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  1. Member
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    I've been having problems with copies of DVDs Ive made using the drive that came with my HP mediacenter system (HP DvdWriter 840b). 3/4ths of the copies have all gotten the same freeze-up/pixelation roadblock somewhere within the first 10 minutes of playing the movie. I tried different copy and burn programs (DvdFab, DvdDecrypter, DvdShrink, Nero, Clone2, ImgBurn), and 3 different brands of media also (Sony, Memorex, HP) and the problem has occurred with all of them. I updated the firmware for my drive too and the problem still occurred.

    My last recourse seems to be to replace the drive. Before I do, I just wanted to ask if anyone else has had a similar problem with HP systems? I wouldn't be surprised if they threw a cheapo drive in their bundled system. I'd like a little piece of mind and confirmation if it's actually the drive that's at fault...
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  2. Try some good media. Memorex and Hp are not good media. Cheap but not good. Sony depends on where it is made. The Made in Japan Sony is good. Even the feel and finish on the Made in Taiwan Sony discs feels cheap.

    Try Verbatim and burn one notch down on the burn speed. IOWs a 16X disc at 12X.

    Also it could be your player, what name and model player?

    Cheers
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  3. [url=http]text[/url] Denvers Dawgs's Avatar
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    I have a HP300i, and have used fuji, and verbatim(TY & MCC media codes) without incident. When I first started out memorex gave me porblems, then I realized it's media isn't great. HP disc are aslo bad. Even though you have an HP writer and HP discs, means nothing. They just buy discs and put their logo/name on them. Stick with Fuji made in japan, and verbatim and you should be fine
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  4. Member Krispy Kritter's Avatar
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    Sounds like typical media issues as noted above. Try Verbatim or TY. It could also be type of media (+ or -).

    Are you playing the discs in the HP or on a standalone player? If it is a standalone player, try looking up the player in the DVD Players section and see what media others may have had success using.

    FWIW: I've had a few HP drives in the past and they have been very reliable. Of course that doesn't mean much, even the best brand makes bad players every now and again.
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  5. The HP 840b is a rebadged LG GSA 4166B. Those are not cheap drives by any means. The Panasonic chipped LG's tend to be fussy about media at times. I would recommend Verbatim DVD+R 16X (MCC 004) and burn at 12X with that particular burner. Just my 2 cents - Good Luck.
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    Thanks for the responses... To follow up a bit:

    >I made the majority of my burns with the Sony discs, then went to the Memorex's and the HP's. The Sony's are from Taiwan, didn't know to look for Japanese ones.

    >At first I was making all burns at MAX speed, but after reading through some posts on here, I switched the speed to 8x but it still didn't make a difference--just as many freezes.

    >The freeze occurs in my stand-alone player, and also in my computer when I play back the disc, so it's definitely a problem with the copy--same spot, every time.

    I'm glad to hear my drive may not be responsible; I'd rather have the problem be the media 'cause that's a cheaper fix.

    I guess I'll follow the suggestions and try the Verbatim discs (I've never seen the "TY" brand at Best Buy or CompUSA--are they sold at major chain stores?).

    I'll follow-up in a couple of days after I get the discs and try one more attempt to make this work
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  7. DVD Ninja budz's Avatar
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    You'll have to order from www.rima.com if you want TAIYO YUDEN dvd media. Or just buy VERBATIM dvd media from BEST BUY.

    What process are you using to backup your dvds?
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    Originally Posted by budz
    What process are you using to backup your dvds?
    I've used a bunch: Began with DvdDecrypter and Shrink, then used DvdFabDecrypter and sometimes Shrink... Tried Nero, Clone2 and ImgBurn for burning.

    The freeze problem duplicated with all of them (and at exactly the same spot in each movie)--I don't think they're the problem.
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  9. DVD Ninja budz's Avatar
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    You'd be surprised with what Nero burn can sometimes do to discs. As already suggested use better dvd media like TAIYO YUDEN or VERBATIM. As OneSickPup mentioned burn at 12x instead of 16x.
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    I'm gonna pickup some Verbatim's on my way to work tonight and try them out tomorrow, but there's one thing I still don't understand (if my problem is actually the media i'm using)...

    Out of approx. 50 burns using the Sony, HP, and Memorez dvd+r's, I managed 14 good burns without any glitches, but none of them were of discs that were faulty on their first burn. After switching to different media (and decrypters and burning programs), I re-tried (and with a few of them tried 3 times) copying the ones with the error, and everytime I got the same error at exactly the same spot in the copy.

    If the media I was using was hit-and-miss in terms of quality, shouldn't I have gotten some good copies of the films that had the glitch the first time?
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  11. DVD Ninja budz's Avatar
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    FYI the VERBATIMS are on sale tomorrow at BEST BUY for 50 pack spindle $12.99.

    MEMOREX is crap media period. They use manufacturers CMC or RITEK which are considered crappy media. The freezing problems or errors you have is because of using low grade crap media. To find out if your HP drive is faulty use VERBATIM discs to see if you have the same problems. IMHO that's the only way to determine if your drive is dying.

    If you had the glitch problem to begin with and the discs played back fine then consider them okay. But if they have the freezing/errors when playing back then it's considered a failed burn.
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    I picked up Verbatims and tried burning 2 films that I had my problem on before, and yes, the problem remains.

    The problem is not caused the media I'm using. I really was hoping (but not expecting) the problem to be as simple (and inexpensive a fix) as that, but of course, that would be too simple.

    I've read through many posts here and I think I've found maybe one where someone has mentioned a problem like mine (freeze-up occurring during beginning of playback) and his solution hasn't been resolved yet either, so I really don't know how to proceed any further except to replace the writer, which doesn't thrill me at all since I don't relish shelling out 50 bucks or so to replace something that, here-to-now, has worked fine for playing and burning CD's...

    Does anyone have any (useful) suggestions what else I may try, aside from "use different media," "try different burning programs", or "update your firmware", because those have all been tried and they are not the problem.
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  13. DVD Ninja budz's Avatar
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    It's time to buy a new dvd burner which is so cheap these days at $31.00 - $40.00. I'd suggest staying away from HP dvd burners which are usually rebadged drives of either LG & LITEON which they sell at higher prices under the HP name.

    Here's a few to consider:

    PIONEER 112D, $31.99
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129007

    LG H42N, 28.99
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136108

    LITEON LH-20A1P-185, $29.99
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106049

    SATA PIONEER 212D, $33.99
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129008

    The PIONEER 112D & LGH42N are ripped locked so their read speed is slow compared to the LITEON LH-20A1P-185 which is unlocked so it will rip discs fast. I'm not sure if you can use MEDIA CODE SPEED EDIT program to unlock the riplock on the PIONEER 112D & LGH42N drives.
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    I was researching some drives today and I didn't like some of the comments I heard about the Pioneers, so I'm gonna avoid them.

    The LiteOn and LGs are possiblilties, but the one that really grabbed my eye was the
    Samsung s182m. Know anything about that one?
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  15. DVD Ninja budz's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Blumphf
    I was researching some drives today and I didn't like some of the comments I heard about the Pioneers, so I'm gonna avoid them.

    The LiteOn and LGs are possiblilties, but the one that really grabbed my eye was the
    Samsung s182m. Know anything about that one?
    Do some searching at the Forums at Cdfreaks.com. Every dvd manufacturer will have quality control issues.

    I have a SAMSUNG 183L drive which works well. I use LITEON drives to do my ripping and not for burning. If I had to choose between the PIONEER & SAMSUNG I'd take the PIONEER. I don't know what you've read about the PIONEER drives but they do burn well when using good quality dvd media. Lesson I learned long ago is use cheap ass dvd media then you'll have problems. Use good quality dvd media you won't have problems. Burn at 8x or 12x speed you'll be fine. I'm sure other members here will give their own opinions.

    Cdfreaks.com has PIONEER, LG, LITEON, BENQ, PLEXTOR, BTC, SAMSUNG & NEC forums. Do some reading from those forums. Remember most will go to a forum because they have a problem with a drive.
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  16. So you have had 14 good burns, out of 50 disks, of three different brands? In what quantities are you buying disks, and what exactly were the good vs bad numbers for each brand?

    In a spindle of 50 it is not uncommon to get 2 or 3 bad disks. 75% bad is unusual, though it could happen with el cheapos. Bought a 15-pack that had maybe 3 good disks.

    Small batches bought on sale could well be rebranded seconds, the crap de la crap.

    Look at the bar code label. It will say Made in Japan. In fine print. You may have to check several, they look otherwise identical in packaging.

    There is a reason many are harping on the quality of the blanks used. This is an extremely common source of problem.

    You mention the error at exactly the same place in several different movies. As in, 3 different movies, on each one, there is an error at the same time interval, or just that it is consistent for each movie on multiple attempts, but each movie has the error at a different time specific to that movie?

    The consistency of error is odd, frequency is awful high, different methods not working is questionable, when was the firmware change made in relation to when ALL burns became bad?

    Can you go back to the same software combo that worked 14 out of 50, and/or the older firmware? The firmware change is possibly irreversible and possibly an additional source of problem.

    Can you identify at what point ALL burns stopped working? I realize with this frequency it may have been hard to tell.

    Have you checked the disk surface for unusual patterns, blown the dust out of the drive, double checked tray seating, etc?
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    RE: Nelson37

    "So you have had 14 good burns, out of 50 disks, of three different brands? In what quantities are you buying disks, and what exactly were the good vs bad numbers for each brand?"

    The first bundle I bought was 50 of the Sony's, then 25 of the Memorex's, 25 of the HP's, and today 50 of the Verbatims. I've gotten 7/25 good plays from the Sonys; 5/20 good from the Mem's; 2/8 good with the HPs; and 0/2 from the Verbatims. I'm through with trying media--Im certain that is not the problem.

    "You mention the error at exactly the same place in several different movies. As in, 3 different movies, on each one, there is an error at the same time interval, or just that it is consistent for each movie on multiple attempts, but each movie has the error at a different time specific to that movie?"

    When the error occurs, it's almost always been within the first 10 minutes of the start of any movie; only twice has it happened towards the end (I'm certain of this because I've scanned every copy Ive burnt since I started noticing the error). For specific movies that Ive tried to make multiple and sometimes three attempts at copying, the error happens at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME EVERY TIME (it only changs if Ive used DvdShrink to decrease the size the of the file--then it moves forward 20 to 30 seconds, but still occurs).

    "when was the firmware change made in relation to when ALL burns became bad?"

    I updated the firmware after checking the Sony discs and after trying half the Memorex's. It didn't help--the error still showed up on the rest of the Mem's, the HP's and on the two Verbatim's I did today.

    "Can you go back to the same software combo that worked 14 out of 50, and/or the older firmware? The firmware change is possibly irreversible and possibly an additional source of problem. "

    Like I said, the error was occurring before I updated the firmware and it still happens after I installed the new, and it's happened with EVERY program Ive tried for copying (Fab, DvdDecrypter, Shrink) and for burning (Nero, ImgBurn, CLone2).

    "Can you identify at what point ALL burns stopped working? I realize with this frequency it may have been hard to tell. "

    Burns never stopped working--Ive gotten a couple messages (from Nero and ImgBurn) that the burn was unable to proceed and the program wouldn't start burning--but every other burn (50 or so) all completed and said "Burn completed successfully"...until I played back the disc and there was the freezing problem.

    "Have you checked the disk surface for unusual patterns, blown the dust out of the drive, double checked tray seating, etc? "

    Discs are flawless. Tray is fine, too--I burned 3 CD's since this started to see if they had any problems and they were all perfect.

    This week has been a nightmare....Im glad I don't keep my baseball bat in my bedroom with the computer!
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  18. I burned 3 CD's since this started to see if they had any problems and they were all perfect.
    Burners use a different laser to burn cd's and dvd's so one can be dead and the other still work.

    Are you attempting to copy copyright protected disks?
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  19. Good Ole Best Buy and Verbatims, Ha!

    I went yesterday a couple of minutes after opening to get some Verbatims. All I could find was a total of 7 +R and 0 -R media. I was hoping to get a couple of packs to use in my Pioneer 531h which is a -R only.

    So a sale that has only 7 pcs on the first day at opening time. Wonderful method of building repeat customers.
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    I went to BB yesterday at 3pm... they had about 20 +R and about 100 -R
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  21. Member Krispy Kritter's Avatar
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    On the discs where you've had playback issues, did you burn a new copy from the same files or did you re-rip the movie? If the ripped files are faulty, that would explain why all of the copies fail. Sounds like you are maybe having issues with your ripping process. Download the latest DVDFab Decrypter to rip. Then use DVDShrink if needed. There are other tools available, but these are the most used and known to work. This will at least rule out the files themselves as the source of the problem before you start replacing hardware.
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  22. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    Your problem has no easy answers.

    Content being burned is one potential.
    Media is one potential.
    The drive is one potential. And its firmware.
    The player is one potential.

    You refer to everything in brand, but you need to know what the manufacturers are for both the media and the drives. You can find a drive model number in Windows or in burning software (Nero and RecordNow both show the drive info). Search the model to find the brand. www.nomorecoasters.com for help on ID'ing the media.

    At this point, buying a new drive is not needed. Process of elimination is required. The first step is the data. What are you burning, exactly? How do you know the disc "does not work"?

    You're getting a lot of "easy" answers here, but as you already saw by simply trying Verbatim, they might be the wrong answers.
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    At this point, buying a new drive is not needed. Process of elimination is required. The first step is the data. What are you burning, exactly? How do you know the disc "does not work"?
    He's already did the process of elimination which is why I suggested he buy a new dvd burner. :P
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  24. He's already did the process of elimination...
    Not really, Lordsmurf is correct.

    The media has changed
    The firmware has changed
    The burning software has changed

    Yet the drive has not been tested with a known good source. For example, I would suggest a known good data file of about 1 GB be burned to the drive not an unknown source of video. The burned data file can be checked with freeware Dvdinfopro which can test playback, check for CRC errors in the copy, and can compare the original file to the copy for error checking.

    If the drive can burn data successfully, then the source is somehow involved.
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    Ok, first off...
    Reply to krispykritter: Posted: May 21, 2007 12:02


    On the discs where you've had playback issues, did you burn a new copy from the same files or did you re-rip the movie? If the ripped files are faulty, that would explain why all of the copies fail. Sounds like you are maybe having issues with your ripping process

    After the first review of bad discs, for each new attempt I ripped a new file for the movie...and used Dvddecrypter, then DvdFabDecrypt, and sometimes DvdShrink to decrease the size of the files---and they all produced the same fault on the copies. IT'S NOT THE RIPPING AND BURNING PROGRAMS THAT ARE AT FAULT.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Reply to lordsmurf:

    1. Content being burned is one potential.
    2. Media is one potential.
    3. The drive is one potential. And its firmware.
    4. The player is one potential.
    5. Process of elimination is required. The first step is the data. What are you burning, exactly? How do you know the disc "does not work"?


    1. Possibly, but my problem is showing up on both older discs with only a 90 minute movie and maybe a trailer, and on newer discs packed with extras that I need to shrink down to size with DvdShrink. Ive read in these forums of some particular movies causing problems, but my problem is happening with 75% of EVERY disc I try to copy.
    2. I've have now tried FOUR different brands of media. I've had enough of hearing it "may be the brand of discs" you're using. The last batch I tried was Verbatims. I'm not making any more coasters.
    3. The problem happened before AND after I updated the firmware. Replacing the drive seems to be the only option I have left.
    4. No, it's not the player. The freeze on the copy happens on my stand-alone player, it occurs when I play it back in my computer drive, and I even lent a copy to a friend which he said froze, too.
    5. I'm burning copies of commercial movies on dvd (yeah, sue me). Some are older discs I bought starting in 1999; some are less than a few months old. And as for "How do you know the disc "does not work?"....are you trying to be funny or something? I have scanned EVERY copy I made! The freeze occurs on 75% of them!
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    And lastly, to budz:

    He's already did the process of elimination which is why I suggested he buy a new dvd burner.

    Thanks for reading my posts and comprehending what Ive been talking about. I'm not getting any more useful tips that I havent already tried.
    I'm gonna order a new writer this week, put that in and hope it solves the problem.
    I'll post back when I see what results I get...

    Blumphf
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    Originally Posted by trhouse
    He's already did the process of elimination...
    Not really, Lordsmurf is correct.

    The media has changed
    The firmware has changed
    The burning software has changed

    Yet the drive has not been tested with a known good source. For example, I would suggest a known good data file of about 1 GB be burned to the drive not an unknown source of video. The burned data file can be checked with freeware Dvdinfopro which can test playback, check for CRC errors in the copy, and can compare the original file to the copy for error checking.

    If the drive can burn data successfully, then the source is somehow involved.
    So you're saying that of the 40-50 movies Ive tried making copies of (getting only 14 successful burns), the remainder are all suspect?

    I havent read anywhere on these forums of people reporting this kind of faulty percentage of burns of commercial movies.
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  27. Member otpw1's Avatar
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    I'm not sure why no one has commented on the "same spot" indication. To me that precludes the burner and media from being the culprits.
    Do the source files play properly at the spot that gives the trouble on the dvds?
    I have reencoded with dvd shrink just to eliminate the possibility of an undiscovered glitch.
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  28. Member
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    Originally Posted by otpw1
    I'm not sure why no one has commented on the "same spot" indication. To me that precludes the burner and media from being the culprits.
    Do the source files play properly at the spot that gives the trouble on the dvds?
    I have reencoded with dvd shrink just to eliminate the possibility of an undiscovered glitch.
    Yeah, good point, otpw1, that's what's throwing me for a loop, too (after looking for this problem on hundreds of posts here, noone else has mentioned this particular problem).

    Yes, every source disc plays perfectly, both on my toshiba standalone and in my computer's ROM drive--none of them have defects at all. If they had, I would have returned them to the store for an exchange when I first bought them.

    You're right, the really odd thing about the problem Im having is why this freeze keeps occurring AT EXACTLY THE SAME SPOT for a particular movie on every copy, EVERY TIME!
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  29. It is simple test to do. Most Windows computers come with a program to burn data files to dvd. Mine came with Sonic RecordNow. Use a data file you know to be good. The test eliminates your source material and all your video burning programs leaving the writer and possibly the firmware. Firmware affects the burn and read strategy of the device. For example, it controls the intensify of the laser while it is on.

    DvdInfoPro will tell you if it is making write errors and the nature of those errors. Do the speed test and it will show you exactly where it is stalls if it does. If your data burns are successful then it is not dvd writer.
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    Originally Posted by trhouse
    It is simple test to do. Most Windows computers come with a program to burn data files to dvd. Mine came with Sonic RecordNow. Use a data file you know to be good. The test eliminates your source material and all your video burning programs leaving the writer and possibly the firmware. Firmware affects the burn and read strategy of the device. For example, it controls the intensify of the laser while it is on.

    DvdInfoPro will tell you if it is making write errors and the nature of those errors. Do the speed test and it will show you exactly where it is stalls if it does. If your data burns are successful then it is not dvd writer.
    Ok i installed the DvdInfopro...
    Where do I get a "good" data file? Would that be one of the movies that copied without the glitch?

    How do I run this test? I dont see anything on the infoPro toolbar for Speedtest...
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