DVD compatability...

[Hi Ho]

My free capture card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815100120) (sorry, rebate offer is over) arrived today and I was pleasantly surprised at the video quality I can capture with it. I was also surprised that the software actually works and works well.

Anyway, I used the real-time DVD recording function to record about a half hour of home video to a VHS tape. The recording finished succesfully and plays fine in my PC.

When I put it in my older Aiwa DVD player, however, I get a message which I have never seen before. In a black box with a red border (not the normal GUI for this player) it says "Check Disc". I'm guessing this is a problem with DVD-R compatability.

The problem is that I have already burned a few DVD-R's and they play fine in the player. These are all Maxell discs except the ones that work are rated at 4x and say "Data + Video" while the one's that don't work are rated at 8x with no "data or video" distinction. Is this most likely a problem with the type of disc? I am assuming that the fact that it plays fine in my PC means the software isn't at fault.

Any suggestions?

[RJ]

Hi,

there are no different type of disc for video and data. After all, video is also just data (only with special parameters).
Since your player plays DVD-R, that isn't the problem either.

The fact that it plays fine in your PC means very little. All you know is that the disc has been burnt successfully and isn't a coaster. More, you don't know.

Now we come to the real-time recording. You can record to a DVD-R in two different modes: Video mode and DVD-VR.

The Video mode is DVD-Video compatible. That's what every commercial movie DVD is, and every DVD player can play it back.

DVD-VR, however, is not DVD-Video compatible. If you recorded in that mode, you can't play it in a DVD player. You'd have to convert it to DVD-Video first.

Also beware when using the DVD-VR mode: You can even choose resolutions for the video that is not DVD-Video compliant. Then you can't convert it to DVD-Video without re-encoding.
If the res. is DVD-Video compatible, you can convert DVD-VR to DVD-Video by demultiplexing it and authoring the video for DVD-Video.

But the easiest way would be to record in Video mode.

RJ

[Hi Ho]

I know about the "data/video" distinctions not meaning anything (why do they put them on there?). I just mentioned it because that was the only visible distinction between the discs.

The disc was recorded in video mode, not VR. I have tried it in three other stand alone players a couple other PC's now and the disc played in all but one of the standalones.

[not important]

It is also posible that your Video player does not like that brand {or type) of media.

[Hi Ho]

Can the speed rating have an effect? That is really the only difference between the DVD-R's that work in my player and the ones that do not. They are all Maxell but only the 4x dics will play. 8x discs will not.

[MaxRat]

yes....I have had that same problem with the same brand of disk....when burning dvd-video

[blue60007]

Did you format in the correct format? (NTSC) Someone I know burned a DVD in PAL format by mistake, and, of course, would not play in a NTSC DVD player.

[Hi Ho]

It is NTSC as were all of the players.

[RJ]

Probably the new discs are of low quality. Maxell is only the brand, they don't manufacture the discs.

Get DVD Identifier and check the media code of the 4x and the 8x DVD-R, then please post it here.

RJ

[Hi Ho]

I don't know what exactly you want (the media code is a long string of 1's and 0's) but the discs that do work are "RITEKG04" and the discs that do not work say "RITEKG05".

[RJ]

Ritek are of different quality. I myself have never had good results with them, so I'd try better media. Like Verbatim MCC, Ricoh, Taiyo Yuden, for example.

RJ

[Hi Ho]

Yeah, judging by the reviews on Newegg for Ritek media I wouldn't be surprised. Most of their stuff has 1/5 eggs.

If I had known these discs were Ritek I would not have purchased them. I will be going with Verbatim from now on as I have had nothing but great experiences with them. The Verbatim CD-RW that came with my Plextor burner three years ago still works fine and it has been abused like crazy (stepped on, run over by a car, dropped, severely scratched, left in extremely hot cars, extreme cold, you name it).

Luckily I only bought a 15 pack of these Maxell discs.

[RJ]

If I had known these discs were Ritek I would not have purchased them.

Yeah, that is the big problem when buying DVDs from someone who doesn't make them. It's always risky.
I have to say that many brands tend to use Ritek nowadays. When I bought a DVD in 2002, no matter whether it was Emtec, Imation, Philips, Platinum, they were all Ricoh.
But now, they are all Ritek or CMC.

Even my once favourite Platinum brand, who used Ricoh, now uses Ritek. Whay I do is I order original Ricoh from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0008134G8/qid=1133545737/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3884879-1391307?n=507846&s=electronics&v=glance

I've always had great experience with Ricoh discs and the price is very good. On the US amazon page there don't seem to be reviews about them, but on the German page there are, and most people also have good experience with them.
http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002K727C/303-1146763-3249059

But Verbatim MCC is an excellent choice as well.

RJ