VCDs stop after over an hour AND POWER-Offs DVD Player

[LuvLT]

I need some help with this one. Over the past year, I researched the forums and gotten the answers to most of my questions. I have improved the quality of my VCDs dramatically with info on this board. Here's the scenario:
- Strip-out audio using Virtualdub
- Build a VCD using the one-disk technique and TMPGEnc
- Produces a high-quality mpg that plays fine on the PC
- Burn the disk using Nero with no apparent problems
- Play the disk in my Sony DVP-NS400D, appears to be perfect
- After an hour or so, the movie stops and the Sony POWERS OFF!!
- I have to turn the player back on and scan forward to the point where it stopped. Sometimes it will continue with no problem but other times it will stop and shut off again.
- I tried with 2 different movies and with the one-disk and two-disk methods
- Appears to only have the problem and shut -down when the disk counter is greater than 50:00

Any suggestions? Am I writing too far on the disk for the player?

[FoxGarrison]

I can't say that I have had the same problem. I have a Sony DVP-NS315 and another Sony DVD player (a bit older at that, a 360). The first player will play VCDs the second won't unless its on CD-RW. I've had VCDs that refused to play with a "disk dirty" error on both Sonys, but never a stop part-way. Have you tried another authoring and burning program like VCDEasy?

[LuvLT]

VCDEASY is another issue. It does not recognize my burner. (NO CDRDAO..ASPI not valid). Since Nero worked fine and most of the guides preferred Nero, I never took the time to get VCDEASY working. I might do that if that is problem.

[vitualis]

Doesn't seem really possible to author a VCD in such a way that it will cause a DVD player to suddenly just turn off...

Speculation: your Sony player is overheating?

Regards.

[LuvLT]

I promise I am not exaggerating. There is the physical on/off button. When depressed a red light is on and denotes that the unit has power and is "listening" for the remote....I guess standby mode is the official title. Then selecting on the remote or pressing a function key on the unit turns the unit on. The once red light turns to green and the front LCD display is activated, the banner screen is displayed on the TV. When the error occurs, the unit returns to "stand-by". Just red light. No LCD, no banner screen nothing.

I wonder if it is similar to a nonrecoverable error on the PC. When a bad program does something so screwy the operating system just reboots suddenly. I wonder if my VCD has something so screwy the unit just "reboots". I am using mpeg1 (non-standard) template in TMPGEnc. I wonder if Sony doesn't like that.

[vitualis]

Hey, I believe you!

What I mean is, it shouldn't be an "expected" behaviour of a DVD player -- even if your disc has an error. Usually, the DVD player will just gloss over it (+/- skipping, screen artifact, etc., depending on the severity of the disc error).

I was speculating before that perhaps your player is OVERHEATING when it is playing back VCDs/CD-R discs. The player may then protect itself by automatically shutting down (going into standby). This is speculation, however...

Regards.

[FoxGarrison]

I'm just curious, does it exhibit the same behavior with DVDs or only with VCDs? If the player works flawlessly with DVDs and not with VCDs then it could be that the VCD reading algorithym may have a bug.

Try the following to see if the problem goes away...

- Try a different brand of CD-Rs
- Try CD-RWs instead
- Try getting VCDEasy to work with the ASPI drivers
- See if there is a firmware upgrade for your player. Sometimes the upgrade is just as simple as placing a service CD in the unit and running it.
- Try another software package to burn the disks
- Try another burner

Last but not least...

- Get another player (I know, I know...last resort)