Thanks!

And, yes, Friar, it does stink! ;o)

Yes, I try everything on DVD-RW first. Have done that from day one (saves $$$ on bad burns).

I've checked out the compatibility charts, the Client's DVD player should work, and does now with the bit rate at 6,000. However, there is no way I can know what al her family and friends have.

Too, I have said, in so many words, that they may want to consider upgrading their DVD players. She looked at me like I had two heads! (Which I expected.) I would have done the same thing.

My question is, there is any "respected" source for this information that I could guide her to so she won't think I'm giving her a load of double-talk?

Normally I try my DVD projects first with a DVD+RW on my Philips DVDR1000 and my medion-lifetek LT4987, that is a non expensive player that reads all you need ;-)

After I make my DVD on a DVD-R, I use a dual Sony DRU500A, and I can use +R and -R discs. I use -R discs because they are cheaper and it seems to be more compatible (?) Well sometimes I have problems with some clients, and normally the problems occur with high end players Panasonic and Pioneer, it's curious, but it is. With some old players (3 years or so) that could be some problems.

If I had this problems I tels to the client to try the DVD on some players, and normally they accept is his player, because if they go to an store to see the DVD, it has no pronblems, the players are not older. If the client comes here to see, I put the disc on The Philips and on the Lifetec, and it works well, no problem. :-)

Josaver.

Compatibility charts are not a law. Some units of the same model wan't read an specific disc.

Josaver.

One other issue to look at is the DVD-R Media itself. We have experimented with tons of diffrent vendors and have found that some brands actually do play better than others. Right now we use Verbatim Inkjet printable 2X DVD-R's, we have also been very happy with the Maxell 2X Inkjet DVD-R's, just maje sure you get the Maxells from a reputable source, there have been some fakes floating around lately.
One other thing you can try is burning at 1X, that will sometimes clear up some compatability problems that some players have.

Thanks, Jsnkc. The last "batch" was burned at 1X!

I've been using Ritek disc, which have gotten rave reviews from users everywhere. They have a great reputation insofar as dependability and compatibilty go.

The problem here is too many different types/ages of players. If it were just her and her player, the issue would be resolved.

As I've said, I need to know how to deal with her concerns so she'll not think I'm just trying to pull as fast one over on her.

I was hoping to get some input from you guys that do this on a regular basis, such at jetdv.

The one, "for sure" fix, is get from the client a list of the Manufacturer's name and model number of EACH player that is expected to play the DVD. Then check them out on the compatibility web site, and tell her which will play and which won't. For the "won't play" ones, send them a VHS tape.

When ever I sell a DVD-R, I always put in a little printed disclaimer explaining the issues, and offering a money-back guarantee. I do this right up front, so it isn't a surprise when one doesn't play.

Good luck,
-Don

Don, thanks for the suggestion regarding the VHS tapes.

Yeah, I had told her, up front, about the compatibility issue. However, with the stress she was under at the time, it probably went in one ear and out the other. Not her fault!

The printed disclaimer is a good idea, too.

Thanks!

Well, I am in the DVD Authoring and duplication business, we duplicate thousands of discs every month. On average we get maybe 1 or 2 discs every couple months that have compatability problems. Before we even take a DVD job in we make the clients aware that DVD Duplication is diffrent that DVD Replication, and that there is the possiblilty that a DVD that we burn might not play back in certain DVD players. We usually tell them that there is a 95% compatability with the DVD players in use today. If for some reason the disc won't play back we issue them a refund.
The main problem people run into in this business is not educating their clients to what DVD's are, how they work and the diffrences between replication and duplication. You will find that if you are up front with all this information before you even take the job, things will go alot smoother and it helps the client to make an educated decision on wether or not they want to have their disc duplicated or replicated.

For the authoring of the DVD we also check to see if it will be played back primarily on a laptop or computer, or if it is mainly for set top DVD players. If it is to be played mainly in a computer we won't put the bitrate above 4Mbps, if it is for Set top use we try not to go above 5Mbps.

As long as your video is encoded properly, authored properly and to the DVD spec, and burned on high quality DVD-R's there is really nothing more you can do if the DVD won't play back on someones DVD player. Usually when this happens we offer the client a free VHS dub of the DVD so they can view the program.

It is most likely not a problem with anything you are doing, it is most likely a compatability problem that there is nothing you can do about.
Just because a player is listed on the DVDhelp site as being able to play DVD-R's doesn't mean that it will play them. I have seen some of the people and posts on that website and I can tell you that more than half of them of them are far from professionals, and usually use hacked software to illegally copy movies.

What I would do is first try to burn the disc on a diffrent brand media, either Verbatim or Maxell, if they are still having playback problems, then offer them a VHS copy of the video so they can view it. That is really all you can do.

(this is not only to help you, but to help others avoid getting in the same situation, I know you have done some of the things I said already)

VideoCurmudgeon,

I have had the same problem you describe (DVD runs fine on my player, but plays only to a certain point on someone else's player, starts pixelating, and then finally stalls out).

I have sent many disks to one "client" (my dad), and his Sony DVD player has the above-described problem with some disks but not others. As a result, I have managed to narrow the problem down to one of four things. Since I have not yet done a scientific test, I cannot tell you with absolute certainty which of these four things is the cause, or whether it is a combination of the four. However, I have a strong hunch. Here goes:

1. Bitrate. This was already mentioned. I initially suspected this when because some of the initial disks I sent worked just fine, and they had close to two hours of material, and hence a low bitrate. Later disks, which had a higher bitrate, failed. However, the more I think about this, the less convinced I am that it is the cause. I have since sent other higher bitrates disks and they played just fine. Also, I always encode at constant bitrate. Given this, and also given that cheap consumer players don't have much of a buffer, if bitrate were the problem, the problem should show up almost immediately, not ten, fifteen, or twenty seconds into the DVD.

2. Authoring software. Before I moved to DVD Architect, I used MovieFactory. Those disks all played fine. Then, I created a bunch with DVD Architect and some of them didn't play. However, I have since made many DVDs with DVD Architect that have played on his player, so I'm pretty much convinced that this is not the cause.

3. Burning software. For various reasons, I sometimes used Nero to burn some of the disks. For several months I thought this was a problem because there were so many negative posts about Nero on various forums. I finally realized that most of these posts concerned a bug that only affected playback on Xbox, and most of the other posters didn't know what they were talking about.

4. This brings me to the last point, the one that definitely has caused problems, even amongst the various DVD playback devices I have here, and that is the media. Simply put, some media is more compatible than others. To cut right to the chase, the most compatible media, according to several tests, many Internet posts and -- most importantly -- my own experience, is the Maxell DVD-R 2x. I burn at 2x. I don't think burning at 1x will make any significant difference. I purchase all my media (including DV tape) at Tape Resources (http://www.taperesources.com). I put them right up there with Amazon and B&H Photo as one of the finest retailers on the Internet (I am not affiliated in any way ...).

Here is a link directly to the Maxell DVD-R 2X media that I purchase:

Maxell DVD-R 2X Media

I would suggest you get a box (Staples also carries them), make a copy of the DVD in question onto one of these disks, and send it to one of the people whose DVD started to play, but then failed.

BTW, I may have missed it in your earlier post, but what media did you use?

Please see my post above. I forgot to put it at the end of the thread, and therefore you may miss it.

Thanks, Jsnkc, for sharing that. As both you and Don said, being up front with the customer is very important--something I do at all times and on all levels.

I'm going to offer her VHS tapes, at no cost, and suggest she forget the DVDs altogether.

What a pity. <sigh>

I'm sure you are correct about it going in one ear and... The loss of a son makes every thing else kind of trivial, yes? Just one more comment, and then I'll quit adding noise to this thread. I do a lot of different odd jobs, but I don't do funerals or weddings. I know that weddings are a videographer's bread and butter, many times, but there is too much of an emotional investment on the part of the client. It isn't just a bad disk, it's a ruined life event, from their perspective.

Anyway, good luck and hang in there VC, and best regards,
-Don

John, thank you first of all for such an in-depth reply--greatly appreciated!

I've been using Ritek media. Not seen nor heard anything bad about it. Have "tested" them on 3 different computers and two different DVD players. No problems so far.

I think it's a simply issue of old DVD players. Over time, they will all be assimilated. Resistence is futile. ;o)

Don said, "...there is too much of an emotional investment on the part of the client. It isn't just a bad disk, it's a ruined life event, from their perspective. "

Exactly why I don't--WON'T--do any events... ever... again! ;o)

BTW, your input has not been "noise." Quite the contrary. Yours is one of the more clear voices in this forum. You and your input have been great appreciated!

Outside of the obvious (which I have learned too as have you) NEVER do work for friends etc....

I was wondering if this gig was done for free? If so,...why would she even think you would try to pull anything over on her...what would you gain?

If you were paid for this,....you're only other option (if she just won't believe you) is to just give her a full refund and chalk it up as a lesson. (At least she does have a working copy, so all is not lost for her).

I feel for you,..because I don't care who you are, if you have lost a child,..you are "not all there" and probably won't be for a long long time! You are dealing with an emotionally unstable nightmare here. I feel for you because you will not win in this. (I do realize,...you are now at a point where you are just trying to pacify and the "win" hopes are gone)

Is your friend offering any support for your cause? There are many web pages that discuss the topics of incompatibility issues with DVD R's, (as offered by some posters here) but I'm not so sure you are going to win this battle. As many have said,...it is not an exact science. Could it be a software issue,...hardware issue, disc issue, etc....who knows. It may cost you dearly in the long run if you "try to prove" your point to an unstable person in the first place.

I ran into a situation like this once, but not as emotionally strong of an event as the one you entered in,..and I will never work for friends again as it cost me more grief and time than it was worth,..just trying to be nice.

There are still too many incompatibility issues that need to be worked out before I just dive into this DVD burning gig head first.

td

Just caught Don's post too. EXACTLY why I don't like doing work in the wedding arena and funeral arena too!!! You said it great Don! I thought I was alone in this thought,...but those wedding videographer's can have it!!!! I wouldn't touch those emotionally high events with a 20 ft. pole!!! ESPECIALLY for a friend!!!! Can you imagine,..losing a child or loved one and then having to bicker with someone over a bad disc or imcompatibility issues? If you told me to go to a web page to see what the issues were,..I'd probably tell you to go to h@ll. (just because I'm not thinking clear as it was,..not because I'm mean spirited) What a no win situation!! I videotaped a retirement party for a friend (free) (not big compared to a wedding or funeral) and let me tell you,...I sweated more that night than in any one of my most grueling workouts at the gym, simply because I'm not an avid videographer and I was so nervous about missing key shots and bad lighting etc.... As it turned out,...I used vegas to save some very dark shots and the stress was ridiculous!! I now stick to my full time graphics and cartooning work and will never do video work for friends again.

Yes, TD, it was a paid gig. I've offered to refund the money for the DVDs (not the taping and editing). I'm suggesting she go the VHS route, instead.

Vegas was not an issue, nor was DVDA. Both performed wonderfully!

In all fairness to her, she has a clear head, now--clear as can be expected. Still, she's just frustrated. I understand that.

I'd like to know more about your cartooning!