DVD-RAM .VRO Files

[rpjallan]

I have a VHS/DVD recorder that records onto DVD-RAM discs. These are .VRO files. I want to make a DVD video disc from one of the TV shows I have recorded on a RAM disc. Can I do this with ffmpegX?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Richard

[Case]

Toast 7 is the right tool for this job. The media browser will extract MPEG files out of the VRO files.

[rpjallan]

I have tried using Toast 7. Everything seems to go ok but when I play the resulting disc, every few minutes for around 5 - 10 seconds the video and audio stutters very badly. It is unwatchable. So I have been looking around for an alternative.

[Case]

Does it stutter when played on a computer? Does it stutter when played on a stand-alone DVD player? Does the extracted MPEG play smoothly? Does Apple DVD Player play smoothly reading from a disc image?
Could you supply the specs of the extracted MPEG file, when opened in ffmpegX, as indicated on the left side of the Summary tab (video specs + audio specs)? The video framerate and audio sample rate would be most interesting, in relation to stuttering.
Without precise info, it's hard to give sound advice.

[rpjallan]

Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to this.

I saved this as a Toast disc image. The disc image plays fine using Apple DVD Player. I burned the image to DVD-R. This disc plays fine in Apple DVD Player but stutters on both the DVD players I have. The stuttering occurs mainly at the beginning of the disc.

[Case]

If it isn't consistant throughout the disc, then I would think in the line of 'bad' media. Try an A-brand disc (Taiyo Yuden, Verbatim Plus, etc), or look up which media works well on your brand of player as reported by others. Quality in discs is mostly in the chemicals used, the factory where the discs or chemicals come from (purety), which is not always brand-related!
Another possibility is the drive used for burning. Is it old? Is it in a dusty environment? Can you use a different drive to test this?
Both suggestions are non valid for your problem if you can burn and view other DVD projects fine.

[rpjallan]

I have burnt hundreds of other DVD's using 3 drives. I always use TDK discs. I am only having a problem burning these .VRO files from DVD-RAM discs.

[DeusExMachina]

Might be a bitrate issue. If it is set too high, some players with slower processors freak out and stutter on play back. Normally this should not be a problem with Toast, but I have not used it for this, and certainly not for .VRO files, so…