No matter what I do, DVDs will NOT play in my standalone!!! PLEASE HELP!

[dizzle]

Can you tell I'm a desparate n00b???

Here's my deal: I've got this DVD that's 4.37gb that I have tried burning to DVD+R using almost every software out there. I tried overburning with Nero, compressing and burning with DVD Shrink, CloneDVD2, DVD Decrypter at as low as 86% percent. They burn fine and work in my laptop, but as soon as I try them in my standalone - the picture is all kinds of jacked up and totally unwatchable! And it's not just this DVD - it seems anything that I try to burn from a Nero image, even if it isn't oversized gives me the same result in the standalone. I've burned files to a disk before and they've worked fine. This experience has been nothing but a headache and produced a lot of coasters. I would just give up but I'm determined to beat technology in this battle!

So what do I do to get this to work DVD gurus? Should I be using a different disk maybe? DVD+R DL? A different program? What??? Please help, I'm at my wit's end!

[jtoolman2000]

he picture is all kinds of jacked up and totally unwatchable!

And this means what???

Details, technical details will get you a possible answer.
Yes, lap top or desktop drives will many times play a disk that may not be fully compatible with a standalone.

SInce you state that you are burning to DVD+R then the most obvious answer is that you player cannot play + disks.

What sort of disk are you trying to back up. Is it s commercial disk or something home made?

If it is already small enough to fit a DVD-5 and 4.37 gig will, then why don;t you simply rip to ISO with decrypter and burn the same with decrypter or Image burn,
oh yeah and write to a good wuality - disk or + if you book type to DVD/Rom in decrypter.

[dizzle]

The playback is black and white and looks similar to really bad tracking on VHS to the point where it distorts the picture so you can't tell what it is. Sorry I can't give more 'technical' details. I'm enitrely new to burning DVDs - this is the first problem I've come across.

I know DVD+Rs work in my standalone - they have before.

And I downloaded this DVD (it's a concert bootleg if you have to know) from a hub, so I can't give you any details on how it was ripped.

I've tried Memorex and Maxwell discs (not a whole lot of brand variety around here) and neither has worked. Which brand should I be using?

[guns1inger]

It sounds a lot like you have a PAL DVD and an NTSC player or TV. Either get a player capable of outputting an NTSC signal from a PAL disc so your TV can understand it, or you will have to convert the format.

[wulf109]

Why are you overburning? If it's 4.37GB there's no need to overburn.

[dizzle]

It sounds a lot like you have a PAL DVD and an NTSC player or TV. Either get a player capabale of outputting an NTSC signal from a PAL disc so your TV can understand it, or you will have to convert the format.

Anyway to find out if that is indeed the case for sure? And if so how would I go about converting? Keep in mind here I really have no clue what I'm doing.

Why are you overburning? If it's 4.37GB there's no need to overburn.

Nero told me it was too big. Plus it gave me a reallocation error. I asked about it on the hub I got it from and the advice I got was to overburn. Nero tells me it's 4483 mb, but if I look at folder properties it says 4.37gb.

[jtoolman2000]

AH,,,, it does sound like a PAL to NTSC problem.

As was mentioned, no need to over burn. Overburning is actually bad with most lower end DVDr brands as the outer edges of the disk ( dye ) are most unstable.

What brands is best??? Taiyo Yuden. Get them on line from many mail order companies.

Rima

Supermediastore

[guns1inger]

Nero is not the best burner for DVD Video.

Use g-spot 2.52beta (make sure oyu get the right version, as the 2.21 version does not report mpeg2 very well) and open one of the VOB files. Look at the framerate and resolution. 25 fps and 720 x 576 will be PAL

[dizzle]

I checked the DVDs that are giving me problems - you guys are right! They are all PAL.

So..my next question to you folks: How do I convert and burn now?

And which DVD burning software should I stick with?

And I'd like to thank everyone for your help. This really was driving me crazy - I probably never would have figured it out without you guys.

[guns1inger]

I like Prassi ONES for burning.

As to conversion . . . . . . . . .

There are a number of methods, although I don't know of any that preserve the menu structure, so you may be up for some re-authoring.

Simple:

VOB2MPEG->ConvertXtoDVD

More Complex:

VOB2MPEG->ProCoder->Reauthor as NTSC

Best quality:

VOB2MPEG->DGIndex->encoder (encode video at 720 x 480 @ 25 fps)->DGPulldown 25-29.970fps->Reauthor as NTSC

All software conversions have the unfortunate effect of creating extra frames to fill out the framerate, and alter the speed of the audio, which risks sync issues.

The DGPulldown method avoids this by maintaining the original framerate in the video file, but flagging it so that playback devices create the missing frames on the fly. The running time doesn't change, so you don't have to touch the audio. All you have to do is re-encode the video to NTSC resolution.

Or, you can buy a cheap multi-format player and not bother converting.

[dizzle]

Phew. Looks like work. But I'm gonna go for it. 8)

I'll probably try out this method tomorrow when I've got the time. Wish me luck and thanks for your help.

[hech54]

It easier to buy a cheap DVD player capable of converting PAL to NTSC.....which you will most likely find out after tackling a computer conversion.

[jtoolman2000]

I second that! Converting might if not probably, not turn out perfect. Remember that you have to in laimans terms ADD and extra 5 frames per second. Many times the results are an out of sinch audio.

Many cheap DVD players will play PAL DVDs , Mine does and yet my son's will not.

[dizzle]

edit:
bah it is the player...i'm still gonna try the conversion process...


What do I do with DGIndex after I made the mpg?
(or is there a guide to this method somewhere I can use?)

[kicko]

what player do you have??? I would not buy one that didnt force a pal signal to ntsc, but i do convert most anyways just in case you have a dvd you want to bring to a friend/family house, i like the option. Keep in mind that a conversion from pal to ntsc will not be as smooth since pal has fewer frames per second, most noticible in scrolling camera shots.

[dizzle]

Hey kicko,

I have a Panasonic s25. I looked at the manual and it says for US and Canada PAL discs cannot be played (but everywhere else they can). I also have a GoVideo box that gives me "this disc cannot be played" error messsage. The TVs I have are a Sony KV-27s26 and a JVC AV 20D202 - which I'm not sure support PAL. I'm not really in the position to be buying a new player at the time, so conversion seems my only option. And even if I did get a new player, theres still the question of if the TVs will work as well. I don't mind if its not as smooth - just as long as it's watchable.

[handyguy]

Check our dvd recorder/player stuff on left column to see if there is a region hack for your player.

[dizzle]

Tried this one with no luck.

[wulf109]

Allocation error in Nero means there's something wrong in the file structure of your DVD. The maximum allowed is 4482MB,your 1MB over.
Download a copy of IFOEDIT and use it's create ifo option. Just load the vob files and IFOEDIT will create a new set of ifo files.

[hech54]

Check our dvd recorder/player stuff on left column to see if there is a region hack for your player.

A region hack will NOT help someone playing a PAL DVD in "NTSC Land"....especially since the OP is burning his own DVD's....IE...they are already region free anyway.

[kicko]

I have seen many $25-30 players that will play both ntsc and pal. The TV will not matter, it's the player that will force the conversion of the signal. Besides keeping it PALwill keep the video smooth and save all that conversion time. I was trying to find a cheap player but nothing online lists pal/ntsc support. You might be better going into a store and beable to read the entire box.

[guns1inger]

@kicko

Loss of smoothness from a software conversion has little to do with the playback framerate. NTSC progressive has 23.976 fps, PAL has 25. By your logic, PAL should play smoother because it has more frames per second. Of then the oopsite is true, simply because many convertors add an extra frame every second, that is a duplicate of another frame, just to get the framerate up. Similarly, going from NTSC 29.970fps back to PAL often menas cutting frames. This is where the jerkiness comes in. PAL material shot as PAL is as smooth, if not smoother than most NTSC material. This is why the pulldown approach is the best method. Not new frames are created and none are removed at the encoding time. It is all done by the player at playback time.

[dizzle]

I finally decided to just hook my laptop up to the TV and watch it that way. Thanks for the info, I'll definitely keep it in mind when buying my next DVD player.

[SLK001]

I finally decided to just hook my laptop up to the TV and watch it that way. Thanks for the info, I'll definitely keep it in mind when buying my next DVD player.

This most likely won't work either. You'll find that 99.99% of the TVs in the US are only capable of playing NTSC videos. Your laptop (as is any computer) is TV standard agnostic. All it will do is output a PAL signal to your NTSC TV - which, as you know, is not watchable.

[Marvingj]

When theirs trouble like that always check your source....Cables, software, DVD Disc, Pal/NSTC, Video Virus....

[dizzle]

I finally decided to just hook my laptop up to the TV and watch it that way. Thanks for the info, I'll definitely keep it in mind when buying my next DVD player.

This most likely won't work either. You'll find that 99.99% of the TVs in the US are only capable of playing NTSC videos. Your laptop (as is any computer) is TV standard agnostic. All it will do is output a PAL signal to your NTSC TV - which, as you know, is not watchable.

Actually...it worked. Like gangbusters. Don't know why or how, but it did.

[SLK001]

I finally decided to just hook my laptop up to the TV and watch it that way. Thanks for the info, I'll definitely keep it in mind when buying my next DVD player.

This most likely won't work either. You'll find that 99.99% of the TVs in the US are only capable of playing NTSC videos. Your laptop (as is any computer) is TV standard agnostic. All it will do is output a PAL signal to your NTSC TV - which, as you know, is not watchable.

Actually...it worked. Like gangbusters. Don't know why or how, but it did.

Well, then either your TV is multi-standard "friendly", or your laptop is doing a standards convertion for you (not likely). Is your TV a newer 16:9 model?

Back to your original problem, the best solution would be to use DGPULLDOWN to add the 5 extra frames needed for NTSC display. Just remember that a normal 24fps movie requires 6 extra frames for NTSC display, so this isn't much of a task (it's all done by adding FLAGS to the video stream anyway). DGPULLDOWN was written by Donald Graft (neuron2 on this site and at DOOM9) and can be obtained at his website (don't know the URL). I haven't used it for PAL->NTSC conversions, so I can't offer any reviews as to the fitness of the software, but Donald usually does a pretty decent job with the software he writes.

So, step 1: Demux the MPG2 stream into separate audio and video.
2: Apply DGPULLDOWN to the MPG2 stream (use 25fps->29.97fps).
3: Import both audio and new video into an authoring progy.
4: Add menus, other niceities.
5: Make your resource connections, then compile a DVD structure.
6: Burn to DVD.