Can't get players to recognize DVD-R or DVD+R for the life of me...

[Yip]

I've been searching these forums left and right to find an answer, but I have yet to find anything that specifically addresses my issue. I've been trying to back-up some of my DVDs onto either DVD-R or DVD+R using DVD Shrink, Burn4Free, and an NEC ND3540a OEM DVD burner. So far my discs only play on ONE player: the Cyberhome CH DVD-300. My Panasonic F-86 and JVC TH-C5 (HTIB) don’t recognize either format. My recent purchase, a Philips DVP 5960, recognizes both formats but instead of playing them, brings up the AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folders.

I’ve tried Verbatim DVD-R 16X SL, Sony DVD-R SL, and Sony DVD+R SL using the devices and software mentioned above. I’ve also checked this site for the compatibility of this media on my players and they seem to state that these formats should work fine on all of them, so I’m rather confused. Is this actually a lost cause with these players or is there something I am doing wrong in the burning/ripping process? Should I try updating the firmware and using better burning software (Nero?)? Should I expect to see my players recognize these discs if I do so?

Thanks in advance for any help you videophiles can offer me. It’s pretty frustrating when three out of the four DVD players don’t play your discs. Ironically, the cheapest player I own plays everything, whereas the others do not (I have read that this seems to be a pretty common result, surprisingly).

[CrayonEater]

Are you sure you're not burning your DVDs as data, rather than as DVDs? It makes a difference, because DVD players expect certain files to be at certain locations on your discs. I don't know much about burn4free though based on what I've read it only burns as data, and is video-unaware. Try with IMGBurn or Nero instead. Your burner is a good burner and the Philips is an outstanding player.

Be aware that some DVD players, especially really old ones and a few modern-manufacture ones (mainly portables) don't like any kind of recorded media. One way around that is to burn DVD+Rs (make sure you use quality media, of course - follow the Verbatim or Made in Japan rule) and bitset them to DVD-ROM. You will have to use a hacked firmware to do that with the NEC. Use the Liggy's 1.04 bitsetting firmware for that.

[Yip]

Are you sure you're not burning your DVDs as data, rather than as DVDs? It makes a difference, because DVD players expect certain files to be at certain locations on your discs. I don't know much about burn4free though based on what I've read it only burns as data, and is video-unaware. Try with IMGBurn or Nero instead. Your burner is a good burner and the Philips is an outstanding player.

Be aware that some DVD players, especially really old ones and a few modern-manufacture ones (mainly portables) don't like any kind of recorded media. One way around that is to burn DVD+Rs (make sure you use quality media, of course - follow the Verbatim or Made in Japan rule) and bitset them to DVD-ROM. You will have to use a hacked firmware to do that with the NEC. Use the Liggy's 1.04 bitsetting firmware for that.

Thanks for the quick response! I probably am burning them as data, which would explain why the Philips brings up the two audio and video folders. However, when I burn them, I manually put all the .IFO, .VOB, and .BUP files in the correct order. I was assuming doing so would work fine, but what you say makes perfect sense. I'll try again with the software you suggested. If that doesn't work, I guess it'll have to be the bitset and firmware route. Thanks again.

[ZippyP.]

You can use DVDdecrypter from within Shrink for burning.

Other than that you might want to read this: https://www.videohelp.com/author#3;25

[FulciLives]

The best program for burning a DVD Video disc is called ImgBurn so I highly suggest you use that for your burning needs ... at least when it comes to DVD Video discs.

Verbatim 16x DVD-R discs are very high quality so when properly burned you should have no issues with playback.

Some of the Sony 16x DVD-R discs are made by Taiyo Yuden (the MEDIA ID will show TYG03) so again you should have no issues with playback. I would avoid Sony 16x DVD-R discs that are not made by Taiyo Yuden. You can tell because the package will say MADE IN JAPAN and the white foam "thing" at the top of the spindle will have a hexagon shape (instead of being completely round). Avoid the MADE IN TAIWAN packs of Sony DVD-R discs and also avoid the MADE IN JAPAN packs that have a round white foam "thing" at the top. Please note that this method of identifying Sony 16x DVD-R discs as being made by Taiyo Yuden can change at any time but it has been this way for a while now so hopefully it will stay this way for a while longer so as to make easy identification possible.

You can also buy Taiyo Yuden on-line. They make excellent 16x DVD-R discs as well as 8x DVD-R discs (which save you a bit of money). They also make a most excellent 16x DVD+R if you decide that you want to use DVD+R instead of DVD-R.

Also as mentioned make sure that a DVD+R is set to a DVD-ROM instead of a DVD+R ... this is called bitsetting. This is something you do not have to worry about if you use DVD-R discs.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
The best on-line website for purchasing Taiyo Yuden DVD media is:
http://www.rima.com/

One last thing ... some people say this makes no difference BUT I prefer to burn 16x DVD discs at 6x and I burn 8x DVD discs at 4x and it is my opinion that this is better than burning at full speed.

[Yip]

Well, it was a success! I used the advice all of you knowledgeable folks gave and it worked great. What I had been doing in the past was simply creating the two audio_ts and video_ts folders and then dumping the files (in appropriate order though) DVD Shrink gave me into the VIDEO_TS folder. I was under the assumption that doing so would work, but apparently not. I guess it was reading it as a data disc as CrayonEater suggested. Still, some players recognized those discs others did not. With the help you guys provided I was able to correctly play Verbatim DVD-R on all of the players that had previously failed to play them.

Anyway, what a tremendous help you guys have been. This place is a treasure trove of valuable A/V information. I'll make sure to stick around (and perhaps even provide the very little knowledge I have on certain issues—remember I said little ). Thanks again guys.

[videocheez]

Also as mentioned make sure that a DVD+R is set to a DVD-ROM instead of a DVD+R ... this is called bitsetting. This is something you do not have to worry about if you use DVD-R discs.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
The best on-line website for purchasing Taiyo Yuden DVD media is:
http://www.rima.com/

I hope I don't get blasted for hijacking, but a forum search led me here. I'm trying to bit set to make the DVD+R look like a DVD-ROM and I can't figure out where in imgburn to make this setting. It appears that the ability to change drive burning properties is limited to a few brands, Plextor, Benq etc. My burner is a TSST corp cd/DVDW SH-S162L. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

VC

[budz]

Also as mentioned make sure that a DVD+R is set to a DVD-ROM instead of a DVD+R ... this is called bitsetting. This is something you do not have to worry about if you use DVD-R discs.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
The best on-line website for purchasing Taiyo Yuden DVD media is:
http://www.rima.com/

I hope I don't get blasted for hijacking, but a forum search led me here. I'm trying to bit set to make the DVD+R look like a DVD-ROM and I can't figure out where in imgburn to make this setting. It appears that the ability to change drive burning properties is limited to a few brands, Plextor, Benq etc. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

VC

videocheez: It would be helpful if you posted the brand your dvd burner. Not all dvd burners can bitset to dvdrom. For instance the Pioneer 111 drive can bitset to dvdrom for dual layer dvd+r media out of the box but for single layer dvd+r media it cannot. But you can use hacked firmware from the dangerous brothers website for the pioneer 111 drive that can bitset to dvdrom for single layer dvd+r media.

[videocheez]

It would be helpful if you posted the brand your dvd burner.

I suppose you read my post after I edited it by adding my dvd burner model. It came with my new comp so its not some cool fancy burner. Anyways, its a TSST corp CD/DVDW SH-S162L. Thanks for the info.