Comments

ScottW wrote on 2/12/2007, 6:47 AM
Before you blame the software that did the burn, I'd suggest first verifying the the project plays correctly on your PC from your hard drive. Granted, software players have their own set of issues, but they should be able to handle the basics.

Another thing I've seen people say with DL media is this type of problem may be related to poor quality media.

I've not done much DL burning with DVDA, but I have used Copy2DVD to burn DL media with good success. You can download a 30 day free trial and see if it does a better job.

--Scott
ECB wrote on 2/12/2007, 7:50 AM
I agree with Scott. The problems with DLs are usually playability issues. In your case it sounds more like a project problem. I have burned many DLs with DVDA with no problems. I have a Plextor burner (which I know Sony has in their test setup) and I only use Verbatim DLs(only DLs I have had 100% success with). I have also burned DLs with Copy2DVD with the same success. I prefer DVDA because it shows you the title and time at the layer break and allows to choose layer break if there is more than one choice. If there are no candidate layer breaks DVDA will list the title and time range and you can insert a chapter point in that time range. You can also juggle the order of the titles on the disk to get the layer break at a more acceptable place. Copy2DVD will choose the layer break. Since there is a high likelehood you will have a visual pause at the layer break it is best to position it a chapter point where there is a fade out / in or between titles.

Ed B
ReneH wrote on 2/12/2007, 8:32 AM
Verbatim DLs are the disks that I'm using. The media size is about 300 meg's more than would fit on a 4.7 gig disk. Which is why I decide to use the Verbatims DL disks. It's a little bizarre to see every menu point o the start of the video, when I preview it within DVDA and the menus are working right. I am not sure what I did wrong in the authoring process.

A layer break? I believe I was offered a prompt about a layer break. What would be the correct selection for an error free recording?
GeorgeW wrote on 2/12/2007, 8:41 AM
For something that is so close to fit on a DVD5 disc, I would use DVDShrink to bring it down to size. You might not even notice any difference in quality when viewing your dvd on your tv...

btw, what type of audio did you select for your DVD? If you happened to use LPCM audio, change it to Dolby Digital audio and you should be fine for a DVD5 disc...
ECB wrote on 2/12/2007, 10:03 AM
Did you try to play the project (Video_TS folder) with a software player like PowerDVD or WinDVD to see if it plays properly?

"A layer break? I believe I was offered a prompt about a layer break. What would be the correct selection for an error free recording?"

Any candidate layer break presented by DVDA should produce an error free recording.

Ed
MPM wrote on 2/12/2007, 4:31 PM
"Can someone recommend better software for dvd burning?"

Imgburn & optionally Pgcedit to create the image & then Imgburn.

Also burn at lowest speed for player compatibility, & hate to say it but I'm 'bout the only one who has terrible problems with Verbatim blanks vs. FujiFilm.

That said, lots of folks have no prob with DVDA burning.

Thinking about it a bit more, problem might be that you've so little content relative to the average DL... I've never heard of anyone burning a DL so close to single layer max -- but then this is just a guess.
ReneH wrote on 2/14/2007, 12:41 PM
Ok, I'm trying to burn a 4.7. gig file on a DL Verbatim DL disk, DVDA prompts me to select a layer break position from the list. I have 6 chapters and want to burn the entire file, what do I need to do? I would like the entire file on the disk, which should hold all the data.
ECB wrote on 2/14/2007, 1:26 PM
First, I would prepare the DVD and play the VIDEO_TS folder with a software DVD player like Power_DVD, WIn_DVD... and make sure the DVD plays correctly. If the DVD plays correctly you can continue with the burn. When DVDA prompts you with the list of layer breaks write them down and exit the burn. Go to each layer break using the layer break time, title and timeline and choose one where the pause (where the laser on on the player refocuses) is less noticable like a fade out /in. The layer breaks are located at chapter points or between titles. In your case with one title the layer break will be at a chapter point. Pick the best layer break and run the burn. DVDA will spilt the DVD with layer break at the correct bounday and pad the data... so that everything comes out correctly (ECC, size, Sector,,). It works fine for me. If you have any doubts download and burn your project with Copy2DVD trial. Again, make sure you test your project with a software player and not just with DVDA preview.

Ed B
MPM wrote on 2/14/2007, 9:04 PM
New version of imgburn just out -- haven't installed or tried it yet, but it's supposed to include the preview engine from PgcEdit. This means your can preview the video in both cells, before & after a tentative break.

That's not to say it's any better or worse than doing it in DVDA - just an alternative.