Needed Advice: I have had quite a dilemma with backing up my DVD's for playback in a regular DVD player. I am using an I/O Magic external DVD burner after returning my Sony external burner with similar features. For software I use AnyDVD to mask encryption, DVD shrink to compress, and Nero to execute burning. I am very confused, because for about 95% of the DVD's I burn, they play fine, menus and all, at first , and then somewhere between the middle and end of the film usaully become corrupted with large pixelated sqaures and become extremely choppy and the sound is un-recognizable, ultimately making the movie impossible to finish. I have tried playing the burned DVD's in different DVD players, and computers and they produce similar effects with all, but not always in the same spots. I also tried using both Verbatim and Sony DVD-R discs. This confuses me because it seems that the problem is how they are read, since the files become poluted at different areas. Also, I just installed a generic internal burner in my friends desktop and he's using the same exact software and it works perfect for him. Please help! any advice is appreciated.
This may be hard to locate because you say that 95% of your burns play fine. here's a couple of things to check. First if using USB to the External drive make sure it working off a USB2 port not USB1. Second that problem is usually from poor quality blank media but Verbatim should work well in most cases. In dvd Shrink, set the target size to 4300. This will keep from burning to the outer edge of the disc where most problems will show up. Make sure you don't multi-task or surf the web while burning. Shut down all programs that auto start on Windows boot up like anti virus programs, etc. Last, don't use stick on labels of any type, they usually cause playback problems. Hope something here helps. Jerry
jerry746 and whoever else who can help. Thanks for the info, i must have written that unclearly because what i meant was that 95% work fine 'at first' and then do what i mentioned earlier. I was wondering if the problem had to do with data transfer speeds because the fact that my burner is external USB 2.0 and his is an internal is the only thing that really stands out as a difference. Also, if you do believe that this is the problem, would it be wise to purchase an internal burner and put it in an external case kit with firewire? I appreciate any input.
Many members get good burns with an external as long as its on USB2. Buying an internal drive and installing it in an external case is just about the same setup you have now, so I don't see any reason to do that. Internal drives work somewhat better because they are connected directly to the MB through the IDE cable. I forgot to ask what speed you burn at. If you can, set the burn speed at no more than 4X. Even try 2X to see if it helps. Jerry
I am having trouble with my DVD backups. I have 4 DVD players, an apex AD-500WM, a memorex progressive scan MVD 2002, a Sony progressive scan DVD+r DVD-r DVP-NS501P, and a Toshiba progressive scan SD-310V. I have been using Memorex DVD+r media and it seems that 95% of my backups wont work on anything but the toshibe which I think but am not positive will play all of my backups. (havent used it that much) I have tried backups using DVD-X copy and using Shrink and I get the same results with each burn program. They copy perfect but the backups freeze in different parts of the show every time. They get choppy, sound doesnt line up with video, then freeze. It's frustrating and I am thinking that I need new DVD media or something. I bought the sony DVD player because it plays +media it says but it's my worst player of all. Any suggestions? Thanks for helping me out..
Memorex is a very bad choice for blank media at this time. They are buying blanks from many companies, most of which make poor quality media. Memorex failure rate is around 50% right now. Cheap/poor quality media is the most common cause of your playback problem. I would try a different brand of media. Jerry
