how does Blockbuster do it?

Discussion in 'Video to DVD' started by kmkenpo, Aug 24, 2005.

  1. kmkenpo

    kmkenpo Member

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    I posted this request on a different section earlier this week... no one seemed to give it a second glance. This is a legit project I am trying to work on, one that could bring additional revenue into my karate school, as well as be very helpful to my students.

    Here is the previous post:

    First off, yes I am a newbee at this... and I have spent a day or so looking through the other posts to try and find an answer, but alas, I have been unable to get a clear picture of a solution.

    I own a Karate School, and my students have been after me to produce some training videos for them. I have spent the money on getting:

    160Gig HD
    capture card (Hauppauge WinTV)
    internal DVD burner (LiteOn 16x) with Nero and Vision Express 2
    pack of Phillips DVD+R discs
    analog cables to bring in old VCR videos
    Firewire (IEEE 1394) cable for bringing in digital camcorder into my system via onboard IEEE 1394
    Pinnacle Studio 9 Plus

    running an ASUS motherboard (unsure of specs there)
    Windows XP
    512MB Ram
    NVidia GeForce 4 4800


    Here is the rub. I have made several videos, brought them into Pinnacle and edited them accordingly, sent them back out with Pinnacle to the burner... 1-2 hours later, poof, a DVD is born. I take the newly created DVD and play it on my machine, GREAT. I take it to my stand alone DVD player (APEX), GREAT it plays there as well, take it to the stand alone downstairs (TOSHIBA), "disk error"... send it to a student to test on their machines... their home computer - FINE, their DVD player in the car - FINE, their DVD player at home - FINE again.

    I figure it's a problem with my player downstairs. I send it to another student. DVD player at their home - sometimes yes, sometimes no. Their computer - unable to read codec (windows media player 10). Their computer at work - FINE. Their DVD player at work - FINE.

    In a nutshell - how does Blockbuster do it? How do they get DVD's to play on every stinking machine you try them on, yet mine are sketchy at best. It is hard to justify getting a student to PAY for a training video, when it may or may not play for them. Is there a solution that I have been unable to locate, or am I justified in being frustrated.

    Please help if you can, for this just plain stinks. A legit reason to produce a DVD, and nothing but frustrations.

    Thank you again for the time you put into helping us that come to this forum.

    -kmkenpo
     
  2. framit

    framit Guest

    Blockbuster use commercial DVDs that are pressed not burned. Better media would help your cause. Philips is not the best try Verbatum Fuji or Sony, also use + type and set your burner to burn DVD-ROM this setting can only be done with +type discs. Only burn at 4x speed regardless of speed indicated on package. I hope this helps and I'm sure others will jump in here and help out.
     
  3. teflonmyk

    teflonmyk Regular member

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    Framit hit the nail on the head....
     
  4. byngo

    byngo Regular member

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    Comercial DVD's are pressed ROM discs. The discs you can purchase to record on are completey diff and use a dye that is "burnt" into by your writers laser. These disc most commonly come in +R or -R format. There is not much diff between the two but unfortunately some players prefer + and some prefer -. Aside from this you have an inherent quality problem so some discs perform better than others whatever the format. For most joe bloggs public its a case of finding the media your player likes and sticking to it, without worrying too much about who else can watch you discs.
    However I believe that more & more players ( & recorders) are becoming tolerant of all formats, BUT, ,, the quality of brand will always remain an underlying problem.
    Some software like DVD decrypter enables you to read & display the media I.D tag of the discs you have and via this identification it is possible to search a forum for the typically best media I.D's.
    A very popular I.D is Riteck G04 or G05. Remember this has nothing to do with the brand printed on the front face.
    Web sites like "SVP communications" actually advertise the media I.D of the discs they sell & sites like "digital faq" and forums on this site give guides to the best ones to use.
    Sorry this is a mouthfull, but unfortunatley, having done well so far, there is much to learn. Wax on , wax off, wax on . wax off LOL.
     
  5. clifjcb

    clifjcb Member

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    Your problem could be due to a few different things or a combo of things.
    First depending which model Toshiba you have it may not be able to handle the DVD+R's. I have an older Toshiba that no matter how good of quality the media is it will only play DVD-R's which is pretty good since it's not rated to play any burned disks at all. Check the your model on the Toshiba site to see what it will handle.
    Secondly, try some better Media like Ritek, Verbatim, Sony. For a better insight on Media check out the DVD media forum here under DVD+/-R discussion.
    Third and lastly for now, try slowing down your burn speed. Try 2X for a test and see if your Toshiba will play it.

    Good luck.
     
  6. rebootjim

    rebootjim Active member

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    Even if you follow all the advice given above, there's still no guarantee the disk will play on all players.
    Some just don't like +r, some don't like -r. Some don't like burns at all, some don't like burns over 4 gig. Some don't like MP2 audio...there's just NO way you can burn a disk that's 100% compatible.
     
  7. kmkenpo

    kmkenpo Member

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    I was able to download a program that allows you to set the booktype of the drive... except my drive does not seem to be on a list that allows such. Is this going to be a problem in the long run, or is it something that, as you have suggested, just reduce the write speed, test media, and hope for the best.

    Thank you again for the help... MOST helpful.

    -kmkenpo
     
  8. catfreak

    catfreak Active member

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     ... What program did you download? LiteOn burners with Nero is a good combination that supporte bitestting (booktyping) ... Phillips media . no good ... as posted above, Ritek, Sony, Verbatim is all good media .. Add Maxell to that list along with Fuji ... If I was you, I'd buy a couple of each and experiment with compatability ... It seems that some combinations work better with different media ... In other words, what works great for me may be el stinko for you ...
     
  9. kmkenpo

    kmkenpo Member

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    these are the programs that I downloaded :

    DVD Decrypter
    DVD Identifier
    DVD Shrink
    DVD InfoPro (registered it)

    InfoPro shows a section that allows for you to change the booktype, except mine seems to not be 'change-able' umm... if that makes sense.

    LITE-ON DVDRW SOHW-1693S (E:)

    -kmkenpo
     
  10. teflonmyk

    teflonmyk Regular member

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    Last edited: Aug 24, 2005
  11. kmkenpo

    kmkenpo Member

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    woooo stinkin confounded hoooooo !!!!!

    it works on the Toshiba now, as well as the Apex players... you may have done it.

    Thank you VERY much for the help... thank you very much.

    -kmkenpo
     
  12. kmkenpo

    kmkenpo Member

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    Well... seems as though after passing out another test copy to one of my students... they had some weird trouble. This is from his e-mail:

    * The video portion of the DVD does not play on my computer but the audio is fine.
    * My home DVD player does not even recognize the fact that there is a disk loaded.
    * Last but not least...it players correctly, audio and video, on the Playstation 2.

    He is running Windows Media Player 10 on the computer. Not sure what brand DVD Player he has. Although the PS2 actually playing it was a real bonus. Maybe I can produce the videos, bundle them with a PS2, and then the problem is solved. Wait, strike that. Mom's and Dad's wouldn't want to spend $150 for a training video, then if they actually did... the children would be playing GTA SanAndreas, instead of practicing Karate.

    Any other suggestions that come to mind?

    Well, I actually went back to re-read the above comments... guess I should invest in better media before assuming that the problem can be fixed with the wave of a mouse.

    To BestBuy I go.

    -kmkenpo
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2005
  13. framit

    framit Guest

    As you can see no gaurantees that burnt DVDs are 100% compatible, they play in your 3 devices now and 1 of your students devices, I'm surprised his PC wont play it though. Try other brands of media and see if you are more succesful. Failing that I'm out of ideas.
    Good Luck
     
  14. kmkenpo

    kmkenpo Member

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    You guys have been MOST helpful... at least you have been able to get it working on a more consistent basis, as well as being able to set the booktype. I was at the end of my limited knowlege, and here you are giving yet more advice... a wonderful forum this has turned out to be.

    -kmkenpo
     
  15. teflonmyk

    teflonmyk Regular member

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    This place is THE BEST... I spend most of my time reading posts vs posting questions and assisting (there are SO many people that have a deeper understanding of these issues than I do). I offer my input only when it can be thorough and concise. There is a wealth of knowledge here.

    You have to be a little creative when searching sometimes, though...

    WELCOME TO AD!!!
     
  16. EsirnuS

    EsirnuS Guest

    This may sound like a cop out suggestion but maybe supply the training video footage as AVI or other format files and allow the students who can to burn their own dvd??

    Es
     
  17. kmkenpo

    kmkenpo Member

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    You know... that was a thought we were going over. Some of the more saavy students figured that they could do their own burning. I was trying to come up with a method that was more broad in distribution, allowing for a more professional look.

    It may have to go that route with the ones that have stubborn DVD Players, although i recently purchased a few FUJI DVD's. I will be trying to send out a test disk for the known trouble DVD Players.

    This has turned out to be much more of a lesson than I was anticipating. Very informative and full of trial and error.

    -kmkenpo
     

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