Testing A DVD??

[xobituaryx]

Currently I have both DVDInfo and Nero Cd-DVD Speed. I have a NEC Burner so I can't do the pif/pi test. So if I ran a surface scan test and a dvd speed test and see that everything looks fine...Is it safe to assume that the DVD is ok....Also which out of the 2 programs do you guys prefer....Thanks

[lordsmurf]

If the two scans you ran are good, disc should be fine. PI/PO stuff is anal retentive, and not as much of a quality gauge as some people want you to believe. Watching the disc is also a good method (when combined with any software "scanning" type of test).

Randomly watch parts of the disc (start, middle, end) in addition to what you ran. If that cheks out good, your disc is probably fine. Use the best media too (1ST CLASS, www.nomorecoasters.com) just to be safe about it.

[monzie]

Again I agree with the 'blue one', stick the DVD in a standalone and scan thru the disk, first doing every chapter and then letting it play for a short while at random points (especially near the start and near the end)....or jut watch it all the way through (which is usually the WHOLE POINT of most DVD's).......whats a test going to prove up and above actually watching it to see if it works?

[winifreid]

There really in't a perfect test, even watching it on your player may not indicate that it will play on someone elses player. The CDspeed transfer test is a quick method, but really just indicates that your DVD reader can get a steady data stream from the disk. Again some players may be picky. I have had disks with good scans not play, and some with terrible scans play fine. Since media has gotten so cheap, I jut toss anything that produces a bad scan (I use kprobe) and burn another. Again, this isn't perfect, but most of my disks are now playable on serveral players (most of the time). Another easy test is just look at the surface. Sometimes you can actually see the flaws in the dye.