I am using Windows XP with all the updates and DirectX 9.0b. My graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4400 using Detonator 52.16 drivers.
Interestingly, the problem doesn't seem to be DVDA itself. After some of my attempted fixes failed horribly, I just went ahead and reinstalled Windows (clean install). Then I tried playing the DVD I'd burned. Same problem, even though I haven't installed DVDA. The DVD itself is permanently screwing up my computer!
You know, I'm seriously considering abandoning this program.

While a lot of applications claim they can play DVD's (and they can) the acid test is still checking to see if the DVD plays properly on a set top DVD player. The two most common reasons why they won't is either a too low or too high a bitrate and the reflectivity of the media.

Each brand of media (the blank disc) is slightly different and the difference can even vary from batch to batch within the same brand. Something similar to when you buy paint. If you need two gallons and start painting without first mixing the two together if you instead go as far as you can with the first gallon then pick up with the second in the middle of the wall you may see a slight differences in the shade. So too with quality control (or lack of it) in media. You may buy batch after batch of media and your DVD player handles it fine, then you hit one batch and you get skips, stalls and nothing but grief all maybe because the coating is just a little more or less reflective, maybe just a bit thinner or thicker making it less stable and it gives the laser fits so it can't track properly.

The dirty little secret is DVD players are mainly designed to play commerical grade media. I'm not talking about the quality of the contents, rather HOW the DVD is made. Commerical grade DVD's and CD's are pressed. The process is totally different then us using a DVD "burner" which basically just gouges out bits from one of the layers on the blank DVD. Its far less accurate. Things can go wrong during the writing process, there can be near microscopic flaws in the blank media which can distort how the data gets written, etc..

Compters are known to do all kinds of weird things if they hit a corrupt or damaged CD or DVD. Symtoms may vary from the disc simply not playing, but your system remaining OK, to having your system totally lock-up with you unable to even eject the problem disc.

Before blaming DVD-A or any application first be sure Windows itself isn't the real problem. While they latest versions of Microsoft's Media Player can play DVD's including those made with DVD-A, it isn't that great a player. Something like Power DVD a deducated player designed from the ground up to play DVD's in a PC usually does a better job.

There are also many little utility applications that can test you CD and DVD, like looking at the header information, checking the bitrate, what codec are on your system and all kinds of stuff like that. Most can be found over at DVD Help.