Blu-ray Compatibility Thread (BD-RE / BD-R Recordings On Standalone Blu-ray Players)

Rasczak

Outstanding Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2002
Messages
27,708
Reaction score
10,514
Points
6,143
Location
Warwick
AIM

The aim of this thread is to compile a list of compatibility issues between BD-RE/BD-R recordings made on set-top Blu-ray recorders and standalone Blu-ray players.

SUBMISSION OF DATA

If you have done a compatibility test please post below and I will edit this first post to reflect your findings. The more data we can compile the better even if already tested. Please state what player(s) you tested on and provide information in the format of:
1) Disc Type & Capacity Used
2) Producer of disc
3) Details of recording
4) Playback notes
 
BD-RE/BD-R COMPATIBILITY DATA

Panasonic BDP35
  1. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Verb - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Playback Correct *
  2. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Verb - HD Broadcast (HG Mode) - Playback Correct *
  3. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Verb - SD Broadcast (XP Mode) - Playback Correct *

Panasonic BDP80
  1. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Playback Correct
  2. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Sony - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Playback Correct
  3. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (XP Mode) - Playback Correct
  4. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Sony - SD Broadcast (XP Mode) - Playback Correct

PlayStation 3
  1. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Verb - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Did not play (Error message "Video cannot be played: 80029945") *
  2. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Verb - HD Broadcast (HG Mode) - Playback Correct but no menu was generated, multiple titles merged into one long one *
  3. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Verb - SD Broadcast (XP Mode) - Playback Correct but no menu was generated, multiple titles merged into one long one *
  4. BD-R- (25GB) 4X (Ver 1.2) - Verb - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Did not play (Error message "Video cannot be played: 80029945") *

Oppo BDP83
  1. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Verb - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Did not play (Menu was shown but no picture or audio) *
  2. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Verb - HD Broadcast (HG Mode) - Playback Correct *
  3. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Playback Correct
  4. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Verb - SD Broadcast (XP Mode) - Playback Correct *
  5. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (SP Mode) - Playback Correct

Sony S350
  1. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Did not play (message "title cannot be played")
  2. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (SP Mode) - Playback Correct

Sony 550
  1. BD-R- (25GB) 4X (Ver 1.2) - Verb - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Did not play (Menu was shown but no picture or audio)

WinDVD
  1. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Playback Correct
  2. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Sony - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Playback Correct
  3. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (XP Mode) - Playback Correct
  4. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Sony - SD Broadcast (XP Mode) - Playback Correct

NOTES

* Indicates content was checked in both editted (partial delete) and non-editted form.
 
Last edited:
ANALYSIS

I suspect it will take awhile to build up a clear picture of what is happening but maybe some initial conclusions can be drawn already. First and foremost it seems playback of HD content (recorded in any mode on a Panasonic Blu-ray Recorder) will work on Panasonic Blu-ray players. However HD recordings made in 'DR' mode seem to be problematic for other brands of Blu-ray player - I guess we will not know the extent or range of this until we get more data. HD recordings that have been re-encoded (so far I have only tested HG mode tested) are a different story - these seem to work on more (all?) players.

Thanks to JH4 and michaelwileman1 for providing some of the initial data.
 
Update:
BD-R recordings of AVCHD camcorder footage play OK on a Sony BDP550 and a Sony Playstation 3 using Verbatim 25G BD-R V1.2 discs.

( I reckon that it's only broadcast material copied in DR mode that has this combatibility issue, possibly.)
 
Last edited:
Update:
BD-R recordings of AVCHD camcorder footage play OK on a Sony BDP550 and a Sony Playstation 3 using Verbatim 25G BD-R V1.2 discs.

( I reckon that it's only broadcast material copied in DR mode that has this combatibility issue, possibly.)
Thanks for the info JH4. I am busy at work for the next few days, but thereafter I will re-work post 2 slghtly - I think it is clear now re-encoded material works in all players regardless of source - so I will adapt the post to provide guidance on when and where DR mode recordings work.
 
please can you help i'm a little confused,i,m not sure what "re-encoding " means ?
And i'm going to transfer avchd footage(panny hs9) to bd-r and want it to play in other players in HD. hopefully i can get it onto the 850's hard drive but what settings do i have to use to get it onto disc and do i finilise the disc or not?
And would the material on disc still be in avchd?

Sorry to ask so many proboly silly question but i'm sure you'll have the answers?
thanks
 
please can you help i'm a little confused,i,m not sure what "re-encoding " means ?
And i'm going to transfer avchd footage(panny hs9) to bd-r and want it to play in other players in HD. hopefully i can get it onto the 850's hard drive but what settings do i have to use to get it onto disc and do i finilise the disc or not?
And would the material on disc still be in avchd?

Sorry to ask so many proboly silly question but i'm sure you'll have the answers?
thanks

To get it onto a BD-R disc, just format the blank disc first and do a copy of the AVCHD file onto it from the hard drive. Don't alter any settings. It's as easy as that.
You then finalise the BD-R afterwards via the disc management menu, which just takes a few seconds. The resultant BD-R disc will play on a BD player and shows as "AVC" 1080/50p, 5.1 audio, at a data rate of around 16Mbps on a Sony BD player. ( This applies to my original AVCHD file which was recorded at best quality on a Sony TG3 HD camcorder, btw.)
It works !
 
Last edited:
please can you help i'm a little confused,i,m not sure what "re-encoding " means ?
The Pasnasonic Blu-ray recorders only record onto the HDD in 'DR' mode - this is effectively a lossless recording of what is broadcast. If you high speed dub to Blu-ray (in DR mode) it is again lossless as it does in high speed as a file transfer (but obviously with some re-arrangement of files to structure into the BD-Video format). Unfortunately there is some reason, associated with the video file, that makes such a transfer incompatible with most Blu-ray players. I hope to use this thread to determine the extent of the compatibility.

On the other hand if, when preparing to copy content from the HDD to Blu-ray, you opt for one of the high def recording modes (HG, HX, HE and HL) then any compatibility issue disappears and the recording will play on Blu-ray players. However such copying is effectively a re-encoding of the content from it's original format (DR mode) to the new version.

With video it is norminally prudent to avoid re-encoding if possible as it has the potential to reduce quality. However, having done a few tests in HG mode, I have to say I can't notice any difference between that and DR mode - it looks identical. Furthermore, it should be remembered that we always used to re-encode with our HDD/DVDR recorders - the only difference was when we would re-encode, i.e. when we were actually recording off air rather than when dubbing to disk. And I think the bottomline is that the broadcast system does not support straight transfer onto Blu-ray so there needs to be re-encoding at some stage, at least if you want compatibility.
 
Last edited:
This is a useful thread, thanks. Looks like HG mode may be the easiest option.

Does anyone know if is it possible to reauthor a BD-RE disc recorded in DR mode using computer-based programs such those from Roxio (e.g. Creator + BR plugin)?

MS
 
ANALYSIS

I suspect it will take awhile to build up a clear picture of what is happening but maybe some initial conclusions can be drawn already. First and foremost it seems playback of HD content (recorded in any mode on a Panasonic Blu-ray Recorder) will work on Panasonic Blu-ray players. However HD recordings made in 'DR' mode seem to be problematic for other brands of Blu-ray player - I guess we will not know the extent or range of this until we get more data. HD recordings that have been re-encoded (so far I have only tested HG mode tested) are a different story - these seem to work on more (all?) players.

Thanks to JH4 and michaelwileman1 for providing some of the initial data.

Unfortunately, it seems to be not just HD recordings.

I've just transferred a series of SD recordings (some using DR, some re-encoded to SP) to the same disc. All titles play on the BS850 ok, but on a Sony S350, only the non-DR titles will play (although they all appear in the title menu).

This means some lengthy transferring sessions when (typically) copying 10 hours' worth of documentaries to a disc! And during all this, the BS850 can't be used for anything - even just watching tv channels! I see a lot of overnight copying sessions......


Summary (NB. both on same disc):

Sony S350
  1. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Did not play (message "title cannot be played")
  2. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (SP Mode) - Playback Correct
 
Thanks Foghat - I'll add the data to the thread. Seems like DR mode is going to be an enduring compatibility problem - at least for standalones. I wonder what compatibility like will be when PC based Blu-ray editing software comes of age?
 
Thanks Foghat - I'll add the data to the thread. Seems like DR mode is going to be an enduring compatibility problem - at least for standalones. I wonder what compatibility like will be when PC based Blu-ray editing software comes of age?

You're welcome, Rasczak - but here's an update for you.

The SD titles copied using DR (which wouldn't play on the Sony S350) do play ok on my new Oppo BDP-83 multi-region/zone player. Very good quality, too.

Things are looking up slightly!


Oppo BDP-83
  1. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Playback Correct
  2. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (SP Mode) - Playback Correct
 
Have now tested SD (DR) and SD (SP) with WinDVD.

Both play fine, but strangely WinDVD finds an additional 2-3 seconds of video at the start of each title.

On the Panasonic recorder, you carefully divide titles precisely where desired, to get rid of the preceding announcements or other guff, and standalone players seem to duly start playing where you expect it (i.e. at the precise divide point), but WinDVD seems to find 2-3 seconds of what you thought was divided off and deleted, but in fact is still there. Presumably this is a result of different methods of gauging progress through a file between PC programs and standalone player software (and presumably well documented?). Not a big deal, really, as I don't use computers for disc playback much, but it could be irritating.

Anyway:


WinDVD
  1. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Playback Correct
  2. BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Pana - SD Broadcast (SP Mode) - Playback Correct
 
Here's a short report on equipment and discs not listed yet:

This bottom of the range player did not play back any of the discs produced on the Panasonic until the latest firmware update: Now, HG and HX formats play back fine, but DR formats are still not recognised.

Discs used include Infiniti BD-R and BD-RE 25GB bought via the Amazon site. Very good value for money! Other discs that are working: Panasonic BD-R and TDK BD-RE.

All discs listed here are working fine in both DR and other formats on a Panasonic DMP-BD30.
 
Jon - Could I ask you , when you have time, would you add these findings to the Bluray compatibilty thread, in an appropriate way, mentioning the model you are using.

Many thanks.

You will find the thread here.

I can't reply to the thread as its more than 238 days old it says!

{Mod Comment: Thanks Jon. That's a newie to me! I've moved your report to here so it will also help to refresh the thread - I hope. - End of mod comment }



DMR-BW780 Freeview HD Blu-ray Recorder

Oppo BDP83
1.BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Infiniti - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Did not play (Folder of contents was shown but no picture or audio on file playback) *
2.BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Infiniti - HD Broadcast (HG Mode) - Playback Correct (AAC audio transcoded to DD)*

Sony S5000ES
1.BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Infiniti - HD Broadcast (DR Mode) - Did not play (Folder of contents was shown but a message indicating it cannot play appears) *
2.BD-RE (25GB) 2X (Ver 2.1) - Infiniti - HD Broadcast (HG Mode) - Playback Correct (AAC audio transcoded to DD)*
 
Last edited by a moderator:
DMR-BW880 Freeview HD Blu-ray Recorder (BD-RE recording of World Cup football from BBC HD on Freeview)

Works fine in a Panasonic DMR-BS850 Blu-ray recorder

WinDVD - no sound on my computer, but picture fine - presumably missing the appropriate codec for the HE-AAC sound
 
Last edited:
Well if blue ray discs from recordings in DR mode do not play in most blue ray players or computers, using this mode is in essence only good as a PVR. Watching on hard drive only is something even basic dvd recorders now have. This is a blue ray recorder and should be able to be used as such.
 
Well if blue ray discs from recordings in DR mode do not play in most blue ray players or computers, using this mode is in essence only good as a PVR. Watching on hard drive only is something even basic dvd recorders now have. This is a blue ray recorder and should be able to be used as such.



When bluray discs first came along they would not play in any existing DVD disc players.... but that is the nature of progress.

It is the same issue here.
In time, bluray players will more commonly support the DR mode.
Plus of course there are many other modes which permit discs to be used with any bluray player without any problem.
 
I just dubbed a show form my 880 and cannot seem to be able to finalise the BD disc or create a menu. The orginal recording to harddrive was in high definition in DR mode. For compatability with other players I dubbed it in HG mode to the BD-RE disc. Under step 4 of COPY is Other Settings has Subtitles which you can change but the other option Finalise is greyed out and shows as off and I cannot get to. I proceeded without this thinking I could finalise after dubbing was done.

I dubbed it to a dual layer BD - RE (rewritable) 50 gb disc (version 2.1). After finished I went to Blue Ray Disc Management, and finalise does not come up as an option. How do I finalise or create a menu for this?
 
I just dubbed a show form my 880 and cannot seem to be able to finalise the BD disc or create a menu. The orginal recording to harddrive was in high definition in DR mode. For compatability with other players I dubbed it in HG mode to the BD-RE disc. Under step 4 of COPY is Other Settings has Subtitles which you can change but the other option Finalise is greyed out and shows as off and I cannot get to. I proceeded without this thinking I could finalise after dubbing was done.

I dubbed it to a dual layer BD - RE (rewritable) 50 gb disc (version 2.1). After finished I went to Blue Ray Disc Management, and finalise does not come up as an option. How do I finalise or create a menu for this?

Finalise only applies to : [-R] [-R]DL] [-RW‹V›] [+R] [+R]DL] discs.

and Create top menu only applies to: [+RW] discs)
 
You do need to finalise BD discs. (Certainly the BD-R type. )
I can't comment on the BD-RE type.
 
Last edited:
A BD-RE doesn't get finalised, hence the lack of such an option.
 
You do need to finalise BD discs. (Certainly the BD-R type. )
I can't comment on the BD-RE type.

It's not actually necessary to finalise BD-R discs for compatibility.

It's an option- to prevent editing or further recording.
 
I know this thread has almost seemingly died, but my recent experience with one of the latest Panasonic Bluray players - DMP-BD75 probably deserves a mention.

In spite of 2 lengthy calls to Panasonic Help, I could not get help for the fact that none of several BD-RE's that I recorded on my BS750 would, as delivered, play the DR HD content on this player at all.
The suggestions were the usual suspects- Make of disc, Type of disc etc. plus the vague get-out in the players manual stating "Discs recorded in DR mode using Panasonic Bluray Disc Recorders may not playback the audio etc. correctly"

I was pretty disappointed as previous posts concluded that Panasonic units would playback DR content correctly.

However, as usual one should read or explore the manual!
What I discovered was that a setting existed:

Mixed Data Disc Option
Select the playback contents on discs with both data files and Video.

≥ If “MP3/JPEG/DivX” is selected, the video menu function
is unavailable.

≥ If “BDAV/AVCHD” is selected, data file cannot be played
back.


Now it turns out that the default is the first which did not allow playback.
Changing it to "BDAV/AVCHD" then allowed perfect video playback with addition of AD commentary on some documentary type content which I have not found a way of muting as yet. AVCHD from Panny Camcorder persists in showing the date/time of recording whereas it shows momentarily on the BS 750.

I've no idea what the "Mixed Data" thing is, as to my knowledge, the discs are video files only?

Any comments?

Jon
 
Some compatibilty information to report using Panasonic DMR-BW780 recorder:

Panasonic DMP-BDP50, Firmware vers: 2.0
BD-R (25GB) 4X (Ver 1.2) - TDK - HD Broadcast (HG Mode) - Playback Correct

LG BD565, Firmware vers: BD.8.31.356.C
BD-R (25GB) 4X (Ver 1.2) - TDK - HD Broadcast (HG Mode) - Playback Correct
(but title list in Chinese/Japanese text and no thumbnail, also note previous FW didn't have chapter skip function)

Philips BDP3100, Firmware vers: V1015.1
BD-R (25GB) 4X (Ver 1.2) - TDK - HD Broadcast (HG Mode) - Playback seemed Correct (but TV reported 576p, commercial BR titles 1080i, no thumbnails)

Curtis DVD11000UK, Firmware vers: CFE_1.33.17
BD-R (25GB) 4X (Ver 1.2) - TDK - HD Broadcast (HG Mode) - No Playback (player spat out disc after several attempts, profile version issue?)
 
Last edited:

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom