Data DVD won't read

[carel]

Just started burning video files that I once had on CD to DVD to save some space. First I did a bunch which worked just fine (well, just about, I can't seem to open the discs through Window's Explorer, but opening them through Media Player works). These are Xvid files, I dont' really know what all the encryption stuff means (sorry! Newbie!) but I can write it all out if needed. Next I tried to burn some that were DivX 'YV12' and DivX Codec onto the same disc. This disc cannot be read by my laptop, Windows Explorer says that the disc is empty and there is no space on it. I don't need these discs to be read by a standalone DVD player. Can I just convert my other files to XVid and burn them? Any freeware program suggestions? I also have some .ogm files that I will need to convert so I can play them in Media Player... how do I do this?

[redwudz]

The only part I see as a problem is the OS seeing the disc as empty. That sounds like a problem with the burned disc or possibly the DVD reader. It should still see the disc, no matter what format it is burned with. You may have some bad DVD media. I would recommend trying a better quality media if you are having those problems.

If you want a player that can play most anything and also be a good test to see if it's a codec problem, DL the freeware VLC Media Player. It uses it's own codecs, so it is handy for checking to see where the problem might be, media or codecs.

If you need Xvid/Divx compatibility, try installing ffdshow. It should work with most players and will allow you to see Xivds and other similar formats. VLC can play most Ogg formats on it's own. If you need to play Ogg types of video with other players, then you might install OGG DirectShow Filter / OggDS / OGM Codec. But I just use VLC instead.

VirtualDub Mod can convert Ogg (OGM) video to other formats, such as Xvid. Ogg is the audio part of the OGM file. The video is often Xvid, so you don't have to convert that, just the audio.

And welcome to our forums.

[yoda313]

These are Xvid files, I dont' really know what all the encryption stuff means (sorry! Newbie!) but I can write it all out if needed

Encryption on a xvid file? I'm not sure how that can happen.

If its a "drm'd" file than you are limited to what you can do with it. You have to live with whatever restrictions it places on you.

However if its a plain old open xvid file you really shouldn't have any problems. Use gspot to identify codecs to make sure you have them.

MEDIA PLAYER CLASSIC can handle just about any file format as well.

[carel]

Thanks redwudz, it is a media/OS issue... sadly took me a lot of dvd's to find that out... can play the ogm files now too.

Cheers.