Inconsistent Playback

xchezhd wrote on 5/27/2008, 11:34 PM
Hello.
I have used DVDA 4.5 to author 2 DVD projects. With either project I get skips and stalls in the playback on my DVD player. I used a LaCie external drive and then installed a new memorex internal drive. Cleaned all my drives and players. Still random burn results.

Am I supposed to be using the WIndows DV codec?

SD DV capture to PC(WinXP), edited in Vegas, one edited in FCP, using DVDA to author aas MPEG2 with AC-3, HP DVD-R, HP DVD +R, and HP DVD-R Lightscribe disks

Comments

MPM wrote on 5/28/2008, 11:24 AM
Probably your brand of media - Verbatim almost universally recommended - but your player &/or burner could be contributing to problems. You might research your drives & player at videohelp & CDFreaks, looking for specific compatibility issues.

A matter of debate, you could try burning at 8X. In some cases you can use something like MediaCodeSpeedEdit to change how your drive treats different brands of disc. For some players, changing the recorded DVD type to ROM can help - the free ImgBurn can do this for you automatically.

If you can, import your video into DVDA as mpg2 & your audio as AC3... Won't have any effect on your problems - just works better.

Edit: when/if researching your drives make sure you use model numbers... Memorex for example might use different companies to make different models, & even with brands like Pioneer there are dogs as well as princes.
MSmart wrote on 5/28/2008, 3:55 PM
I always burn at 4x, takes a little longer...

you could also try lowering the bitrate closer to 6,000.

Is it just your player having the problem or are others (if you give them to others) complaining as well?
xchezhd wrote on 5/29/2008, 12:53 PM
Another person had problems with the audio stopping on her consumer DVD player. The Lite-on recorder/player I use at work is more forgiving. I'll try changing media first.

These computer DVD drives usually come with Roxio or Nero. Are there any generic/universal drivers that will do the reading and writing to the drive that apps can address directly.

I've uninstalled Roxio and Nero DVD stuff.

Also, the LaCie drive is USB or Firewire capable. What would be the better interface to use?
MPM wrote on 5/29/2008, 2:40 PM
You might want to check out the CDFreak forums, or over at Imgburn.com - they'll probably be able to provide a lot more info. AFAIK there really aren't any issues with Roxio or Nero - it's the accuracy of the burner & how well the player reads different +R discs that matters most. Nero has a free, down-loadable app now called DriveSpeed.exe that can map or graph the accuracy of any drives with whatever brand of media you want to use. IMHO the best app for burning is ImgBurn.

As far as USB vs Firewire, Personally I haven't really seen any difference - wound up using USB 99 % of the time with external drives simply because I've got extension cables running from the motherboard jacks.
johnmeyer wrote on 5/29/2008, 4:10 PM
Download:

nero dvd speed

Run this on your Lite-on at work (no installation required). Take one of the "problem" DVDs and measure the quality using the "Disc Quality" tab. Run at 4X. You should get a "Quality Score" above 90.