burning failures, Module sfmmcx.cpp

eternity wrote on 12/27/2005, 12:10 AM

I recently began having a problem with sony DVD Architect 2., and the same problem has just been repeated in DVDA 3.0

The software does not effectively close the DVD in the lead out process, and renders the dVd unreadable.
.
To date the software has worked for me in several hundred dvd's but recently begain acting up when i upgraded my DVD Drive to a Liteon DVD drive.

these are the error messages, reproduced:
=======================================dvda 2.0
the command completed without errors

'SFMMCX'-(17)
'atapi'-(1)
-'LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-1635S YS0F'-(1)
Module sfmmcx.cpp Line 1558
The command completed successfully.
No sense.

Status: 00000000
Command:
Sense: 00 00 00
Info: 00 00 00 00
Specific: 00 00 00
Extra:

==========dvda 3
'SFMMCX'-(17)
'atapi'-(1)
-'LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-1635S YS0F'-(0)
Module sfmmcx.cpp Line 2311
The command completed successfully.
No sense.

Status: 00000000
Command:
Sense: 00 00 00
Info: 00 00 00 00
Specific: 00 00 00
Extra:
==========

Even though the message says the "process completed without errrors," the DVD does not read. THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH SONY SOFTWARE, as it has been repeated by several clients other than me, and i have not seen a proper fix posted.

The problem is narrowed down to be a software problem because:

1). Other software can burn the SAME vob files successfully.

2). the DVD's can burn in other machines without problems.

3). the same rendering process with the SAME files can be successfully closed on another machine, that has an older DVD writer.

4). the problem is not an upgrade, as the same problem in DVD 2.0 can be reproduced on Sony DVD Architect 3.0.

5). the problem occurs **consistently** with different high quality dvds, and is not isolated to one kind of dvd. i.e. verbatim, HP, sony all alike reproduce the problem.

6). DVD firmware has been updated.

7). all upgrades posted on the site have been applied.

8). the DVD's that i am rendering are a simple mpg capture file with no complicatged menus.

In sony dvd arch 2.0, the problem happens when i select "prepare dvd AND burn." If i select, only "prepare dvd," then manually select the "burn" after preparation, the problem occurs less often. In dvd arch 3.0 the problem is the other way around. If i select "prepare and burn," the first time through it closes succssfully, but on the second dvd when i manually select burn, the burn fails.

Could a sony tech support PLEASE correct this problem in a software upgrade, or post a realistic fix? It has been reproduced by several clients, and unless i have missed the posts, there has not been a correction of the problem to date.

Comments

eternity wrote on 12/27/2005, 12:12 AM

one follow up.
the error occures on dvd's that use only half of the dvd, and in all cases use less than 96% of the dvd space

jabloomf1230 wrote on 12/27/2005, 3:43 PM

Send a technical support question to Sony support. This problem tends to show up frequently and they claim to be working on it. You can also try using DVD-R disks to see if that fixes the problem. If you are using DVD+R disks, try using the LiteOn utility to do bit-setting and set the disk to DVDROM before burning.

eternity wrote on 12/28/2005, 9:30 AM

Thanks JA.
I did post a message concurrently with sony.
Also, the error in DVDA 3, happens in this order. If i use a DVD+R, at first, and choose "Render and Burn," in one step, it will close effectively the DVD+R, but if another disc is burnt, (after the DVD+R), a DVD-R, it fails. So currently i am burning the DVD-R disks with Nero 7, using the same files that DVDA3 burned. When i used DVDA2 last week, i got fails with DVD+R disks. I did get the lite on utility as per another post , thanks for the mention. gratefully, paul

Blackadder wrote on 12/29/2005, 2:26 AM

I'm not sure if I can be any help, since I own DVD Architect Studio 3.0 (from the VMS + DVD package), not DVD Architect. But it sounds to me like it's a failure in the communication between the DVDA software and your DVD burner. I don't know if DVDA has the same sort of program preference options as DVDAS does, but in the program preferences list in DVDAS (under the "General" tab), there is an entry for "Skip drive database; autodetect drive capabilities" - by default, this option is unchecked. If that option (or something similar) is available in DVDA, try checkmarking that option - it may just solve the problem you're having. I had a lot of burn failures in DVDAS until I checkmarked that one seemingly-innocent entry. Now it burns perfectly, and I have not had a burn failure since.

Cheers,
Blackadder.

Blackadder wrote on 12/30/2005, 11:41 PM

Okay, now I've encountered a similar problem, so I take back what I said. Using DVD Architect Studio 3.0, I just burned a DL disc with about 1 hour 40 minutes of footage, and was greeted with a similar error log - although my DVD is actually playable, at least up until the 2nd layer. Everything on the 2nd layer is unplayable.

Ironically, I am also using a LITEON DL DVD burner, although mine is external. Perhaps it's a problem that DVDA (and DVDAS) has communicating with LITEON drives? Whatever it is, I hope there's a simple option I can adjust, or a simple fix that Sony can make, that will correct all of this.

Cheers,
Blackadder.

Blackadder wrote on 12/31/2005, 12:58 AM

I just burned my project again, but this time I turned the "skip drive database" option off. The resulting DVD is entirely playable this time - even the 2nd layer burned successfully and is playable. But now, there are noticeable flaws in the video and sound - on occasion, the video and sound will freeze for about a second at a time, and this happens sometimes every few seconds, sometimes as many as 30 seconds apart. It is frustrating that I have solved one problem but encountered another in the process.

I did notice that the burn process went differently this time - on my previous attempt, once the % indicator hit 45%, it got stuck there for the remainder of the burn process, even though the time-remaining counter was still counting down. I don't recall it going through the lead-out process, but I must admit that I wasn't paying that much attention at that point. This time though, the % indicator went all the way up to 100%, and the drive did go through the lead-out process. When it was done, the completion message was different - it simply said it was complete and asked if I wanted to make another copy, with options for "yes" and "no".

All I can conclude from this is that there is a problem relating to DVDAS's communication with LITEON drives. With the "Skip drive database" option turned on, the DVDAS software isn't reading the drive's capabilities correctly, and as a result, fails to burn to the 2nd layer of a DL disc. With the "Skip drive database" option turned off, DVDAS is forced to use its own knowledge of LITEON drive's, which must not be accurate - and as a result, the footage is burned with visible flaws.

I can only hope that there is some other option I can enable/disable that will fix this for me, or that Sony will put out some sort of patch that will correct the way its software communicates with LITEON drives.

Cheers,
Blackadder.

Blackadder wrote on 1/4/2006, 1:53 PM

Here's a final update - the problem I've been having has been solved! As it turns out, it was not anything related to the software settings - it was my Lite On drive's firmware. After a very quick firmware update for my drive, I successfully burned a dual-layer disc without any issues what-so-ever. I should point out that I had left the "skip drive database" option unchecked when I burned my project successfully.

If you are still having the problem you've described, try updating your Lite On drive's firmware - go to www.liteonit.com, go to the ODD Products section, select "Firmware", and then find your exact model of drive in the list. The list contains all models, including internal and external versions. Once you have downloaded the file, double click it to unzip it, and then run the executable file that appears. After it has updated, restart your computer. Then your problems should be solved.

Cheers,
Blackadder.

eternity wrote on 1/10/2006, 8:15 AM

Thanks Blackadder,
i will attempt what your update suggestion and get back to you.
paul

forenow wrote on 10/10/2006, 5:14 PM

I know this is an old topic, but I was researching my DVDA problem and discovered eternity's post fit me to a tee. Same drive model, same leadout issue, same success with other programs (Record Now! in my case).

Does anyone know if Sony ever fixed this? I have the latest version of DVDA 3 and it's still there. In this topic (http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=22&MessageID=445287), spidermonkey mentions that Sony tech support will send you some new dll's. Has anyone tried that?