There was no information prior to the preparation that tells me that the file is too big try recapturing it at a smaller bitrate or optimize it. But when I use a smaller file 5.2 GB same video lower bitrate capture settings to prepare it works fine it brings the file size down to 2.8 GB from 5.2 GB when preparation is finished..........why not 4.4GB to take full advantage of the DVD size? How can I change the size from 2.8 to inrease to 4.4 GB so that no pixelation occurs?

Another thing when I try and do the full prepare and burn all at once with the 11.2 GB size it tells me that an error occurred with dvdarch.exe and will need to close. This has happened about four times already but does not happen with 5.2 GB file yet. Haven't tried optimizing the file size yet just because it takes too long I just capture to mpeg2 from the start to save me redering times in the end.

My dilemma is what bit rate should I use when capturing my 3 hour video using my all in wonder card from the start to I don't get error messages after preparation.

When you do a full prepare and burn, do you get a crash dump? If so, can you please post the details? Thanks.

There is a crash dump with details. It will take some time to re-do the error message. Should I post the details later in the evening today or would you prefer Monday?

Either is fine. Thanks.

I tried to recreate the problem but couldn't because of DVD-A freezing.....mostly when I try to burn but as well sometimes when I try to prepare files. It usually freezes during preparation when using bigger video capture files for example between 8 or 11 GB in size. So I dropped the capture setting down to 4 MBs (mpeg2 file) instead of the 8 or 6 MBs. This allowed me to prepare the file but it now freezes all the time during the burning process, so now I use a different application to burn the DVD without ANY freezing problems. When I mean freeze I mean it. I have to physically power on and off to get it back again. one thing is for certain DVD-A does not like captured video files at all. I also posted recenly in the Sony DRU-500 post regarding this problem as it may relate to the burner.

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
Athlon XP 2100 CPU
512 DDR OCZ Ram (256x2) Duall Channel
160 Gb (120 GB stripped Raid 0)
Sony DRU-500A

What operating system are you using? Have you tried reinstalling DVD-A? Does your computer have multiple harddrives? If so, can you try changing the drive of your source media, temporary files folder and prepared DVD folder?

Well, I tried changing the temp folder in DVD-A to my stripped drive to f) from (c)drive. I am using Windows XP sp1. I have uninstalled and re-installed DVD-A but on drive C. I could change the installation to drive (f) which would now be the same as the temp folders to give it a try.

I am really running out of options, I know its not the motherboard because I had it replaced with the same one thinking it might be at fault. It cost me $40 bucks to replace but I needed to eliminate that variable. Since I have two sticks of 256 DDR OCZ CL2 memory (512 total), I took one stick out to try and see if I have a memory problem....the same thing happened with both memory sticks alternating, highly unlikely that the same problem would occur with two different memory sticks so I can safely assume that this is not the issue unless DVD-A has a problem with 400 Mhz CL2 memory..it's top of the line memory.

My CPU is an Athlon XP 2100, that may be causing the problem but it as well is very new but anything is possible. I'm actually upgrading to the new Athlon Barton CPU 2800 with 512 cache instead of the lower 256 this week when it comes available. I have the ATI All In Wonder Radeon card with the latest drivers. I'm a technical support rep myself for a financial institution so I'm trying approach the problem methodically. I have crossed out several possibilites. I could do a complete OS re-install from scratch since I have most of my stuff backed up if you wish. There was a problem in the past that I posted that conflicted with VV4 and ATI capture cards, for your info, if a user installs the Multimedia software from ATI it is important to change a file name in the ATI Multimedia/Tv folder I think called AVBSurf.ax to the extension .bak or else VV4 will fail to video capture, the drawback is that there is no closed captioning but no big deal maybe you want to post this or test it out yourself. Hope this helps. Let me know what the next step is. Thanks.

It is a possibility that your CPU is overheating. Render and preparing a DVD are highly computational operations. You may want to try reducing the clock speed of your CPU. Besides that I'm not sure what else to suggest.

I installed an Asus probe program to monitor my cpu heat and it is within the limits. It is a new cpu I don't think this is the problem as I can now prepare the file but burning it is the problem. I can burn it my prepared folders using a different application without difficulty. I will try to reduce the memory clock speed from its default setting to see if it makes any difference. Could there not be the possibility of a glitch within DVD-A? Thanks for you suggestions.

Yes, there could be.

You are the only user that has notified us about their system freezing when preparing or burning.

Just got off the phone my computer supplier. I'll be upgrading my CPU tomorrow to the new Athlon XP 2500 Barton chip with 512K L2 cache. I'll keep you posted with the results after the CPU install, I'll ask them to loan me a stick of 512 DDR memory to eliminate that variable as well. I'm determined to solve this problem, I'll keep you posted as well. Have you tested DVD-A with an Athlon XP CPU+DDR or has your testing been strictly Pentium based?