Interesting compatibilty playing topic - regulars read this

[arcorob]

There has been MUCH talk recently about things such as TO LABEL or NOT TO LABEL, UDF/ISO, MEDIA TYPE, etc.

Compatibilty is a very important topic to me because as a part time videographer, I need to be sure my wedding video customers can watch their DVD's on a variety of players. So as such, I have a variety of players and have tried a myriad of media and software.

What I am discovering by and large is that the biggest single factor is the specifications and stringency of the player. In other words, if the player sets a very stringent gap for play in terms of speed, readability , etc, you will have trouble.

Take for example, my recent favorite, the Mintek DV1600. It plays EVERYTHING. Even things that my other brands have choked on, it plays. So that has to tell you that the media is fine, the software is fine and all is playable, but the stringency of other players won't allow flexible play.

So to my point, I stressed to those complaining about labels that labels were not the issue, and that to say being unplayable with a label and playable without is valid, is false logic. It is unplayable in a device that does not account for a varied speed. But not the root cause.

Examples
RCA DVD - Plays all VCD's but does often stutter, DVD's fine and burned dvd's - so so

APEX 500W - Plays almost everything, all labeled but ofetn goes sync happy on VCD's and on Buurned DVD's may halt near end

PIONEER DV 414 - Plays all VCD's perfect 100% , all labeled. Burned DVD's near perfect depending on software used

Mintek DV1600 - Plays everything except the fiddle and I mean everything.

Sony - Plays most everything - similar to pioneer

Now folks, I do have DVD's and VCD's that have given me issue in one machine or another. I have tested EVERY one in the Mintek. Every one worked. So what does that tell us ? That the DVD box makers need to really get working on THEIR quality and stop sticking it to the end user. How many people have burned multiple disks(coasters) an had nightmares trying to get good DVD's.

The standard needs to be set across the board with some flexibility (like old versus new VHS tapes , some slippage) but if a company can can sell a DVD player for 49.00 that plays everything, why cant the 150.00 ???

Hmmm...

[burned_once]

Are you referring to physical labels you print and attach to the DVD itself, or volume labels you specify in the file system?

I've found many commerical DVD releases have descriptive volume labels, like GRINCH_HORTON for one popular kid vid. I'm sure they wouldn't use these if it made their products incompatibl.

My interest is in the physical labels. I read somewhere that they can cause the disk to heat up when played, causing damage to both the data and the player.

Is this true? If so, thermal expasion could conceivably affect the timing.

If not, what are the best brand, material, or format for labelling home burned DVDs, such as wedding videos?

[arcorob]

I mean paper type labels that you afiix to the DVD. I have had no problems. I use the 2-UP type (offset top and bottom)

Example here
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3411210750&category=11163

I bought 2000 for a steal and (after buying them in 200 lots) and never had a problem...

[SaSi]

Regarding Labels, both logical and physical.

Logical labels are totaly acceptable on any DVD player. In fact, many DVD players keep track of "recent" disks inserted and can play-back from the last scene played if you re-insert a disk for which playback has been interrupted.

However, the logical file system of the disk can be a problem. I've seen DVD players refusing to play disks that have Joliet file systems on them. It's difficult to identify if a DVD has a Joliet FS on it, but a rule of thumb is that if the volume label is in lower case or contains spaces, it will not play on many standalones. Try to use UDF 8+3 format for DVDs and only use captical latin characters and the underscore for the disk label.

Now, regarding the physical labels. I always label my disks, starting with CDs that I've recorded some years ago. I guess that the problems many people face come from improper placement of labels, i.e. off-center. If you mis-allign the sticker, then the center-of-weight is changed (the sticker is not weightless), just like on a car wheel. This causes vibration, uneven spinning and usually read-errors.

I use a special rod-like guide that allows me to place the sticker exactly aligned with the center of the disk. I've never seen a problem with disks in this way. In fact, I tried putting a sticker by hand, trying to center it as best as I could by hand, and of course it misses the center by a milimiter or so. The standalone player plays the disk but I hear loud spinning noises from it. Also, from time to time I hear the player spin-down and spin-up the disk (perhaps attempting to recover alignment and read errors). My guess is that this is what most users suffer from stickers. Well, the answer is to use a tool that perfectly aligns the sticker with the disk.

I use Zweckform/Avery stickers. They come with a small ring that supposedly helps center the label on the disk. I can't seem to find a way of using it accurately. Obviously this tool is useless.

[arcorob]

One additional note about placement.....

YOu can actually WARP the disk with pressure, that is extreme pressure to make the label adhere will cause the disk to bend slightly. WHen the label adheres, it actually HOLD the warped shape in place.

I use just enough pressur eto make it JUST stick, then place in a case. Holding the disk firmly so it does not spin, I then use a soft cloth to rub the disk into permenant place (the cloth is actually a lens cleaning soft cloth). The lable is then fully adhered , all edges etc, without SQUISHING it onto the disk by pressure from a CD stomper which is actually flexible and causes warping...

[Bob W]

Ha the Mintek DV1600 I bought three of them for Christmas presents for my mother and two sisters at BestBuy for $54 each (I got off cheap). I agree it plays anything you throw at it.

[aubrey_q]

arcorob:

I have the Mintek DVD-1600, but I haven't gotten it to play TDK or Imation DVD+Rs. I also have the Pioneer DV-503 DVD player that has played EVERYTHING I've thrown at it. EVERYTHING.

Can you tell me which brand of DVD+R blank media you use?

I have the Sony DRU-500A DVD burner so it burns both formats. The Mintek plays DVD-R/RW and DVD+RW flawlessly. With the exception of the DVD+R issue, the player is a great value for the $$$.

Aubrey

[burned_once]

Thanks to all for your quick and helpful replies. Based on this information, I have no qualms about sticking labels on the DVD-Rs I'm about to release of my cousin's wedding.

[mecg]

I don't reply very often as I still consider myself somewhat of a "newbie", but I have spent a lot of time with computers and such (I run CAD for living amongst a considerable amount of programming and other applications). One of the first things I notiticed was that a computer DVD player will play anything I stick in it (almost). It seems to me (probably over simplifying) that the industry should sart with the computer DVD player standards (possibly even the drives themselves) and design their systems around them. They keep releasing this stuff a little at a time seemingly to get us to continue buying more and more (My house currently could pass for a section in radio shack or the electronics dept. at Best Buy). First DVD and CD Audio, then MP3, then JPG, then DVD-R, then ..... you get the picture (no pun intended) .