DVD burning/playing problems, freezing, skipping, no play

[Waldo1967]

Sometimes I have to do some mass burning for my business (100 to 200 discs at a time) and lately some of my clients have been bringing some DVD's back saying their not playing, skipping, or freezing. Only about 10 - 20%, but still enough to tick me off, as well as my customers.

Hardware: I've had best success with Sony DVD burners, but I just purchased a new Samsung burner, and I just got a disc back from someone saying it skips, so ?

Media: I had been using Memorex discs, but then switched to Sony thinking that they might be more compatible with my Sony burner. I understand that Taiyo Uden and Verbatim are the best.

Software: I use Ulead to create the DVD's, and then Nero to burn them.


So, do you guys think this is a hardware, software, or media issue? Is it better to burn at 8x or 16x for compatibility issues? For compatibility issues, are the new DVD burners just not compatible with older DVD players?

Thanks.

[guns1inger]

Try burning with ImgBurn instead of Nero. Try getting some TY and Verbatim discs to see if you have better luck.

[oldandinthe way]

Are you using DVR-R or DVD+R disks?

If you use DVD+R are your bitsetting the booktype?

Many older DVD players are unhappy with many burnt disks.

TY disks 8x and slower are compatible with a wide variety of players, the jury is still out on 16x media.

When 8x media came out there were warnings from some manufacturers that they should not be used in existing players without a firmware update.

You might get better results with antique 4x media. 10-20% is a high failure rate and if your population is skewed toward older players, older slower media might be the solution.

[Waldo1967]

Thanks guys. I'll try imageburn and switch to Taiyo or Verbatim discs at 8x. Hopefully that will solve most of the issues. I know some people still use the old players so I probably won't have 100% satisfaction.

BTW, I use -R. Don't know anything about bitsetting the booktype. ? Could someone point me to a description of this?

Thanks again!

Edit - Wow this site rocks! Just noticed when I rolled over the words a description box popped up. Impressive.

[GeorgeW]

What are the project properties you are using when burning your DVD's (video bitrate and audio type) ?

How much space do you burn to disc (i.e. do you fill it up, only 2gb, 1gb, etc...)?

Sometimes burning at 4x helps get better compatibility (depends on your burner/media combination). Since you are using "-R" discs, you won't need to set the booktype (it's more for "+R" media).

Do you apply sticky labels to your DVD's? That might cause problems.

Here's a cut/paste of some guidelines I follow when burning DVD's for wide distribution (maybe some of these might help lower your return rate). NOTE: some of these have already been mentioned by others, and some won't apply to your situation...

-keep video+audio bitrate <= ~7.5mbps
-keep the total size <= ~4gb (on dvd5)
-use Dolby Digital (AC3) audio for a good mix of "global" compatibility, and a lower audio bitrate to allow for higher video bitrate (mpeg audio can use the same low bitrates as DD audio, but not all NTSC DVD Players will play mpeg audio)
-use quality discs instead of no-name generics (Taiyo Yuden's have excellent reviews -- videohelp.com has a media guide with user feedback)
-don't use sticky labels on your dvd's
-Burn as DVD-VIDEO (not just a data dvd -- the files must be written properly, and in the proper order on the dvd)
-if you only have a prepared DVD Folder, then use software that can properly format a DVD IMAGE file (*.ISO), and then burn the image file. (I use IMGBURN 2.x to create the IMAGE file -- it can also burn directly from DVD Folders)
-for DVD+R discs, see if your burner supports bitsetting the booktype to DVD-ROM
-keep burner firmware up-to-date (follow instructions carefully when updating firmware)
-keep burning software up-to-date
-if space for your video allows a high bitrate (say >= 7mbps), then try CBR instead of VBR (VBR encodes can have bitrate "spikes", and depending on how high the "spike" is, it might be enough to cause a hiccup during playback)
-don't always burn at the max speed of your burner/media combo (I've had great success burning at 4x, but others have had better results burning at max speeds like 8x or 16x -- it could depend on your dvd disc quality and how well they work with your burner)
-try different media (brands and types) Not all DVD±R/RW will work with every player, or some will work better in some players than others...
-disable any non essential background programs (i.e. virus scan, anti spyware, etc... -- of course, if your machine is connected to the internet, you might not want to disable these applications)
-don't do anything else on the machine during the burn (or keep activity at a minimum - especially heavy disc-related tasks)
-uninstall any "packet writing" software (the kind that lets you drag-and-drop files to a dvd RW disc as if the disc was just another storage drive)

Regards,
George

[Waldo1967]

Thanks George! I think cheap media, and burning speeds may be the biggest problem. I'm going to experiment with TY and Verbatim discs. I'm giving someone a bunch of different discs with different speeds/media who has an older DVD player that they said didn't play one of my discs, even though it worked in all my DVD players. We'll see.

Don't use sticky labels? I currently put glossy stomper labels on all my discs. Why is that a problem? Heat build up? Rotation balance?

BTW, with Ulead, it just gives me options for 60min, 90min, 120min projects, and sets the bitrates for me. As for the size of my projects I can have some use up 4.2-4.3 gigs and some less. I edit with Premiere 6.5, convert it to MicrosoftDV avi, then input it into Ulead. Ulead then creates the DVD folders for me. I tried imageburn last night and it created the .iso file and then I burned a disc, seemed to work fine.

[Noahtuck]

Don't use sticky labels? I currently put glossy stomper labels on all my discs. Why is that a problem? Heat build up? Rotation balance?

Read the 2nd sticky down in the media section... you can't miss it....

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewforum.php?f=27

[GeorgeW]

BTW, with Ulead, it just gives me options for 60min, 90min, 120min projects, and sets the bitrates for me. As for the size of my projects I can have some use up 4.2-4.3 gigs and some less.

Which Ulead product are you using? Check if you can create your own custom template for encoding (or edit an existing template). Some of the default templates used 8000kbps or 7000kbps (which might be overkill, and might cause playback stutter if the bitrate "spikes" when using VBR encoding -- especially if the template uses LPCM audio).

If you provide compliant files, then you can prevent Ulead from re-encoding by checking the option to "Do not convert compliant mpeg files"

Regards,
George

[VegasBud]

Waldo1967,

Here's another thread on why you shouldn't use sticky labels.

[oldandinthe way]

Waldo

This site has a feature which automatically creates links to the glossary entries for terms in posts which are defined there. When bitsetting and booktype appear underlined in a post, placing the mouse over the underlined term will bring up the glossary entry.

That way we can more quickly understand many of the terms used in posts.

[Waldo1967]

Wow you guys are great! Love this forum.

Thanks Vegas, after some long reads I think I'm sold. Looks like I'm off to buy a new disc printing printer!! My wife needed a new printer anyway so I'll give her my old one. I hated buying and applying all those disc labels anyway.