sonotsky   660 pts.  |   Apr 18 2005  1:01PM GMT

This is one of, if not *the* biggest problems with differing DVD disc/recorder/reader formats.

DVD media may claim compatibility with a wide range of recorders/players, but up to now and for the forseeable future, you will never see media llabelled as 100% compatible (if it does, they’re lying).

A case study: I have a Lite-ON DVD +/- R/RW drive in my PC; a brand-new (less than 6 months old) Panasonic DVD player in my home theatre; and a Sony Playstation 2.

I’ve burned Maxell DVD-Rs and DVD+Rs in my PC: The -Rs will not play in the Panasonic but the +Rs will; both formats play in the PS2. I took a Maxell -R to my mother’s and put it in her no-name brand DVD player; the picture is flawless, but there is no sound and no options can bring the sound back.

I’ve burned Memorex -Rs and +Rs; the +Rs play in the PS2 but not the -Rs; neither will play in the Panasonic.

None of the data on any of the discs is encrypted or otherwise copy-protected (home movies), and all brands/formats of discs will play flawlessly in the originating Lite-On recorder in play mode.

The short answer then, WikusIT, is “experiment” - try and find that sweet spot of brand/format, and *stick to it*!!!

Good luck!

WikusIT   0 pts.  |   Apr 18 2005  5:45PM GMT

Haha

Thanks all. I’d go and try those upgrades and then just as you mentioned, continue playing around with it.

That seems like the only thing left to do.
Thank you once again
W

MarioM   0 pts.  |   Apr 18 2005  7:35PM GMT

Hi

I had the same trouble with a disc I recorded from a VHS tape on a friends VCR/DVD combo recorder until I RTFM and realised that after recording, the disc must be “finalised” to be readable on anything other than the recorder. If you haven’t done this, it’s likely the problem.

Mind you, the resulting disc had very poor playback quality (jerky with LOTS of dropped frames) on my PC and DVD player, although it played fine on the recorder.

Good luck

Mario

sonotsky   660 pts.  |   Apr 20 2005  8:24AM GMT

Stupid thought to throw out to everyone - ever noticed that when you record something (legally, like say a TV show for timeshifting purposes) on a VCR, then take the tape and play it in another VCR that is not the same make and model, the picture never quite looks the same? Either you get the creeping snow at the top/bottom of the frame, or buzzing audio, or washed-out colour, or some other anomaly?

Many of you are right now saying, “sure - unless the playing VCR’s heads are in the exact same alignment and physical condition as the recording VCR, you’ll never get the same quality.” And I’d agree.

So, really, aren’t we hitting the same problem again, only this time the “heads” are optical, and the “tape” is the disc? Any variation between the writing and reading lenses, even by a picometre, will alter how things get written and read off the disc.

Maybe that’s why my DVDs won’t work in one playback device or another, yet they *always* work when played back in the originating DVD burner.

Or maybe I’m just babbling senselessly because I haven’t had a coffee yet.

Cheers

sonotsky   660 pts.  |   Apr 20 2005  8:25AM GMT

Stupid thought to throw out to everyone - ever noticed that when you record something (legally, like say a TV show for timeshifting purposes) on a VCR, then take the tape and play it in another VCR that is not the same make and model, the picture never quite looks the same? Either you get the creeping snow at the top/bottom of the frame, or buzzing audio, or washed-out colour, or some other anomaly?

Many of you are right now saying, “sure - unless the playing VCR’s heads are in the exact same alignment and physical condition as the recording VCR, you’ll never get the same quality.” And I’d agree.

So, really, aren’t we hitting the same problem again, only this time the “heads” are optical, and the “tape” is the disc? Any variation between the writing and reading lenses, even by a picometre, will alter how things get written and read off the disc.

Maybe that’s why my DVDs won’t work in one playback device or another, yet they *always* work when played back in the originating DVD burner.

Or maybe I’m just babbling senselessly because I haven’t had a coffee yet.

Cheers

sonotsky   660 pts.  |   Apr 20 2005  8:25AM GMT

Stupid thought to throw out to everyone - ever noticed that when you record something (legally, like say a TV show for timeshifting purposes) on a VCR, then take the tape and play it in another VCR that is not the same make and model, the picture never quite looks the same? Either you get the creeping snow at the top/bottom of the frame, or buzzing audio, or washed-out colour, or some other anomaly?

Many of you are right now saying, “sure - unless the playing VCR’s heads are in the exact same alignment and physical condition as the recording VCR, you’ll never get the same quality.” And I’d agree.

So, really, aren’t we hitting the same problem again, only this time the “heads” are optical, and the “tape” is the disc? Any variation between the writing and reading lenses, even by a picometre, will alter how things get written and read off the disc.

Maybe that’s why my DVDs won’t work in one playback device or another, yet they *always* work when played back in the originating DVD burner.

Or maybe I’m just babbling senselessly because I haven’t had a coffee yet.

Cheers

sonotsky   660 pts.  |   Apr 20 2005  8:26AM GMT

Stupid thought to throw out to everyone - ever noticed that when you record something (legally, like say a TV show for timeshifting purposes) on a VCR, then take the tape and play it in another VCR that is not the same make and model, the picture never quite looks the same? Either you get the creeping snow at the top/bottom of the frame, or buzzing audio, or washed-out colour, or some other anomaly?

Many of you are right now saying, “sure - unless the playing VCR’s heads are in the exact same alignment and physical condition as the recording VCR, you’ll never get the same quality.” And I’d agree.

So, really, aren’t we hitting the same problem again, only this time the “heads” are optical, and the “tape” is the disc? Any variation between the writing and reading lenses, even by a picometre, will alter how things get written and read off the disc.

Maybe that’s why my DVDs won’t work in one playback device or another, yet they *always* work when played back in the originating DVD burner.

Or maybe I’m just babbling senselessly because I haven’t had a coffee yet.

Cheers