Where's your temp folder pointing to? Is it possible that drive is full?

794 GB free should be enough. )

What I suspect is either:

- the size of iso file to write (17 GB), or
- some Polish characters, or too many characters, in file names (though the same worked with the same project in DVD version).

Run short of ideas...

Anyone ?

I'm really furious; after I spent such a long time optimizing my project for a DVD to be sold, I cannot burn the same project in HD quality onto a BD for myself to use!

Guys, let me quote here the message I just filed with SCS support - perhaps the reason is trivial, and somebody will help me faster:

"I have a project which previewes perfectly, but when I try to prepare/burn a BD, at the instant the window with 2 progress bar is displayed, this message is displayed:

Warning. An error occurred while writing a file.
An invalid argument was specified.

What I have tried:

1. Changed the properties from BD to DVD, and "preparing DVD" works fine (of course the project media wouldn't fit on a DVD)

2. I have removed my media (all 4 of them) one by one, trying to make a BD in between - still same error

3. I have removed my menu background jpg' one by one (with results as in point 2); then I have removed the BD structure branches (menu pages and links) one by one, and -

- even when I only have an otherwise empty project, with just a single menu page, I still couldn't prepare a BD !!!

So I started the other way around, by adding media; all my media (rendered by Vegas 8 Pro as 25 Mbps, 1920x1080/50i films, can be rendered into a BD by DVDA - yet this project can NOT.

Of course, I have plenty of disk spaces in the directories DVDA uses.

I've run short of ideas. Please help,


Piotr"

I've run short of ideas. Please help,

Get some other BD burning software. Even the $(close to nothing) toy software from Ulead is heads and shoulders above DVDA when it comes to Blu-Ray today. SCS clearly couldn't care less about Blu-Ray or internet delivery these days, so you shouldn't rely on them for these needs.

Terje,

Although you may be right, this is definitely NOT the kind of advice I need right now :)

Perhaps I should add to my problem description above, that it's NOT my DVDA installation problem, as the project in question behaves identically under both XP and Vista, and DVDA is not "shared" between the two (while data is, of course)...

Piotr

Unfortunately it's about the only kind of advice we can can give you :)
With these kinds of issues even if we could sit down next to you unless it's something that you're obvioualy doing wrong about all we could offer is sympathy. I'm in the fortunate position of have three PCs that I can try running on. To date I've not had single bug that was hardware or installation related though.

A couple of thoughts anyway.

If all you want to do is watch the 'movie' in HD yourself do you even need to make a BD disk? I render to HD WMV and play it out of my Mediagate. If you want to watch a lot of HD or even want to show your stuff in HD elsewhere these units would pay for themselves very quickly.

To your specific problem.

If I read what you're saying correctly you cannot make BD disk regardless of content. You mentioned that there could be an issue with using 16bit chars. Do you by any chance have any in the project properties, such as the copyright or title info. That stuff I think goes into something on the disk and Windows itself might be the source of the problem handling anything other than 8bit chars.

I'd try making a BD disk from afresh but watch out for the project properties, DVDA and Vegas carry over the last ones into the new project.

Bob.

I would try Ulead. If nothing more than for testing purposes. I would also try preparing a disk with no menu and see how that turns out. This MAY tell you where the problem is.

As far as BD is concerned, the only thing I can think of that is different from dvd is that the "inactive button color" MUST be set to "transparent (none)" since it is not supported in BD any other way.

blink,
that the "inactive button color" MUST be set to "transparent (none)" I have noticed too, but that's not a big deal.

Bob,

I really tried all procedures possible - the last one being started a new project (with all properties reset do BD, 1920x1080/25 fps interlaced), and only adding the media files with a simple default menu. Such a project preview is OK (just like with my original one). Unlike my original one, preparing/burning does proceed (without any error/warning message), but all I get as the iso image is some pathetic 750 MB file, while DVDA reports some 12GB worth of media (and reports correctly).

Of course, burning this iso (or mounting it with a virtual drive) leads nowhere, as I only get some 0.4 fps playback.

On the other hand, when I choose "Preview disk" in DVDA, all 4 HQ media files the test project consists of play back in their full glory.

Something has just occurred to me: why 750 MB, no less, no more - could some hidden setting be telling DVDA that all it can use is a CD-ROM (the size would be correct then) ?!!!

Bu the most frustrating thing is that I used to burn BD's successfully before - and not only with the Ulead MF+HD, but also DVDA :((

Bob

One more thing: yes, I made sure there are no extended-ASCII chars used. But I did something to the Internal preferences tab (changed XML unicode to TRUE) - perhaps I changed something inadvertently?

How do you reset all customization with DVDA - same as Vegas, ie CTRL+SHIFT pressed at launching?

This thread has become more of a monologue, but just to update you:

I have tried to force DVDA do want it's supposed to do for 2 days now, but I failed.

1. My original project would not even prepare, the process ending with the error message I quoted previously

2. When I create a simplistic new project with just a start menu and a single media file (a 1GB, 25Mbps m2v from Vegas), DVDA will prepare an iso file slightly above 200 MB for me (sic); when "played back", the audio is fine but my HD video is displayed in full resolution, and some 0.5 fps speed (that's right - one frame per 2 seconds).

Something is so obviously wrong that I tried it in my separate DVDA installation under XP, and the third one on my Vaio laptop - with exactly the same results.

Add to it that the media file(s) preview perfectly, and don't even need to be recompressed - and you will understand why I'm starting to think that DVDA 5.0a is a joke (at least with BD).

Anyone had the same problems?

I understand that it's very difficult to remotely help somebody in his DVDA woes, but still...

I have established that the strange behaviour I mentioned in my previous post (repeatable on all my three DVDA installations) is somehow connected to the specific parameters of media being used in the project . Namely, I've run those test runs with m2v's, extracted from the 35Mbps mxf's by the Snell & Wilcox MXF Unwrap Wizard. So thay are 35 Mbps VBR, 1920x1080/50i clips.

So, it seems like 35 Mbps is too much for DVDA - it won't complain, but will not generate a proper BD either. Even though the max bitrate is supposed to be as high in DVDA 5 as 40Mbps (or even 48Mbps)...

Therefore, I'd like to revert back to my own questions in the first post of this thread:

- just which are your tested bitrates, when you wan to preserve maximum quality from 1920x1080 source, and have plenty of space (i.e. actually using BD, and not HD burned on a DVD)? Do you use the "Blu-ray 1920x19080/50i" template unmodified, when rendering out from Vegas?

- with DVDA's BD in mind, do you render EX's 35Mbps just like HDV (i.e. 25 Mbps average, 30 Mbps max), or can you go up with bitrates and still get proper BD's in DVDA?

Please give me some feedback on the above two questions; I'm in a situation where - after completing a project for DVD - I need to compile the BD with identical menu structure / graphics, and maximum possible media quality.

One more question: is there a way to check the integrity of a DVDA menu structure? I'm asking because when opening this particular project, it asked me about a certain jpg background file, and a certain mppg media file which both were in it at the very early stage, but have been replaced with the current content log ago, and do not exist any more neither in their original HDD directory, nor in the suspected project structure (or at least I cannot see them there). ..

When I export my M2V files they're at 28M CBR (sometimes 1440 and sometimes 1920) and I have no problems with them. At one time I THOUGHT that they would re-encode because it would give me a warning flag, but it never does. So the worst I can say is that the warning flags are not quite up to par... but it all works.... and without re-encoding.

But have also gone so far as to run test strips as high as 37M CBR on BD and have not had a re-encode or playback issue at all.

I don't do VBR though and I don't do 50i (I'm in ntsc land)

As far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with DVDa (relative to your issue) and it is working fine so I would suggest it to be either your DVDa install or something wrong with your render. You did say that you played around with the internal settings?

Thanks Blink.

Yes, I played with internal settings, but CTRL+SHIFT at launch did away with any customization; besides I did mention I have exactly the same "results" on three separate DVDA installations....

Also, the 35 Mbps CBR is an overkill with EX HQ, while producing unnecessary big files; for the latter reason I'd like to stick to VBR, perhaps even 2-pass as it can save a lot of disk space.

I'd be very grateful if somebody de-muxed a (circa) 1 GB EX HQ mxf file, insert is as media into a single menu page BD DVDA project, and try to prepare a BD. If the resultant iso is just over 200 MB, it'd mean it's not just me - and that the 35Mbps BVR is not handled properly by DVDA. TIA

Piot

Surely 35MBPS VBR and CBR will render out to the same size file?

"Also, the 35 Mbps CBR is an overkill with EX HQ, while producing unnecessary big files; for the latter reason I'd like to stick to VBR, perhaps even 2-pass as it can save a lot of disk space."

I didn't intend for you to use 35M. Your original statement asked how high you could go with no re-encode. As a TEST I have done a bit higher than that with no re-encode.

Are you sure dvda takes raw MXF files?? I have tried with XDcam samples and all I get "unknown format"
=============================================================
"Surely 35MBPS VBR and CBR will render out to the same size file?"

Not necessarily.
CBR will deliver a steady constant stream of bits evenly spread throughout your video, while VBR uses MORE bits in bright high action scenes, and LESS bits to darker, slower shots.

VBR is basically used as a space saver.

"VBR uses MORE bits in bright high action scenes, and LESS bits to darker, slower shots."
Bright or dark has nothing to do with it.
VBR doesn't really save space. Encoding CBR at the same bitrate as the average setting of a VBR encode will give you file of the same size.

VBR can be make more efficient use of the available space.

Bob.

As I don't have a BD player I can't help much however the problem here seems rather obvious.

XDCAM EX HQ has an AVERAGE bitrate of 35Mb/sec.
From what you say the BD spec has a MAXIMUM bitrate of 40Mb/sec.

I'd be pretty amazed if the XDCAM's hardware encoder wasn't capable of a MAXIMUM bitrate of double the average i.e. 70Mb/sec. If that's the case the BD player will not be able to play it. The symptoms you describe are exactly what I'd expect to happen when you exceed the bitrate that the player is capable of.

There could be other factors involved. The GOP structure could be wrong etc.
Expecting to take a file encoded by a camera and have a consumer hardware player playout the same stream sounds very optimistic to me. That you need a pretty fancy and expensive recording medium such as the SxS cards to keep up with the EX encoder in HQ should be a good hint that an optical disk will not have a prayer of being able to keep up.

Bob.

.Guys, just two points of clarification:

1. I never claimed DVDA will handle mxf as such (iit doesn't), what I do is use mxf out from Vegas as it can be smart rendered and so is very quick; then de-mux the resultant mxf into the m2v and audio files (the latter I discard), using Snell and Wilcox (many other free de-muxers exist)

2. True - a CBR with a given bitraate, and VBR with the same AVERAGE bitrate, will produce roughly the same file size, but the EX HQ is a VBR with the MAXIMUM of 35Mbps, afaik - not AVERAGE.

So far, I also managed to prepare in DVDA perfect BD's using Vegas Blu-ray template VBR 35 Mbps max /25 Mbps average bitrates. However, my original project in question here still doesn't work, even after replacing the media files with those that do work in another project - so I guess what is at fault are either my subtitles tracks, or my menu background graphics.

Once again - is there a way to check and clean a DVDA project of all those assets that were used at previous stages, but are not needed anymore? I somehow suspect such asset still exist in this project...

"Encoding CBR at the same bitrate as the average setting of a VBR encode will give you file of the same size."
Absolutely.
But VBR gives you 2 additional adjustments, one high end and and low end. If you set ALL adjustments to the same bitrate you will get the same file size (or in other words... a CBR recording). But if you set your average at say 25M, your max at 35M and you min at 20M and most of your video is slow and dark... you will NOT get the same file size.

"then de-mux the resultant mxf into the m2v and audio files (the latter I discard), using Snell and Wilcox (many other free de-muxers exist)"

And my guess is that [b]THIS[/i] is your problem. Try rendering out your mxf as a M2V from Vegas and see what happens.

Blink,

I already wrote what happens, in my last post:

"I also managed to prepare in DVDA perfect BD's using Vegas Blu-ray template VBR 35 Mbps max /25 Mbps average bitrates. However, my original project in question here still doesn't work, even after replacing the media files with those that do work in another project - so I guess what is at fault are either my subtitles tracks, or my menu background graphics."

Well... I just ran a MXF file through vegas, rendered as M2V 25M VBR, 50i, and burned to BD with DVDa with no issues. It went through with out re-encoding .

Granted is was just a mxf sample of a few 100 megabyte... but still... no issues.