problems with Indexing

[wally44]

Not sure that this is a software problem at all - so lets make that point right away...
I am finding (intermittent) problems using the index that is created on the burned DVD. This is universal - I have the same issue with four different DVD players, so I am beginning to suspect the media - or maybe even the labels that I have put on the DVDs - these are quite thick (CD-Stomper) so maybe they are affecting the drive motors/balance etc. However, I have tried a DVD without any label an it still has an intermttent problem. It seems that the players cannot always find the index, and then other times the index appears and works on some chapters but not others.
If I use the "next topic" arrow on the players rather than the index page I can progress to each index point, and I can return to the start.
Does anyone have a suggestion? Is the problem something to do with the setup options I am using? I am importing the video from some old VHS tape, converting it to 720-576 (PAL standard) constant bit rate (8000).
Is it the media - currently using TDK DVD-R 1-8x.

[Ken Berry]

One possibility is not the media itself, but the speed of burning. You are using 8x discs, but it has been my experience burning a variety of brands discs at 8x often produces problems (even if the disc is rated to burn at 8x or even 12x -- I haven't yet experimented with 16x; and regardless of which of two 16x burners I use, a Pioneer and an LG). Sometimes I get a laser tracking error message, sometimes the disc appears to burn but when I do it in Nero and do a verify after the burn, I get loads of verification errors; or else if I play the disc in a stand alone DVD player, it sometimes skips or jumps.

So at the moment, I tend to burn nothing at speeds higher than 4x. As I said here a few days ago, think of burning at a slower speed as giving the laser in the burner more opportunity to burn in the tracks well; whereas going at a higher speed means the data is being transmitted much faster and might not be burned 'deep' enough to play back properly -- especially if your DVD player is one of the more expensive and finicky brands.

One other comment, though I don't think it has a thing to do with your problem, but for a DVD using material which came from VHS tapes, you seem to be using too high a bitrate (8000 bps). Anything much higher than about 4500 or 6000 at the most, will just not give you any better quality than the VHS material you captured, and it will just take up space on the disc when you could have fitted more on using the lower bitrate.

[wally44]

Thanks for the help, Ken. I'll let you know how things go a bit later today.

[PeterMilliken]

Ken makes some good points - another is what brand DVD disc(s) are you using? I have noticed that the "better" brands have dropped enough in price that they are showing up at computer fairs in spindles of 50 i.e. I don't buy the Princo's anymore (even though I never experienced any problems with them!) but tend towards the TDK ($29 for a spindle) or Verbatim ($39 for a spindle). I was in Melbourne last week at the Victoria Markets and somebody there was selling Verbatim spindles for $33 (cash) - I didn't buy as I was concerned about luggage weight going back home, my wife had already been shopping for 2 days

Peter