VS X2 DVD stops playing after a few minutes

[less2008]

-[After searching forum]

I've used VS X2 for a few years without any real issues, but now the DVD's that I make are only partially playing back before locking up (TV screen goes black).

A 2 hour dvd burnt without chapters will play back for about 1 hour then stops. A DVD made with chapters will play back for about 15 minutes then stops.

I haven't changed how I set up the DVD menu(s) - menu fade out, return to main menu after clip, bit rates, etc.

I have loaded all available updates and patches for X2 and the latest DirectX.

It doesn't seem to matter what DVD player is used. Friends and family in different parts of the country, with different types of DVDs_chaptered and non-chaptered, are telling me the same thing ..."The DVD stops playing and the screen goes black".

The only new items in my setup are Win 7 Pro, VS patches, and Philips blank DVD-R disks. I have changed the DVD burning speed in the DVD creation menu from MAX to 12x.

[Ron P.]

2-hours on what sort of disc, Single layer or Dual Layer? The latter has been a problem with VS burning. Most of the time the problem is with changing to the 2nd Layer. It would seem like this is the problem you're having, since yours will playback for 1 hr.

I would suggest splitting up your video between 2 disks. Even though the program has the ability to burn dual-layer disks, it is very difficult to get it to do so properly.

[less2008]

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These are single layer disks. The disk lable says 120 minutes, 4.7 gig.

Also, the videos are between 1:15 to 1:30 hours long and I set the bit rate to be sure I don't go into the red zone (Burn menu)

[Ron P.]

Is this occurring just on this one specific project? On all the other DVD players, does it stop in about the same place? If so the next thing to suspect is there is something, a transition, corruption, or a sudden spike in bitrate that the DVD players are choking on.

When burning are you using Single pass or Two-pass encoding? Two-pass will provide an average bitrate for the encoding, using higher bitrates for what it detects as fast motion, and lower bitrates for no or very little motion.

If you still have your project (VSP) open it and check around the 1-hour mark to see if there might be transition at that point. If so change it or remove it completely to see if you still have the problem.

It could be that a video clip has some corruption. While they may play on your PC, corruption may cause problems when re-encoded. You might try running it through a program like Super by erightsoft. Or you may need to recapture it.