DVD-R problem with a lot of players

[magicrat]

Hi everybody,

I've burned a DVD-R but my Sony player can't play it (the display says "CANNOT PLAY"). I've tested the disc on several players (Sony, Panasonic, Philips) and I always got the same problem.
Only Pioneer players seem to have no problems with it.
I've also tested the disc on my PC and I got no problems.

At first, I thought it was a disc brand problem, but it happens with TDK, Verbatim and Sony discs, so I don't think this is the matter.
I also tried re-burning the disc but no way.

How can I fix this problem?

Thank you in advance for any help

Riccardo

[disturbed1]

Can be a couple of problems.

Your authoring method, and/or your burning method.

What authoring program and burning program are you using. What are your source files.

Many players can have trouble if you use a consumer authoring app that only supports mp2 audio. For better compatibility use ac3, or PCM audio.

Which DVD Burner do you have?

[magicrat]

Thank you very much for your quick reply.

Since I got the source from a friend of mine, I don't know what kind of authoring program he'd used; the original source was a Digital Camera (it's a live concert footage). Let's just say that I have the same problem even with the source DVD-Rs.

About me, I've make the copies using Pinnacle InstantCopy on a Sony DVD-DRU500AX.

Any ideas?

Thank you once again

Riccardo

[Morloc]

Magicrat,
What program and method are you using to burn your DVDs? Some players are very fussy about the structure of the file system on the DVD. For example, some players won't play a DVD that doesn't have the AUDIO_TS folder present (even though it's empty), and some will play it. Your PC will probably play almost anything. If you're not doing so already, you need to use a program like Nero that has a DVD video mode, and which will set up the right structure for you.

Morloc

[magicrat]

You're probably right: I've checked out the DVD content and the AUDIO_TS folder doesn't exist.
Now, since I've copied the DVD image on my HD, is there a way to patch the dvd? Can I simply add the AUDIO_TS folder and re-copy the image on a new DVD-R?

Thank you once again

Riccardo

[Morloc]

Nero does set up the 2 folders: VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS, and I don't see anything else on the burned copy. Yet there is a lot of talk in these forums about setting Nero to burn using ISO/UDF (don't know if I've got that right) and other formats if a person is having playback problems. I don't undestand the significance of this myself, and so I really can't say if just adding an empty AUDIO_TS file will work. If you have Nero or a similar program that will do the work for you, why not go into their DVD Video mode and just copy what you loaded into your existing VIDEO_TS file into the program's VIDEO_TS file and burn from that. What you've done to date to get the files onto your hard drive is not lost work.

Hope this helps,
Morloc

[Xtasy2002]

Use TMPGEnc to encode and TMPGEnc DVD Author to write the DVD image. You can get it all at www.tmpgenc.net

[dreamlady]

morlock you wrote:

>>For example, some players won't play a DVD that doesn't have the AUDIO_TS folder present (even though it's empty), and some will play it. <<

I had a problem the other day. I produced a video to show a client. It works on my DVD set top player, a real cheap GE, then I played it on a panasonic, and 2 different Sony players, all at different friends.

It will not work on her player "Apex" I tried both dvd+r, and dvd-R, cuz I wasn't sure which one would work, well nether one...kept reading disc error.

Then we tried it on an old "onkyo" it played the video, but no audio.

But it works perfect on all other machines.

Then I noticed your comment about the Audio_TS folder.

It resides on both discs...but the dir is empty . Is this normal?



Any info would be greatly appreciated.


Needless to say. I lost the account. it wouldn't work on her players.


sigh

Dreamlady

[Morloc]

Dreamlady,
Yes, the AUDIO_TS folder is usually, empty, but still has to be there.
There are a couple of other things you could try to narrow down your problem. Firstly, if you have access to other burning software, I would try that. I use Nero's DVD Video mode with consistently good results. There is some free burning s/w listed in the Tools section at left. Use a DVD-RW for your experiments to reduce the coaster count. Secondly, I would try different media. The are dozens of threads in these forums about playback problems the same as you describe, where the media is the culprit. Unfortunately, this is largely a trial and error process. What works well on my player might not work on your players. Also, avoid labels on your discs as the resulting wobble causes stopping, artifacts, etc. during playback. This doesn't sound like your problem, as the discs usually play back, but with problems.

Hope some of this helps. Keep us posted.

Morloc