insert a commercial disk in your computer and with Windows Explorer you can view the contents and structure of these disks. You should see what I mean.

To play correctly in a settop box the dvd hast to have a VIDEO_TS folder and it's always a good idea to include an AUDIO_TS folder for compatibility, but I find this isn't necessary for my player. Using Sonic DLA (packet writing software) isn't going to work because when you installed that software on your computer it must 'autorun' on each Windows startup for it to work. You can't 'autorun' the "DLA" application on your settop box so it cannot read the format. A dvd is simply a data type disk that you must compile and burn all the files you intend to have on it at one time. Adding extra files/content isn't possible if you are using some video dvd burning applications because they don't offer that option, so you must use a standard type of data burning software. I use RecordNow DX and in plain old data mode with excellent results. Simply drag in your prepared VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders, drag in your extra contents (either files and/or folders, I always choose to 'close' the disk, then burn it. Simple process even for me. 8)

The only problem with adding files/folders like you mentioned is that you will need to calculate enough space on the disk for them, and some players might want to 'slideshow' photos it might find on the disk instead of playing the movie. That part I don't know..... lol

Good luck.

[fooswolf]

After creating a DVD volume on the hard drive from MyDVD and adding extra files to the Slideshow directory I used Sonic Record Now Deluxe verson 6 using the Data option to create a DVD. This DVD played just fine in my set top DVD player. Therefore the problem is solved. Thanks to everyone for providing valuable insight, especially in not using DLA or other Packet Writing software to create a DVD for purposes other than backing up data or music.

Dan.

[bottle-necked]

especially in not using DLA or other Packet Writing software to create a DVD for purposes other than backing up data or music.

There is a problem with doing that also. Those disks will only work on a computer that is running 'that' packet software and not on any other computer. You cannot simply take a few disks to grandma's house and expect them to work on her computer, because they won't. And if you were to archive those disks for several years and try to access them later and your packet software won't work/install on that computer - the disks will be unreadable, information lost.

Although convienent, it's not that good an idea.

Glad you got your dvd working.