Created DVD can't play on any stand alone player

[dk4808]

Recently upgraded from X2 to X4 (via box version). Created one DVD-V and one AVCHD (with -R disc) both only play on pc but not on any stand alone dvd player with "Unknown disk" error.
Using the same Pioneer burner which created playable DVD-V before by X2. Did I miss some setting in X4?
Another problem is with the AVCHD disc. Laptop won't play the menu at all. Had to go to the stream file and find the video content.
Please help. Thank you.

David

Intel 2nd gen i3 processor
8GB ram
520 HD

[DVDDoug]

Some DVD (players especially the older players) have trouble with "burned" discs. Some players have trouble with DVD+R, but work with DVD-R, etc. Some players can't play homemade discs at all. Maybe you need a different brand or a different batch of blank discs.

Take a look with Windows Explorer to make sure the disc has VIDEO_TS & AUDIO_TS folders. If not, something went wrong and you don't have a regular video-DVD. (If you have a menu, and the disc works on your computer, that's also a pretty good indication that it's a proper video-DVD.)

Check the disc with Nero DiscSpeed (FREE). It will make a graph of disc-reading speed, and if there are any problems, there will be a "glitch" in the graph. (You can try a known-good disc first, so you know what a good graph looks like. And a commercial dual-layer disc might look a little different from a single-layer disc. (I check ALL of my burns with DiscSpeed.)

If DiscSpeed shows a problem, that's a "burning problem". Maybe, the blank was bad, or maybe you need to burn at a slower speed, or try a different brand of discs... Worst case, you might need a new burner.

The HD disc requires an HD player (a Blu-Ray player). I've never made an AVCHD disc, so I can't help with the menu issue. You might need Blu-Ray-player software, but that's just a wild guess.

[Ken Berry]

To follow on from Doug's comment about the AVCHD disc, what software do you have on your laptop to play the AVCHD disc? As Dough suggested, it does have to be capable of detecting a Blu-Ray or AVCHD disc.

Re the SD DVD, I don't use VS to burn an actual disc. I find it much better for a couple of reasons to "burn" a DVD Folder instead on the final page of the burning module. This is a Video_TS folder just as you will find on your final burned DVD. This allows me to play the folder on a software DVD player to check everything is OK before I burn it to an actual disc. Second, I find I have a bit better control -- particularly over burning speed -- when I use Nero or a similar program to burn the folder to disc. I like to keep the burning speed as low as possible -- the theory being that the slower the burn, the "deeper" the signal is embedded in the disc, thus enhancing the possibility of as wide a variety of stand-alone players as possible playing the disc. If the disc is rated for 16x, for instance, I will try to burn it at 4x if the burner will allow it, though some will only allow 8x as the minumum for such discs, but that is OK too.

[dk4808]

Thanks for the quick response, Dvddoug.
Last known good V-dvd was burned from the same batch of blank dvd and same burner using X2 and Windows XP 64 bit.
Now I use new pc with Windows 7 (Home premium) and X4.
Just don't know what went wrong.

[dk4808]

Thank you Ken.
Pardon my ignorance but I've never burn a disc away from VS. Please teach me how to find the Video_TS file from a VS project (Edited, created menu, before burning).

David

[Ken Berry]

You proceed as normal in the burning module. Build your menu, preview it if you like, then move to the final page. The box Create Disc is ticked. So untick it, and tick Create DVD Folders instead. If you cannot see that choice, then there are two big downward pointing arrows over to the right hand side of the burning screen. Click on them and you should now see the options Create ISO File and Create DVD Folders. It creates the Video_TS folder with all your video plus menu just as if it were actually burned to a disc.

In Nero, you find the option to burn the folder to a disc.

[dk4808]

Ken,
It worked!!! Just created a V-dvd that can play on my Philips HD player.
Thank you so much.
David