Problem reading DVD into TMPG DVD Author Pro

[pmatthews1]

I used a Panasonic ES20 recorder to transfer old 8 mm tapes to DVD (used Fujifilm DVD-RW). I just tried to open the burned DVD for some re-authoring using TMPG DVD Author Pro 2.1 (Trial version). However, Author Pro could not recognize the DVD and gave an error stating:

"File not supported. (error code 0x80048003)"

I noticed that the DVD did not have an AUDIO_TS folder. I copied the files to my hard disc and manually added an AUDIO_TS folder but this did not work either.

What is the problem and what can I do about it?
Is this a compatibility issue with many DVD recorders?

[yoda313]

Try ripping again with dvddecrypter then open in dvd-video mode in tmpgenc dvd author.

If that fails try vob2mpg and get a mpg file to import into tmpgenc.

[pmatthews1]

I did try using DVDDecrypter and ended up with the same result. Doing a bit more investigation, it appears that the Panasonic ES20 divides the title into 5 minute chapters upon finalizing. The burned DVD seems to only have the first chapter on the disc.

Not sure what happened to the rest of the files.

Any ideas? Do the Panasonic recorders have a non-standard file structure?

[mikiem]

Read in another thread here (last week I think) where the DVD recorder placed files in sub-folders -- only visible after using isobuster to transfer to HD if I remember correctly.

Could your prob be something similar?

[pmatthews1]

To follow up on this thread, I did some more investigating.

Ripping in DVD Shrink allows me to make a compliant copy and also to open in TDA.

I experimented by recording more DVDs on the Panasonic ES20 and found that one of the DVDs appeared fine - all files were visible on the computer, Nero was able to regonize it and make a copy, TDA was able to import it.

The only difference in this disc was that I set it to record in 2 hour mode but the source material was only 1 hour long so I stopped recording after an hour. Thus the disc was not completely filled.

Could this have anything to do with the way the Panasonic writes and finalizes the disc so that it cannot be read easily and files are hidden?