Picture Break-up problems After Burning

kdi001 wrote on 11/26/2006, 6:38 AM
I just authored a dvd using Architect 3 (and Vegas). I used Memorex DVD+R 16x blanks and made the dvd at 4.0 speed. The completed dvd played fine in three different dvd players!

Last night I played it in my progressive scan (good) player for the first time, the Panasonic XP-30, and to my surprise and horror, there were several instances of what I will call digital breakup---very small rectangular boxes would momentarily pixelate on the image and then go away. A few times the audio would seem to get stuck for a second or two. Mind you, this didn't happen often or for long, but it was an annoyance--enough to cause the other viewers in my room to question it.

Here's the thing: I would rewind the disc to replay the problem area, and it would be okay. Some other part of the scene would have the problem. I even tried disabling Progressive Scan output, but to no avail.

Is the problem inferior blank dvds? Should I try DVD-R's instead of DVD+R's? How 'bout recording at 2.4 speed? Ughhhh! You make a nice dvd, and it does this on your best dvd player....

--Dale

Comments

ScottW wrote on 11/26/2006, 7:17 AM
There are so many potential issues it's hard to know where to start. I'd probably start by downloading Nero's speed test (available as standalone on their web site IIRC) and see what the error rate is on the DVD - Nero will provide you with an overall quality percentage.

If the error rate is high, I'd first start by looking at your media; cheap media = poor results, and most folks on these forums have found that it's worth the extra cost to purchase quality media. I use Taiyo Yuden and have been very happy with the results.

If your media is quality and you are still seeing high error rates, I'd next suspect your DVD burner. Some burners burn better than others. I have 2 standalone recorders that burn with very high error rates even with the best quality media; the same data, when extracted from the problem DVD and re-burned with an LG burner using the same type of media shows very low error rates.

If you aren't seeing high error rates I'd next start looking at bitrate spikes or excessively high bitrates - an MPEG analyzer can be useful for this. See if you can coorelate spikes with problem view times. Another way to approach this is via your settings in Vegas when you render - sometimes people push the bitrate as high as they can go with the belief that it will result in better picture quality. While in theory this is true, in practice some players simply cannot keep up with high bitrates and so you see the issues you are seeing.

--Scott
kdi001 wrote on 11/28/2006, 3:01 AM
Using Nero 4.7 speed utility software and running a Disc Quality test of my authored disc in question (a Memorex DVD+R) at the speed I originally burned it, I got the following results:

PI Errors average=647.2, total=9385279
PI Failures average=18.55 total=650181
Quality Score=0

The Scan Disc test was okay.

Is a Quality Score of zero even possible?

I had thought that the ideal was a score of 90 or higher. Can these results be accurate? Can a Memorex brand be that lousy or am I reading these results wrong? I even ran the test twice and still am getting a score of zero.

tfc wrote on 11/28/2006, 3:56 AM
I have had nothing but problems with Memorex brand DVD's. They are so bad, that most of my Memorex stuff can't even be opened regardless of the optical drive or settop player I use. Since then, I have transferred everything onto other discs. I agree with Scott on Taiyo Yuden discs. They are simply the best for me. Not one single coaster in the last 3 years of using them. I now avoid Memorex like the plague!