Here's a tough one!

[Immortalis]

I uninstalled all my authoring, editing and burning programs, then re-installed DVD lab and Nero.

I made a basic menu menu in DVDlab, compiled it in dvd lab, burned it using nero, and still had Incompatible Disc. My home movie was not on this.

One little note though... when I went to burn it, I got an error from Nero that said Power Calibration Error... odd... I cut the burning speed in half and it burned then... however this time, the dvd wouldnt even play in my computer... things are getting worse =(

The original Compilation isnt bad because it works on my computer, and works in the DVD players if it's on a RW disc. The compilation also worked the 1st time on regular -R discs.

The Media isn't bad because it works fine with DVD Backups

I'm about to do another dvd backup, I'll let you know how it goes.

btw, all of them had the AUDIO_TS (although empty) and Video_TS directories.

[sacajaweeda]

Have you tried the new title set on the RW disc that worked earlier?

You might also want to try a replacing your clip with a different video in the new compilation you just made with DVD Lab. Try to rule out one of the possibilities being the way you're authoring your DVD.

[FulciLives]

Either you hit a bad batch of DVD discs (even though the same brand might have worked before) or your DVD burner is perhaps dying or in need of being cleaned.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
The two brands of media you have mentioned using so far are pretty much crap media.

[mob]

You may have better luck using DVD+R discs as they are compatible with 100% of players/readers when setting the Booktype to DVD-ROM.

HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHA.

wtf is so funny?

Setting the booktype on a dvd+r to dvd-rom is PROVEN TO BE MORE COMPATIBLE THAN DVD-R!

I normally don't respond to ignorant replies such as yours, but i just thought i'd educate you a bit.

[northcat_8]

not that it's any of my business but....

Your statement reeks of ignorance and erogance. Sounds like you copied and pasted it directly off of a +R media website.The reason it is so funny is because your ignorance is stunning.

You say "PROVEN TO BE MORE COMPATIBLE THAN DVD-R"...proven by who? Prove it. Explain HOW setting the booktype makes the DVD more compatible? Educate the ignorant.

I've sold well over 2000 DVD-R discs and never had one unreadable or that wouldn't play for a customer. They play in every DVD player at Best Buy and Circuit City, in a PS2, in the personal prortable DVD players...so you are saying that DVD+R will be more compatible than that...if I set the booktype? Well I personally find it pretty hard to believe that I am going to get better than 100% compatibility using DVD+R

[mob]

do you understand that a dvd-r disc has the dvd-r booktype already burned into the disc. when a dvd player reads the booktype it knows it is a dvd-r. Old players are known to have problems with reading dvd-r because dvd-r was not even in existance at the time.

Now dvd+r on the other hand, has no booktype. A dvd writer that allows the changing of booktypes can burn the default dvd-rom booktype to a dvd+r disc. what you have now is a dvd+r disc that will be read by any player in the same way as an original dvd bought at the store.

i personally use dvd-r discs, but i was merely trying to help this guy out with his problem. I also do own an old RCA dvd player that can't play dvd-r or dvd+r but DOES play dvd+r with the dvd-rom booktype.

[Immortalis]

I made a new menu set with DVDLab, just a basic menu, didnt edit anything, added in a short video, still didn't work.. Incompatible disc.

As for the original RW compilation.. thats been long erased unfortunatly =(

Much to my surprise, I just did a DVD backup and that didn't work for me either... starting to sound like my dvd burner is dying, which doesnt impress me much! Any way I can check it out? any DVD burner diags around?

BTW, as for the DVD+R suggestions... I mistakenly bought a DVD+RW disc awhile back and its never been used still... my burner doesnt recognize it.

[mastersmurfie]

just a thought here...

I have a Philips standalone that will NOT play any burned DVDs that are under 4GB in size...gives me some sort of a "disc error"...(cant remember exactly; every disc I've burnt since I found this error has been at least 4GB...using one or more "pad" files...)

like I said

just a thought

mastersmurfie

[Immortalis]

Interesting thought... but my original movie played fine. As well, I just did a DVD back up which is over 4gb and that wouldnt play, it does however, play in my computer. I downloaded a DVD info program that tells me about the media, heres what it says.. This is the info for a DVD backup which plays on my computer, but not in either of my 2 home dvd players...

Media Information
Disc Regions are 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Media code/Manufacturer ID LEADDATA01
Format Type UDF 1.02
Volume Name WILD_THINGS_2
Application id
Implementation id AHEAD Nero
Recording Date/Time (mm/dd/yyyy) 5/31/2004 19:03:10
Format Capacity 4.36GB(4.68GB)
Book Type DVD-R
Media Type DVD-R
Media Id Code Speed 4.0x 5540KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 4.0x 5540KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 2.0x 2770KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 1.0x 1385KBps
Write Strategy Speed 4.0x 5540KBps
2x Speed OPC beta 06
2x Speed OPC power 14
2x Write Strategy field 1 11 87 78 80
2x Write Strategy field 2 88 80 00 00 00 00
4x Speed OPC beta 04
4x Speed OPC power 1B
4x Write Strategy field 1 0F 11 0B 0B
4x Write Strategy field 2 97 08 0F 0B
4x Write Strategy field 3 00 00 00 00
4x Speed OPC beta multi-pulse 06
4x Speed OPC power multi-pulse 1C
4x Write Strategy field 4 13 A8 88 65
4x Write Strategy field 5 98 9A 88 80 00 00
4x Write Strategy field 6 00 00 D0 00 00
Data area starting sector 30000h
Data area end sector 22E23Fh
Linear Density 0.267um/bit
Track Density 0.74um/track
Number of Layers 1


This all looks right from what I know.. but I'd be the 1st to admit I don't know much =D

Anyone have any thoughts?

[FulciLives]

How many times can we tell you to buy some good media.

If quality media like Maxell DVD-R or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R work then you know it's a media issue.

At this point even a "normal" back-up isn't working.

So that leaves 2 things ... either it is media or the burner needs cleaned (or it is dying and you need a new one).

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Rookie64]

Try burning at 2x instead of 4x


Would you happen to have any sticky labels on your discs?
Some players can't read the discs with stickers.


First thing that came to mind as I read your original post before reading any followups, was compatibility issues with your player...but I see you mentioned that your players are able to read DVD-R media.

That a player can read -RW doesn't necessarily means it can read DVD-R

One of my players only reads DVD+RW

But if you've played DVD-R with no problem before, then I guess that isn't the case

[northcat_8]

do you understand that a dvd-r disc has the dvd-r booktype already burned into the disc. when a dvd player reads the booktype it knows it is a dvd-r. Old players are known to have problems with reading dvd-r because dvd-r was not even in existance at the time.

Now dvd+r on the other hand, has no booktype. A dvd writer that allows the changing of booktypes can burn the default dvd-rom booktype to a dvd+r disc. what you have now is a dvd+r disc that will be read by any player in the same way as an original dvd bought at the store.

i personally use dvd-r discs, but i was merely trying to help this guy out with his problem. I also do own an old RCA dvd player that can't play dvd-r or dvd+r but DOES play dvd+r with the dvd-rom booktype.

I'm not trying to pretend to be a media expert, and I'm not here to argue with you, it doesn't matter to me, like I said my DVD-R discs play in everything I have tried and everything that 2000+ people have tried, so I'm not buying the +R is more compatible if you change the book type. But to say that changing the booktype will make the disc 100% compatible with every DVD player is just outright untrue.

Seems to me that authoring process, media, and burner have more to do with compatibility than anything else.

Like Fulci has said a few times - I personally think his issues are media related. If IMGtools and Decrytper doesn't give a compatible disc, then it's a media issue. Buy some RitekG04.

[arcorob]

Okay, I see you have a BUNCH of answers here, some bordering on sillyness (which we all are guilty of at times). You can rule out capture, edit and render because if that was an issue, you would not get through the created DVD process, you would have non-compliant files.

It definately sounds like 1 of 3 things.

1) Most likely - BAD media - You may think the media is okay but just because 1 works doesnt mean 99 others do. You said you ruled out , well, did you do that by SWITCHING to known good media or by trying more of the same disks ?

2) Bad burn settings
If you have NERO select UDF/ISO as the main type.
Now , on one of the first few tabs (as shown in a prior post ) make sure you select UDF/1.02 , on another BOOK type DVD is checked and XBOX compatible should be also checked. Dont know the tabs off the top of my head , but you'll find them.

3) DVD players atht don't like burned DVD's. Least likely but posible. Your relative maybe. For yours that always played, again, It may not like the media. Also one other note. ALWAYS make sure your burn program writes a minimum of 1 gig to a DVD-R . Many players dont like short DVDs....

Hope this helps.

[Immortalis]

I don't think bad media is the problem. I was using Emtec media which all my backup DVDs are on, and as I ran out of those, started using memorex.. Underworld backed up fine on the new ones and layed fine in the dvd players. I backed up a new movie last night, and It wouldnt play in the players, but would play on the computer. I then used DvdinfoPro and did a file by file comparison and they were identical. I then took my Underworld DVD, Imaged it, then burned the image and that worked fine. So, Either all my disks are bad except, the 2 random ones I burned underworld to, or the media is fine and the problem is something else. It actually looks to me like everything is perfectly fine except that the DVD structure isn't being created properly. And I've tried burning with a bunch of programs, so its like the structure isn't being created properly with anything. Very odd.

I will try the nero - UDF/ISO - Xbox method you mentioned... but up until recently, I could make dvds perfectly with Nero - DVD-Video / DVDDecrypter / CopyToDvd or just about anything...

[northcat_8]

I don't think bad media is the problem. I was using Emtec media which all my backup DVDs are on, and as I ran out of those, started using memorex.. Underworld backed up fine on the new ones and layed fine in the dvd players. I backed up a new movie last night, and It wouldnt play in the players, but would play on the computer. I then used DvdinfoPro and did a file by file comparison and they were identical. I then took my Underworld DVD, Imaged it, then burned the image and that worked fine. So, Either all my disks are bad except, the 2 random ones I burned underworld to, or the media is fine and the problem is something else. It actually looks to me like everything is perfectly fine except that the DVD structure isn't being created properly. And I've tried burning with a bunch of programs, so its like the structure isn't being created properly with anything. Very odd.

I will try the nero - UDF/ISO - Xbox method you mentioned... but up until recently, I could make dvds perfectly with Nero - DVD-Video / DVDDecrypter / CopyToDvd or just about anything...

Look dude, you've been given all the advice you need. You can beat your head against the wall of "that's not it" all you want. If you burned the DVD and it plays in your PC but not in your standalone, then logically the data is on the DVD and it is in the proper structure or it wouldn't play on the PC either. That makes your problem post process, and is either a poor burn that is unreadable to your standalone or your media...there is nothing else to it.

You made the DVD it plays fine before burning? You burn and it plays in the PC but not in the stand alone...nothing in there would signify a problem with the DVD structure. The structure is fine or it wouldn't play from your hard drive before burning or from your PC's DVD drive.

So like you have been told several times, your issue lies in either your burner or your media.

I didn't read every single post but if you have NERO and ROXIO both installed..sometimes that causes problems...get rid of ROXIO. And like I've said before, Nero has never burned widely compatible DVDs for me.

You said IMGtools and Decrypter gave you the same results...that's is bad media. Just because a few worked doesn't make it good media.

[arcorob]

I still think its the media ....Especially now that you say memorex. Memorex has been all over the place these days from good to bad. Just for the heck of it, see if you can get your hands on a Ritek, Verbatim or ProDisc. Try your old method of burning and see the result.

As I pointed out before , just because SOME Memorex worked, doesn't mean the whole pack will. TRUST ME I have been here where I INSISTED there was nothing wrong with the discs.....

Note the egg on face that still has not come off....LOL

[lordsmurf]

I don't think bad media is the problem. .

Quit thinking. Take the advice you've been given. Bad media. Buy better stuff. Memorex and Emtec is not a mark of quality. It's a mark of being cheap and having problems.

Sometimes you have to be blunt.

[Immortalis]

Yea well... they worked flawlessly up until now and I can't afford to throw money around on blank dvds for no reason =\

[arcorob]

Can you spend 25 dollars for a 50 pack ?

http://www.rima.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=R&Product_Code=1631-5...tegory_Code=4X

Its disks you can always use, it will settle your issue (disk or not) and you will get past this. If you go as you are, you may not solve it.

Your DVD players didn't change, the computer reads them ( I find them fussier than DVD players) and you were still using the same software. What do you think changed ? Hmmmmm......Could it be......THE DISKS !

If you don't want a 50 pack go find a 5 pack of quality disks (but they will cost you closer to 1.25 to 2 buck apiece in a small quantity

[Immortalis]

Well, if the DVD players cant read the disks I'm burning.. how come they still read the disks that were burned before this problem? I find it highly unlikely that teh past 20+ discs, from 2 different brands are bad only in a way that 2 different dvd players can't read them, but the computer can.

[flaninacupboard]

believe it, i could show you two spindles of discs that were simply "no good"

you burn, it works in your PC, you stick in you DVD player and it says "disc error"
you burn the same files in the same way to the same discs, and it does it again.
you try again and THIS time, it works.

honestly dude, it used to happen all the time. i stopped buying shite and started buying G04. everything i burn works now. and surprise surprise my old cheapo discs no longer work. like northcat i've been selling discs too, and never had a return.

now -that- was throwing around money on blank discs for no good reason.

[mob]

order some G04's from rima.

if they work, GREAT.

if they don't, you can easily return them.

You simply can't lose!

[rixware]

This is a complicated problem, and one I have dealt with very recently. These are the steps I took to solve it, and my answer turned out to be #6 below:

1. Verify that the data written to the disc was accurate. Error correction in players is a blessing and a curse. You could have discs with errors that are being corrected in one player and not in others. Use DVD Decrypt to rip your finished disc and then compare the files to the originals. If they are identical, then you know you have a logical problem (capturing, editing, authoring) not a physical problem (burning, media).

If it is a physical problem (errors reading the disc or files on disc DON'T MATCH those on hard drive), try this:

2. Different media. This is the MOST LIKELY cause of all physical errors. Switch to Ritek G04 or equivalent. The Memorex -R media that I've used has been real crap (10% or more bad media, and it goes in streaks: first 10 discs of a pack are fine, next 8 fail, next 30 are good, next 5 fail, etc.).

3. This caught my eye in one of your posts: "Power Calibration Error" reported by Nero. I don't know for sure what causes this error, but it could be time to replace your drive. They do go bad. Replacing my old drive with a new one cleared up TONS of problems like the ones you're describing.

If it is a logical problem (files on disc MATCH those on hard drive), try this:

4. Check for player compatability. Contrary to what some people will have you believe, +R and -R are each fully compatible with only about 80% of all players. You may have ventured into territory in your authoring that crossed a compatability line with your particular player.

5. Check the versions on all your software and get current -- but not TOO current. New versions are not always better than the old. For example, if you can revert to Nero 5.5.x.x, try that. If you are not using NeroExpress, do so (because it solves a lot of potential parameter problems).

As a side note, don't mess with anything but DVDLab. Roxio et. al. are strictly for amateurs and introduce all sorts of variables that you don't need to deal with. DVDLab is the best there is on a budget. (Don't use DVDLabPro just yet because the betas are not quite stable enough.)

6. Recapture the source media and reconvert it. I have had problems come back to bad MPEGs that had appeared valid through all of the authoring steps along the way (and played fine on the PC). I still can't figure out a way to detect this before it gets to somebody's player, and I don't know for sure exactly what is bad about them. But I have found that recapturing and then reconverting at a different bitrate often solves it (could be undetected dropped frames, or compression blips, or bursts in KBits/Sec -- could even be as simple as a CPU hiccup while the conversion process was taking place).

Hope this helps.

Rick
+

[Immortalis]

My drive isn't that old.. and as I said, I havent got the cash to throw around =( as for recompling, I'm still not convinced thats the problem, Just last night I did a dvd backup from a store bought DVD and it failed to read in any of the DVD players also... but when I ISO'd a previous backup and reburned it.. that one worked fine

[FulciLives]

@Immortalis

Why are you even here when you refuse to try most of what we are telling you to try?

I mean what point is there in anyone offering anymore tips when you flat out refuse to try them?

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[SaSi]

Although using cheap media to record family memories is a bad investment, I believe your problem is with your recording s/w.

I read in one of your previous postings that you use Nero 6.3.0.2. If you still are, uprade to the latest version. 6.3.0.2. won't properly record for me even with TDK media. After a lot of depression, I reverted back to 5.5.10.54 and regained my "self-esteem".

With many versions of Nero, it is CRITICAL that you select DVD Video as a project type and not UDF or whatever. For a DVD player to play the disks, it is CRITICAL that the files in the VIDEO_TS folder are in a particular order. Any other order and the disk is out of specs. So, the recording s/w must not reorder the files (by name for example). Nero will validate the sequence and existence of the required files when the project selected is DVD Video.

And, btw, buy a high quality DVD-RW or DVD+RW to do tests with. Get a good brand, it will pay for itself in, what, a single day ??

[Immortalis]

Pardon? I've tried everything suggested... if you'd read the posts with everything thats been happening, perhaps you'd see what I'd see... I see no evidence that theres anything wrong with my media, and I can't afford to go out and buy ever brand of disc just because someone else thinks its better when theres no conclusive proof anythings wrong with mine... if you're absolutely positive that the media is the problem, and that replacing it will solve all my problems, then please, feel free to buy me some... if it solves all my problems, I'll reimburse you... if not, then I'll return them.

[Immortalis]

The RW I have is Pioneer... came with the DVD Burner (also Pioneer as you'd prolly guess) ... no problems at all with it... I will try upgrading Nero... although this problem exists no matter what I burn with (ie, Nero, DVDDecrypter, Copy2DVD, even burning directly through DVDLab) .

[rixware]

Let's try to limit this to an apples to apples comparsion, concentrating only on the "back-ups" of store-bought discs.

This is what I understand you to be saying:

1. You are making your current back-ups with the same method (software and process) used for the old ones.

2. The data files compare perfectly after they have been burned.

3. Your old discs play fine in a player and your new ones don't.

4. Your new ones play in the same drive in which they were created, but not any stand-alone player.

Are all of these correct?

If so, your problem is easy. It has to be either media or the drive. Bad media (or media just on the borderline) can read fine in a computer and not in a stand-alone. This is a function of the quality difference between the lasers. BUT, more likely is a hardware problem with your burner. A weakened/old/failing laser may create a disc that can only be read by itself.

New drives go bad, too.

+

[flaninacupboard]

if you're absolutely positive that the media is the problem, and that replacing it will solve all my problems, then please, feel free to buy me some... if it solves all my problems, I'll reimburse you... if not, then I'll return them.

no, i'd rather sit on the sidelines and laugh at you. you are after all the one wasting time and money.