Backups of < 4.7Gb DVDs don't play on Marantz DV4100

[Kevmeister]

Key tools:

DVD Shrink 2.3
Nero 6 for burning
Marantz DV4100 DVD Player for playing.
Sony DRU-510A with 1.0c firmware (1.0d is crap for Princo media I've found).

I have managed to compress a number of my DVDs to DVD-R and successfully play them on my Marantz DV4100 player. This includes Matrix Reloaded, Any Given Sunday, etc.

I have also tried making backups of movies such as Ice Age, Stitch, Hi 5 so my 2-yo daughter doesn't kill the originals. None of the DVD-R's will play on my DVD player. One common thread I can see is that each of these movies occupies < 4.7Gb on the original disc.

Nonetheless I've still used DVD Shrink 2.3 to process the disc (ie. it doesn't actually have to do any compression).

But in each case, the DVD-R's don't play on the Marantz. The Marantz spends a long time trying to "Read" the disc and finally gives up and spits it out.

I have often tried several burns of the same disc and the result is the same each time. I pretty much exclusively use Princo 4x media, but have tried with expensive Sony media also, with the same result.

Can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks

Kevin.

[elmotheteapot]

Use DVDDecrypter and the dvd5 to dvd5 guide, always worked for me.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/userguides/141024.php#dvd5

[Kevmeister]

Since writing this I have:

1. Tried using the Forum-specified "method" of using DVD decrypter to produce an ISO image and then using DVD decrypter to write that image. Resultant disc does not work in my player.

2. Tried using DVD decrypter to copy the files to a VIDEO_TS folder and then burn those files using NERO. Resultant disc does not work in my player.

[Kevmeister]

I have found, after some playing around, that if I add a "dummy file" to the DVD (I simply called it "dummy.dat" and placed it in the root directory of the disc) to bring the overall utilisation close to 4.7Gb then the resultant disc will in fact work correctly in my Marantz DV4100.

I am completely bamboozled as to why this would be the case.

Edit: I note that Nero has a "High Compatibility" mode that would ensure that at least 1Gb of data was written. You can't change the 1Gb value. But my problem seems to be in the same vein as this.