Authoring/burning DVD-R's for max DVD player compatibility

[westbrookmedia]

I hope this is the correct forum. I have been working with DVD's for a while, but I am still a newbie.

I need to create 40 DVD-R's and they will be going to different people. Unlike creating a birthday or wedding video that only three or four are created going to a couple or a few people, I will not know the compatibility of DVD players of 40 people!

Can anyone here offer advice regarding creating the DVD-R's with the maximum compatibilty (with regards to exporting the video, authoring/burning software and DVD burner)?

I have been using Studio or Adobe Premiere Elements for creation, exporting to Microsoft DV AVI and then burning the DVD-R's with Sonic MyDVD on a Sony DRU-530A which has been working very well for me. My DVD burner is only 4x, so I plan to upgrade to two 16x burners to speed the duplication process.

I am not sure what part of the process (export, author, burn, burner) mostly affects the playback of the finished DVD's on different DVD players. I have found that if I burn the DVD using the Adobe Premiere Elements, it does not work well on any of my DVD players. It spins and spins and sometimes it plays and sometimes it does not. The Adobe software only offers one codec for DVD - (Main Concept??) When I create the same video by exporting to DV AVI and then authoring/burning using Sonic MyDVD, it works great on all my players and everyone else who has played them. By first understanding which part mostly affects the playback, then I will better understand whether I need new author/burn softwre or a certain DVD writer. Please point to the right topics to explore if I have the wrong one here.

Also, any hints on duplication? I have never had to make this many DVD-R's before! I am looking at upgrading to two burners, one of the following had good reviews in PC World. The Pioneer and Plextor had mixed reviews on this web site.
Plextor PX-716A
Toshiba SD-R5372
Pioneer DVR-A09XL

I have been using only Ritek Ridata disks are these high enough quality?

Thanks in advance!

[bugster]

I am not sure what part of the process (export, author, burn, burner) mostly affects the playback of the finished DVD's on different DVD players.

Of those aspects listed, I would think the burning program used probaly has the biggest impact of playability in various standalones. But even more important is media quality. Always use good quality media. TY's are generally considered amongst the best. And remember, its the media manufacturer that matters, not the brand name printed on the disk.

As for burning, I suggest you let Sonic MyDvd produce a folder on your HD. Then use ImgTools classic to produce an Iso and use DVDdecryper to burn this iso. This has always produced top quality compatibility for me.

[westbrookmedia]

Thanks for the input, but I am confused by the process described. Would I use Sonic to create the DVD image on my HD instead of burning it to a DVD? Then I'm not sure what I would use the ImgTools to do. I'm not sure what an ISO is... the definition I looked up for ISO is for a CD format. The description for ImgTools indicates that this tool burns as well, so I am not sure what the benefit that using DVD Decrypter to burn provides. Thanks for suggesting two tools which are freeware and I would like to try, but I need more explanation as this is new to me.

[HARRYSPADGE]

Use Sonic to create a Folder on the hard drive which contains your video in VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders.
Imgtool is then used to create an ISO image which is basically an image file of your video.
DVDdecrypter is then used to burn the ISO image file created by Imgtool.

To use Imgtool do the following:-



1) point the source directory to your video folder on the hard drive

2) point the output file to a location on your hard drive where you want to save the ISO image

3) in the VOLUME ID box give your video a name ie MY VIDEO

4) hit the IMAGE button and your video will be processed into an ISO file.

5) DVDdecrypter will then be started and your image will be burned to disc.

Note:- When setting up Imgtool you will need to point it to DVDdecrypter in the settings menu so that it will automatically start DVDdecrypter.

[bugster]

The description for ImgTools indicates that this tool burns as well, so I am not sure what the benefit that using DVD Decrypter to burn provides.

ImgTool burns yes, but "ImgTool classic", which I suggested, does not. (it is a little further down the download page). Use Imgtool classic to create the Iso (as HARRYSPADGE explained) and DVDdecrypter to burn. I know this method produces very good compatibility, but I don't know if this is true when using Imgtool (not classic) to burn, which is why I did not suggest it.

[westbrookmedia]

Thank you very much for the instructions and the clarification. I hadn't noted the 'classic' on IMGtool. I will make sure I get the right version and try this out! Thanks again for the help.

[westbrookmedia]

Can I assume that I will get the same results if I use Adobe Premiere Elements to author and burn the DVD to a folder (instead of Sonic MyDVD) and THEN create the ISO with IMGTools classic and burn to DVD-R using DVD Decrypter? Sonic has such limited settings and I can at least set the bit rate when I burn the DVD to a folder in Adobe.

Thanks for the tip on pointing IMGTools to DVD Decrypter for burning.... it prompted me the first time I opened it up.