dvd not playing

mapman wrote on 10/4/2009, 7:54 PM
I've made a dvd and sent to someone that says it won't play on dvd player but will on a computer.

I've tested it with my dvd player and its fine. What could be her problem or my dvd burn problem?

I've read some about bit rates, but how do I check that? Also, I did use a pretty fast burn speed.

The video and audio came from Vegas MS.

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 10/4/2009, 8:00 PM
Not enough information.

Media brand and type, bitrate, player brand and model, all necessary to make any sense of your inquiry.
DGates wrote on 10/4/2009, 8:01 PM
Ditto what MV said.

I always keep my bitrate at 8.2 or less, and always burn at 4X speed.
mapman wrote on 10/5/2009, 7:04 AM
I used a pretty middle of the road disc and had tested many of them on my dvd player without fail. I tested them on my home dvd player and even in our SUV's kids dvd player. All fine.

I can't tell what my bitrate really is?? I burned at 8x.

I created them using all the default settings in Vegas using Main Concept (DVD for Architect NTSC all default) then Dolby AC3 for audio. I did not change anything from the defaults. Same in Architect.
musicvid10 wrote on 10/5/2009, 8:23 AM
Try using Verbatim discs.
Don't burn at the highest speed.
You can download MediaInfo to find out the bitrate on your VTS_01_1.VOB file.
If it's a much older player (you didn't say) you may have to burn DVD-R media.
Good luck!
mapman wrote on 10/5/2009, 10:06 AM
How do I set the bitrate?

ScottW wrote on 10/7/2009, 4:37 PM
1) For maximum compatibility, burn -R media, not +R (unless, see below)
2) Use a decent quality media, Taiyo Yuden, Verbatim - not the Office Depot special
3) If the DVD won't play at all, bitrate is not your issue, so don't worry about it yet.
4) Burn speed isn't all that critical; some people feel otherwise, YMMV.
5) If the player is more than 5-6 years old, it may simply be unable to play burned media, unless...
6) For old players when all else fails, if you burn +R media and set the booktype to DVD-ROM you can usually solve the problem; setting the booktype takes a DVD burner that lets you do this, and some software (sometimes provided by the burner manufacturer). LiteOn is one burner that will usually let you do this (and last I looked, they also provide a utility to change the booktype).
johnmeyer wrote on 10/7/2009, 6:35 PM
Like real estate, there are three things that are important when burning DVDs: media, media, media. ScottW already gave you good advice on that score.

Others have seen problems using really high bitrates (8,000,000 bps average), but I have never had a problem. Here's an old link to a discussion about this topic:

Does bitrate and burn speed affect DVD compatibility?

Finally, I always use DVD-R as ScottW says, but there are quite a few people on this forum and elsewhere who say that DVD+R (if burned with the booktype changed) produces more compatible results. In the early days of DVD burning, -R was the way to go and I could cite data which backed this up. Things have changed a lot, and I am not sure whether +R or -R is better. I think it is probably pretty equal.

HOWEVER ...

There are DEFINITELY some players which will only play -R or +R, not matter how you burn. These tend to be really old players. I have direct experience with this. Thus, I always keep a few +R Verbatim discs on hand, and if someone complains (I've actually only had one person, and it is the same person every year after I burn 100 discs of the local Nutcracker). The +R has always worked for this one customer.

Finally, you should ALWAYS test the first burn from a new batch of media using CD/DVD Speed (or equivalent):

nero dvd speed

It you get a huge number of errors, either your media or your burner are bad (usually the media). The difference between good and bad media is extremely easy to see if you do this test, and the difference is ASTRONOMICAL -- not even close. Most discs are really bad, and the Verbatim and Taiyo-Yuden are really good.

If you are sending discs to customers without doing these tests, you are flying in the dark.