DVD Freezes

[alyakhov]

I follow all the recommended procedures, use 7300 bitrate when create my MPEG files. However, the burnt DVD plays well for up to ~50 minutes and then starts freezing at different points.
please help

[THoff]

The first thing I would do is try burning at a slower speed (cut it in half). Next, try different media.

[mathis]

I took several still photos with my video camera, placed them into the timeline and put music and text over it, then, when the music stopped, the moving video from my camera began.

I created a 26 minute MPEG-2 video file, burned it to an ISO file, then onto a Memorex DVD+R using UVS 9.0. It played perfectly in my CyberHome CH DVD 300. I gave it to a friend and, although I don't know what kind of DVD Player she has, it got past the stills and the music, then it froze when the motion video started and would not continue.

I burned two copies. The other person I gave one to, watched farther into his copy than she did, but he didn't have time to watch it all the way through, so we don't know if it worked in his player. Both worked in my Cyberhome.

Tonight, we put the one I gave her in a Sony DVD player and it played about ten minutes of it before it froze. Then it started again, and kept stopping. After 17 minutes into the video, we got tried of it stopping and restarting, so we gave up. I brought it back home and just watched it all the way through on my CyberHome without any trouble.

We had just watched part of a professionally done DVD this morning and this evening in the Sony without any problems, so I feel we can rule out a dirty lens.

To create the MPEG file that I used to make the ISO file, I used the default settings in UVS9.

I had also made a six minute VCD on a Memorex CD-R CD, for someone else of something else, and it worked perfectly in my CyberHome, but it didn't work on her Sony DVD/CD/VCD player. It did work on her sisters player, but it did get choppy after a little while. I don't know what kind her sister has, though.

Does anyone know why my CyberHome would be happy with my DVD and VCD, but other, more expensive, DVD players aren't?

I do have a Dell and the Memorex DVD+R pack came with a warning for a Firmware Upgrade, but Dell isn't listed, so I haven't attempted to do that.

I have also made several DVDs for someone else, and I don't know what kind of DVD player she has, but they work pefectly for her, too.

Thanks...
Mathis...

[Ken Berry]

All I can say is 'welcome to the wonderful world of DVD players and home made DVDs'!!! Commercial DVDs are produced by a different method (pressing) than the ones we produce at home by actually burning in a track by laser.

It has been my experience -- and that of many others on this Board -- that stand-alone DVD players may have problems with a home-made DVD for a variety of reasons. It may be the type of media (some will play +R, some won't, ditto for -R, and even more so for +RW). Some don't like certain brands, possibly because of the colour dye used on them. Some are finiskcy about DVDs which have been burned at too high a speed so that the tracks are not correctly 'burned in' into the disc itself. Some don't like DVDs which have too high a bitrate. Quite a lot of players won't play home made VCDs at all, and those that do may not play SVCDs.

But it also seems that the the brand name players, and particularly the more expensive ones, are likely to be more finicky than cheaper or very cheap unknown brands imported from China or Taiwan which seem to play just about anything you put in them.

[GeorgeW]

I follow all the recommended procedures, use 7300 bitrate when create my MPEG files. However, the burnt DVD plays well for up to ~50 minutes and then starts freezing at different points.
please help

One potential problem is if you used VBR encoding (Vriable Bitrate encoding) -- the video bitrate might actually spike above your requested 7300kbps. The spike might cause stuttering -- try CBR encoding instead (Constant Bitrate).

What type of audio did you use (LPCM, mpg, Dolby Digital)

If you used LPCM, your total bitrate might be too high (7300kbps + 1536kbps audio would be ~8,836kbps -- might vary if you used VBR instead of CBR).

Although this is within the DVD Spec, some dvd players will have a problem keeping up with the higher bitrate (on home made dvd's). So if you are using LPCM audio, try Dolby Digital or even mpeg audio at 192 or 224kbps. NOTE: mpeg audio might have a problem playing on some NTSC DVD Players.

And there's always the other problems as already mentioned in this thread (brand/type of disc, dvd player, dvd burner, burn speed, total space used on disc, etc...).

hth,
George