Problems ripping DVD on new computer

[rhuala2]

I've ripped and recorded about half of my DVD collection (about 200 dvd's) on my old computer and recently I've upgraded my computer to:

---system---
Windows XP Pro, Service Pack 2, with latest updates from windowsupdate.com
Chaintech nVidia nForce4 Ultra Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU, Model "VNF4/Ultra"
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 939P, Mushkin 1GB DDR PC-3200, Cas Latency: 2.5-3-3
Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT, PCI-Express, Model "PX6600GT TDH"
Samsung 160GB Sata, 8MB Buffer, 7200 RPM, 8.9 ms AST
Lite-On 16X DVD Dual Drive, Model SOHW-1633S Beige
ViewSonic G790 19" monitor

Now I'm experiencing this very annoying problem. I can view dvd's fine when I play them. I can record them with dvd decrypter with no visible errors. BUT when I play them back from my hd or after a dvd burn I get these slight glitches in the final product. Best I can describe these "glitches" is there will be a band about 4 or 5 mm high (on my 19" monitor) that has random colors throughout the pixels.

In other words picture a frozen movie image where everthing is crystal clear then maybe half way down the image there is a bar about 6inches long and 4 mm high were there are random pixel colors sprinkled throughout this band?? It pop's up about once every 5 minutes and at first was hard for me to detect on my PC. But when I play it back on my TV it's very noticable and comes off like a scratched dvd with jerky playback (yet the dvd is not scratched) and it happens to every single movie I do. Actually I did about 10 until I even noticed it.

Anyways this problem really REALLY has me scratching my head. As far as I can tell, the dvd reader seems fine, cause I can view movies and dvd decrypter says its ripping with no errors. I have one of my old hard drives in this new machine and it worked fine in my old machine but experiences this problem on my new machine.

So I'm left with somewhere from my dvd-rom drive to my hard drive. I have all the latest drivers installed (mobo, video card ..etc) ...

Any ideas on what this could be or even suggestions on how to trouble shoot this, would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,

rhuala

[dipstick]

You should have posted screen shots.

What I would do is go back to a clean install of XP pro with no SP updates of any kind. If you have an image saved, use it. This is why I love Norton Ghost.

Try a Rip and burn with this current configuration. If all goes well, then proceed with the updates and test in stages. This will narrow down the culprit. If it never goes well, then it's probably hardware.

[rhuala2]

Thanks for the reply, attached is a pic...



Look over in the middle right and you can see how there's some small boxes with multi colored pixels, and his face is smudged. Well I sometimes get a long band of those boxes...

I have a fresh install of windows XP pro, as I just configured and formatted the hard drive. There is nothing really running in the back ground except my mouse and keyboard drivers, printer driver, Zonealarm and virus scanner (Mcafee)...

Can't be any viruses on here yet, also Mcafee doesn't detect any and Adaware has removed all spware it detected...

I'm at a loss...

How can I figure our if it's my motherboard?

rhuala


ps. I use Norton Ghost too, love that program...

[blinky88]

From the information you have given, I don't believe the problem lies in your new setup, it may well be it as simple as cleaning the lazer in your player.

[rhuala2]

From the information you have given, I don't believe the problem lies in your new setup, it may well be it as simple as cleaning the lazer in your player.

Thanks blinky 88...

But some questions then:

1. Why can I view dvd's on my PC with no flaws.

2. Why can I rip dvd's to my hard drive and dvd decryter reports no errors?

3. How do you go about cleaning the laser anyways. Anyone recommend a good lazer cleaning kit? This is a brand new dvd drive so I can't see it being dirty yet...

rhuala

[dipstick]

From the look of the picture, it looks like bad read errors normally associated with bad media. But you said it does this when played back from the HDD, this rules out bad media.

What S/W player are you using? Try something else like MediaPlayer Clasic. You can even open the Vob in VirtualDub Mod Just in case a bad codec is causing the problem.

The reason I said to go back to a fresh install with No SP updates, is that it could very well be those updates that are causing your problem. Since you have Ghost, make an image of your current configuration and save it if you want to go back. Then do a clean istall of XP pro with no updates whatsoever. Do a test Rip and Burn. If it still has a problem, you can easily and quickly go back to your current configuration with the image you saved.

[rhuala2]

Ya ok Dipstck, that may be the way to go, I'll try fresh XP install with no updates.

It's not the player, cause I can being up the video with any of my 5 players and they all exibit the same behaviour. The above pic was taken from virtualdub. Also, it screws up in my stand alone dvd player. I've been thinking it was my mobo but maybe ur right maybe it has to do with the Windows updates...

rhuala

[blinky88]

A simple way to clean the lazer is to buy the CD type cleaning disc. It has small brushes mounted on the surface and they remove any dust that maybe lodged on the lazer. If the problem is appearing on all of your players, dust on the lazer is probally not the cause. I have seen people complaining about having problems after installing SP2, however, none relate to the problem you are having.

If the burner is also new, I would use it on another computer to confirm whether or not the problem still exists, if it does, the burner or the firmware could be causing the problem.

It's very time consuming re-installing etc. and I think you have been very thorough in everything you have done to date.

Look for a simple solution rather than spending time re-installing etc.

[dipstick]

I would think that a bad Motherboard would create all kinds of problems other than just this one.

I hope you find the culprit. If you do, make sure to post it. I and I'm sure others are very interested in what's causing this strange problem.

Good luck.

[jimmalenko]

Looks like your MPEG-2 codec might be corrupted / conflicting with something to me.