Video on Cheap DVD-R

[miketree]

Background ...

When I first bought my DVD writer (pioneer 104) I also purchased some cheap bulkpaq dvd-r disks.

I soon discovered that they weren't too hot for video, and put them on one side for data purposes, as they seem fine in my computer.

Question....

Will these disks work ok for video if I use a lower bitrate? Will it remove the skipping etc? I know lowering the bitrate will reduce the quality, but for some things that doesn't matter.

I would try this myself, but I'd have to test quite a few before I came to any conclusion. I Just wondered if anyone else has had the same thought & done any research into this.

[ultima16888]

When you burn video, cheap disc will end up showing pixelation, skipping or stopping, try Pioneer to see if it's problem with your video setting or video capture card.

I found Universal DVD-R media after seeing on another forum from this guy who does "high speed coaster review" DVD recording... dvd-r.safewebshop.com is where i got it from... also Mitui Gold Disc is really good with Video recording too.... both of these media NEVER FAIL ON ME.

[miketree]

I've got some good media, that's not the problem.

I've also got a lot of cheap media and want to know if I can use it successfully at lower bitrate.

[garryheather]

Yes, in a way - if you use a lower bitrate to encode the video then it will use less space on the disc, and if the problem is mainly at the end of the movie, then the burn might stop before the error rate gets too high.

But it's a bodge.

Most DVD players are fitted with the equivalent of 2x drives and it's up to the controller and onboard buffer memory as to how much variation in rotational speed the disc goes through when being played back. If you record at a lower bitrate then in theory the disc shouldn't need to spin so fast so you could argue the player has more time to account for read errors, but it is irrelevant if the player sees a lower bitrate and slows the disc down anyway since it is not trying to stream the data off so quickly.

You might have more success in reducing the recording speed, however - if you recorded at 2x or above try slowing it down to 1x.

I suggest saving the dodgy discs for your data applications and investing in better media for video, however.

[P@iNKilleR]

This may sound like a daft question! what colour are the disks????

if purple (gen 3) U wont have a cat in hells chance as they are too hitty missy, mind that is if U havent updated the firmware & they are fine

white with a polo ring, these should be fine as some of them were TDK fakes & well these were good disks & could be written (odd few were princo headered though & dont write to the end)

white with no polo ring these were totally crap I bought 50 & about 20 failed, wont buy them anymore!! A few sites on the net at the mo in the UK R selling datawrite yellow disks which are fine especially for the price of 29.50 for 50 thats about 60p each. Mind if U want quality go for some E-performance as these are good reliable disks & for the price of 69p & U get them in jewel case go for them.

yeah & as for the making a disks a lower bitrate it wont work as I've done it... and even if U use a disk & U use about half its capacity it still wont work right due to how a disk writes (give the disks to someone as its an hour worth of U having your fingers crossed)

Kev!

[garryheather]

I agree with the previous comment about e-proformance (sic) discs - I am using those as my weapon of choice in my A04 at the moment too. They are also supplied wrapped in cellophane, I have yet to find one that has come out of the case dirty or dusty in any way. They also seem very consistent - rare in a budget disc. I must check out the manufacturer's ID one day...

HOWEVER - while miketree should be OK with them, they DO NOT WORK AT ALL at present in the (A)05.

If you attempt to use these discs in the 05 at the moment, you will probably find the media is ignored completely.

You have been warned !

[P@iNKilleR]

Garry they are made by prodisc & they have worked everytime without a fail!!! & really these come better packed than there traxdata equivelants.. not bad considering they are 50p cheaper they dont apear to work in the 105 writer for some reason which is a shame but glady I dont have one maybe with the firmware update they will write in a 105. There is a lesson to be learned here cheap is not good considering U R only talking about 10p extra per disk to make sure U have a perfect burn!

Kev

[garryheather]

... and for those of you out there who would like to get their hands on these discs, you can get them in the UK from here:

http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/FOR_DVD_R_RW_CLICK_HERE.html


That was a public service announcement on behalf of the "My DVD-R's work perfectly" party.

69p a shot. Bargain (if they work for you too, of course).