Thanks, Vincej. Now I've gotta ask . . . I've poked around DVD Architect and don't see anywhere to adjust the bitrate. The closest I could find was the "minimum" bitrate option for rendering. Where might I look? I assume it must have something to do with the write speed, such as 16x, 12x, etc. but don't really understand the exact relationship.

Thanks

We get this when we burn at speeds above 4x.
Write speed and bit rate are unrelated. Bit rate = qualiy and amount of space used. Write speed is how fast you can copy a file to DVD-R etcp
Try a 4x burn...probably all that's wrong. With DVD-R media claiming 16x speeds, it seems ridiculous but..that's marketing sometimes.
Note they say "up to 16x" :)

I'd burned two dvds, one at 16x and one at 12x. You think I didn't back off enough, then? Also, I read that replicated dvds generally play better than burned ones. So is it true that once I burn a good master, the rest should be copies?

Replicated means sending a master to a plant where they stamp DVDs, not burning copies drive to drive.
But yes, replicated dics play better.
Again, try a 4x.

Check some of the video sites on the web -- there are loads of media & burner info and comparisons. Nero Speed and some other programs let you check the accuracy of what you're burning so you can customize your media selection a bit better. Look at bit setting for added compatibility. Might also check ImgBurn.

In general, some burners work better, and work best with some media... Verbatim is usually recommended. While I admit to being cheap and having a stack of Phillips blanks here for projects that aren't that important, it's often mentioned with a gag reflex. :?P

On top discs using a top burner in theory some folks say burn speed is irrelevant. I've had it matter myself, and normally burn 8X just in case -- 4X actually throws more errors for me on a stand-a-lone player than 12X.

If you have a run of discs pressed all that usually matters is if they can read your copy to press the discs from. ;?P

So..what would make 12x more reliable than 4x?

Guys - with all respect I think you are missing the point -

the issue is that sometimes in some DVD's the disc plays badly. Other times in other DVD's it plays well. Nothing to do with Burn rates - if that truly was the problem it would manfest itself across all DVD players.

To chaneg Bit rates :
> Make Movie >
> Burn> Next > next
> Optimise
> Default Bit rate slide is set to 8000 - you can adjust it.

@vince
DVD Media quality has been an issue for years -- to the point that most folks don't even want to go thru the same old explanations anymore. But do not take my word for it, check out videohelp.com, cdfreaks, doom9.org, the imgburn site etc...Or perform a search in this forum. Or DL & use Nero CDSpeed [tools section at videohelp.com]. Or just search the web.

Long story short: There's a lotta crap media out there -- many players cannot read many brands -- there are lists posted of compatibility results per brand of disc & player. "if that truly was the problem it would manfest itself across all DVD players. " is EXACTLY backwards. ;-)

FWIW as far as bit rates etc go... 8 is a decent compromise, DVDA will insist on a re-encode if the bitrate in the 1st header of an mpg2 file is too high, but >9 is common with retail movie DVDs and plays just fine in most players obviously. Of course the average retail movie is dual layer, so space isn't an issue -- for single layer discs 8 and lower is commonly used to shrink the file so it fits physically in the space allowed. This is on top of the ac3 file -- you can use the defaults in Vegas for stereo & 5.1, though higher bit rates for stereo are common.

The DVD specs themselves are a bit elusive because of high cost and NDA... Sites like the DVD FAQ are a good source for what is known, including stuff like allowable bit rates. http://www.thedigitalbits.com/officialfaq.html

Finally, it is very often a good idea to do your encoding in Vegas or other preferred encoder rather than in DVDA, where the same level of control is just not possible; many prefer other encoders entirely. If you have problems importing any mpg2 video streams, mux without an audio file & DVDA likes it much better.

@ Rich
"So..what would make 12x more reliable than 4x?"

I honestly have no answer... Never really worried about it to tell the truth. Just found that some of the brands of blanks I've used worked best at 12X, and I've had a bunch that didn't play well at all after burning at 4X. Statistically 8X just seems the most reliable across all brands I've used with my NEC GSA 4167 burner, but this is just my experiences over stacks of DVDs. Someone else could get entirely different results... It's often helpful to check the compatibility lists re: your hardware.

> what would make 12x more reliable than 4x? <

I just went through this same mess. I don't claim to have THE answer, but here's how it looks from my perspective:

My previous batch of DVD blanks were 8x and burning them at 8x in DVDA 3 always worked perfectly. The last batch of DVD blanks I bought at Costco are 16x media. I thought I saw a glitch once when viewing a DVD I had burned, so I switched to 8x. I made a few dozen DVDs over time and all of them played fine on three different consumer decks I tried. But then I discovered they wouldn't play on ANY computer drives. D'oh!

Switching to 16x fixed the problem completely. So I can only imagine that burning a DVD at too low a speed might overheat the media as the laser lingers too long and burns an area larger / deeper / whatever than it should.

--Ethan

Well..my Verbatims are labeled "up to 16x" so I don't know what its preferred speed is.