DVD+R9 Double Layer first burn: problems with layer switch

[Frunobulax]

Okay -- this is basically what I have found works for me so far. I've left out details of each step, and I may be doing a couple of things redundantly, but here it is, for your amusement:

Dual Layer Burning – My Way

1. Use TmpgEnc to demultiplex the mpg file into m2v and mp2 files.

2. Use Goldwave to save mp2 file as a wav file.

3. Convert wav file to an ac3 audio file using Sonic Foundry Soft Encode.

4. Design any needed menus in whatever software is preferred. I use Photoshop 7 for most of my menus.

5. Using DVD Maestro, drag and drop all needed files (m2v, ac3, menu graphic files) that you’ll need.

6. Create chapter points where needed.

7. Place layer break where needed. The first layer (Layer 0) should always be equal to or larger in size than the second layer (Layer 1).

8. Set navigation parameters as needed for menus and video.

9. Test navigation parameters and chapter points with simulation within DVD Maestro.

10. Compile DVD files using DVD Maestro.

11. Load DVD file in pgcedit and confirm that the layer break is there. I get good results when the cell is set to “0.”

12. Using DVD Shrink 3.2, create an ISO image of compiled DVD files. Within DVD Shrink options, make sure the “Remove Layer Break” option is unchecked.

13. Use a virtual DVD drive such as Nero ImageDrive to load the ISO file. Recheck the file in pgcedit to confirm that the layer break is still intact and unchanged.

14. Using the latest version of Nero (at least 6.3.1.17), burn the ISO image to a blank dual layer DVD. Good luck!

You may fire when ready.

[Edmund Blackadder]

I tried burning the VIDEO_TS in Recordnow 7.2, using the "create or append to a data disk" option, but the layer break got all changed around.

Well, yes, RecordNow 7.2 will insert a break in Data mode where it feels it should be if the original break is in the wrong spot. But still, besides that issue, did it work OK on your DVD player? Did it jump, freeze or pixelate? I'm curious.

I hear Pioneer ships their new DL drives with RecordNow instead of Nero. I think that's a smart move for Pioneer. Also DVR-108 supports automatic DVD-ROM bitsetting for DVD+R9 DL, which surpised me, but still no bitsetting for regular DVD+R's . Therefore, I'll continue using my Sony DRU-700A which supports bitsetting on all "+" discs (with a modified firmware, naturally).

[Edmund Blackadder]

Okay -- this is basically what I have found works for me so far. I've left out details of each step, and I may be doing a couple of things redundantly, but here it is, for your amusement:

Dual Layer Burning – My Way

1. Use TmpgEnc to demultiplex the mpg file into m2v and mp2 files.

2. Use Goldwave to save mp2 file as a wav file.

3. Convert wav file to an ac3 audio file using Sonic Foundry Soft Encode.

4. Design any needed menus in whatever software is preferred. I use Photoshop 7 for most of my menus.

5. Using DVD Maestro, drag and drop all needed files (m2v, ac3, menu graphic files) that you’ll need.

6. Create chapter points where needed.

7. Place layer break where needed. The first layer (Layer 0) should always be equal to or larger in size than the second layer (Layer 1).

8. Set navigation parameters as needed for menus and video.

9. Test navigation parameters and chapter points with simulation within DVD Maestro.

10. Compile DVD files using DVD Maestro.

Very good. Although I do it in a somewhat different way, I totally agree with the above.

11. Load DVD file in pgcedit and confirm that the layer break is there. I get good results when the cell is set to “0.”

12. Using DVD Shrink 3.2, create an ISO image of compiled DVD files. Within DVD Shrink options, make sure the “Remove Layer Break” option is unchecked.

13. Use a virtual DVD drive such as Nero ImageDrive to load the ISO file. Recheck the file in pgcedit to confirm that the layer break is still intact and unchanged.

14. Using the latest version of Nero (at least 6.3.1.17), burn the ISO image to a blank dual layer DVD. Good luck!

You may fire when ready.

OK, points 11 to 14 are indeed redundant and could be quite questionable, since you have to go through so many steps and programs. Since your destination is ISO, then I would definitely recommend getting your ASPI layer together and then building your ISO right inside the DVDMaestro. It tends to crash when you attempt to build ISO right after the "Compile", so you have to close and re-open DVDMaestro to do that.

But building ISO inside DVDMaestro out of its own compilation is the best way to do your own DL discs. I will try that when I get some time, but I think that is definitely the way to go, especially if you're planning to give, or even worse - sell your DL DVD's to other people. I quite often do DVD's of the theatrical plays and musicals, so when DL media is more reasonably priced, I know that DVDMaestro ISO -> RecordNow 7.2 will be the most compatible way to do it. And if it doesn't work on some people's hardware, then they'll have to replace their DVD players.

[Frunobulax]

I agree that steps 11 through 14 are probably redundant, but just chalk it up to my natural paranoia about making sure that the intended layer break was left undisturbed.

I installed an ASPI layer last week, but I keep forgetting to try compiling an image file from within DVD Maestro. I'll try it next chance I get.

[mackey]

Hi, new to this board and I've been reading through this topic.
So I figure all eyes are on Recordnow 7.2

So can you tell me if this works ok or how to handle this:
DVD9 where I want to take off some logos/warnings
1. I decrypt in file mode with DVDDecrypter
2. I remove some VobID's with IFOEdit, followed by "Get VTS Sectors"
3. I feed the files to RecordNow 7.2 and it will take care of the layer break altogether

Tell me what you guys think

[Edmund Blackadder]

So can you tell me if this works ok or how to handle this:
DVD9 where I want to take off some logos/warnings
1. I decrypt in file mode with DVDDecrypter
2. I remove some VobID's with IFOEdit, followed by "Get VTS Sectors"
3. I feed the files to RecordNow 7.2 and it will take care of the layer break altogether

Mackey, yes ideally it should work as you described. And from reading this thread you know that it worked for me and inserted the layer break into the title that was missing it.

Although I would recommend to be careful during your stripping/removing of logos etc., process. RecordNow is very picky about the DVD structures you're feeding it. I mean it will fix the layer break issues, but if the VTS structure is somehow improper it will refuse to burn it.

On many occasions it would refuse to burn the recompressed InstantCopy backups where I removed absolutely nothing, but apparently InstantCopy did something invisible to the structures that RecordNow did not like. While that was annoying (and required Nero to burn), in a sense it was also good that RecordNow will not pass through some questionable material. I'm sure that is for the purpose of maximizing the burned DVD's compatibility.

[mackey]

Ok, I have done a lot of IFO editing and I know (I hope I know) what and what not to do with it.

And to get back to the layer break issue, I've seen you have quite some experience by now. But maybe soon you do might want to try DVD Decrypter for burning.
Check out this thread:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80981

I'm strongly convinced 8) that LIGHTNING UK, the author of DVDDecrypter knows what he's dealing with.

We'll see what the future brings.

[Edmund Blackadder]

But maybe soon you do might want to try DVD Decrypter for burning.
Check out this thread:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80981

I'm strongly convinced 8) that LIGHTNING UK, the author of DVDDecrypter knows what he's dealing with.

We'll see what the future brings.

Well, with all my respect to LIGHTNING UK and with all my love to his great program, I still will not use DVDDecrypter for DL burning. And here's why:

AFAIK the layer break stuff in the IFO is all a myth anyway.

The flag on a certain cell that people generally accept to mean "here's the layer break" can infact be set several times - AND IS SET several times in the discs protected by that new sony (?) bad sector protection thingy.

The actual layer break is a physical thing on the DVD and that IS taken care of by DVD Decrypter.

I don't think even he completely understands the importance of non-seamless play flag in IFO at the point of where the physical layer break should occur. Yes, the "physical thing" will work out OK, and would be great for data discs and also video for most newer DVD players. But there is a huge number of DVD players that absolutely require the non-seamless play artificially inserted into IFO exactly to the sector where the layer break is or it will refuse to play the disc from that point (unless you manually fast forward through that spot). Yes, there can be many more of other non-seamless play flags in that same title, but the one that meets the physical layer break must be there in the precise spot. If that's not the case, then the physical break should be taylored to one of those flags. Will DVDDecrypter do that job? I don't know. Does RecordNow do it already? Absolutely.

Again, with all my deepest respect to LIGHTNING UK, I don't think he's correct with his above statement. If RecordNow does insert the flag into IFO, and it fixes my issues on Pioneer DVD players, that means that this flag is a must. Besides, Sonic makes mastering software for Hollywood, so I'm sure they've got quite a bit of experience on how to do it properly. So I pretty much trust the results from RecordNow, and obviously the output works flawlessly. The only times something didn't work for me from RecordNow was when the media crapped out.

Just like Golden Hawk's CDRWIN in my opinion is the best CD-DA (Audio CD) mastering and burning software, RecordNow is the champion of DVD burning. And of course DVDMaestro is the most awesome authoring software. Maybe it's true that "there can be only one" for each territory. I mean there's only one program that always gets the gold, and the rest of competition, even if they are the big favourites of general public, will perpetually fight for silver and bronze .

I guess I've been watching to much of the Olympics.

A few more of the champion pieces of software that are definitely not general public's favourites, but clearly the winners:

MPEG2 Encoding: Canopus ProCoder is the clear winner, but most people use either TMPGEnc or CCE. I don't know why, but the result on the TV clearly shows that ProCoder is miles better.

Audio Editing: Cool Edit Pro (now Adobe Audition) is the most intuitive and feature rich piece of audio editing software, yet most people continue to use SoundForge, WaveLab and something else that I forgot. Now that Adobe got hold of it at least more people pay attention to Cool Edit Pro / Audition.

DVD Motion Menu Design: Clearly Adobe After Effects is the way to do great motion menus. Yet people search for some weird DVD authoring programs that do a poor job creating un-original graphics and buttons for their DVD's.

There are many other similar examples.

I understand that some of these programs cost quite a bit of money, but I think a lot of people end up spending just as much or even more by paying for, testing and not getting the results they want from all those half-baked programs that have constant updates to keep up with the numerous newly-born bugs.

That's why I'll stick to those above mentioned "champion" programs for my tasks, because they've always produced superior results to anything else I've tried for those tasks.

[borghe]

I've read through this thread and still have a couple questions.

I authored a disc with scenarist. completely new material. I added a layer break where it seemed the best place. On a chapter boundary etc.. so now how do I burn that disc while maintaining the layer break? I created both an iso and video files with scenarist. It also spit out the sector where my layer change would occur. so i have an ifo, an image, and a sector.

I was thinking of using DVDDecrypter. It allows you to manually enter in your layer break sector. I also have nero though if it doesn't put the layer break in the right spot that would suck.

the discs are captures of the original theatricals of star wars off of my laser discs. if it splits the movie half way through that could cause an unwanted pause. I have the break on a fade where it should go unnoticed.

thanks for any advice.

[Frunobulax]

I'd burn the ISO with Nero if your layer break is already set; that seems to work pretty well.

I've also heard that the latest version of CopyTo DVD handles dual layer projects pretty well:

http://www.mmbforums.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=7467

[borghe]

the only problem with burning the iso with nero is it detects it as a foreign iso... it doesn't at all seem promising.. DVD Decrypter recognizes it with volume name and everything.. nero acts as if I am just throwing a junk file at it..

[Frunobulax]

I just use Nero because I know it won't try to alter the layer break if I burn the DVD as an ISO file. We're all learnin'!

[borghe]

well, I used DVDDecrypter.. I just didn't trust nero to read the sector from the IFO and add the offset of the PGC to determine the layer break. If someone can show me proof that nero does in fact do this I would be much more comfortable but in the meantime scenarist spits out the exact sector number required...

thanks for the help.

[Frunobulax]

I authored a DVD with DVD Lab Pro, then shrunk it a teensy bit with DVD Shrink 3.2. The files themselves play fine on my PC DVD players, but when I try to burn the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders as data files in RecordNow Deluxe 7.2, I get a "formatting error" message. Any idea what could be causing this?

Here are the contents of my VIDEO_TS folder:

[Edmund Blackadder]

I authored a DVD with DVD Lab Pro, then shrunk it a teensy bit with DVD Shrink 3.2. The files themselves play fine on my PC DVD players, but when I try to burn the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders as data files in RecordNow Deluxe 7.2, I get a "formatting error" message. Any idea what could be causing this?

Frunobulax, RecordNow, both the classic and the new versions, has always been picky with sketchy VIDEO_TS compiles/transcodes. On several occasions it refused to burn the backups recompressed with InstantCopy. Some programs I guess remove some crucial parts from the VIDEO_TS compilation. My solution was to burn with Nero, though even Nero warns you that the files are not DVD compliant, but you can continue anyway.

First I thought it must be something unimportant, and all my DVD players played those backups with no problems. Then I tried one of them on a new Panasonic TV/VCR/DVD combo and once in a while it would stop cold after the warning. Then on the second try it would usually play through. And that doesn't happen on the original disc.

So, my advice would be that if RecordNow doesn't like your VIDEO_TS folder, I would try to reauthor/recompress the material using some other method. Otherwise, even if burned successfully with Nero, some parts of the DVD might not be quite compatible with all the DVD players.

On the other hand, I had this same formatting problem with one of the Double-Layer backups when I tried to put too many data files as a bonus on the DVD+R9. When I removed some of the extra files/folders, RecordNow 7.2 then was OK with the formatting. I guess because the space was so tight it could not find the appropriate spot to insert a proper video layer break into IFO or to adjust the physical break to the existing non-seamless play reference in IFO (as it usually does with VIDEO_TS burning).

Anyway, those are the two possibilities. Was it a double or single layer disc that you tried to record in RecordNow?

P.S.: Frunobulax, also bring back your avatar. Without it you're not the same person anymore

[Frunobulax]

I was using a Ritek D01 DVD+R DL disk.

As for my avatar, I wasn't aware that it was missing. All fixed now.

[mdeletr]

Hi, have anyone tested the new Nero? It says that it has fixed some issues with Dual Layer burning. I gonna try tonight.. Be back with report after if layer switch worked. I have tested before and the disc wouldnt play on any of my Pioneers standalone playes. Only on my computer. Burnt wit DVDdecrypter and it worked perfect.. Gonna try Nero again..


Jonas

[Edmund Blackadder]

Hi, have anyone tested the new Nero? It says that it has fixed some issues with Dual Layer burning. I gonna try tonight.. Be back with report after if layer switch worked. I have tested before and the disc wouldnt play on any of my Pioneers standalone playes. Only on my computer. Burnt wit DVDdecrypter and it worked perfect.. Gonna try Nero again..


Jonas

Jonas, yes please do share your experience when you try the new version of Nero. I haven't tried it yet. I've pretty much set myself a barrier that I will not buy another DVD+R9 until the price comes down to at least $6 or less a piece, without having to buy 30 at once. Out of 6 Verbatim MKM DVD+R9 blanks I've encountered 2 defective ones with problematic dye. At nearly $10 a disc this is absolutely not acceptable. I hope Ritek has better quality control of their DVD+R9's.

Even regular MCC DVD+R Verbatims seem to have lower quality these days. I always get them at Sam's Club and in the past they used to be perfect and now you quite often see how unevenly some of them burn. And I'm not talking about the rings, nor the dust/scratches, but the ugly large not quite fully burned blobs the size of a coin, that I've only seen on some older Ritek 9.4GB double-sided DVD-R discs. These Verbatims still play OK, but KProbe shows elevated levels of errors in those spots, from usual average of 2 to about 40, so that's not good. So if they cannot make DVD+R5 quite as they used to, I see how their DVD+R9 quality is suffering as well. I've actually seen better burns from CMC made Verbatim DVD+R's than from their own MCC stuff! I also never burn at more than 4x, just to be safe.

It's hard to trust any media manufacturer anymore. Everything is so inconsistent

P.S.: Even Sony miniDV tapes seem to get worse, especially the Color Collection Panasonic miniDV tapes used to behave terribly in my Sony DCR-VX1000E and DCR-TRV900E camcorders and now it looks like Sony tapes take Panasonic's reputation while Panasonic tapes are getting much better with less dropouts than Sony tapes... I'm sure it will change again to something else within a year or so.

[mdeletr]

Hi again. My ******* PC crashed big time yesterday, the HDD was corrupted. Bought a new one, didn´t have time to install all programs and test. Gonna test later tonight.
I´ll be back soon!

Jonas

[the kek]

Thanks to you guys for this VALUABLE information, especially "Edmund Blackadder". I may have some info for you, or maybe not

I burned my first, VERY EXPENSIVE dual layer disc the other day using the advice given in this thread.

I ripped to ISO via dvd-decrypter and burned the image using nero 6.3.1.20

All seems perfectly fine.

The weird part is, I went searching for a layer break with ifoedit, and didn't find one on the original but I do know my player has a little pause when it changes layers. The disc I decided to back up was "WWE The Stone Cold Truth". I'm just guessing that the actual layer break is in between the main feature and the extras, or in between one of the extras, so that it doesn't actually play. Thats just a guess.

I've updated to version 6.3.1.25 of nero, and 2.1.2.18 of nero's recode, and discovered some interesting things in there release notes and in recode itself.
In their release notes, nero claim to have fixed several DL issues and layer break issues. I wonder if it now inserts a layer break when burning in dvd-video mode?? as they hinted to fixed layer break issues in their relase notes.
They've also included bit setting for various drives. (ahh yea, my disc was set to dvd-rom booktype automatically, with my Pioneer A08)

The most interesting feature I found in recode, was a check box to "remove layer break". I didn't want to test this ability with my $15 DL and on my first try, but I will when they are cheaper.
I'm assuming that if you uncheck this box the layer break would be copied over(you would think anyway)

Thanks for all your help, and if I come across some spare cash to get some more blanks, I will try some of the things I've mentioned, and let you all know how it goes.

[Edmund Blackadder]

Thanks to you guys for this VALUABLE information, especially "Edmund Blackadder". I may have some info for you, or maybe not

Thanks the kek, I'm glad you found this thread useful.

The weird part is, I went searching for a layer break with ifoedit, and didn't find one on the original but I do know my player has a little pause when it changes layers. The disc I decided to back up was "WWE The Stone Cold Truth". I'm just guessing that the actual layer break is in between the main feature and the extras, or in between one of the extras, so that it doesn't actually play. Thats just a guess.

That's a good guess. I don't have "WWE The Stone Cold Truth", so I cannot comment on where the layer break might be. A lot of DVD's, as you guessed, have the physical layer break between the main feature and the extras, so you would never notice any pause during the movie, for the reason that the break is not within any of the titles, but between them.

I've updated to version 6.3.1.25 of nero, and 2.1.2.18 of nero's recode, and discovered some interesting things in there release notes and in recode itself.
In their release notes, nero claim to have fixed several DL issues and layer break issues. I wonder if it now inserts a layer break when burning in dvd-video mode?? as they hinted to fixed layer break issues in their relase notes.
They've also included bit setting for various drives. (ahh yea, my disc was set to dvd-rom booktype automatically, with my Pioneer A08)

I all sounds promising from Nero. Let's hope it's true. I'm sure we will all test it several times once the DL media prices come down even more.

[Frunobulax]

I just burned a home-grown (non-commercial) DVD with the latest Nero update. I burned the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders in file mode, not as an ISO file. I used DVDLab Pro Beta 13 RC1 to author the DVD and did not specify a layer break.

The result plays perfectly in our Apex standalone. However, when playing it on the PC with WinDVD, if I fast-reverse from the layer break point, I wind up in another part of the video (not the correct one).

EDIT: In PowerDVD, it plays perfectly.

I'll test the DVD on my brother's standalone this evening and report the results.

[Frunobulax]

The aforementioned DVD DL plays perfectly in my brother's DVD standalone as well. I think I see progress here...

[Edmund Blackadder]

Sounds good. Screenshot from PGC Editor looks promising too. I think now I should download the latest Nero update and put it into my arsenal, just in case. Though, of course, I'm still a Prassi/RecordNow fan boy.

By the way, did you guys know that Prassi (RecordNow is based on their engine) has recently released their new software called ONES and it's supposed to work with any old, new and future CD and DVD recorders. That is because of the so-called "fuzzy logic". I tried the program and liked it for everything, except for DL burning. While the DL burning completed successfully, ONES don't seem to insert the layer break flag into VIDEO_TS. That must be the part where Sonic is in charge for the current RecordNow, with their HyperMuxDL engine for successful DL VIDEO_TS burning. But, besides the DL VIDEO_TS issue, for everything else, including every kind of DVD5 burning, ONES is very similar to the classic RecordNow versions with one big plus: it will work with any drive And an even bigger plus, unlike in RecordNow which with certain drives will only give you Min-Med-Max speed selection, while most likely only burning at maximum speed, in case of ONES you can set any actual speed that's available for the particular drive (e.g. 2x, 2.4x, 4x, etc.), and burn it at that speed! So there you go, RecordNow's unbeatable recording engine combined with the higher flexibility and drive compatibility = ONES. I just wish DL in VIDEO_TS mode was better incorporated. However, I'm almost positive that the DL ISO burning will be as good as in any other decent burning software.

Prassi's quote about "Fuzzy Logic":

ONES stands out from the crowd in implementing innovative recording technology with a unique Fuzzy Logic approach. It’s a totally driver-less application that will not require new versions to manage most of the new CD and DVD recording drives that are coming to the market.

Fuzzy Logic

Fuzzy Logic is an approach to computing based on "degrees of truth" rather than the usual "true or false" (1 or 0). Therefore, Fuzzy Logic introduces a superset of the conventional (Boolean) logic, which is extended to handle the concept of partial truth; truth values between "completely true" and "completely false". It was introduced in the 1960's as a mean to model the uncertainty of natural language, but it later found numerous utilization to handle “uncertain” events.

Well, many times the CD and DVD recorders are quite uncertain. ONES takes advantage of Fuzzy Logic, and the new concept is to fully use the current converging command specifications and manage borderline firmware interpretation in the best possible way. The mastering engine will try everything before returning an error to the calling application. This will enormously facilitate the work of OEMs and integrators.


You can get more info and also get a demo or purchase from the following URL:
http://shop.traxdata.fr/boutique/liste_produits.cfm?type=4&code_lg=lg_us

[mdeletr]

Hi there again. I burned a DVD last night again with newest Nero. Decrypted with DVDDECRYPTER to VIDEO_TS folder.
Started Nero and burned DVD VIDEO. SAME SHIT. My new Pioneer 668 wasnt able to get past layer break.
Sorry, gonna use another prog to burn those expensive DL disc.

Jonas

[tvideo]

This forum knows quite a bit about DVDs and whatnot, but it isn't the best source nor accurate when it comes to copy protections. I've seen posts with DVDs that I know contained this protection and the so-called pros here were laughing and saying it was scratched.

The so-called "New" or "Mysterious" protection that causes heaps of packet loss and bad data and is the only non-standard DVD copy protection there currently is, that would be Sony's "Structure Protection".

This is defeated by using DVD Region+CSS Free 5.50 Beta1 and above, it was finally cracked. The protection is just based on adding dummy files and an invalid file structure...it's confusing to rip but this app sorts out the bogus files.

Grab it here: http://www.dvdidle.com/download.htm

[MACCA350]

Hi all,
just thaught i'd post my first DL burn experience,

Picked up 2 Verbatim DVD+R DL discs,
Put Gladiator in Pioneer 117 (ROM drive),
Opened Decrypter Clicked ISO Read,
Put blank DVD+R DL in the Pioneer 108,
Clicked ISO Write at 4x,
Waited for 25min,
burn complete

Played it that night from start to finish in Denon DVD2200 without hiccup and no visible layer change (the Denon has a 8Meg buffer for layer change), so i concluded that it was a perfect 1:1 copy, as the denon is fussy about what is plays.

Not so, i tried it in my samsung DVD-V72K and it played perfect till the layer change where it froze and pixilated and was unplayable after the point of the layer change(which is at the exact same spot as the original).

so i did LOTR ROTK in the same process as above but burned at 2.4x, and what do you know, i got the same result.

I ran them through "Nero CD-DVD Speed" and was supprised with the results the read speed started at 5x reached almost 12x then came back to finish at 5.5x (which is about what most pressed DL read like, right) much higher than burnt Single Layer Start at 2.5x finish at 6x.

So my thaughts are that the problem may be a dye or brand issue same as SL discs, or the samsung dosnt like +R (I normally use RITEK G04 -R media) so ill wait till i can try some other brands to do some more tests.

I used Decrypter Version 3.5.1.0, Any questions, let me know

Here are the details of the burnt DL:

PIONEER DVD-ROM DVD-117 1.07 (ATA)
Current Profile: DVD-ROM

Disc Information:
Status: Complete
Erasable: No
Sessions: 1
Sectors: 3,937,248
Size: 8,063,483,904 bytes
Time: 874:58:48 (MM:SS:FF)

Physical Format Information (Last Recorded):
Disc ID: MKM-001-00
Book Type: DVD-ROM
Part Version: 1
Disc Size: 120mm
Maximum Read Rate: Not Specified
Number of Layers: 2
Track Path: Opposite Track Path (OTP)
Linear Density: 0.293 um/bit
Track Density: 0.74 um/track
First Physical Sector of Data Area: 196,608
Last Physical Sector of Data Area: 16,580,607
Last Physical Sector in Layer 0: 2,165,231

[tommyoz]

I hate to open up this discussion all over again.

Edmund Blackadder. I finally got around to using Recordnow 7.2 and got my hands on some more DL media I could test. Concerning the Bram Stocker's Dracula superbit version DVD, the last time I tested was with Copy2DVD with the latest update. As I had mentioned it did not specify any layer break with IFOEdit. This copy (with copy2dvd) played flawlessly on my DVD player.

Now I used Recordnow 7.2 and like you said, it did insert a layer break.
This layer break that Recordnow chose has a slight pause at the layer break when it plays on my dvd player. I was wondering do you see anything like that?

[Edmund Blackadder]

Now I used Recordnow 7.2 and like you said, it did insert a layer break.
This layer break that Recordnow chose has a slight pause at the layer break when it plays on my dvd player. I was wondering do you see anything like that?

Tommyoz, yes I do have a slight pause on any properly authored/recorded/pressed DVD9's. This is because of the non-seamless play flag (which is the same as the layer break flag). It's when I see no slight pause that's when I start to worry about compatibility.

I have recently purchased Toshiba DR-1 DVD recorder and it plays fine through the layer break of improperly (read: Nero) burned DL DVD's in VIDEO_TS mode. It plays it like there's no layer break at all - not a hint of stutter. But it's the Pioneer players that freeze at that point.

However, with the RecordNow 7.2 copy both Toshiba and Pioneers have a slight pause, but also successfully continue past that point. So in other words, slight pause is a very good thing indeed. That way you'll know it's almost for sure a widely compatible DVD+R9.

By the way Rima.com has Ritek DVD+R9 for $7 a piece - no coupons nor rebates needed. I think I'm gonna get some.

[tommyoz]

I am going to check my other players and see with the ones made by Copy2DVD.

Another question, when recording with Recordnow, do you add the files like your making a data DVD disc? Do you make any changes in the settings? selecting UDF etc...?
Also when I recorded this way it took double the time to record. It took 1 hour and 30 minutes.