Why can't they just figure out how to make a burning capable of burning like typically rented movies?

A typical rented one is stamped and not burned

It's already been done, with the exception of stamping vs. burning.

Most of the playability problems I've encountered with customer players refusing to even play the disk come from the book type on the DVD. So far in every case where a customer has returned a -R, simply copying the project to a +R with the book type set as DVD-ROM has solved the problem.

When DVDs were first designed, a field was put on the DVD that a player could read to see what type of DVD it was. Many of the first players produced looked explicitly for a DVD-ROM booktype and wouldn't play anything that didn't have that booktype. Later players would allow -R but not +R (since +R was a comparatively new booktype). Now we get +R DL which has yet another booktype and once again, since many players don't recognize the booktype they won't play the media.

Luckily many of the DL burner manufacturers finally wised up and the DL burners set the booktype on +R DL media to DVD-ROM by default (not all though) - alas, many of these DL burners do not allow the booktype to be changed on +R SL (though there are a few such as the ones from LG).

--Scott

I noticed in a sunday la times liftout flyer for office max that they are selling a 3 pack of memorex double layer discs for under $12!!!!! (Also Frys was selling for $20) ...That's way less than the regular 20-25...They're slowly coming back to the field...