Burn iso without losing Region coding with DVD Decrypter, how?

[Richard_G]

For my projects I normally supply on DVD-R discs for better compatability with DVD players. For previous projects I used Ritek G05 media and burnt as multiregion. Out of around 250 I had no returned that wouldn't play. For the latest job I have done, I used Taiyo Yuden TYG02 media as the 8x Ritek G05 is getting harder to get hold of and everyone tells me that TY is the best there is. Out of the first batch of 100 that have been sent out, I have had 5 returned that won't play.

Not being entirely sure why, I decided to hedge my bets. I have redone the project but set it as Region 2 only (in case the particular machines can't handle a multi-Region disc). This I burnt to a master disc. Using a friends machine which has an NEC 3520AW drive with Liggy and Dee firmware to allow bitsetting on DVD+R, I used DVD Decrypter to rip the master disc to an iso. I then used Decrypter to burn the iso to a Verbatim (MCC dye) DVD+R bitset as DVD-ROM.

What I got was a DVD-ROM but multi-Region! It seems that DVD Decrypter is removing the Region coding. What do I need to do in the setup in Decrypter to tell it to leave the Region coding alone and burn a Region 2 DVD-ROM?

[pijetro]

Perhaps unchecking remove macrovision region will help...
I can' help but think that perhaps you've got fake Yudens...Was it from a reputable place??

[pijetro]

Okay, i read it again, and noticed that you went from originally using -R's to +R's.
Perhaps the five that were sent back were people with older machines...

[jman98]

Richard_G - In theory, a region 0 DVD should not be the problem. If so, no one could ever play DVDs they made of home movies, recorded with a standalone DVD recorder, etc. Region coding is a "right" reserved for the big studios and home authoring problems generally don't allow you to set it. Even Scenarist, which is very expensive and professional grade, does not normally allow this to be set as far as I know.

I agree with pijetro that you could have a DVD+R compatibility issue. Please do understand that no matter what brand of DVDs you use or whether you use +R or -R, somebody somewhere isn't going to be able to play it, either through a problem with their player or through stupidity on the user's part. Nothing you do will guarantee 100% compatibility if you burn it yourself to burnable media. To be honest, I am absolutely amazed that you had 250 DVDs and 0 returns. You were VERY lucky. I've seen numbers that indicate that approximately 15% of the existing DVDs players supposedly can't play DVD-R discs and supposedly 16-17% can't play DVD+R discs. You beat the odds big time in getting 0 returns in your first batch. Those figures are a couple of years old, but I still wouldn't be surprised if up to 10% of in service DVD players are old enough to have problems with either +R or -R DVDs. My old Apex, which otherwise was a very good player, had a very strong preference for -R DVDs and was quite fussy about +R brands it would play.

[Richard_G]

pijetro, no, I didn't change from DVD-R to DVD+R, I stuck with -R but changed from using Ritek media to Panasonic branded Taiyo Yuden from a very reputable supplier. I only supplied +R but bitset as DVD-ROM to those that returned the -R discs as they couldn't play them.

The last time I checked, the compatability figures were something like 98.5% of machines will play -R while only 93% will play +R. For this reason I always use -R and don't intend changing but have to be able to offer the alternative in case there is the odd machine out there that is in the 1.5% that don't like -R discs. It is these that I am trying to cater for and am trying to give them something which should play on anything. Hence the need for a Region 2, DVD-ROM disc. Not all machines will play Region 0 either, particularly older machines that have been around since before DVD recorders existed. They were intended to only play region coded, pressed discs and that is all they will play. By bitsetting to DVD-ROM they can be fooled into thinking the disc is pressed but the Region code needs to be set to Region 2 as well.

Ideally, I would have the discs pressed but my usual order is around 70-80 per project and the minimum order size I have been able to find is for 500 at a time. The prices are cheap enough that if I had an order for 250, I could get 500 pressed and throw the remainder away. Admittedly, it would be far simpler too. At the moment I burn the discs and then print them with a Canon iP300 printer so each disc has to be manually loaded into the printer. If I had them pressed I can have them screen printed too

[Richard_G]

By the way, Ulead DVD Workshop 2 will allow me to set Region coding. It defaults to multi-region but a single region can be set if required.

[pijetro]

Sorry Richard_G..what can i say...

It is these that I am trying to cater for and am trying to give them something which should play on anything

You'll have to warn them in advance..
Heck, even my old battle-axe player will recognize DVD-R's..

Just to set the record straight..
Are all your costumers in England?
If so, i'm guessing that you can create the proper ISO within Ulead DVD Workshop, with proper region coding. If so, stick to the -R's, and keep a few +R's handy for the problem players...

Beyond that, there's little you can do, except ask the costumers for their player specs, and compare with Player List...

[MOVIEGEEK]

Some first generation DVD players will refuse to play any recordable media(CD-R,DVDR),I had a Toshiba SD1200 that would only play pressed media.
Here are a few tips:
1.After authoring use IFOEdit or FixVTS to make sure files are DVD-VIDEO compliant.
2.Add an empty AUDIO_TS folder to the compilation.
3.Make sure the compilation doesn't exceed 4,400MB.
4.Use quality media.
5.Use both DVD-R and +R(with DVD-ROM booktype).
6.When burning use UDF 1.02,TAO,closed.

[Richard_G]

pijetro

I always put a slip of paper in with every DVD pointing out that 'limited production' DVDs are made in a different way to commercial discs and that they may not play on all machines. I then tell them if they have a problem to contact me and I'll exchange it. I supply on DVD-R and have been using Ritek G05 up until the latest batch when I used Taiyo Yuden TYG02. Al customers are in England. I create the iso in DVD Workshop with the region coding set as Region 0 (in case anyone wants to forward a copy to somewhere else in the world). I keep a few +R discs in stock to supply to anyone that has difficulty with the -R discs and it is burning these that is causing the problem! I always ask anyone with a problem what machine they are trying to play back on but most are obscure makes that either don't appear in the list or have no reports.

Some first generation DVD players will refuse to play any recordable media(CD-R,DVDR),I had a Toshiba SD1200 that would only play pressed media.
Here are a few tips:
1.After authoring use IFOEdit or FixVTS to make sure files are DVD-VIDEO compliant.
2.Add an empty AUDIO_TS folder to the compilation.
3.Make sure the compilation doesn't exceed 4,400MB.
4.Use quality media.
5.Use both DVD-R and +R(with DVD-ROM booktype).
6.When burning use UDF 1.02,TAO,closed.

1. The files are created by DVD Workshop and are fully DVD compliant
2. Workshop creates the empty AUDIO_TS folder anyway
3. I set the compression so the final size is at 4,300MB or less (if it's under an hour)
4. I always do, decent quality branded Ritek previously (I know a lot of people don't like Ritek but I've never had a problem with them, no returns in over 250 discs suggests they can't be that bad) and now Panasonic branded Taiyo Yuden)
5. I normally use -R but am supplying +R bitset to DVD-ROM to anyone that can't play the -Rs. It is burning these but retaining the Region 2 coding that is causing the problem as Decrypter seems to want to remove the coding even when burning a coded iso.
6. As Decrypter does give me any options, maybe I should try burning the iso with Nero instead?

Or is there another burning app that will burn an iso exactly as it is and not alter it in any way? I've never been happy with Nero as a tool for burning DVD as I've seen far too may people claiming that it produces discs that are less compatible than others.