Double problem with DVD sound and regions

[kasius]

So many, many thing wrong here...
1. Nero stinks. Burn with ImgBurn.
2. K-Lite and all other codec packs just mess up your system worse. Download the free software GSpot to analyze your friend's DVD. It is in the Tools section of this site. GSpot will tell you if you have the needed codecs loaded. You should only load codecs as needed -- no codec packs!
3. Crappy disc media makes bad burns -- "coasters." Use Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden blank DVDs. For dual layer discs, Verbatim +R DLs only.
4. Your friend's DVD is likely not DVD compliant. Something is definitely wrong if VLC cannot play it.
5. Win98 sucks. If you really want to play DVDs on your PC, update your OS.
6. I don't know anything about Emprex burners. Off-brands are usually unreliable.

I'm tired of writing...

As stated above. Especially #5. Man are you missing out.

[whitehound]

Thanks, but we've been through all that exhaustively.

Nero is crap, but it's what I've got, and as far as paid-for apps go I have no money to buy anything else at present.

It's already been established that nothing is wrong with the DVD, and VLC wouldn't play at first because a) it installed wrong the first time and b) there's a bug in it - if you access the DVD through the Open Disc option it plays fine; if you access it through Quick Open File, it doesn't.

I'm not interested in ImgBurn at present because I'm not interested in burning at present, although I shall certainly give it a whirl if and when I do want to burn DVDs.

I quite like Win98. I shall probably upgrade next month, when I shall be getting some back pension money, but only because it's getting harder to get Win98-comaptible drivers etc. I don't see any point in change for the sake of it, and I've had the drive for three years and this is the first time I've felt moved to attempt to play a DVD in it. I realise this is heresy on this website but I'm not very interested in films or TV - I use the drive for burning discs for friends who are singers, and up till now CDs had been sufficient.

[whitehound]

Well, I got replies from Emprex and from Nero, in the end. Emprex say it must be a faulty drive and to take it back, which isn't possible as it was a gift. I don't see *why* it should be faulty, necessarily - I suspect it had been used in a display and somebody had played a region 1 DVD in it. I was hoping they would actually tell me how you're supposed to change the region setting on the thing, since the booklet is singularly unhelpful - but no such luck.

Nero said, the reason it wasn't playing sound from DVDs with Nero Showtime was because it needs a Multichannel Plug-in, which it was evidently supplied without, and which they no longer supply themselves.

Anybody here got the Nero 6 Multichannel Plug-in?