DVD Recorder Help Needed

[DVDs2Cherish]

Hello, I am trying to convert tapes to DVD. I have been doing so for many years, and have not made any changes to my set up. However, now my videos are not skipping to the next chapter on the discs. An error message that I keep getting is "Open GOPs were detected in the file. The file will play fine but chapter points may not start accurately. In your encoder always select Close GOPs to avoid such problems." I don't even understand what any of that means, but after a lot of troubleshooting, I have narrowed it down to my DVD Recorder. My VCR is connected to my DVD Recorder. And if I am working with a camcorder, I also plug that into the DVD recorder. This is how I capture the video. I do not have firewire capabilities on my computer. This can be added since I do have the port for it, but will need to purchase the unit & have my IT guy (aka husband) install it in the computer. He doesn't have any free time to help me with this, nor do we know if I'll be able to capture video that way. So, I'd like to keep using the DVD recorder if I can. I have changed the settings on the recorder back to default factory settings. Still having the issue. I've tested multiple tapes, and multiple ways to get the VOBs I work with. I even upgraded my DVD Lab to the PRO 2 version. I have even tried loading it into Adobe Premier Elements (I am on PC, not MAC), and encode there, but it's not fixing the issue.

Again, my chapters are in place, but when I press next chapter on the remote, or in the computer, it just restarts the chapter that is already playing. I see no settings in my DVD recorder for GOPs, but do know that is where the problem is occurring. I am about to pull my hair out, and my customers are getting inpatient. Can anyone please help?

I am using Toshiba DVD Video Recorder D-R400

[october262]

are the discs "finalized" in the recorder ?? in order for them to play in other dvd players they must be finalized.

[DVDs2Cherish]

Yes, I am finalizing all discs.

[orsetto]

Your Toshiba D-R400 is an old model, one of the early units mfr'd for Toshiba by Funai. All Funai-based recorders made prior to 2014 employ the non-standard "VR+" method of creating VOB files. The resulting finalized dvds usually play normally in standalone hardware players, but issues can arise if they are ripped and opened in some editing/re-authoring applications. Apparently DVD Lab cannot properly re-author D-R400 files unless the GOPs are closed, but the D-R400 does not offer such an option. A quick Google search reveals this GOP sensitivity is rather specific to and common with the DVD Lab program. It doesn't seem to be a big deal with most other similar software. Perhaps you should look into alternative applications (VideoReDo and TMPGEnc are known to work well with Funai recorder dvd rips).

One point is unclear: do you experience chapter failure only with re-authored copies, or also with the original dvds made by your Toshiba? The D-R400 normally creates automatic chapter points every five or ten minutes, these should work correctly on the original finalized discs when played in any hardware or PC player. If you aren't getting any chapters on the original recorder discs, make sure your Toshiba is set to create them (Setup>General Settings>Recording>Auto Chapter> every 5 mins or 10 mins). If the Toshiba dvds do not have functional chapters even when the recorder is set to create them, the recorder might be burning dysfunctional discs altogether.

[DVDs2Cherish]

Thank you for this helpful response. Yes, the chapters the Toshiba makes do work. It's only a problem once I put it through DVD Lab. I will look into those two other softwares. I use DVD Lab to create chapters, a menu, and a scene selection menu, plus for creating various buttons & links. I think I can do all of that in Adobe Premier Elements as well. However, my current problem is that I have 47 discs for a huge conversion job from a customer, and didn't start having this problem until Disc #38. The first 10 discs are all burned & labeled. It was time consuming work, so to start from scratch would not only stink, but not get them done by the deadline. So I am worried about having the last 10 discs not look identical to the first 37. I'll see if I can import images, fonts, etc that I use for DVD Lab into one of those other softwares.

[DVDs2Cherish]

Update: I created a DVD with one of the videos in Adobe Premier Elements, and the chapters still will not skip to the next chapter. I guess since it's a problem caused somewhere with the DVD recorder, it won't work no matter what software I use.

[orsetto]

If you did not encounter this issue with the first 37 discs, something significant changed around the time you began working on #38: you just need to figure out what that was. If DVD Lab was digesting your Toshiba discs just fine the first 37 times, but not since, you may have gotten some kind of subtle corruption in Windows or DVD Lab itself at that point (possibly caused by a Windows Update or other automatic background update). Upgrading to DVD Lab Pro may not have completely removed the corrupted parts of your old installation (sometimes upgrades leave bits and pieces in place that aren't always easy to completely remove).

Ask your "IT-hubby" if your PC has System Restore Points enabled: if so, he could try reversing your PC back to a restore point dated BEFORE you encountered problems with disc #38. Or, see if manually deleting the entire DVD Lab installation from your PC (via Add/Remove Programs Control Panel), then re-installing DVD Lab from scratch, solves the problem. If still no joy, I would strongly suggest you borrow or buy another PC and try installing DVD Lab on that. If the problem does not occur on the alternate PC, use it to finish your project by deadline- later you can spend the time to troubleshoot your original PC. Depending on your earnings for this project, it might be well worth buying a second-hand PC to get it finished on time, then resell it afterward. Resolving this issue on your existing PC might be quite time-consuming: if you're getting the same issue with Premiere, this could be an ornery Windows conflict.

The recorder MIGHT be the cause if it has started to die on you in some unusual fashion that causes defective disc formatting (or your blank discs may be defective: try another brand). Your Toshiba is already well beyond its expected lifespan of four years, still it shouldn't be corrupting discs: when they fail they typically don't burn, period. If the experiment using another PC fails, and changing blank disc brands fails, consider buying a new Magnavox or Sanyo DVD recorder from WalMart (they offer very liberal return/refund policy, so if it doesn't help or you don't need it after this project, just return it).

Good luck!

[DVDs2Cherish]

Thank you!