Best way to make reliable DVDs…

[Craig Seeman]

Burned (as opposed to replicated) DVDs can run in to some compatibility problems with various players. When I do a burn I test with two consumer DVD players. Older players and some brands are prone to problems with burned DVDs and some may not like certain brands of media. Some don’t like high data rate peaks either.

I use Verbatim Hub Printable. I burn at 4x. I keep the peaks down to 6.5 (VERY CONSERVATIVE). Using AC3 audio provides more room to increase the video data rate. Actual data rate depends on how much you’re putting on that disc but limiting the peaks is key.

Even with all that some older players just don’t like DVD-R or DVD+R. As I said I test on two different consumer players so if it’s working on those the issue may very well be their player.

I’ve seen compatiblily rates reported at about 95%-98% for burned DVDs. Replicated is at 100%.

Don’t forget discs themselves can get dirty (dust, fingerprints) and dirt can certainly get on the playback laser. In other words I’d tell the client to try on another player (I recommend the 2 brands I test with – Sony and Samsung) before they blame your discs/burns.

[Michael Black fcp]

I’ve had this problem before and I’ve gotten into the habit of mastering a disc image in DVD Studio Pro, which I then bring into Disc Utility and burn a copy from there at 2x. Most DVD players can’t play anything that was written above 4x, but I do it at 2x just to be safe. Since then, no problems whatsoever.

(Ironically, my old G5, the first model to come out, had an older burner that burned at 2x, and I can burn right out of DVDSP without a problem.)

michaelblack

[Dan Riley]

Sorry David.

Dan

[Chris Babbitt]

Bob,

There are a couple of possible issues here. First, there was a serious problem with Compressor version 1.xx (not sure which xx) in regards to the “Best” setting or 2-pass VBR. This was resolved in version 2.0. Either upgrade or try encoding in CBR. If your project is 90 minutes or under, you should be ok.

Secondly, keep your maximum bit-rate under 7.5, and use Dolby (AC3) encoding for your audio. The brand of media you are using is reliable and well-respected, so I don’t think that’s your issue. It’s probably one of the above.

[Bill]

On a side note, I have had issues building and burning out of DVDSP. I have since altered my workflow to build out of DVDSP and burn with Toast. Since I swtitched to Toast for burning I have not had one compatibility issue.

This information was obtained somehwere on the cow in the past year or two.. a search my lead you there.

[Bob Pierce]

Thanks, everybody for your input – you guys are great. I’ll try compressing the audio, which I haven’t tried yet. I’ve always stuck with aiff and a 2 pass VBR of 6.2 (or less, for longer pieces), which if I’m not mistaken is within DVD limits. Maybe not. I’ll also try a slow burn with toast. Regarding replicated disks, I’ve always had the attitude that I want to have a good usable DVD-R to send out so that I know that I’m not duplicating the defects. Some of my clients want to run thousands of disks, which could be a very expensive mistake!
Thank you,
Bob Pierce

[David Roth weiss]

[BobP] “I’ll try compressing the audio, which I haven’t tried yet. I’ve always stuck with aiff”

Bob,

This is the #1 issue you need to address. I can assure you, there isn’t a single DVD on the shelf at Blockbuster that doesn’t use AC3 audio. The other factors in your workflow are of little consequence.

David

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Post-production Supervisor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

[Michael Black fcp]

compressed audio or not, if your DVD burner is a 16x drive and you just hit the “burn” button in DVDSP, it will burn at 16x and that disc will not play on most DVD players. I haven’t had any problems burning the disc through Disc Utility or Toast at 2x or 4x.

[Dave Mac]

As David mentions, using AIFF audio can be problematic due to the additional load (increased bit rate / bandwidth) on playback.

Playback of higher total bit rate burned DVDs usually is more difficult than a replicated DVD at the same bit rate. AIFF audio adds much more to the total bit rate “budget” than does AC3 audio.

Here’s an article (and Excel spreadsheet) that may prove helpful in determining your bit rate budget:

<https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/bit_budget.html>

Best regards,

Dave

[Raymond Tuquero]

This is a long post…But I ran through reading this with you guys…

Just wondering… Did you try exporting off of the timeline? then straight to DVD SP?
No One said anything about it…so I was just asking
Well, thats my workflow and its worked great.

-Raymond-