The Same Old question...why don't they work?

Peter Vred wrote on 8/12/2005, 6:10 PM
I asked about this before and got ZERO suggestions on a fix. Here I go again.

My DVDs won't play on my computer. It autoplays and everything is fine until I click on the Menu (in Power DVD player). As soon as I click the menu button, or the Next button, or any button, the program says I have a defective disk and shuts down.

They play fine when previewing in DVDA. Remote controls go exactly where I have set them up to go. They also play fine on my home Sony DVD player in my Entertainment center. Others I have given them to give me mixed results, but most say they won't work in their computers.

I am Authoring live music DVDs of our band using Vegas 5. I save the files in the default Mpeg-2 format. I don't know much about options, so I take the default. Don't know what PAL and NTSC means. But I have no problem making markers and chapters and all that. Everything seems just fine till I go to play the finished DVD using the burner that made it.

Does anyone have any idea why this is happening to me? Does anybody really care? :)

Help welcomed...thanks much.

pete

Comments

PeterWright wrote on 8/12/2005, 8:28 PM
Have you tried using a different brand of media, or a slower burning speed?

Does playing in Media Player make any difference?

Incidentally, it wouldn't stop the disc from playing, but I'd avoid using the default template - it's set at a low quality - try one of the DVDA presets, or the NTSC or PAL DVD presets.

NTSC and PAL are different video standards - U.S. uses NTSC, Europe mainly PAL etc etc. What format are you shooting video in ?
Cunhambebe wrote on 8/12/2005, 10:36 PM
Hi there...Sorry not to have answered earleir....I have authored a series of DVDs with DVDA 3 and never got a problem, not even like the one you mention. There might be a problem with your DVD driver. Try to change the media as it's been suggested around here.
rsp wrote on 8/12/2005, 10:41 PM
Have you tried watching it in PowerDvd before burning your project to disc ?

(open your DVDA folder from within PowerDvd and see if you find the same problem as when playing the burned dvd disc)
Peter Vred wrote on 8/13/2005, 10:26 AM
I burn DVDs very slowly, 2 to 4X.

I have not tried viewing the finished DVD files BEFORE burning them to disk...will have to try that to see what happens at that point.

Media player 9 does the same thing, shuts down as soon as I try to go to a menu.

I'll try Vegas rendering in another format, but don't really see why that would matter.
It's just odd that all the remote control functions work great within Architect, but don't with Media Player. My player plays all factory disk perfectly.

Will keep trying...thanks!
Peter Vred wrote on 8/13/2005, 10:54 AM
I don't see any "DVDA" presets in vegas...where should I look?

I shoot in AVI format, w/sony handycam DV
ScottW wrote on 8/13/2005, 12:17 PM
When you select MPEG-2 to render, use a DVD Architect NTSC (or PAL if appropriate) template.

I doubt that changing your rendering template is going to help with the problems you describe - still, you should render with the correct template.

--Scott
johnmeyer wrote on 8/13/2005, 3:11 PM
I am Authoring live music DVDs of our band using Vegas 5. I save the files in the default Mpeg-2 format. I don't know much about options, so I take the default. Don't know what PAL and NTSC means. But I have no problem making markers and chapters and all that. Everything seems just fine till I go to play the finished DVD using the burner that made it

Do NOT use the "Default" template. Your results will be lousy.

If you live in the US, render using the "Save As Type: MainConcept MPEG-2" and then use "Template: DVD Architect NTSC video stream." If you live in Europe, use the "Template: DVD Architect PAL video stream."

Once the video is rendered, you must then do a separate render of exactly the same project (or portion of your project). To do this, go back to the render dialog and this time select "Save As Type: Dolby Digital AC-3." You can use the default or the Stereo template (I always use the stereo template). Use the same file name as you used for your video render, and put this AC-3 file into the same folder as the MPEG-2 video file. If you use the same file name, then when you bring the video file into DVD Architect, DVDA will automatically find the audio.

This will give you the highest compatiblity and best quality.
Peter Vred wrote on 8/15/2005, 6:43 AM
"Once the video is rendered, you must then do a separate render of exactly the same project (or portion of your project)."

Have not read or heard that before. I'll try it.

I checked, I have been using Mpeg-2 NTSC format for rendering. Thanks for reaffirming. I use the best 8X media I can find, and burn at 2X.
Peter Vred wrote on 8/21/2005, 7:18 AM
Johnmeyer,

Thanks SO much for your tips, they cured my problems with playback. Everything works perfectly now.

Render times and DVD prepare times were also greatly reduced. You saved me!

P