Want to create good reliable DVD's?

[cj550]

I've captured my miniDV footage with Pinnacle 9 and then edit and burned the final DVD's also through Pinnacle.

I sent 4 DVD's(DVD+R) to a friend (plastic sleeves+ bubble wrap envelope) which I first tested on my computer and my Philips DVD player and they worked fine. But my friend told me that only one of my DVD's worked on his DVD player (got new at Christmas) but they all worked on his computer after he downloaded DirectDVD. All four DVD's were made in the same way so why would only one work on his DVD Player? Could I have done something wrong?

Is it better to capture in Pinnacle and then make the final burn in Nero?

Is Nero a good program or can I get a better one- will it make a difference to the reliability of the burned DVD?

Does the speed at which I burn a disk effect the quality?

any info appreciated, thanks

[redsox_mark]

There are a number of factors - the burner you use, the software... but most importantly the media. If you stick with high quality media your chance for compatibility is much greater. Discs manufactured by Taiyo Yuden I've found to be very good (either ones branded as such, or discs from companies like Verbatim sometimes use them).

-R also as slightly better compatibility than +R (unless you are able to booktype them as DVD-ROM). Some players will reject +R out of principal.

There is no evidence that burning speed makes a difference (unless you are burning at more than the discs can take).

[senu]

The usual advice is the use of reputable media, trying not to burn too much in a DVD, ( or use too high a bitrate to encode)

The use of less than maximum burning speeds is to avoid reaching the limits of "error" tolerances with both media and hardware and is not specific to video
While I agree that there is no evidence that burning speed makes a difference, the possibility that a few discs or batch may fall short of QC standards or the hardware may be less than perfect at max burning speeds may make it advisable to use these maximum speeds with care.

Oh.. a decent branded burner will serve you better than a no-name one as their reliability cannot in general be guaranteed


Some Burning software also seem to produce DVDs which have better
compatibility with a wider range of DVD players

Finnally some DVD players ( regardless of make or range: budget, mid range high end) are fussy with recordable DVDs

It is almost impossible to predict whether your DVD which works well on your setup and computers will play flawlessly on somebody else's DVD player. This applies to even DVDs burnt off a Settop DVD recorder
AFAIK there is no specific problem identified with burning in Pinnacle Studio or with Nero

PS:
I've seen your other post re labels / DVDs in transit via Royal mail.
I have a friend who does videos weddings, birthdays for a living and sometimes he gets similar problems. I then copy his DVDs using DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink on the PC, or my LG settop DVD recorder and eventually invariably end up with producing compatible copies that can be then be played with ease by his clients.

The main advice I give him is to stick to good branded media ( he likes trying "cheapos" occasionally) and to stop trying to fill the discs with too much material ( he gets lazy editing sometimes as well).
But
Even when he heeds my advice , he still gets occasional "returns" .
The last one played on DVD player in the kids room but not the clients main living room one connected to the 42" plasma . It still got rejected as they stated that main viewing was to be in the living room
It poses a dilemma when you cant tell a client the compatibility issue lies with their player and not your work

[cj550]

Thanks Mark and Senu as per normal alot of great info there very helpful- heres a few follow ups-

'The Burner you use..'- I use Nero but I think its quite an old version do you know how I can check which version I have? Would a newer version of Nero or better Burner Software give better compatability results?

My DVD's were edited and burned on Pinnacle Studio9. I then use Nero to copy the final DVD's, I only have One hour of footage on each Verbatim 4.7GB DVD+R disc (PC World) - does this sound correct?

By the way I ordered some Taiyo Yuden DVD-R's from SVP yesterday, so hoping they will help.

Should I buy an aftermarket DVD coping program like www.dvd-copying-pro.com (what do you think of this site?) or does NERO do the same job?

I've looked into Adobe Encore- would this software sort out most of the compatability issues regarding all the different types of DVD players- what I'm saying is, is there software I can buy that will keep copied DVD(-R) compatability problems to a minimum?

thanks again

[redsox_mark]

No need for Adobe Encore - DVD burning is a fairly basic task, I don't think the burning in Encore will be any better. (The authoring capabilities will be more advanced though). I use Sony Vegas and DVD Architect; and while I haven't had burning problems other Vegas users use Nero for their burning as they find it more reliable. You might want to check to see if there is a firmware update for your DVD writer.

It sounds like you are doing everything right.

I've not heard of that DVD copying software, but again I wouldn't expect that to be any better than Nero.

[senu]

Originally Posted by cj550

Thanks Mark and Senu as per normal alot of great info there very helpful- heres a few follow ups-

'The Burner you use..'- I use Nero but I think its quite an old version do you know how I can check which version I have? Would a newer version of Nero or better Burner Software give better compatability results?

This was in reference to Hardware.( The DVD writer) . As it happens some of the less known names have drives/lasers/ transport made by the known brands and are sometimes recognised as such by Windows. Although Mark suggests it I am a bit more wary of updating DVD writer firmware ( if its working well) as Ive managed to actually worsen some burners with "Updated" firmware. Change your Nero by all means if you feel you have an "old" version but dont bank on banishing compatibility problems completely.

My DVD's were edited and burned on Pinnacle Studio9. I then use Nero to copy the final DVD's, I only have One hour of footage on each Verbatim 4.7GB DVD+R disc (PC World) - does this sound correct?

You can burn from within Pinnacle or from Nero .I dont think it matters which for compatibility. I hr on a 4.7Gb disc is burning at best quality for DVD: You can burn more if you wish ( 2 hrs gets you "standard quality" )

Should I buy an aftermarket DVD coping program like www.dvd-copying-pro.com (what do you think of this site?)

No ( absolutely not: waste of money ) this software just allows you copy a DVD video onto a CD: In these days of cheap DVD discs , burners and players I cannot imagine much use for it .

I've looked into Adobe Encore- would this software sort out most of the compatability issues regarding all the different types of DVD players- what I'm saying is, is there software I can buy that will keep copied DVD(-R) compatability problems to a minimum?

As Mark has said Encore will ( at a considerable cost to you in money and time spent learning it) give you versatility with DVD authoring without guaranteeing DVD compatibility

I think youll have to do it by trial and error to see what works the most for you: That was the point of that little diversion in my last post

Is it possible your friends DVD players may be biasing your view on compatibility. Apart from a "burn" with errors It is unusual to have so many players unable to play recordable DVDs and for the most part this compatibility issue is less common these days

[cj550]

Great thanks again