Home DVD Comptibility

[Jedi1200]

I've been trying to figure out the formula to burning DVDs that are compatible with a commercial home DVD player for quite some time, but to no avail. My current project includes the following:

-MagnaVox MWD2205 DVD/VCR combo player
-Sony DVD-R disks
-Set of DVD files now currently on hard drive in a VIDEO_TS folder.
The first two are VIDEO_TS.BUP and VIDEO_TS.IFO. The next files are in groups of 5 or 6 like this: VTS_0x_0.BUP, VTS_0x_0.IFO, VTS_0x_0.VOB, VTS_0x_1.VOB, and sometimes VTS_0x_2.VOB (where x is a number increasing in sequence from 1 to 8.

The method that I have tried uses Nero Burning ROM. I start out by selecting the DVD-Video template, where I have the folders AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS as a part of the ready-made file system. To complete the project, I simply drag and drop the before mentioned files to the VIDEO_TS folder and start the burn. There are no problems with the burn and the data is verified with no errors, buit when I put the DVD into my commercial DVD player, I get an "Invalid Disk" or some such error. The DVD will almost play in my PC using VideoLan (VLC) Media Player, but gets as far as the language menu then freezes.

I have many burned DVDs that will only play in my PC, but I don't know what the magic forula is for commercial DVD player compatibility (if there is such a thing). Usually the ones that will play in the DVD player were ISO images that were burned to DVD using MagicISO. Any help will be much appreciated! Respond with as technical or as simple terms as you like.

Thanks.
Jedi1200

[redwudz]

The most common cause of that is the DVD media. The burner and burning program or even the authoring program is much less likely as a cause . And some standalone players are especially picky about media brands. The different DVD disc formats, DVD + and DVD - can occasionally cause problems, also.

What media are you using? You can check your players and your burners for reported compatibility to the left in 'DVD Players' and 'DVD Writers'. You can also check your media quality, at least other members opinion of it in 'DVD Media'. Brand name means little with DVD media. The manufacturer is what you want to know.

I have no problems with Nero, but ImgBurn is freeware and seems to have a little better compatibility than Nero when burning.

There is no 'Universal' best setup for working with every player, but using quality media and finding out what others use with the same type of hardware should help.

[guns1inger]

Try using imgburn2 to burn instead of Nero.

There are many factors that can influence compatibility. These include

1. Disc format : +R vs -R. Not the issue it used to be, but can still sometimes be an issue.

2. Player/Disc compatibility : Not all players like all discs equally. Burner/Disc compatibility is also an issue at times.

3. TV format : PAL vs NTSC.

4. Quality of the player : is the laser OK ?

5. The ripping process : current protection is a little tougher than just CSS protection. If the disc isn't ripped correctly, the results can be unplayable.

Honestly, given your run of bad luck, I would suspect either your ripping process, or your hardware. I would ditch Nero to begin with. If you still have no luck playing the discs at home, try playing them elsewhere. If that still fails, I would replace the burner.

[Richard_G]

Do the discs play back in a different DVD player? A few DVD players will only play DVD-R. some will only play DVD+R. As You're using DVD-R discs, try to play them in a different player, if they work in that, try using +R instead.

[machf]

Hmmm... How often do you clean the lens of your player and recorder? I know if I don't do it at least once a month, my DVD player will have a hard time reading DVD-/+Rs (and also a bit of difficulty with commercial DVDs, but not as much). Which reminds me I should be ddoing it right now...