Switched from Lite-On to Philips, same problem!

[Learnin to Burn]

I am desperate. I'm on my second unit, after returning the Lite-On and trying the Philips.

I am trying to clear off my Tivo by burning TV shows onto DVD's using the Philips DVDR3400. After recording, I go into edit mode and insert chapter markers. The DVD recorder itself reads these chapter markings just fine. But after I finalize the disc and take it to any of my other DVD players, none of the other players recognize the chapters.

I am making these DVD's mainly for our own use. And I need to be able to create chapters that will be read by any machine in the house (or at least most!).

Is this possible with DVD recorders? Or do I have to enter the "DVD Authoring" world? I am fully competent in editing my home movies using my computer (I import the video directly from the camera via Firewire), but I was hoping to do the Tivo stuff directly on the DVD recorder. I'm not sure how to get the recorded material to my computer.

Please let me know if I should return this DVD recorder as well. Oh yay, it will give me another chance to deal with Best Buy customer service!

Thanks,
Lisa

[obs]

What type of discs are you using?

I've recorded to +R(W)s on a LiteOn (records in DVD+VR format), and other players had no problems with the automatic 10min chapter breaks. I've never tried manually adding my own breaks, since I prefer to re-do the whole thing on a computer.

Don't have much experience using -R(W)s in a recorder, which can either record in DVD-VR or DVD-Video format.

If you don't get a reply, do some research on the limitations of the following formats for DVD Recorders: DVD+VR, DVD-VR, and DVD-Video.

[hech54]

My Philips (though MUCH older than yours) recorder's chapters stick to any disc...as long as it is finalized or protected.

[Learnin to Burn]

I am using DVD-Rs. I guess I could try DVD-Rw, but I wasn't willing to spend a lot of money just for TV shows.

I also had no problem with the auto chapter marks--they came over just fine. But I just don't understand why the recorders have the function of inserting manual chapter marks if they don't recognize them. And I really don't understand why they would treat auto chapter markings differently from manual.

So, if I must do it on my computer, what's an easy way to get the recorded material into my computer? My DVD recorder is in one room, while my computer is in another. I sure hope I don't have to hook these two up!

Thanks so much,
Lisa

[jagabo]

Have you tried using DVD+R?

[oldandinthe way]

I am making these DVD's mainly for our own use. And I need to be able to create chapters that will be read by any machine in the house (or at least most!).

Are you trying to create chapters for different TV shows stored on your TIVO, or chapters within a given show?

What are you using your chapters to mark?

As others have posted, there are different formats and features which can be used on your DVR available for different media types.

There should be some information in your DVRs manual but it is probably inadequate on its own.

There may be another approach which will meet your needs but we would really need to understand what your real goal is.

[Learnin to Burn]

Okay, here's some answers to previous questions:
No, I haven't tried DVD+R yet.

I am trying to create chapters within a given show. For instance, I am trying to clear off American Idol from my Tivo and put each week's events on a DVD for my teenager. I created a chapter each time a new contestant sang their song; that way my daughter can just cycle through the chapters to get to her favorite contestants. Or for other TV shows, I could insert a chapter break for each commercial break.

I am using the DVD recorder's "edit mode" to manually insert the chapter breaks as per instructed in the manual. Like I said, the Philips unit itself recognizes these chapters. Also, if I set the recorder using automatic chapter breaks (every 5 minutes), other DVD players recognize those chapter breaks. But of course, automatically entering a chapter every 5 minutes does not line up exactly with the content itself.

It's not a great manual (do they even make great manuals any more??!), but it's better than some. It does discuss the fact that some features are only available for DVD+/-RW (i.e., erase disc, overwrite disc).

I'll see if I have any other media types handy and give it a try with one of those.

Thanks,
Lisa

[jman98]

I am desperate. I'm on my second unit, after returning the Lite-On and trying the Philips.

I am trying to clear off my Tivo by burning TV shows onto DVD's using the Philips DVDR3400. After recording, I go into edit mode and insert chapter markers. The DVD recorder itself reads these chapter markings just fine. But after I finalize the disc and take it to any of my other DVD players, none of the other players recognize the chapters.

This happens ALL the time. Those who haven't had it happen to them are lucky. Older DVD players for some reason don't understand the chapters that DVD recorders make. The only fix is to buy a new DVD player. One of my friends got tired of this happening and he bought 2 recorders so he could play back recorded DVDs without problems. Another issue that happens is that older players won't fast forward or rewind DVDs made with a DVD recorder. Again, the only solution is to either buy a new player or another recorder. I don't know why this happens, but it's happened to my dad and my friend, so I know about this problem. Both "fixed" it by having one DVD recorder for recording in one room and another for playback in a different room.

[hech54]

I've never had that problem....but for the record my old Philips only uses +R and +RW media.

[obs]

I like to record lots of TV shows also, and archive them.

It's more work, but I record them to a +RW, dump the disc's contents to the computer (using DVD Decryptor), and then cut out the commercials using TMPGEnc DVD Author.

When you cut the commercials out, DVD Author automatically adds a chapter mark. Of course, you can add chapter marks wherever you want, without having to cut anything.

As I've said, it's more work, but you end up with a 100% compliant DVD-Video.

[qpskfec]

I have an old Philips. The only time you can insert chapter marks after a recording and have them recognized by other dvd players is by using +RW discs and then use the "make edits compatible" command.

Can't do this on +R.

[Learnin to Burn]

Thanks for all of your help. I'll go buy some +RW discs and try that. Hopefully that will do the trick.

[RabidDog]

Are you creating chapter marks on the show that is stored on the hard disk ? and then you transfer that to dvdr? or do you tell the machine to tansfer and create chapter marks? I am thinking that maybe the manual chapter marks are stored in memory or on the hard disk and arent transferred to the dvdr. All this is guesswork, as I dont own a PVR yet. The easiest way of getting your data from recorder to computer is by burning to dvd-rw, then reading it on the pc. sneakernet.

[Learnin to Burn]

No, there's no hard disk on this machine. And maybe I need a machine with a HD in order to do this (which will cost more than I was willing to pay!), but I want to try using the +RW's first.

Thanks,
Lisa