Player Freezes and Skips on DVD-R's

[Robert Simandl]

I've been having a problem with some (not all) of my DVD-R's and DVD-RW's I've been burning in my Pioneer 104 burner.

During playback in my standalone player (Toshiba SD-K700), they sometimes freeze, both audio and video, even though the time display on the player continues to advance for about five to ten seconds. Then the time display will revert back to the point where the freeze occurred and playback will continue normally. This can happen anywhere from once to ten times on a disc, and it's only on discs I've burned. It does NOT happen on studio DVD's.

I exchanged the player for a brand new Toshiba SD-K710, but it does the same thing in different places.

Is this the fault of my players (Toshiba SD-K700 and SD-K710)?

My burner (Pioneer DVR-104 with firmware 1.10, later updated to 1.20, problem occurs with both firmware versions)?

My software (sometimes DVD Workshop and Womble MPEG2VCR, sometimes TMPGenc and DVD Complete, sometimes DVD MovieFactory, this happens with discs made with ANY of these programs)?

My blank discs (sometimes Memorex DVD-R from Best Buy, sometimes VivaStar DVD-R from TigerDirect, which I suspect is really Princo)?

Ideas appreciated, thanks....

[Faustus]

If the freezes are always near the end of the movie and its a long movie then likely its the media and or a combonation of your player not likeing that specific media. Also try to limit it down to which ones are giveing you trouble vs. what software you made them with.

Thats the only suggestions I have.

[Robert Simandl]

Hi Flaystus,

The movies aren't particularly long (90 to 110 mins), but the freezes are mostly near the end.

I'm gonna guess it's your second choice -- quirk between my players (the model 710 is mainly an update of the 700) and the media. Especially since I brought those same discs over to a friend's place and they did NOT freeze on his player.

Well, I had planned on getting this player just to tide me over til I could afford a Sony 9000, maybe I need to "afford" the Sony sooner than I thought...

Thanks...

[mbellot]

Robert,

The "length" of the movie is somewhat non-specific. What really matters is how much of the disc is used (you can put 4 hours on a DVD with a low enough bitrate, or just 60 minutes at full DVD spec).

You say 90 - 110 minutes, but if you are using a bitrate > 5000kbps then the disc will be nearly full (how close is you VIDEO_TS folder to 4.3GB?)

I had a similiar problem with KHypermedia DVD-R discs and my Daewoo 3000N. The "solution" was to remove the OEM drive mechanism and drop in a Toshiba SD-M1502 PC DVD-ROM drive. Now I have no problems reading all the way to the "end" of the disc. As a bonus I can now use DVD-RW discs for experimenting (the original drive didn't support -RW discs).

Mark

BTW - If you are going to buy a new player (the Sony 9000) take some of your problem DVD-R discs and try to play them before you buy.

[Robert Simandl]

Hi mbellot,

The offending discs were in the 4.0 to 4.1 gb range, so I think you and Flaystus have hit it.

Though I find it interesting that my Toshiba SD-K700 has this problem (and so does the new SD-K710), while my friend's player that does NOT have the problem is a Toshiba SD-K610 (or 600, I forget), a lower end model in the same product line.

I would just buy the 600 model myself, but I want progressive scan.

I'll probably get that Sony 9000 from Crutchfield. Far as I know, local stores still want $1300+ for it while Crutchfield is now $999. Still not the lowest price, but their return policy is top notch if I have the same problem.

Thanks....

[swdefdvd]

Just a note here. As far as media is concerned, AVOID any Princo discs for playback on standalone players. They are the worst media I have come across. I hate to say this but the only media I recommend for standalones are Pioneer, Verbatim or TDK, the latter being my preference. I know they are 2 or 3 times the price, but the success rate is 300-400% better. Do the math.
Good luck