This is what Vegas told me... they said I should check out the forum .......

The drive is not supported. With that being said, we can not give support f
or that drive. Though I will try to give you a suggestion to try since I understand your circumstance. Please go to the Options menu in DVD Architect and select Preferences. In the General tab, please check the box next to "Skip drive database, autodetect drive capabilities".

As for your question about decreasing render times, dual processors pay off when rendering DV. If we detect two or more processors, we compress to DV on one thread and render/compose video frames on another so you essentially get "free" DV compression. This is new to Vegas Video 3.0...........

So....okay - I may be new to the english language, but where did it say that it won't work with your drive?

It says, the drive is not support - with that being said, we can not give support for that drive.

Translation - it may work, it may not work - we can't tell you what to do cause we don't support that drive.

So....what am I missing?

Joseph,
did you try doing what SoFo said?
If so what happened?

I wanted to let you know that this still failed on my machine. Is there an update or a fix that will allow DVDA to suport Hitachi drives? I am running a GSA-4040B. Brand new video editting station.

Update or fix for DVDA ? BWAHAAHA .. Hahahaahahaa.... HAHAhahahahahaaa .... haa haa ... ha ....

*sniff* *whips tears from eyes* *whew*

Oh dear lord, that was rich ! Come around these parts much pardner ? =P Tell ya what, if your copy of DVDA says Sonic Foundry and not Sony, boy have I got an update for you !!! ( ignore all previous comments, couldnt help myself, nearly peed my pants )

On a serious note, if ya mean for your drive than I would check Hitachi's site, if ya havent also check their site for new drivers or updates. Perhaps call their tech support. More often than not they'll just pass the buck back to Sony, thats how these things to work. Regardless, worth a shot. ALso, try some searches on google for your drive and see if others have posted about burning problems, my find a lead.

Hope ya work it out mang !

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com

He's right. Vegas is not very forgiving when it comes to drive support. If it's not on the (short) compatible drive list, see ya later. I have an (unsupported) Toshiba drive that DID work. My MB needed to be replaced, and I ended up reinstalling everything. Now neither Vegas nor DVDA see the drive. So why don't you Vegas fanatics lighten up a little?

In a worst case, you can use DVD-A to create a VIDEO_TS folder, then burn that folder onto a DVD blank using any of a number of burning programs. I'm personally very fond of Nero Express, a very easy-to-use burning program that is actually quite sophisticated and has never failed me.

If you've ever used Nero, you'll note that they seem to come out with revisions on a seemingly monthly basis. This is not necessarily to correct bugs, but rather to expand the list of drives they officially support. In other words, I guess all these DVD burners are all a bit different from each other, and maybe that's why DVD-A can't deal with your new Hitachi burner. I would assume that ReelDVD would have exactly the same issue, unless it is a recent revision.

This is an amazingly sad comment on Sony's support. Are they really taking this attitude with their customers?

Since Windows 3.0 was released in May 1990, we have been living in the era of device drivers where software (like DVDA) makes calls to drivers that handle the hardware interface. These drivers are supposed to present a standard API (application programming interface) to a program like DVDA. While sometimes these drivers need to be updated, 99% of any problems with hardware is usually fixable with an update to the device driver. In the case discussed in this post, that would be the driver for the Hitachi drive.

To simply tell their customer base that their software only works with a handful of drives, and that you are on your own if you happen to own something else, is completely arrogant -- a word I used earlier in another post today to describe Sony's behavior.

The correct way for Sony to handle this is to start with their list of approved drives, but in addition to have an active program to approve other drives. This can be done in a number of ways that don't necessarily have to cost Sony lots of money. These other ways include: using a third-party service that agrees to do testing for a number of vendors, all of whome agree to split the cost; include testing as part of the beta testing by providing a compatibility test program to your beta testers and having them report the results; provide testing software directly to the DVD drive vendors and have them submit results before their new drives are released. There are other ways as well.

Telling your customers that they are out of luck because their new computer doesn't have the right drive is a giant step back, all the way to the 1980's.

We don't need to go there.

Richard (or anyone else, JohnMeyer):

Can you help me out with your "process" to burn using Nero? (I have the current version 6.3.something) I just installed a Sony DRU510, and YES it is supported by and does work with DVDA, but I like Nero for burning. I am authoring in DVDA, and attempting to burn with Nero. However, if I use the DVD-ISO template, and drag the DVDA prepared AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS directories into the new compilation, I get an error message (I forget details - something to the effect of "this will not produce a DVD compatable for use in a DVD player, Use DVD-video template...)

So, I use the DVD-Video template, get no error messages, and the Nero-produced DVD won't play on my set-top player.

For reference, the DVDA-burned disk will play on the set-top player, but I'm wanting to use Nero to burn multiple copies of same disk, in that it seems like Nero is a lot quicker.

Any help? Specifically, as many detailed steps as you are willing to type in (or if you've already done so, maybe a link to an earlier post somewhere. I've searched, but I may be looking with my eyes closed...)

Thanks

Frenchy


Phil

First this is that there is either a 'bug' in Nero or in DVDA - depends on what day of the week you talk to someone and who says it.

Basic step by step -

Create your project in DVDA and save/render/burn it to a project folder.

You can test to make sure it is ok by opening a player like PowerDVD and directing to the project folder. If it plays fine chances are it is ok. You can also get a free 'toy' called DVD Shrink and have that check out your files, chances are they will be fine. (The only reason I looked into this is because I too was getting error messages and many, many posters in various forums talk about DVD Shrink. You can use it to analyze your project to be sure it will fit on a DVD Recordable.)

Now open Nero and choose DVD > DVD-Video and select new. A blank project will open up with 2 folders in RED - AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS. The only one you should have to deal with is the VIDEO_TS folder. In the browser go to your saved project folders and open the VIDEO_TS folder there and drag everything *in* the folder over to your project window and place it *in* the VIDEO_TS there. Now here is where the "What did I do now?" reactions start - Nero gives you an error: "DVD-Video FIles reallocation failed. The resulting Dvd-Video might be unplayable. Do you want to Continue?"

Click "yes"

You will probably get some sort of other error message as well - it might say something about a non-critical error. Just keep going. Now watch your DVD burn - and freak out some more because now you will see a very, very short time listed vs what your project really is. The Nero timer will run out but your project will still burn. This may go on for while, it may even say "100%", but trust me - it is still burning. Just wait until the disk pops out. Now try it - chances are it will be fine. Mine was - I popped in into a few set tops, including a PS2, and it played fine. I could not get it to run on my Samsung, but that thing hardly plays anything that isn't off the shlef, and even than it is iffy. (And FWIW - there is a class action lawsuit against Samsung now because of this fact)

So - there you have it. Create with DVDA, burn with Nero - live with the error warnings. Someday someone will figure out what the issue is, some say it is DVDA breaking the files into too large of a section, others say it is Nero because the files are perfectly fine. like I said - depend son the day of the week and who is saying it.

Joseph69,
Why don't you tell us what exactly happens and what message(s) do you get when you try to use the Hitachi? How do you expect anyone to be able to help when you don't say what's going on?
Tor

Can you help me out with your "process" to burn using Nero?

First a disclaimer: This works for me, but your mileage may vary ...

I use Nero 5.x, not the newer 6.x. Normally, I prepare AND burn using DVDA. However, often I want to put additional files on the DVD (MP3 files, picture files, etc.). You can do this, provided you put them in a directory other than VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS. Now, it is possible that this violates the DVD spec, so I don't do it for disks I am sending to other people, but I do it all the time for my own DVDs.

In your case, as I understand it, you want to use Nero because it can control your DVD recorder whereas DVD Architect cannot.

If you prepare the DVD in DVD Architect, and then use Nero to burn, then you will probably get the error message that you referred to in your last post. This issue has been discussed a lot, both in the DVDA forum and also over at doom9.org and dvdrhelp.com. Some say that DVDA doesn't prepare the IFO files correctly (that is what came out in the DVD Shrink forum, and I did verify that if I simply copied the file set using DVD Shrink 2.3, from one directory to another, I no longer got the message -- the only files altered were the IFO files). I don't know. You can use this DVD Shrink "workaround," if you wish. However, the workaround that has been used since this first came up last spring is to use Nero's UDF template. This keeps the DVD Architect IFO files intact, and many people point to DVD Architect's compliance with the DVD spec as one of its biggest strengths, so you probably don't want to "diddle" the IFO files if you don't have to.

Here's how:

Instead of selecting the DVD Video template in Nero, select the DVD-ROM (UDF) template. Make sure you select "File System Version: UDF 1.02". Do not check "Force DVD-Video compatibility mode" (unless you are burning for Xbox players). You then drag over your VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS directories from whereever DVDA created them, and you burn. It's that simple. You will not get an error message.

As I said, this works for me, and it has worked for lots of other folks, but it is unsupported by either Nero or Sony. However, it may allow you to use your burner, and it certainly will allow you to put other files on your DVD disks.

Try it on a DVD-RW, if your set top player can play it.

filmy & johnmeyer:

Thanks a ton to each of you for the detailed steps. I will try each of your techniques (yes, I've learned to *definately* burn to a DVD-RW first), and will try to remember (damn that short-term memory...) to report back here with my results (I'm in the middle of several other non-video things right now, so it *may* take a few weeks.

to quote filmy, "First this is that there is either a 'bug' in Nero or in DVDA - depends on what day of the week you talk to someone and who says it. " ROTFL - SO true... don't forget about sunspot activity...

Thanks again - mucho appreciation

Frenchy

Sorry for the delay in getting back--I'm doing a motherboard transplant on my usual PC, and am browsing around the Vegas board here on a different PC.

I've used the regular Nero in the past, but accidentally came across "Nero Express" about a year ago, and haven't gone back to the full-strength Nero since. It's version 5.5.10.15.

Using it is as simple as it can be:

(1) Open Nero Express (duh)
(2) Select the drive you're going to burn to
(3) Click on "DVD-Video"
(4) Click on "Add" and drag the contents of your VIDEO_TS folder into the window
(5) Specify the burn speed and number of copies, then click "Burn."

Done.

An earlier version of Nero Express gave mixed results on various players, but this version has been bullet-proof, and I am intentionally not upgrading to later versions until there is a compelling reason. I have no experience with the latest version(s) of Nero, but they seem to be pretty good about getting bug fixes out quickly.

Good luck.

Thanks Richard. I appreciate the reply. I'll give your technique a try as well. One clarification, please: "drag the contents of your VIDEO_TS folder into the window" - I presume you are dragging the entire FOLDER over, and not just the "contents"? And - you're leaving the AUDIO_TS folder out of the burned DVD? alright, so it's two clarifications...

I like Nero because they get bug fixes out quickly also. Like I said above, I'm using version 6.3, and it I like the overall "feel" better than 5.5 - one problem though - If you have created data CD's with Nero's 5.5 packet writing INCD package, version 6 will NOT recognize it if you attemt to "continue compilation disk". An "unrecognizable disk" error comes up. At least I haven't been able to figure out to get it...

thanks again

Frenchy

Frenchy:

I recall that I've done it both ways: dragged the contents over, and dragged the VIDEO_TS folder with contents over. I think Nero doesn't care.

As to the AUDIO_TS folder, I don't burn it into any disk I do. But I just looked at several projects I've done with Nero, and--surprise! It puts an empty AUDIO_TS folder in there, just to make sure they conform to the official standard. I don't think it makes any difference with modern DVD players, however.

>However, if I use the DVD-ISO template, and drag the DVDA prepared AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS directories into the new compilation, I get an error message (I forget details - something to the effect of "this will not produce a DVD compatable for use in a DVD player, Use DVD-video template...)

I think this message from Farss is probably the Nero burning error message you are seeing.
Logical Block Size

I see the same thing every time I try to burn from DVDA with Nero. The first time I posted about this I got no replies, but later I found this message from Farss that at least explained I wasn't alone and wasn't an idiot. This information should be easier to find. I don't know why everyone isn't screaming about this and burner hardware compatability issues.

Sony seems remarkably unresponsive about anything related to DVDA. I am hoping they have great fixes lurking in the background, but there seem to be no rumors about impending solutions.

I think this message from Farss is probably the Nero burning error message you are seeing.

RexA,

I posted the workaround to this bug/problem earlier in this thread. Here's the link:

Workaround to Nero error message