Newbie with unusual DVD-R legibility problem

[Coach E]

I'm new to this forum and have an odd problem concerning changes in DVD readabliity.

About 6 months ago I successfully used iMovie/iDVD to transfer 8 mm home movies to DVD-R, then viewed them on my Phillips DVD711. Last week, I decided to try something a bit more adventurous. I connected a VCR to my Mac through the 8 mm camera and recorded a TV program (45 minutes after editing out commercials). I then tried to burn the DVD of the program. It came out fine on the computer, but the Phillips DVD711 will not read it. I've tried Fuji and CompUSA generic DVD-R and a Memorex DVD-RW. (The CompUSA disks did work 6 months ago on the Philips player.) The player still plays the movies from 6 months ago, and the Apple DVD player plays the recorded program fine.

So, where might the problem lie? I did upgrade to Panther about 2 weeks ago, so that's another confounding possibility. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

Coach E

[Tezgno]

Are you sure you are making DVD Compliant movies or are you simply burning the movie to the disc? Also, make sure that your disc contains both a VIDEO_TS folder and an AUDIO_TS folder (some newer revisions of programs will not include the AUDIO_TS folder on the disc). While most newer players can read the DVD even if it does not contain an AUDIO_TS folder, some older players require this folder. If your discs do not contain the folder, simply copy the data off the disc to your Mac (I would use DVDBackup) and put it into a folder. Then, add an AUDIO_TS folder. Then burn it to a new DVD using a DVD burning program. If you use something like Toast, it should look like:

DVD_NAME
---VIDEO_TS
---AUDIO_TS

[galactica]

this more adventurous dvd, does it play on your comptuer?!

[Coach E]

Galactica:

Yes, the "more adventurous" DVD does play on my computer.

Texgno:

My understanding was that iDVD should automatically produce a DVD-compliant disk from an iMovie file. Interestingly, although there is an AUDIO_TS folder on the disk, the folder appears to be empty.

[qshartle]

All audio TS folders are empty. Pop a commercial DVD in and see.

Q

[galactica]

can you perhaps describe how the dvd was burned... ie what appears when you double click on the DVD to reveal its contents

often dvd's that play on the comptuer but not players were not burned in the correct format... yet you are correct iDVD does author proper disks

what media type did you use?
did you confirm the settop players you are attempting to play the disk on read that media type (brand, -r, +r, etc)

computers are way forgiving about cheap media and improper media formats settops are not.

use the DVD PLAYRES tab to the left to look up the player you are trying to watch the disk in and make sure it fits that media type

[scavenga]

Hmf, I brought some of my back up-movies to my father, who owns a Philips DVD-711. Some discs worked, some did not - even if they worked perfectly both on my Mac and my Sony DVR-405.

Could it be that the DVD-711 has trouble with certain bitrates or anything like that? It's an ageing model...

[galactica]

yess..............

again look at the specs in the players portion.
read some reviews... its VERY likely that is the problem

for example.........
my player loves every disk brand except optodisc and beall (which is not a problem since they are cheap media - i stay away from them) yet the burned disks work in my computer and my parents player

why not mine!? who knows.................

[terryj]

I agree with master galactica.
Cheap media ( me who uses CompUSA white top specials)
can cause some players to have fits, some players to occassionaly
have fits, and some like the Apex models, to never blink.

Try master galactica's soap trick, and see if that helps
with the disk in the Phillips.
It's helped with the CompUSA white top cheapies I was using
( I now use the Samsung Be-Alls, which although cheap, are rock solid.)

[Coach E]

Thanks, all, for your help.

I tried the new iDVD and copied two episodes into one file, then burned onto the same CompUSA cheapies that had worked 6 months ago, but not recently. Lo and behold, it worked again! One thing that info on the Philips 711 suggested is that for some reason, it requires relatively large files on the burned DVD to recognize it, and I think that putting the two episodes together might have done the trick.

[qshartle]

My friends company just got one of those nifty machines that burn DVD's at insane speeds, and print the labels professionally right on them. I have no idea what brand of DVD's these are. They are made for industrial use. He has helped me make a few good backups, that look all nice and pretty. I was wondering if anyone knew what brand these were, and why they wont work with apple dvd players.

Q