Chewie Is Pissed Off...

[Chewie]

Over the past few weeks I've downloaded some flix... HP3, Day After Tomorrow (bin/cues) and Shrek 2 (an avi) among them.

I had put DAT and S2 onto VCDs and they both choked in our standalone DVD player yet worked fine in all our puters so I put it down to the cheap standalone.

Last week I got a Lite-On 8x8x4x4x40 DVD+-RW drive and set about putting them onto DVD discs.
HP3 appears to have worked fine - I put a menu on it and split it into chapters which work great - but S2 choked in our standalone at the same point as the VCDs did.
It's obvious to me that there must be a problem with the original video file so I've spent the last four days sourcing another version (videocd's SVCD bin/cues but not the 'proper') and also grabbing Troy (SVCD) as well.
Last night I left the computer doing Troy and did the fresh S2 this afternoon.
Troy freezes after 1hr19-ish and S2 about 10minutes. :(

The files all came in tar-packed rar format so mIRC downloads are not the problem, it's gotta be either the way I've done things or the original files.

The first S2 DVD was done by joining/encoding in TMPGEnc and burning with NeroVision v2.
For HP3 I just copied the dat files to HDD, renamed them mpg then used NeroVision2 to join/transcode/burn.
Troy was done by mounting the bins, joining/encoding the mpgs with TMPGEnc and burning with NeroVision2. The mpg files in these bins are 25fps which I understand is PAL standard.
S2 today was done by mounting the bins, then adding the mpgs to an NV2 project (it copies them to HDD) then used NV2 to join/transcode/burn.

Now, can anyone suggest either...
- where I'm going wrong, or
- a utility to check the originals for errors that could cause freezing (I've tried DivFix and it sees no problems)?
:helpsmile:

[SwampdogK]

For the avi files you could use video fixer. I find it works well.
For the rest it seems as though you are doing the right things. Are you using good quality disks for your DVD's. Whatever you do, don't use princo brand. Everyone I've talk to has had problems, and I've also had problems with ones given to me.

For the bin, cue files you can burn in Nero. Choose recorder, burn image and select the cue file. Making sure that the bin and cue file are in the same folder and the cue file does not contain a destination. ie. c:\hp2\hp2.bin would need to be changed to hp2.bin.

Hope some of this helps.

[Skillian]

Only thing I can think of is burning speed - try not to burn at faster than 4x.

[Robert00000]

The most logical explanation to your problems seems to be the disks. If the problem occurs with many movies then it cant be the files themselves.

Try a different brand of dvd r disks. The price isnt necessarily an indicator of whether the disks will work with your player. You should buy a small pack of singular disks of different brands and try them out.

[Chewie]

Well I've tried it at 2x (was doing 4x) with the same result, and also used a Lite-On disc (rather than the Mirror Platinum that I'd bought) which the standalone won't even recognise.
I've got 13 Mirro Platinum discs left of the 25 I bought and have had one good burn.

Now I'm going to spend another 10 hours trying the Snoic software that came with the drive.

[vivitron 15]

burn speed doesnt tend to be an issue with dvd as with cd-r, so i would burn at full speed.

as for the rest - the way which i have found most succesful is to convert avi>mpeg-2 with DIKO (http://www.kvcd.net)/tmpeg

then with the mpegs, convert to vob etc with TMPEG DVD AUTHOR - this takes mpeg and makes vob..then view them with cyberlink power dvd on the pc before burning as data/video with nero..

good luck :)

[Voetsek]

my home dvd player will only see memorex dvds software i have easy cd/dvd 6

and good old nero 6 works so sweet the pinnacle software i got with the pc is shite buggy and dont work get nero and some good dvds that will help

[Chewie]

Originally posted by vivitron 15@13 June 2004 - 21:50
burn speed doesnt tend to be an issue with dvd as with cd-r, so i would burn at full speed.

as for the rest - the way which i have found most succesful is to convert avi>mpeg-2 with DIKO (http://www.kvcd.net)/tmpeg

then with the mpegs, convert to vob etc with TMPEG DVD AUTHOR - this takes mpeg and makes vob..then view them with cyberlink power dvd on the pc before burning as data/video with nero..

good luck :)
I looked at that DIKO program and baulked at the amount of 'support software' that needs to go with it. :unsure:
I'm working on VCD/SVCDs anyway, so I don't need to convert to mpg.

Update on my success rate: the only disc that worked has now stopped working after four of five plays. :(

Right, I now have TMPGEnc DVD Author & TMPGEnc 3.0 Express as well as NeroVision2, Nero Burning ROM v6, Sonic MyDVD (looks like a cut-down NV), AVISynth 2.5 and DVDInfo Pro 2.
This last one is an interesting addition because with it I have learned that the Mirror discs have a manufacture code of AN32 which, according to Digital FAQ dot com (http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm), are "Pathetic garbage media, landfill material, about 0-50% success rate".

So, armed with this knowledge I'm ordering some decent media and trying again in a few days. I would be trying now, but £20 for 10 in PC World is not my idea of "Stamping Down On Prices".

Thanks to everyone for the input; you can rest assured that I'll be reporting back with the results of my next burning session.

[vivitron 15]

id look around for media - if youre in the uk, check out http://www.thedvdforums.co.uk/, where youll find some great offers and such like..id pay around 30-40p per disk for a stack of 25 at the moment
(youll need to register - takes a day or so then go to the bargain forum)

http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/SV..._Offers_15.html (http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/SVP_Communications_Special_Offers_15.html) is a recent link taken from that site for dvd disks

anyhow, if u use IRC, pm me and ill set you up with all the DIKO apps, most of which i think you can get rid of now, since the new version (which uses a free encoder - though i havent tried)

[SingaBoiy]

Originally posted by vivitron 15@14 June 2004 - 13:07
id look around for media - if youre in the uk, check out http://www.thedvdforums.co.uk/, where youll find some great offers and such like..id pay around 30-40p per disk for a stack of 25 at the moment
(youll need to register - takes a day or so then go to the bargain forum)

http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/SV..._Offers_15.html (http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/SVP_Communications_Special_Offers_15.html) is a recent link taken from that site for dvd disks

anyhow, if u use IRC, pm me and ill set you up with all the DIKO apps, most of which i think you can get rid of now, since the new version (which uses a free encoder - though i havent tried)
You know of any good, cheap US sites? I know of shop4tech and supermediastore.

100 Ritek 4x for $63 US isnt bad right? Ritek is like one of the best brands if im not mistaken.

[Chewie]

Originally posted by vivitron 15@14 June 2004 - 22:07
id look around for media - if youre in the uk, check out http://www.thedvdforums.co.uk/, where youll find some great offers and such like..id pay around 30-40p per disk for a stack of 25 at the moment
(youll need to register - takes a day or so then go to the bargain forum)

http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/SV..._Offers_15.html (http://www.blankdiscshop.co.uk/acatalog/SVP_Communications_Special_Offers_15.html) is a recent link taken from that site for dvd disks

OK, registered at the forum, although not being able to see it before registering is a little odd. :-/

I've been using SVP for a long time now; they're cheap and very reliable.

@ SingaBoiy:
Ritek's .G04 dye appears to be highly regarded. Things weren't always like this... Ritek had one of the worst names in blank disc manufaxturing due to the silvering flaking - made worse by the top layer being really shit.

[Robert00000]

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY buying a huge bundle of disks without knowing if they will work with your dvd writer and player.

As i've told so many people, find out which media is suitable with your writer and player first.

[Chewie]

Success; Datasafe with the Ritek .G04 dye seem to work fine.
:D

To think I'd spent so much time pissing around before finding it's the simplest of solutions. Still, I've learned quite a lot in the past week and a half.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

[vivitron 15]

glad to have been of help

and i know, its kinda wierd not being able to see the forum - and it can take a while to get in, but once you are its great

i login under someone else's account, so dont post much, but the bargains are amazing, and on allsorts, not just IT :)