Sony SR7 -> Toshiba HD-A2 Problem

[doles2112]

I am having playback problems on my Toshiba HD-A2 when I create an HD-DVD disc (on DVD+R media) with vs11+. I am capturing video using a Sony SR7 (AVCHD).

The video will play perfectly for about 5 seconds and then the video and audio stutters. If I fast forward for a second or two and press play, the video will again play perfectly for about 5 seconds and then resume stuttering, etc.

I've created discs with with VS 11+, VS 11+ w/ the Update pack released 11/6 and with the Power Pack released 11/8. I also updated the HD-A2 to its latest firmware (v2.5) but saw no change.

The discs do play fine on my PC using an HD DVD-ROM and DVDPlay software.

Does anyone have any ideas?

-David

[Ken Berry]

The first thing that springs to mind when I hear 'stuttering playback' is that your burning speed may have been too high. Generally, we recommend against burning at the rated speed of the disc. Instead, it is often better to ratchet the speed down by at least one, or preferably two speeds down from the top rated speed.

I have no idea what might be the preferred type or brand of your Toshiba, though generally the more expensive brand name players like that tend to be the more finicky about what they will or will not play. Have you burned and successfully played other DVDs in it using the same batch of DVD blanks?

[etech6355]

Hi,
The A2 does not like all the DVD+R dvd's on the market.
Also different burners burn the DVD+R disk a little different.

Your experiencing where the A2 cannot read the data fast enough.
Try using a DVD-R disk, when I did use a DVD+R dvd I manually changed the "BookType" to DVD-ROM, not all burners will do this.

Because your video is HighDef the disk is commonly called a 3XDVD, meaning it's transferring 3 times above the standard dvd setting. You must have a good burn and compliant disks to work in the A2. I hear Verbatim makes the best for the A2 and others needed to buy a new dvd burner.

But try a DVD-R disk first. If you read the specs on the A2 in the manual DVD+R disks are not listed as compatible media. Only DVD-R, DVD-RW disks.

[doles2112]

I used DVD-R media and it is playing back fine now. Thanks for the help.

-David

[millerdp070]

Tried a test burn today and had the same problem... but I'm also using +R's and at a fast burn rate. Never had a problem with non-HD in this format. Will run out tomorrow and get -R's and slow the burn down and let you know what happens.

Dave

[dblml320]

I used DVD-R media and it is playing back fine now. Thanks for the help.

-David

This is interesting ... I have a Toshiba HD-A3 player. I burned a DVD-R with a test HD project on DVD-R and it had the same problems you mention.

So I burned a DVD+R, and it played fine. However, I am not %100 sure it was just the media. The default profile in VS11 defaults to LPCM audio. The audio on the failing DVD-R disc sounded pretty bad. So I went into the profile and changed the audio to Dolby Digital 2.0 before I burned the DVD+R which worked fine.

So I postulate that the LPCM audio data rate might be overrunning the player, and this causes the stops and stutters.

I will be conducting more tests in the coming days and will append what I find ...

[etech6355]

I don't know the exact specs on the A2 or A3 units but if your using standard HDV then IF your video is CBR (Constant Bit Rate) then then total bit-rate would be 25MBS + 1.536MBS = 26.536MBS (close enough).

Sounds to me like you may have a compatibility issue with your dvd burner & the media your using. You should try to find out what the maximum bit-rate the Toshiba's will play and in what format. TS (transport stream) or PS (program stream). I know designs using some Sigma Tech de-coders use 25MBS for TS & 18MBS for PS.
The only problems I've heard of with the Toshiba's is the media causing problems, including some of my burns.