DVD's Won't Play In My Standalone DVD Player

[P-ROD68]

I was hoping that some one can help me in finding out what I am doing wrong. Some burnt dvd's will play in my standalone players and some don't. I have two Standalone dvd player's 1) Philips dvdr3390 recordable divx player (99% of all my burnt dvd's play in this so I am actually not concerned with this player.) 2) Sylvania dvc845e vcr/dvd combo (this is a standard dvd player with no special features such as, divx or recording. about half the burnt dvd's play in this.) What I want to know is what I am doing wrong that some won't play in this paticular dvd player or others. First of all I use any type high quality media and I do know the differences between DVD+R DVD-R DVD-RW and I also pay close attention to what players are compatible with what media I am usingand I also pay attention to burn speeds. Now your probably going to ask what brand dvd's won't play and what brand dvd's will. To tell you the truth I have no problem with any brand blank media it's just some play and some don't in my Sylvania or anyone else's; again I pay close attention to the specs of the standalones are capable of what media it can play. Sorry if this is long;bear with me I have a slight learning disability and my thoughts don't often come out as I would like them to. Ok now whether I make a backup copy of a dvd or whether I convert to dvd using VSO Convert XtoDVD some play and some don't. Is there something wrong with the menu of the dvd that the player is not being able to read? or something else; like I said the ones that don't play in the standard dvd players will play on my recordable divx dvd player. If I left anything out and someone replies to this post I can add more info.
P.S. I have a DVD demystified book that I bought and the structure of dvd's very complex, I am trying to understand this book but like I said it is very confusing right now, any help would be appreciated. Thks Patrick

[guns1inger]

First thing to understand : there is no magic bullet. There is no brand of blank disc, no burner, no burning application that will guarantee you universal playback of all discs on all players.

Go back, read that sentence again, understand it and accept it.

There are simply too many factors at play.

All you can try to do is mitigate any playback issues by following good practices.

* Always use good quality media. See www.nomorecoasters.com for more reading. TY and Verbatim would be high on the list. You talk about using high quality discs, but you don't mention what discs you do use.

* Never author and burn in a single pass. Always author to your HDD and test play using a good software player. Use the keyboard and not the mouse to test menu navigation.

* Burn with a good app. Imgburn is my application of choice, followed by Prassi ONES.

* Test your burns. I use DVD Info Pro, but Nero CD/DVD Speed will also do. At a minimum, do a read test of the disc. if anything fails, repeat. If it fails again, bin it. If you have time, do a speed and/or jitter test.

* remember that not all discs burn well in all burners, even the good quality discs. Not all discs play well in all players, even the good quality discs. if you are having consistent playback issues with a particular player, and the discs work in other players, it may be time to buy a new player.

[P-ROD68]

Ok, maybe I can explain it like this. I ripped one of my movies to divx format and just to test an application, to see if it works up to my standards, with no error in converting back to dvd, I used Convert XtoDVD. Now if I opt to include Convert XtoDVD's default startup menu it will play on all my standalone dvd players, but if I go into the settings and opt not to include it's default menu it will not play in my other players or anyone else's, but it will play in my Phillips standalone player which has multiple format capabilities. Look I appreciate the timely response, I have posted this question in the past in a couple other forums with no response at all. I am very familiar with hardware and trial and error, up until now my conversion rate or copy success has been with only a minimum loss of media; coasters...lol. I know it has to be in the menu. I do use imgburn, it is one of my favorite Programs, I also use DVDfab with a high success rate. I am sure if I had a graphical representation of how the structure of a dvd works, the menu I am talking about or just a general explanation on how a dvd starts up and is read, then I would have a better understanding of how it works. Reading this DVD Demystified is really not my forte, since I learn best with graphics or visual and hands on experience. I have a good understanding of electronics and operating systems since it's been 20 + years since I have been in this type work/hobby. Maybe I am just not cut out to understand digital media, I was just getting bored with networking and sys admin. Thks I'll just leave it at that, but if you understand what my dilemma, more help would be extremely appreciated. Patrick
P.S. This is really driving me crazy...

[guns1inger]

ConvertXtoDVD creates very simple DVDs and has very few options, making it pretty much fool-proof. About the only thing I can think of is the you have unticked Auto-Start Playback. Click on Settings->Menu, then make sure that Auto_start Playback (first option) is ticked.

[P-ROD68]

Thanks I will try that, you don't know how much every little bit is appreciated. Thank you Patrick