Menu problem: Only highlights showing in player

[ericf]

Hello. I have a problem.
I've made a 1:1 c*py of a DVD and the menus work on all software players and one of my stand alone players but my OPPO 981 won't show anything but the higlights on the menus. The menu video and background doesn't show.

Can anyone explain what the problem could be?

Is it a common problem with this model?

Is this something that can happen when making a 1:1 c*py of a DVD (file mode to HD then Nero compile)?

Thanks.

ericf

[Baldrick]

I would try copy with imgburn and use different media.

[ericf]

Thanks for the reply, but isn't this rather an authoring problem from the start? There's no way the menu parts cannot be reached because of bad media. The menus must be on the first layer which is perfectly readable.
Why would the video parts be blanked out by the selection layer? That's what this is, right? The layer for selection is blanking out the parts underneath it.

So, how can that happen?

I've also mailed OPPO about the problems so I hope to find out what they think it might be.

Thanks.
ericf

[guns1inger]

If you made a 1:1 copy then you would be seeing the same problem with the original as well. I am assuming, by the tone of your post, that this isn't the case.

Perhaps if you explain how you made your copy we might be able to see if the process is the cause.

Generally, however, a menu has only two layers. The first is the graphical layer - either still or motion - which has the menu choices on it. This cannot be easily changed through copying. On top of this is the subpicture layer which is where the highlights are. These are basically subtitles, and can be easily stripped out with the right tools. Again, however, not something easily done with standard copy tools.

If the source was ripped incorrectly then it is possible for the authoring to suffer (modern copy protection is based around the deliberate introduction of authoring and encoding errors) and unpredictable results can occur.

Also, not all players are created equal, and the fact that this disc works happily in some many players and fails in only one would suggest that the disc itself may not be at fault.

[ericf]

Thanks for the reply.
I copied the whole disc in file mode in DVD Decrypter and then burned that folder with Nero. This is actually not my own player. A friend of mine owns it. I can't see the problem myself. I know I did have one or two instances when the menu had problems on my OPPO DV-971H with the Il Mare Japanese DVD but that seems to no longer be a problem. It works just fine. The other disc that seems to problematic is the Royal Tramp Fortune Star remaster (movie 1).

I've used imgburn a while because I read that you have to put a layer break in the DVD-9.
However, one of my DVD-9 made with imgburn seems to be causing problems for DVD Decrypter. It doesn't demux everything to HD. It stops at about 67%. Same with one of the audio tracks. The other is complete. If I use pgcdemux I can demux everything to HD. Then I don't get a good chapter list to use with muxman though.

Any ideas?

I know about the possible media issues but that shouldn't be a part of the problem in this case.

ericf

[guns1inger]

If these are dual layer discs and you are not using Verbatim +R DL discs and/or burning with Nero then you are asking for unpredictable outcomes. Imgburn isn't prefect, but it is a far better DVD Video burner that Nero for single layer discs, and the only sane choice for dual layer. However even with good discs there is no such thing as 100% guaranteed success.

You have to put a layer break in a DVD9. Period. No discussion can be entered into on this point. There is simply no way around it. Imgburn makes the process very visible by allowing you to choose where that break goes. Nero, on the other hand, just chooses somewhere it feels like putting the break, and does it. Whether it is the right place of not.

If you believe that burning with Nero avoids inserting a layer break then you have a lot more reading to do on authoring DVD video discs, and put far too much trust in Nero.

[ericf]

What about the read problems with the disc I mentioned I made with Imgburn?
If Imgburn causes the second layer to be unreadable in DVD Decrypter, isn't that a bad thing?

Granted, this disc is problematic in that it doesn't have a good layer break point from the start (the original DVD). I have to make one myself by inserting chapters at the correct places.

That still has nothing to do with the menus on the other DVDs.

I haven't used DVD-9s a lot so far but since I never had any problems with the ones I put through Nero I assumed things were all right.

ericf

[guns1inger]

So far you haven't said what media you are using. One bad burn and you ditch Imgburn ? More than likely it is a media issue, and your current issues could well be the same.

[ericf]

I'm using Verbatim MK003 myself.
I think the DVDs used for the problematic discs were Ricoh/Ridata.
One blank/no print surface DVD sort has the make RICOHJPN D01. The other, with a printable label, has RITEK S04.
He's providing his own media for me to burn on.

I have Verbatim DL that I can use for the projects. He might buy Verbatims if he had any knowledge about the quallity of the media he's providing. I have to pay $3 a DL for Verbatim MK003 and then I'm buying 50 discs on 2 spindles and adding the shipping cost. It is rather expensive.

ericf