Stand-alone playback problems using different writers.

[MaxMillion]

I have had a Verbatim NEC ND-1000a for well over a year and have been able to burn DVD+R’s (using Ricoh) that are playable in virtually every stand-alone player I have tried. I have probably tried 20 players, and only 1 would not play the DVD. My normal software that I use is: DVD Decrypter, Vobrator, IFOEdit, InstantCopy, DVDFab, DVD Shrink, or Roxio 6.

Recently I purchased a Pioneer DVR-106d as I was having some problems with the NEC not being recognized by 2K about 50% of the time and also freezing on burns. I sent it back to Verbatim and then 45 days later they sent it back saying it was fine. Anyway it still had the problems, which is a whole other topic, so I inevitably purchased the Pioneer. (BTW, if anyone else has had any similar problems with the ND-1000a, please let me know)

The Pioneer has worked perfectly, except for the fact that my stand-alone drive compatibility has dropped to about half. My Apex AD-600a DVD player does not play Pioneer burned DVD+R's, nor does my older RCA (can’t remember model number), which both played my NEC burned discs fine. The Pioneer discs do play great on newer Sony and Panasonic players, which strangely enough both play DVD+RW discs too.

Things I have done to try and resolve the problem:
1. Checked bit-rate setting for both drives burned discs; both are DVD+R
2. Tried different burning software
3. Slowed burning from MAX to 2.4X
4. Confirmed that both discs looked identical according to DVDINFOPro
5. Confirmed that the Pioneer is running the newest version of firmware
6. Threw both the NEC and the Pioneer drives into the lake and gave up burning all together*

*This one has not actually been tried yet, but I have been giving it some serious consideration.

I am pretty much out of ideas as to what may be causing this problem. My only other thought was to try the hacked firmware for the drive, but that is kind of a long shot in my book. I have also thought about just getting rid of the Pioneer and picking up another NEC drive, like the ND-1100 or ND-1300.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt



P.S.
I have been using VCDHelp/DVDRHelp since the very early days and it is by far the best resource out there.

Thanks much!

MM

[dafreak]

hmm, try using different media?

[tompika]

I have had a Verbatim NEC ND-1000a for well over a year and have been able to burn DVD+R’s (using Ricoh) that are playable in virtually every stand-alone player I have tried.
...............
The Pioneer has worked perfectly, except for the fact that my stand-alone drive compatibility has dropped to about half. My Apex AD-600a DVD player does not play Pioneer burned DVD+R's, nor does my older RCA (can’t remember model number), which both played my NEC burned discs fine. The Pioneer discs do play great on newer Sony and Panasonic players, which strangely enough both play DVD+RW discs too.

If those players can play DVD+R's made by the NEC1000 but wouldn't play DVD+R's burned by the Pioneer106 then I'm 99% sure that the Nec (firmware by Verbatim) burns them as DVD-ROM by default.
I know for sure that some Nec1000,1100 firmware versions do...

1. Checked bit-rate setting for both drives burned discs; both are DVD+R

Its bitsetting not bit-rate setting

The Pioneer106 always gets the booktype info from ADIP so it always returns as DVD+R, regardless of bitsetting.
http://www.netfarer.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24

[MaxMillion]

Thanks for the replies.

I will try other media. In the least it will rule out one more thing that could be the problem. I will also change the bitsetting to DVD-ROM and see how that works out. I was almost certain it was the bitsetting when I first did research on the matter. But after DVDInfo returned DVD+R on both discs, I thought that it couldn't be the issue.

Regarding bitsetting vs bit-rate. I am aware of the correct one. I just work with audio a lot and bit-rate just stuck with me for some reason.

I'll get back to this thread with my results soon.

Thank you both again.

MM

[MaxMillion]

I see now that I may not be able to change the bitsetting on this drive. If anyone knows otherwise please let me know.

MM

[tompika]

In the least it will rule out one more thing that could be the problem.

It IS the problem...

I see now that I may not be able to change the bitsetting on this drive.

Of course not. The official Pioneer firmwares not capable of bitsetting and I'm not aware of any hacked one for it...and it wont show the correct booktype but the ADIP info.

The Nec1000,1100 won't bitset either but some firmwares burn DVD+R as DVD-ROM by default.

You have some players that won't play DVD+R as it is and your burner (Pioneer) can't bitset then you should try burning DVD-R

Good luck...

[MaxMillion]

I will try other media. In the least it will rule out one more thing that could be the problem.

I was referring to dafreak's recommendation to try other media.

Now after your recommendation and my original research on the matter, I am one to agree with you tompika in regards to the issue being bitsetting.

I'll try the DVD-R, though that sucks because I still have nearly 200 +R's laying around. With burners so cheap these days I may just go get a NEC-1100 or 1300.

Thanks again,

Matt

[tompika]

The 8x NuTec is very cheap...

[MaxMillion]

I ended up picking up the LiteOn 811S and it is superb. I used the bitsetting program from LiteOn's site, and it works great. I am now even able to watch DVD+RW on my old APEX stand-alone. Problem completely resolved.

Matt

[disturbed1]

So it turned out to be a media problem.

Bitsetting is not a burner feature, but a format hack. Your Pioneer 106D would of been just fine if you used DVD-R media instead.

[MaxMillion]

Actually no, DVD-R did not resolve the problem. As stated above I did try it, but to no avail. Also, the fact that I had tons of DVD+R's was also a problem.

So in my situation, the Lite-On drive was a perfect fix.

MM