Nero can't burn a video_ts folder? Huh?

[moxiecat]

To sum this up, I've been told that you can't burn the contents of a video_ts folder created by Ulead DVD Workshop or Encore in Nero and have it work on a DVD player. Read on...

I have been using Nero for years, using it to burn video_ts folders that I've created in Ulead DVD Workshop and DVD Shrink. I have given these DVDs to friends and family who own all kinds of DVD players. The only times I've had trouble have been traced back to an incompatible -R/+R disc or dirty disc.

In Workshop, I usually make a DVD folder and then burn the files in Nero (because Workshop has frozen on me during burning many times). I open Nero, choose the DVD Video disc option, and copy the files in the Workshop video_ts folder into the video_ts folder that Nero provides. Burn. Done.

I'm now trying to learn Encore DVD. However, in the manuals for Encore, Adobe says that the DVD folder/video_ts folder that Encore creates shouldn't be burned to disc using an external burning app like Nero. (The guide for Workshop says it can, or I wouldn't have been doing it for so long.) I was confused as to why there is a difference between the DVD folders that the two programs create, so I asked about it on the Encore forum at Creative Cow.

The answer I received is very confusing to me. The poster who replied wrote, in part: "You can't just burn a straight data DVD from a VIDEO_TS folder and have it play in a DVD player (it won't), but that is true of any VIDEO_TS folder created in any DVD authoring app, not just those created by Encore." Huh?

He went on to really slam Nero and say that it can't be trusted to burn correctly: "It's fairly well known that Nero can have trouble with BUP and IFO files in the VIDEO_TS folder, which can cause playback trouble in some DVD players. Best to avoid it unless you are willing to take your chances. Better is to burn from an image file- then Nero does no parsing of the VIDEO_TS folder, and just burns a copy of what's in the image."

I told him about all the DVDs I've burned with Nero, both from Workshop and DVD Shrink, and how I've had very little trouble. I don't think he believed me and got a little snippy, and since he's the only one responding to me, I can't seem to get another viewpoint or explanation.

So here I am. Does anybody here know what he's talking about? If you can't burn the files in a video_ts folder and have it work on a DVD player, than what have I been doing all these years? And why would the VASST guide for Ulead DVD Workshop clearly state that the files in the DVD folder it creates CAN be burned to DVD using an external program, but Encore's manual says just the opposite? What is the difference between the files? How can Nero be this unreliable or unworkable if I've had virtually no complaints about my DVDs?

Man, I'm so confused. Can anyone shed light on this? Many thanks.

[TooLFooL]

you yourself have already proved that as long as your VIDEO_TS folder contains valid dvd files, you can burn with whatever program you like...

as far as Adobe saying you 'shouldn't' burn with another program, this is probably just their recomendation to help eliminate user error.

[GeorgeW]

The answer I received is very confusing to me. The poster who replied wrote, in part: "You can't just burn a straight data DVD from a VIDEO_TS folder and have it play in a DVD player (it won't), but that is true of any VIDEO_TS folder created in any DVD authoring app, not just those created by Encore." Huh?

He went on to really slam Nero and say that it can't be trusted to burn correctly: "It's fairly well known that Nero can have trouble with BUP and IFO files in the VIDEO_TS folder, which can cause playback trouble in some DVD players. Best to avoid it unless you are willing to take your chances. Better is to burn from an image file- then Nero does no parsing of the VIDEO_TS folder, and just burns a copy of what's in the image."

The key word he is using is "DATA DVD" -- which is correct. You should not burn a simple DATA DVD from DVD Folders, because that will not necessarily burn the folder contents in their proper sequence for DVD-VIDEO (IFO, VOBs, BUP).

This has been working for you because you have been using the correct settings -- i.e. you are selecting the "DVD VIDEO Disc Option" (which should burn the folder contents in the proper sequence for DVD-VIDEO).

It should continue to work with valid VIDEO_TS folders from other Authoring programs, as long as you burn with the DVD-VIDEO mode (as opposed to just a DVD DATA disc).

To lessen the possibility of error, folks often advise to create a valid DVD-VIDEO IMAGE file (*.ISO) ready for burning by any burning program. The DVD-VIDEO IMAGE file should already contain the files in the proper sequence -- so the burning program just burns it to disc.

Regards,
George

[moxiecat]

Thanks.

I realize he said "data" DVD. But at the same time, he knew what I was talking about and that I had been making video DVDs correctly--otherwise they wouldn't have worked at all for me.

If Adobe is only trying to avoid user error through another program, that's understandable. But the way they phrase it in the manual, and in another guide I read, is that files created through the DVD folder method will not function correctly when burned to a DVD disc. Period. It made me think Encore is writing files in a different way than Workshop does, when both programs should create DVD-compliant VOBs, etc.

His first response to me was that Nero can't be trusted to create valid DVDs--even though I was clear about how I use Nero and using the video DVD settings. So that was a concern to me as well. I never knew Nero was that problematic; it sure hasn't been for me.

Thanks again.

[MOVIEGEEK]

For a long time Nero had problems authoring and burning compliant DVD-Video but since ver 6.6 came out those problems have virtually dissapeared.For burning DVD-Video(esp. DL) I use DVDDecrypter or ImgBurn,for multi-session I use RecordNow.

[moxiecat]

MovieGeek,

Thanks for the clarification. It did occur to me that maybe he was still thinking of earlier versions of Nero.

And I completely agree with you on the DL issue. That's one thing I definitely had trouble doing in Nero when DL discs first came out a couple years ago--menu buttons wouldn't work, the main menu wouldn't load, etc. However, burning DL with DVD Decrypter has always been reliable.