DVDs - Slightly off-topic

Strangeman wrote on 10/26/2006, 2:15 AM
I recently made use of my father-in-law's new DVD recorder (it's a panasonic with VHS so you can transfer from tape to disc). I made one copy on a DVD -R and another on a DVD -RW. To my surprise I was able to play both on his PC. When I got home, both discs played on my standalone DVD player. However when I put the discs in my PC, where I have a multiple-boot o/s the DVD-RW showed as empty on my main configuration, and (even more surprisingly) on the one I use for all my video stuff it showed up as a 7.66 Tb CD!
Just wondered if anyone had any ideas why this might be so ?

Comments

Strangeman wrote on 10/26/2006, 3:08 AM
PS - fired up my old Win98 setup and that recognised that the disc contained 1.99Gb data (about right), but seemed to think it was an audio CD.
rustier wrote on 10/26/2006, 9:31 AM
This begs the questions - what type of drive do you have on your computer? And what operating system was in play at the time of said incident? Did you build the computer or is it off the shelf?Type? Age of the computer?

I doubt that multiple boot o/s would cause you trouble - unless the shoe is on the other foot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (sorry couldn't resist)

Obviously your computer is confused or is having trouble reading the disc. If I had to guess on one thing I would say it sounds like your current drive is out of date - either physically or the driver. Tech changes so fast. . . . . . .

Scot would be the one to field this one
Strangeman wrote on 10/26/2006, 2:16 PM
Sony DRU 810-a , not particularly out of date. My father-in-law's machine has an older DVD drive in it and could read the disc quite happily.

I was hoping to hear from someone who knows the ins and outs of the different DVD formats.
IanG wrote on 10/26/2006, 3:17 PM
It's not an answer, but the Wikipedia article on UDF might give you some insight.

<edit>
Video DVDs are written in UDF

Ian G.
Andy C wrote on 10/27/2006, 7:04 AM
Well, that drive can certainly cope with both those formats and more. Only a couple of things spring to mind: media compatibility and firmware update.
I regularly use DVD-RWs and have had problems reading them on different types of drive/player. I've had no problems with DVD-R at all, just RWs. I've come to the depressing conclusion that despite all the years of DVD progress we are still plagued by silly incompatibilities like this and I suspect will be ever so. God help us when Blu-ray and HD-DVD start hitting the mainstream streets.
I'd also try a firmware update. I have the Sony DRU-800 and updating the firmware helped with media compatibility, although I still get problems with VMS refusing to write to it, even though Roxio will.