[Vincent Rosati]

I’d go to the drive manufacturer’s website and check for a firmware update – follow all of the update instructions.
But, as you’re noticing an issue with playback of commercial DVDs, the drive may be failing and need to be replaced. Or maybe the lense is just dirty.

Memorex should be of suitable quality, but I’d move to DVD-R when you go for your next media purchase.

Almost forgot, when using a dedicated burning app, usually there is an option to “verify” the burn. Your burns may have errors. It takes a few minutes to run a verification on a DVD, but if you want your work to last forever it’s a small effort.

Can you pull the programs off the DVDs and get them back on your hard drive – this can sometimes determine if the burn was bad?

[Vincent Rosati]

Is the client attempting Disk-At-Once, or Disk Copy.
They should load the program contents onto a hard drive, and ideally defragment the drive, than burn.
??
Are you able to pull the program off of the DVD back onto your hard drive?
I’ve seen “cyclical redundancy” errors that don’t affect playback (error correction perhaps), but prevent a DVD program from being able to be copied.

[Vincent Rosati]

I don’t have version 1, so these are just general ideas.
Sounds like the AUTORUN.INF file is calling for an app that is not a valid win32 application.
Try right-clicking on the disc in My Computer, and select Explore. Look for an EXE or INS file called Installer, or AutoPlay, or something like that.

[Vincent Rosati]

Hello Bethan,

Try using brand-name madia and burn at your drive’s slowest speed.
Perhaps your bitrates are too high? 9000kbps Would be a high bitrate.
Some DVD players don’t like DVD+R, as the format is not endorsed by the DVD regulating body and does not hold the DVD logo.
I’m a supporter of using dedicated app’s. I never allow Encore to transcode. I encode with MainConcept MPEG Pro for Premiere, as it allows for a great deal of control. I test all of my encoded files in a dummy Encore project, for compatibility. Than, when it come time to author, there are no surprises with regard to transcoding or image quality. Encore will split DVD compliant MPEGs into 1GB chunks without transcoding.
If you try a similar method, I’d recommend testing with a short clip as you fine tune (and document) your compression settings.

Also, I only will write a DVD Folder out of Encore, than I’ll burn with a dedicated app – Nero.

If you get a chance, fill out your profile so we can see what system and app’s you’re working with.

Just some thoughts
Vince

[Vincent Rosati]

Is there any stuttering or odd noise from the drive itself, or just the display?
How well do commercial DVDs perform in the funky drive?
Perhaps the drive manufacturer offers a firmware update that may address a known issue.
Try writing the Encore project as a DVD Folder. Than burn the DVD with a dedicated burning app (ie: Nero or Toast).
Is your media generic or brand-name? For DVD-Video, brand-name DVD-R burned at the drives slowest speed is a good idea.

Just some thoughts

[Vincent Rosati]

First thing… Let us all pray that you get through this nightmare. 🙂 A moment of silence…
Okay than, the best way depends on your output needs.
DVDs, or Digital Versatile Discs, are named in part because you can create a DVD with files in multiple formats. You can have menus and programs in both 16:9 and 4:3, on one disc.
But this may not help you?

You really answered your own question. As a matter of taste, I would also upscale the 4:3 source to match the 16:9 project.

You could select all of the 4:3 clips in the Project window, right click/Interpret Footage/Conform to 16:9 – which will horizontally stretch the video. If the source is analog, you’ll likely have black bars on the sides which won’t be visible on a CRT.

A higher quality option would be some type of remastering process. First, deinterlace the 4:3 footage (Premiere by r-clicking on the clip in the timeline and selecting Field Option/Always Deinterlace, After Effects (better), DVFilm Maker (better), Magic Bullet (better), FieldsKit Deinterlacer (better), etc.)
Than, upscale the PAR 0.9 conformed 4:3 source (within the 16:9 project) to about 140% – this will keep your display aspect ratio correct. (In Premiere, use Video Effects/Distort/Transform to resize source material, not Effect Controls/Motion.)

One positive result in upscaling 4:3 to fit in a 16:9 frame is you can now “tilt” & scan the video, allowing for more interesting framing.

Always deinterlace before scaling interlaced video.

Just some thoughts that may help you make your decision.

[Vincent Rosati]

Maybe you’re looking for something like this…
https://www.newinelabs.com/rosati/tutorials/Curved_Gradients_v11.ai

These options would require you to create a blended object to use as an Art Brush, as opposed to using a gradient.
The result would give you a fully editable path.

[Vincent Rosati]

I imagine your plasma is a 16:9 display? If so, you’d want to edit in a 16:9 project. Regardless, you’ll need to reformat you images.
I’d just multiply the height dimension of the square pixel images by 1.2, interpret the images as Square Pixels once in Premiere, than Effect/Transform/Distort the height to about 83.5%.

Regarding Max, I’m not sure if Max allows for variable PARs. So, if you’re working with square pixel output, set the frame size to 864×480, and the clip should drop perfectly into a 16:9 project.

Another thought, if this is ever going to be seen on a CRT you might want to “deflicker” your still images…
https://www.wrigleyvideo.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t23238.html

Just some ideas…

[Vincent Rosati]

Check the info palette to make sure the object size is in whole numbers.
Than, either make the artboard match the size of the object, or move the object so it’s top-left corner is at the 0,0 position of the artboard (also a top-left corner).
This assures that your object is properly aligned within a pixel grid.

[Vincent Rosati]

Not sure if I’ll answer this correctly.. If you are creating the bevel with Illustrator’s Effect/3D/Extrude and Bevel, you’ll probably need to Object/Expand Appearance, as all of the Effects in Illustrator are live generators and do not alter the underlying vector. Press Ctrl+Y (or, View Outlines)to view your vector lines.
Just a thought.