WIERDEST PROBLEM EVER

[George Wing]

Hi,

Note sure what’s going on, but I have a few questions that might help uncover potential reasons for the playback issues:

1) what recording setting do you use in the standalone recorder (i.e. 1hr, 2hr, 4 hr, etc…)?

2) when you record, is it one single recording session, or do you record multiple videos per dvd (i.e. do you have multiple recording sessions on disc 1, or disc 2, etc…)?

3) what duplicating speed do you use (16x, 8x, 4x, etc…)?

4) Do you have auto-chaptering turned on in the recorder (i.e. every 10 minutes, every 20 minutes, etc…)?

5) have you tried using dvd authoring software on your computer?

6) when disc 1 and 3 play ok, and disc 2 and 4 do not — are they all the same brand dvd disc?

Regards,
George

[Vinay Shah]

Hey,

1.) I record in the 4 hour setting on the recorder

2.) My recorder has a hard disk, so i record different videos on to the hard disk first and then burn sometimes 2 or 3 of the videos to dvd

3.) I duplicate at 2X

4.) Yes i do use auto chaptering i its set at 10mins

5.) No i haven’t used authoring software but am willing to try but will it produce the same quality 4 hour dvd as the panasonic recorder i am using and if so what is the best software available. Money is no Object.

6.) Yes all the disks are the same branded

[George Wing]

Sorry to ask more questions:

1) When you record from hard drive to the disc — can you tell if it is re-encoding — or is it just burning the recorded mpegs?

2) How long does it take to “transfer” about 4gb to a dvd disc (from the unit’s hard drive to disc)?

3) Are the pauses / freezes random — or do they appear at either the automated chapter marks, or between “segments” (between the different recordings you have on your hard drive)?

4) When you burn to disc — do you fill up the entire disc, or leave a little breathing room (I try not to go over ~4gb on a DVD5 disc). They burn from inner circle to outer edges, and sometimes the outer edges (if you fill it up to the max) are unstable due to handling and/or scratches…

5) When you use the device to burn from its hard drive to disc, does it create a standard dvd-video, or is it dvd-vr? What folders do you see on the final disc?

6) There are plenty of DVD Authoring packages for the PC — they just vary based on the features/options you want. The following “consumer” level programs have trials — so you could download and use them for the trial period:

-Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus
-Ulead VideoStudio 11.5 Plus — has more editing functions, and an authoring module similar to the MovieFactory Authoring software — just not all the bells and whistles as MovieFactory
-Sony’s DVD Architect Studio
-Mediachance’s DVDLab (they have several versions from Standard to Pro)
-and some dvd burners come bundled with suites that do dvd authoring

Regards,
George