I have had this happen on a Sony set-top DVD player. I am still trying to sort out whether it is the media, DVDA, the encoding rate, or something else. The player can play some of my disks just fine, so it is not my burner, and it is not a player that is incapable of playing DVD-R disks. When I find the answer for this specific case, I will post the results.

I have had disks that, in a session, would stop working, but if the
disk was cooled down by placing them in a refrigerator for about ten minutes
would start working again. This is generally not long enough to cause condensation to form. (This might also be time to allow the player's laser to cool as well.)

I think it is a media problem.

jetdv,
please tellme more about labels! I'm having the same problem as xjerx. I use DVDA and I burn on a pioneer A04, No problems. I duplicate with a pioneer A04 1:6 duplicator, no problem. I view them on a JVC XV-523, no problem. Then I put the labels on. Sometimes no problem, sometimes skipping and stopping. I have had many cust complaints of skipping. I also realize the finished DVD-R will not play in my computer DVD player correctly. Why did you say labels?

It is possible for labels to cause problems in, at least, the following two situations (based on anecdotal info - I've never used labels):
1) label is off-center causing the DVD to wobble while playing
2) As the label heats, cools, ages, heats, cools, ages.. they can shrink. As they shrink, the outer edges are pulled slightly upwards. This can be just enough to make the DVDs start skipping - particularly the longer it plays.

Thanks jetdv , I'm going to do some experimenting with and w/o labels. Probably should break down and buy a printer.

To further Ed's (jetdv) point, this article:

http://www.manifest-tech.com/media_dvd/dvd_compatibility.htm

lists the following:

"Subutai Ahmad of the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA, www.osta.org) also reports that 'we have seen quite a few problems with paper labels. The problem is that if the labels are not centered correctly, or if they peel off even a little bit, they can cause the disc to wobble slightly while spinning. This causes read problems for the drive.' "

Could it have anything to do with the stability of the dye used to make the DVD+-R's?

I had this problem with CDR's early on - for several CDR's I burned back in 98, about 20% of the disc's that played fine now skip or don't play at all. Many are still fine.

My thinking was that, since the disc recording substrate is basically a glorified ink, that maybe the CDR's 'faded' with time, and/or exposure to light (being left out on a table or shelf for awhile).

My thought was that a similar thing might be happening with recordable DVD's - the technology and media are still relatively new, no?

Just a thought - comments welcome.

Peace,
AD

Jeremiah,

1. What is the media ID burned into the disks? Use DVD Identifyer or DVD INfo to decrypt.? Ricoh, MCC, Sony, ???

2. Where did you buy the media? There have been reports of fake media circulating about.

3. What burn speed did you use?

4. What authoring software did you use?

5. Which firmware for the burner?


John

i don't think the problem is with the labels. the labels seem to be fine and centered. Some DVD's have worked for several months fine before messing up, and others it only took a week or two. As of right now i'm having to re-burn DVD's for those that are messed up, but I would like to know why I'm having to do this...thanks

As of right now i'm having to re-burn DVD's for those that are messed up, but I would like to know why I'm having to do this...thanks
======================
Jeremiah,

Do you know the answers to the questions I posted above?

John

1. What is the media ID burned into the disks? Use DVD Identifyer or DVD
- don't know what you mean
2. Where did you buy the media? There have been reports of fake media circulating about. - i usually get sony DVD-R from wal-mart

3. What burn speed did you use? - 2x

4. What authoring software did you use? Vegas + DVD

5. Which firmware for the burner? - don't know what that is

Hmmm... maybe the disc layers are not pressed tight toghether. That way it may be possible for the centrifugal force that develops while the DVD is spinning to slowly shift the dye around.

Download DVD Identifier:

http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com/

Run same to see what media ID is. It may not be Sony.
Try Ritek G04 and burn at 1x.

Firmware for the burner is identified by a software utility that usually comes with the rest of the burner software. Some firmware work better with certain media than others. See here, but don't experiment with firmware changes unless you know what you are doing. Just see which media they recommend:

http://forum.firmware-flash.com/

John

I had a client with a similar problem. She played the disk once, left it in the player and it would not play a second time.

I did some research and found a recommendation to not leave the DVD in the player after playing it. I remains heated too long and could cause issues with the disk.

I replaced the disk, gave her this warning and have not heard back.

I have had problems like this. I am going to tempt providence by saying that I have not had this trouble since using Verbatim printable discs and no labels. I have A04 burners and burn PAL DVDs. I think the disc manufacturer is important -- I had to throw away 20 Infinti discs. Be sure that you have updated to the latest firmware if using A04s the earlier firmware is suspect.

I use v 1.4

My guess is that sticky labels can be a problem but I dont know why. I have recently purchased an epson r300 printer which so far seems OK.

hope this helps. I dont yet feel sure that the problem has gone away for ever! Nor have I done a print run with DVDA2 yet.

I notice that DVD WS allows chapter points only at I frames and that DVDA2 in the time line window has an icon to restrict DVDA2 to this I certainly feel more comfortable with this enabled -- but guessing again