Hello all, this will be my first post here. I read the FAQs and did some searching, but had a hard time finding anything about this particular problem (though I'm sure there are numerous posts on it). I guess the keywords "disc error" were not the best, but I can't think of anything else. Anyway, my problem is that basically every movie I burn ends up with at least one glitch. Usually the glitches just cause the movie to stop for several seconds, while my home DVD player moves past the error, but this is still very annoying, and I feel that the PC I have should be more than capable of burning movies perfectly. In fact, I have burned on a 933 MHz machine with results that were no worse. I have a 2.8 GHz machine w/ 2GB RAM and SATA hard disks. The hard disks are not fragmented. My burner is a Plextor PX-740A, and it's on the same cable as my DVD-ROM drive (the burner is slave). I use Nero6 to burn all my movies, once I get them onto the hard disk w/ DVD Shrink. I burn at 2.4x, because it seemed that I got more errors or totally unwatchable discs at higher speeds. Before burning, I shut down everything I can on my computer... ZoneAlarm (stop all internet activity), McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.0.0 (disable), disable Automatic Updates, disable screen saver and screen saver monitor power down feature, disable Windows Defender service, disable NIC. I don't do ANYTHING on my PC during the burn, even move the mouse. I have used various types of media (Ridata, Verbatim, Staples brand) and it seems that all had the same problem. This happens on a different PC also (with similar software loaded), which uses a NEC burner. Friends and coworkers have reported similar results also, where they get errors even when disabling things and not doing anything on the PC during the burn. I checked my DMA setting, and all controllers (I have 2 primary and 1 secondary listed, uninstalled all 3, and all 3 came back) set to use DMA when possible. It seems that there are lots of people that say I should be having no issues, and I should even be able to do my burning without disabling anything, and that I should be able to work on my PC during the burn. If this is the case, then I'm definitely doing something wrong, because I feel I've gone the extra mile to ensure all possible resources are free during the burn, yet still I get these problems. Can anyone help? This is a long-standing problem that has just gotten me to the point of insanity. Thank you!
1 of your problems could be your IDE settings on the DVD-ROM and DVD burner. You should have the DVD burner set to MASTER and make sure it is at the end of the IDE cable. Set the DVD-ROM as Slave and set that in the middle slot of the IDE cable. (Could possibly have a bad IDE cable) Burn no slower then 4x and half the rated speed of the rated disc. So if they are rated at 4x or 8x then burn at 4x if they are 16x then burn at 8x. Make sure your DVD burner firmware is up to date. Set the output size of the DVD to 4360 on DVD Shrink to keep it from being burnt to close to the edge of the disc. Use quality (Best Compatible) media that your DVD burner maker recommends. Do not multi-task make sure unnecessary programs are shut down. If your media is DVD+R media booktype it to DVD-ROM if burner is capable of bitsetting. Doing most of these things should cure the problem you are having.
You feel that burning at too slow (2.4x) a setting can create a problem? I would have never considered that, though the faster speeds have typically resulted in more errors on my discs. Burner firmware is up to date, forgot to mention that. As for setting the size to 4360 in DVD Shrink, to keep it from being burnt too close to the disc edge... Why do we want to do that? Aren't the discs made for all usable space to be used? I had heard that Staples media was very good, but I guess I will have to move to Verbatim or something, and see if I get better results. I do not multi-task, and I close down all possible programs and services (see details in my original post). I feel that I really go the extra mile in this area, but it does not prevent my errors. I don't understand your last point about "If your media is DVD+R media booktype it to DVD-ROM if burner is capable of bitsetting." Can you explain a little more? My media is DVD +R. Thank you!
Oh, and as for the IDE cable, this happens on multiple PCs, so I would not think it is a bad cable. However, the burner is slave on each machine, so I will have to reconfigure that and see if I get any improvement. Thanks again.
There have been cases of cheaper media having flaws on the outer edge of the DVD's due to the dye not being sufficient around that area. Booktyping is taking a DVD+R disc and booktyping it to DVD-ROM so it is more compatible with the DVD standalone player. I would assume this would not be the problem since you are able to load and watch the disc. But it was just a suggestion that I put out there for you to try. DVD-R and DVD+R media are different in ways that the information is wrote and accessed from the disc. Some DVD players have problems with DVD+R media because it isn't capable of accessing the information. So Booktyping DVD+R media to DVD-ROM will force the DVD+R media to be burnt like a DVD-ROM increasing the chances for your homeplayer to be able to read the disc. The quote above you made makes me think this is a problem with media. If you have the same results when burring the disc on different PC's then it seems that the problem is the media you are using. More then likely the Stand alone DVD player does not like that media. I have a VHS/DVD combo home player that when I used Imations back in the day would freeze. Some would freeze less then others but I hardly ever got a perfect burn. I finally said enough was enough and bought some TY and Verbatim media and ever since then every disc will play perfectly on that unit with no freezing problems at all. So media does make a world of difference. So once you find media that works on your Home player do not change it up stick with it.
I'm now in the process of cleaning out as many unnecessary startup processes as I can. I will set my burners to master and make sure they are positioned properly on the cable. If all else fails, I will try new media and see what I come up with. Thanks again for your suggestions!
Try Verbatim DVDR- burn at 4x rip just the main movie the more extras on the disc causes more compression. Less compression good blanks makes good backups.
Yeah, I use DVD Shrink, and all that I do is the main movie. I even trim off the opening studio ads and ending credits, to squeeze out every possible bit of quality that I can. Hopefully my problem is as simple as the media, as that is the only thing that seems to be consistent -- that and the fect that both burners are in the slave position in their host PC.
Some DVD players do not like burned media and book typing helps get around that. Book typing simply adds a small bit of code (setting a few bits) that tells the player to play the DVD as if it were a DVD-ROM, which is what commercial DVDs are. This is the most compatable format. A few tests that might narrow it down... Play the files on your computer before burning, see if the glitches are there. Play your burned DVD on your computer. Try it in another player. Do the glitches always occur in the same spot on the movie? Can you rewind to the same spot and see the problem again? BTW what program are you burning with? IMHO...... A DVD usually has about 4480 MB of room on it. When Shrink was released originally it was set to 4464 MB. In the mean time a bunch of crappy media appeared that had problems near the outer edge. (Princo) So the fix was to recommend setting the DVD size to 4364 MB. Eventually this became a standard reply to most burning problem querys. I never bought into it and still use Shrink's original 4464 MB recomendation. In fact Shrink's developer recognized this and in his guides recommended using a slightly larger number to reduce required compression! Of course using known good media. Loosing 100 MB from a DVD-5 has hardly any effect on the compression number so if a person wants to play it safe, then reduce. For me, I live on the edge.
how old is your DVD player? Is it possible that the problem is not in the burn, but rather in the dvd player during playback? @fastfrank- after replying I saw you also hinted at this idea... Guess I should have read a bit closer.
My player is basically brand new, and this has happened on more than one player. The errors happen in the same spot, each time the disc is played. Playing the files on my PC is fine, and re-burning the disc (I use Nero6) from the same source files often corrects (or moves to a different spot) the problem. So I know it's something in the burn -- the media itself or something my PC is doing that briefly interrupts resources needed for the burn. For example, I know for a fact that the screen saver (or even the screen saver power save mode) will cause an error on the DVD if I don't disable it before the burn. I'm still pretty certain the matter is not media, but some process briefly interfering with the burn process... I just can't believe that some people can surf the net and do other things while burning, and have zero problems. I have elimitated all possible TSR programs and will now move onto setting my burners as master instead of slave. I'm pretty sure that the instructions for my Plextor said to do this, but I never thought this setting truly any difference, no matter what the device. Thanks for the input!
Oh, and also, I do not get the errors when playing on my PC. What does that tell us, that my PC's DVD player is more tolerant with disc errors than my home players are?
Have you played these disc on another Standalone DVD player? It could be possible that your Standalone DVD player has a problem at a certain spot when reading the DVD disc. So if you have not tried playing them on a nother player find another DVD player and play the disc to see if you get the same results. If you do not then it more then likly is the Standalone DVD player or the media you are using that the DVD Player does not like or the compatibility of the media is not the best for the DVD player.
