Getting "data already on disk" from VSDC for blank DVD-R

[arcy]

I am a computer programmer but new to video manipulation. Have an old DVR which used to write to its own DVDs, but that broke and no one fixes machines like this any more. So I'm using Video2PC to get some recorded shows off of it, and it appears to be working ok after some futzing.

So my wife wants copies of an old B&W TV show; I have two recordings of 5 hours each. I have a 5 hour recording that I've made on the PC; it replays without jerkiness, quality is reasonable, we're good to go. Now I want to put it on DVD.

The VSDC Free Video Editor I got allowed me to mark each of the 10 half-hour shows and separate them, and converted them to DVD format; when it was done, it asked if I wanted to go ahead and burn them, so I clicked yes. It asked for a disc in the drive, I put in a fresh DVD-R. It says there's data already on that disc, and that it needs to be clean. I tried two more from that package, with the same results.

I've never gotten the -r +r differences; the program claims that it can write to "DVD +-R" and "DVD+- RW"; I thought that meant it would be able to write to either the +r or -r types. I put one of these in another drive and verified that it has no files on it.

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong, or that I have to have +R disks for this? Thanks

[Cornucopia]

What you think it claims seems to be what it claims. But that doesn't mean it likes ALL brands of media. Some formulations don't work as well, and some brands are just plain crap.

Then there is the possibility that your drive (laser reader, firmware), driver, or app is buggy/corrupted.

It doesn't necessarily mean you are doing something wrong.

Have you tried borrowing a friend/relative's burner and/or media? That would help in ruling out certain alternatives.

Scott

Oh...one more thing: make sure you aren't pre-formatting those discs for DLA. Those need to be totally blank and the drive settings in Disc Mgmt need to be set for NO DLA. Otherwise, you might get mistakes such as you are experiencing.

[arcy]

Thanks, will try moving stuff to another machine, though it's a pain. I shouldn't have started my learning curve on 5 hours of video; will create a project that is shorter for experimenting.

I've searched for the term DLA and am still trying to figure out what it is -- drive letter access? Some web pages indicate this doesn't apply to Win7. When I put the disc in, Windows asks me if I want one of their programs to write to it, does that indicate that it's done some kind of formatting already? I'll see what I can do about turning off automatic operation.

[jman98]

Perhaps ConvertXtoDVD would be exactly what you need. It's trailware so it's not free forever, but it's been recommended for newbie users here quite a bit for purposes similar to yours. Why not try it and see what you think?

I don't know anything about that VSDC program you used. What it is telling you seems strange to me. We recommend burning with ImgBurn. It's free.

One final thing to tip you off to as a newbie. The vast majority of DVD discs sold in the USA are garbage quality. The only quality discs being made any more are Taiyo Yuden (you must buy them online) and Verbatim. With Verbatim you need to NOT buy their Life series, which is what most stores carry. Their Life series is the same cheap, low quality junk everybody else makes as they have had no choice but to compete on that market segment due to the idea most consumers have that all discs are the same and only suckers pay higher prices. Reputable online sources for discs include
http://www.rima.com
http://www.supermediastore.com

There is some chance that your problems may be related to the low quality media you are almost certainly using, but I'd advise trying ConvertXtoDVD, using ImgBurn if you can (I've never used ConvertXtoDVD so I'm assuming it will let you use ImgBurn) and perhaps buying higher quality discs.

[rayboy123]

Perhaps ConvertXtoDVD would be exactly what you need. It's trailware so it's not free forever, but it's been recommended for newbie users here quite a bit for purposes similar to yours. Why not try it and see what you think?

I don't know anything about that VSDC program you used. What it is telling you seems strange to me. We recommend burning with ImgBurn. It's free.

One final thing to tip you off to as a newbie. The vast majority of DVD discs sold in the USA are garbage quality. The only quality discs being made any more are Taiyo Yuden (you must buy them online) and Verbatim. With Verbatim you need to NOT buy their Life series, which is what most stores carry. Their Life series is the same cheap, low quality junk everybody else makes as they have had no choice but to compete on that market segment due to the idea most consumers have that all discs are the same and only suckers pay higher prices. Reputable online sources for discs include
http://www.rima.com
http://www.supermediastore.com

There is some chance that your problems may be related to the low quality media you are almost certainly using, but I'd advise trying ConvertXtoDVD, using ImgBurn if you can (I've never used ConvertXtoDVD so I'm assuming it will let you use ImgBurn) and perhaps buying higher quality discs.

Is this show on a store bought DVD or downloaded off line??

[arcy]

I created an MPG by using a piece of hardware called Video2PC -- it takes in component (or audio + s-video) and outputs to a USB port. With a USB 2 port and a fast enough computer (I've found a solid-state hard drive helps) you can record off the signal that would otherwise go to some TVs. We have some things we recorded from networks and so forth that I'm trying to put on disc; they originally went onto a hard drive on the digital recorder, and it used to be able to write to DVD, but the DVD in the machine no longer works.

The MPG created seems huge -- I have 28G from the 5-hour recording I've made so far. VSDC (and no doubt other programs) can bring that down significantly, evidently.

I'll go out tomorrow and attempt to find some better DVDs to try that theory out. The ones I have are Verbatim Life Series.