Why is this happening??? Older DVD Players v. Newer

[ctdvd]

I posted on here before thinking if I reduced the burn speed the problem would be resolved. I used Nero Recode to burn some home-authored DVDs and they play fine on my Philips DVD8801 and Panasonic EH55 but put them in a Sony DVP-NS700P or Toshiba SD3800 (two older models circa 2001-2002) and the screen freezes or breaks up. I've tried Memorex 16X +R 4.7GB, Sony 1X-16X -R 4.7GB and encountered the same problem. Why the "hell" should there be such a damn difference between players? Are they that sensative? This also happens on commercially manufactured DVDs. I had better luck with Staples el-cheapo deluxe DVDs but I ran out and cannot recall the speed. My last resort is to try recording at 1X (if I can). Has anyone else encountered this problem and what did you do to resolve it? Thanks

[FulciLives]

1.) Only use the best media possible. That boils down to either Taiyo Yuden (8x or 16x with 8x being best) and Verbatim (with 16x being best).

2.) Burn properly. In other words use ImgBurn to create an ISO image file and use ImgBurn to do the burning. I prefer to burn 8x media at 4x and 16x media at 6x.

3.) Make sure you use a quality burner. The Pioneer models are a good safe way to go but there are other reliable models as well.

Good Luck !!!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
I wanted to add that for older models you should probably stick with -R media. If you use +R media you must bitset to -ROM for compatibility with older DVD players.

[SLK001]

If you've got a player that is having trouble with commercial DVDs, then I would say that that player has issues.

Not all burnable media is the same. Some of it is crap. Memorex, at one time, fell into that catagory. I've also heard of issues with Sony media. As the undead overlord stated, use only the best media. The price "breaks" that you are getting with your "el-cheapo" media aren't worth the hassle that you are experiencing.

As for using ImgBurn over Nero, I don't agree. I have used Nero (Burning Rom) for six years and I have not had a bad burn that I could not attribute to bad media. And, once having changed to using only quality media, I haven't had a bad burn since.

[ctdvd]

3.) Make sure you use a quality burner. The Pioneer models are a good safe way to go but there are other reliable models as well.

Thank you John, I am currently using a Philips DVD8801 to burn as the Pioneer is connected to my TV. For home authoring projects, what do you recommend as a reliable burner and is there a reliable review resource somewhere you can point me to? My Panasonic Reads/Writes RAMS and the Philips does not so if I was going for a replacement perhaps that would be best.

[FulciLives]

Well if I was buying a new burner I would buy Pioneer.

For more info on burners you probably what to check out the cdfreaks website.

http://www.cdfreaks.com/

Good Luck !!!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
The new Pioneer DVR-112 recently got an "Editor's Choice" award from cdfreaks.com

[ctdvd]

As for using ImgBurn over Nero, I don't agree. I have used Nero (Burning Rom) for six years and I have not had a bad burn that I could not attribute to bad media. And, once having changed to using only quality media, I haven't had a bad burn since.[/quote]

I kind of felt the same way about Nero (mostly its Recode) as I've burned many commerical DVDs and this is the first time I had a problem with older players and newer blank media. As the DVD plays, the picture breaks-up and then eventually freezes. Sometimes you can advance the frame but it just continues to freeze. It looks like Verbatim seems to get the best ratings but for older DVD players should I just burn as slow as possible?

[oldandinthe way]

Your older players behave like older players.

If your drive will bitset DVD+R that might help.

Finding a brand of media they like might help. Look at the clearance tables in stores for discontinued slow media. I don't believe slow burning modern media will help at all.

But trashing these players is probably the best bet. Most $30 commodity players are more tolerant of media variation than older Japanese players.

[jman98]

As for using ImgBurn over Nero, I don't agree. I have used Nero (Burning Rom) for six years and I have not had a bad burn that I could not attribute to bad media. And, once having changed to using only quality media, I haven't had a bad burn since.

[/quote]

That's fine, but did you know that your Nero burns won't play if you have the right kind of sector error in the future? Take a look at:
http://www.digital-digest.com/~blutach/pgcedit_guide/burning_with_pgcedit/burning_with...pgcedit_v2.htm
and scroll down to the bottom for an explanation as to why Nero burns might have problems in the future if your disc starts to go bad. This is why you should use ImgBurn.

As far as your problem goes, your older players may not like your media. Older players are a lot more fussy about media than newer ones. I had an old Apex that would play anything on DVD-R but it was pretty fussy about DVD+R brands it worked with.

[hech54]

but put them in a Sony DVP-NS700P or Toshiba SD3800 (two older models circa 2001-2002) and the screen freezes or breaks up. I've tried Memorex 16X +R 4.7GB, Sony 1X-16X -R 4.7GB and encountered the same problem...........I am currently using a Philips DVD8801 to burn

Some older Sony's won't even play CD-R......and Memorex are notorious garbage.
If you have a Philips burner in your computer....then Philips and BenQ burners are very "+R Friendly"....they work better with +R media.

I'm also not a Nero fan.

[FulciLives]

It is very important to note that IF you use DVD+R media that you MUST bitset to -ROM but not all DVD Burners are capable of doing this (most if not all do it automatically for DVD+R DL but not for single layer DVD+R discs).

So be sure to only use single layer DVD+R discs with a burner that can do the -ROM bitsetting. Otherwise stick to single layer DVD-R media.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[guns1inger]

You also need to understand what bitsetting does. It makes the player think the disc is a pressed DVD when it looks at it for the first time, so if the player is programed to reject +R or simply reject anything that isn't -R or ROM, it won't spit it out. However it does nothing to change the surface properties of the disc, so it still may not play on older players. It is like the 'patch method' for PAl to NTSC conversion - it is a fake that will work on some players, and not on others.

If the laser is old and tired, or the media is poor, bitsetting won't make much difference.