DVD Architect Burning Problem

bdsmith63 wrote on 9/20/2005, 12:18 PM
I am having problems outputting my project to DVD in DVD Architect. I imported to DV files through Vegas Movie Studio, and output into an MPEG-2 NTSC file, then started a new file in DVD Architect, setup a menu with a slideshow, some video, etc. and it all works great when you preview in DVD Architect. I don't have any errors that would cause it not to output properly.

I can output, it burns it, but when I put the DVD into ANY (new & old) DVD player it just sits and loads. I uninstalled the software and tried doing a short sample in Vegas then output through DVD Architect and it worked great and burned just fine. I do another project and I get nothing?

I have not idea what it could be and have so frustrated as I have a project I am trying to finish and get mailed by tomorrow. I used to use Adobe Premiere, but have been told Sony's software is much more stable.

Please help or offer any advice?

Thanks, Brian

Comments

jrazz wrote on 9/20/2005, 2:31 PM
Have you tried different media, ie -/+? Have you been able to play any DVD that you burned with DVDA? Can you play it from the DVD on your computer using your dvd drive?

If you can play it on your computer from the DVD drive, then it should simply be a compatibility problem with the set top players... when you say old and new, I assume you mean name brand DVD players and by new I am assuming you mean within the past year. Make sure that you are burning them at around 2 to 4 times- the slower the better- instead of 8 times or 16 times and if you are using plus, try the minus format or burn the plus format as a ROM book format using something like Nero and you should not have the compatibility problems.
bdsmith63 wrote on 9/22/2005, 6:32 AM
I have been succesful at playing only 1 DVD that I burned from DVDA. That was after I reinstalled the software, created a very short sample video through Vegas Movie Studio and opened in DVDA to finalize and burn.

I have been using only DVD-R, and yes the DVD set top players I have are new within the last year. Here are two interesting things, when I burn through DVDA, I can play in PowerDVD on my PC only, but if I EXLORE the DVD on the PC it does not show any data on the DVD.

This last project I completed in DVDA, I burned no telling how many DVD's and none would play on any DVD set top players. I finally took the VIDEO_TS files and tried to burn through Nero, however, then I had a compliant type error and wasn't sure where to go with that.

This is so frustrating. From reading other posts on here, it seems the majority of people have problems burning through DVDA, why even buy a product if it doesn't produce the final product?

jorgecoreano wrote on 9/22/2005, 6:57 AM
Just burn it in Nero. That was my solution.

BTW TMPEG Dvd author has the same problem.

See ya
bdsmith63 wrote on 9/22/2005, 7:00 AM
Well I had several errors with the file I tried to burn in Nero this last time, some type of compliant errors and stating it would produce an invalid DVD. So I wasn't sure what the deal was. My file was about 2.5 GB in size.
ECB wrote on 9/22/2005, 7:30 AM
Are you using DVDA3 or DVDA2? I have burned hundreds of DVDs +and - R and RW plus many DL + Rs and they have played with no problems on many DVD players. My 5 year old Panasonic, which is very touchy, will play all but the the DLs and that was expected. What brand of DVD and burner are you using? What was the incompatibility that Nero posted?

-LXC
ScottW wrote on 9/22/2005, 7:35 AM
Earlier versions of DVDA and DVDAS produced files that were 2 bytes too large - hence the error message you are getting from Nero. Ignore the error from Nero and burn anyway, I've not seen any reports of people having problems with this as it appears to be something that players don't check for.

--Scott
bdsmith63 wrote on 9/22/2005, 8:53 AM
Thanks for the help! But is there a REASON I can't get anything to OUTPUT through DVDA? I spent money on a new software product that I can't even utilize all the features. It seems a waste in a way you know?

I like to be able to do the whole project, put on to prepare & burn and come back and it's done!
ScottW wrote on 9/22/2005, 11:23 AM
It's most likely because there is no first and third party conformance testing for DVD burners to make sure that they conform to the interface specification. In order to ensure that DVDA can burn with every burner out there, the folks in Madison must literally test with each and every burner, sometimes with multiple interface types (ATA, SATA, USB, Firewire). Since the focus for DVDA and DVDAS has been DVD authoring, the level of testing needed to ensure that it works with every burner on every possible configuration hasn't taken place.

Nero on the other hand is primarily a burning program, so they spend a lot of time testing with the burners/interfaces that are available to make sure it works.

Really you've got 3 choices:

1) stop worrying about it, use DVDAS to author and Nero to burn
2) find a DVD burner that people on this board have reported works correctly with DVDAS
3) use a different authoring/burning package and see if they have better compatability

--Scott
bdsmith63 wrote on 9/22/2005, 12:34 PM
Scott,

Thanks for the input and I'll take heed of your suggestions!
ECB wrote on 9/22/2005, 1:13 PM
"Earlier versions of DVDA and DVDAS produced files that were 2 bytes too large - hence the error message you are getting from Nero. "

Scott what versions of DVDA produced files that were 2 bytes too large? I have never seen that problem with DVDA3 and the VIDEO_TS files have been verified with Eclipse as error free. I also assume Sony ran the Phillips verifier.

Ed B
ScottW wrote on 9/22/2005, 2:14 PM
DVDA 1.0 had this problem, as well as DVDAS 2.0 (which was based on DVDA 1.0 iirc).

I wouldn't make any assumptions.
jrazz wrote on 9/22/2005, 9:40 PM
I still can't get DVDA-3 to recognize my burner. I upgraded my firmware as instructed by Sony on my Sony Double Layer internal burner and now Vegas will recognize it for ripping tracks, but I still cannot burn using DVDA-3c. I still have to output to Nero. At first, it was frustrating to me that I have a sony burner and sony software and they do not work together (although, everything worked just fine in DVDA1, DVDA2 and Vegas 4 and Vegas 5). Now, I learn to just prepare my files and burn in Nero. It really isn't that big of a deal and I still get everything that I want out of the software and I can easily use Nero to burn it to disc.
ECB wrote on 9/23/2005, 4:23 AM
A couple of thoughts. If you plan on burning DLs and want to set the location of the layer break IMO you have two choices DVDA3 and Gear. Gear should work with your Sony and you can download a fully functional demo. If you don't care about setting the layer break my first choice for DVD burning software is CopyToDVD. IMO Nero is great for CDs but not the best for DVDs especially DLs. As far as burners are concerned I switched to Plextor on the first day they made an ATAPI drive and I have never had a drive issue. If Plextor is too $$$ look at the BenQ 1620/1640. It has got rave reviews and said to rival the Plextor 716A. It caught my interest so I purchased a BenQ 1640. IMO the reviews were right. BenQ also includes a utility to set the book type to -ROM for all the +R(W) & DL disks for compatabilty with the older DVD players Plextor sets the only DL+R book type to -ROM. And they work with DVDA3. :)

Ed
bdsmith63 wrote on 9/23/2005, 6:28 AM
So you guys are using DVDA 3.0, I got DVDA 2 bundled with Vegas Movie Studio. I thought I could use the 3.0 update that was provided on this forum, but my serial # does not work. Aren't updates provided without upgrade fees?
ScottW wrote on 9/23/2005, 6:45 AM
No, you got DVD Architect Studio with Vegas Movie Studio - you did NOT get DVDA 2.0.

DVDAS 2.0 is pretty much the same as DVDA 1.0 if I remember correctly.

The DVDA 3.0 update provided on this forum is for DVD Architect, not for DVD Architect Studio.

Updates for bug fixes are provided without upgrade fees, however, historically Sony no longer releases updates for previous versions when a newer version ships. Since DVDAS 3.0 is now the current version, I wouldn't expect to see anymore updates for DVDAS 2.0.

--Scott
bdsmith63 wrote on 9/23/2005, 6:59 AM
So I want to get DVDAS 3.0, is it a better than what I'm using, and is the cost high? Woud it offer me better options than I have now? I think the Sony software is more stable than Adobe Premiere was. I still have version 6 of Adobe on another networked PC in my home, but hardly use it anymore.
bdsmith63 wrote on 9/23/2005, 7:01 AM
I also meant to ask, I guess that DVDA 3.0 provided on this forum, is the high-end version software for very big projects?
ScottW wrote on 9/23/2005, 9:00 AM
DVD Architect is aimed at the professional level, while the studio products are typically aimed at the consumer level. There is an upgrade path from studio to pro, but I think it's around $300 (I've not actually looked though). You can also upgrade from DVDAS 2.0 to DVDAS 3.0, by upgrading your Movie Studio package.

I would recommend not considering the upgrade if you are only looking to resolve the issues with your DVD burner; while DVDAS 3.0 is supposedly better than DVDAS 2.0 as far as burner support goes, there's still a chance you'll have problems. Instead, I would suggest looking at some of the authoring features DVDAS 3.0 provides and see if they make sense for the upgrade.

Speaking for myself, upgrading from Vegas 5.0 to 6.0 and DVDA 2.0 to DVDA 3.0 doesn't make a lot of sense yet. There's only a couple of features that DVDA 3.0 has that I don't have access to in DVD Lab Pro. I find DVD Lab Pro much more flexible for the authoring I do, and I usually only use DVDA on the really simple projects. That's just me though - other people have other thoughts on the subject.

--Scott
ECB wrote on 9/23/2005, 11:37 AM
"There's only a couple of features that DVDA 3.0 has that I don't have access to in DVD Lab Pro."

Scott, I also use DVDLab and wondered what features that you are referring to that DVDA has and you can't do in DVDLab Pro? The only features that come to mind are DD5.1 and multi-angle and multi-angle will be added in a future release.

Ed
bdsmith63 wrote on 9/23/2005, 12:26 PM
Ok, ScottW and ECB! Now I'm getting too many ideas! No seriously, I looked the website on DVD Lab Pro. Looks interesting, not bad at $200 bucks. I like a strong, solid product that I can any size project in and really create nice videos from.

I loved the complexity of Adobe Premiere 6 when I used to use it, and I had better adjustments for audio in that product than I feel I do in Vegas. As anyone, I can't keep investing in different authoring programs to find the best one at the expense involved, but would enjoy trying them out, but the demos don't allow you to burn and render anything usually so it's usless it seems to download and try out.

Does it cost to upgrade from Vegas 5 to 6? Seems like if minor upgrades are available that this should be part of the product's support. When I tried to call Sony for help with my burning problem, they wanted $14.95 for a single incident, ...whatever happened to the days of CUSTOMER SERVICE and STAND BEHIND the product?

I appreciate your help and suggestions here. This has been very helpful to me.
bdsmith63 wrote on 9/23/2005, 12:36 PM
ScottW & ECB, let me ask you this....

I see I can download a FULLY working version of DVD Lab Pro for 30 days. Would you suggest I do this and find it more satisfying than Vegas. I can use Vegas to encode my video files when necessary I presume. I've been reading up on it and I like all the neat features it has and the interface seems more advanced like I would be satisified with possibly.

You both have DVD Lab Pro you said?
ScottW wrote on 9/23/2005, 1:10 PM
Sure, if you're up for a bit of a learning curve. The workflow with Lab Pro is different than the workflow with VMS/DVDAS, mainly because Lab Pro doesn't contain a built in mpeg encoder. There are some nice tutorials though that explain how to create different types of menus.

The big advantage for me that Lab Pro has is that it gives you access to the underlying DVD command set, so you can do some very complex things (like an adventure game I wrote).

I think you can render from Vegas Movie Studio to Lab Pro - normally Lab wants an elementary stream, rather than a program stream, so I use the NTSC DVD template (not the DVD Arch template), which gives to M2V files rather than MPG; if you feed Lab a program stream, it will demultiplex it for you though. The only other thing Lab Pro doesn't like about files rendered from VMS/MainConcept is that the GOP's aren't closed - not a major problem though (most of the time).

--Scott
rsp wrote on 9/23/2005, 1:31 PM
Really would be great news and a big step forward if DVDA would offer more complex solutions that are now available in DVD Lab Pro.
ECB wrote on 9/23/2005, 1:52 PM
DVDLab Pro is a great authoring program but as Scott points out does not include a mpeg encoder. You also will need a burning program. Chaptering and subtitles are not as easy. I am not familiar with Movie Studio mpeg encoder but if it has the same Mainconcept encoder as Vegas you can setup closed GOPs in the template for DVDLab Pro. DVDLab Pro has a fully functional demo you should try before you buy. Learning to use all the function of DVDLab Pro requires a steep learning curve. It is close to Maestro and Scenarist.

Ed B