I've done everything right - Authoring problems

[thecenter]

Hello.

As far as I know - I've done everything right:
I'm converting my DV AVI files into MPEG 2 with Tmpgenc plus 2.5 (which is by far the most popular and quality software) ,
then Author with Tmpgenc Dvd Author 1.6 (which is regarded as the most stable and easiest software) on VERBATIM DVD-R media (which is regarded as one of the best and by far not the cheapest) with
my well acknowledged Burner - Pioneer A06.

But, although on my DVD player (simple Lenco device) it plays well -
I get complains from custemers about un-stable DVD, jumping, even not
playing at all.

What am I'm doing wrong ???? My computer is fine (see the spec above), other DVD's made by un-professional people and software
seem to be better at performance than my well-invested projects.

Why is that ????

I just read an article about that at DV.COM but it was too commercial and less informative:

http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.jhtml;jsessionid=WAPILX0YGTTDEQSNDBCCKHSCJUME...leId=161502505

any help aould be appreciated.

[jtoolman2000]

It's almost impossible to determine what could be wrong. The fact that some people cannot play your DVDs or for whaever the reasons points to media. Are you able to play these on your set top machine? Not the PC drive?

[thecenter]

Yes, I can play my authored DVD smoothly on my Desktop DVD player.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Try a different brand of media.
That's one problem with DVDR,they are not compatible with all DVD players.
Here's some tips for better compatibility:
1.Use DVD+R with the DVD-ROM booktype(this is in MY experience so I don't want to make this a -/+ flame war).
2.Make the VIDEO_TS folder <4400MB.
3.Use quality media,preferably made in Japan(TY,Maxell,MCC).
4.Make sure you have the latest firmware for your writer.
5.If you get a lot of errors try burning at a slower speed.

[GeorgeW]

Yes, I can play my authored DVD smoothly on my Desktop DVD player.

Is that a standalone dvd player, or a dvd-rom drive in a desktop computer

what are the bitrates of your dvd? Video + ALL Audio tracks? If VBR encoded, can there be "spikes" in the bitrate?

[SLK001]

First of all, you probably shouldn't add your own editorial comments in your post, such as "which is by far the most popular and quality software" (oh, yeah? Says who?), "which is regarded as the most stable and easiest software" (again, by who?) and "which is regarded as one of the best and by far not the cheapest" (again, by who - plus the fact that this is not even close to being accurate or true).

Secondly, you did not give us enough info to dissect your problem (is your DVD compliant? what parameters did you use to encode your AVI files? how did you author the DVD?).

With the tiniest info that you DID give, I would say that your problem is poor media quality (you should have read a couple of years ago the laments Verbatim users cried when they changed manufacturing locations from Japan - ID Code: MCC to Singapore - ID Code: CDC).

Get some good media, try your burn again and let us know the results. We can probably help you.

[canadateck]

If everything you are using is the 'Best" and "most stable" why are you having problems.


I agree with SLK001
try new media.

[thecenter]

Ok.

Let me put things straight.

I'm converting DV-AVI files in Tmpgenc plus 2.5. if the total length of the video/s is shorter than 1 hour, I use the bitrate of 8 Mbs for video (which is the highest the softwatr allows) and 348 Kbs for audio.

If the total lenght is longer, I use between 3,000 - 6,000 Mbs.

As far as for burning - I'm an old fan of TDA and have been using it a lot,
so I think I know what to do there (nevertheless you havn't got many
places to be wrong there).

I usually burn at the speed of *4 on Verbatim. if you know of another
brand which is much better, I'd love to know it.

The reason for writting the thread was mainly to know whether my
BASIC USE is wrong (using the wrong software, media, burner etc.).

If what is agreed that I have a good starting point, then there are 2
options:
1 - I'm doing something worng in the process
2 - The problems that happened (not all the time) are a somehow
the average percentage of fault DVD'S.

when I watch them on my STANDALONE DVD PLAYER (sorry for the
wrong term there), it works perfectly (as I said, I have simple-cheap
Lenco player) - but the complains I get are from playing in other
Players.

Is it bad-luck or misuse ?

and thanks again for the answers.

[SLK001]

Are the other user's players compatible with DVD-R recordings?

Make a copy of the root and VIDEO_TS directories of your DVD (include EVERYTHING) and post them here.

[nic2k4]

If those discs play perfectly in your Lenco, but other players are having problems with them, then there's nothing wrong with your work. It's the players fault; some older players aren't able to read DVD±R, some only read one kind and not the other. Recordables are harder to read than "pressed" discs, when the player's laser lens gets dusty, playback can get flacky. The only problem I could see coming from your end, would be a defective DVD writer. If you've burned lots of discs or more than 2 discs in a row, your writer may be showing some wear. To exclude that, you'd have to scan a disc with software like kprobe (if you have a Lite-on writer) or Plextools (for Plextor drives only). Nero CD-DVD Speed (free download) could also do it, but it's limited.

[northcat_8]

Again...

without knowing your TMPGenc Plus settings, it's tough to pin point.

But I use your exact process, except I have a the Pioneer A05 burner.

Steps I would take:

Have TMPGenc write an ISO file.
Load it in Daemon Tools and watch it with WinDVD.
If all is well, then your authoring process is more than likely fine.

That just leaves burning process and media.

I would load up DVD Decrypter and burn the ISO using Decrypter rather than letting TMPGenc burn it. <philosophy on that is simple...TMPGenc is a video company...not a "burning software" company". But I wouldn't burn DVD with Nero either>

I would go with different media in any event.

I have been a long time use of RitekG04 media but I have recently switched to Taiyo Yuden.

I would be willing to bet your issues are with your media. I've never had a Ritek disc come back because it wouldn't play, it's been a very stable media for me but they have put out some questionable stock lately, and several people rave about Taiyo Yuden so I'm going to check it out.

[Bjs]

I would recommend you check your compilation size first .

To be compliant with 99% of home players , I recommend your dvd project in total size not exceed 4.3gig in size , as there are many players that do have issues reading near the end of the dvd .

Secondly , I have never had any problems with tdk dvd-r , and all my customers keep coming back , i have nothing to do with those dvd+r , and most people wouldnt if they new something more about them .

They really are good for console backups , but not good for what you want too do , as some players have issues again with dvd+r media .

I do tape transfers to dvd for people .

Your other problem is your dv avi files , you need to check the actual bitrates it contains , and match the output so as to be error free .

Converting lower bitrate to higher bitrate is both a waste , time consuming , and can lead to major problems .

I cant be sure on those , but I would try vitualdub to open those one at a time , and check full audio processing , then check the audio conversion area , and see what the ausio is , if its not 48 thou , check it , then save as wav , convert this to ac3 , say at 192k using besweet .

Use virtualdub to frameserve the video stream to bbmpeg so it is encoded as dvd compliant mpeg2 . (uncheck the encode audio and the two multiplexers before you let it rip) .

Take the new video stream and the new ac3 stream and mux them together using muxman .

Do this for all dv avi files , and place them into separate folders , and when done add the total of those folders up .

From that total - 4.3gig , and divide the remaining by the number of video files you have .

This is the amount all video files need to be shrunk by .

As you used muxman to create them to seperate folders , you can use dvdshrink on each one , just like seperate dvd titles , and shrink them by that amout you found beforehand .

when done , rename the vobs to the following :

If 5 vobs then

Vob 1 becomes vts_01_0
Vob 2 becomes vts_01_1
Vob 3 becomes vts_01_2
Vob 4 becomes vts_01_3
Vob 5 becomes vts_01_4

Place them into a new folder , and run ifoedit , choose create ifos , leave the above settings alone , click and check (save ifo to same folder) , now choose the first vob , and hit go .

You should now aim dvdshrink at that folder , and hopefully it will complete the scan .

Play test it before burning it , and I recommend if your not using nero to burn them , then give imagetools a go , it works well , but I think it locks onto the nero api as the engine for burning , not positive , cause I dont do it that often , so just check it .

See how that gose ... it should work far better than doing it any other way .