DVD player won't play DVDs burned by ULead

[richtersl]

I'm really stuck and getting frustrated in getting to play DVDs burned by ULead on my DVD player. They play fine on my PC but my DVD player will not recognize them.

I took the advice of one of the other posts on the same topic and tried to burn at a slower recording speed. I have PictureShow 2.0 and the slowest speed I can burn at is 4x. Tried burning at that speed and the DVD still will not play. The DVD's I have will burn as low as 1x but I can't get ULead to go any lower than 4x.

The player I have is fine because I can play other DVDs and any SVCDs on it.

Assuming I get a DVD to play, how can I be sure it will work on someone else's DVD player? I would like to give this as a gift and don't want to wind up being embarassed. Ideally I would like to give just one item, and not a VCD, SVCD, DVD #1, DVD #2, DVD #3 and make the recipient find one that will work on their DVD player.

Help!!

Linda

[bryave]

Have you tried playing it to other DVD player? You may try it on your friend's DVD player and see if it works. It could be that media is not supported on your DVD player. ^_^

[heinz-oz]

What media did you use? You don't give us any details so help can only be very general.

How did you burn your DVD? You can play mpeg files on any PC but a DVD player needs properly authored DVD's in the correct file structure, ie. Audio_TS and Video_TS folders with the VOB and IFO files inside the Video_TS folder.

Nobody can guarantee that a burned DVD, regardless of which software you used to create it, will play in any DVD player out there. Certain DVD players dislike certain media. Some people may disagree with me but I feel that DVD-R discs are more likely to be playable than DVD+R.

RW disc's, regardless of the flavour, + or -, will not be played by a large number of players out there. The list could go on.

[richtersl]

Here's what I've tried:

1. Burned to a Sony DVD+R in varying speeds. The Sony will burn at 1x - 8x. DVD did not work in my player.

2. Burned to a Fuji DVD-R. Max speed is 8x. DVD did not work in my player.

3. Checked the tech specs for the DVD player, it can play DVD-R and DVD+R. I have a Samsumg DVD2000. Found a web site with user reviews and read one by a user who wrote that the Sony DVD+R's played like a charm in his.

4. Tried the DVD's in another player. They played fine. No problems. Both the -R and +R worked.

5. Tried a store-bought DVD movie in my DVD player. It played fine on mine.

6. I used the burning tool provded by Pictureshow2 and by the ULead Disc Image Recorder to create the DVD's. Doesn't matter which one I use to burn. The DVD will not play in my player.

7. My computer is a Compaq Presario Notebook Mode V4000. The DVD drive is an HL-DT-ST-DVD-RW GCA-4080N (whatever the heck that is -- I got it from its Properties box).

Any light you can shed on this will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

Linda

[sjj1805]

Tried the DVD's in another player. They played fine. No problems. Both the -R and +R worked.

I think you have solved this one Watson!
Not ALL DVD Players are the same, some will play home made DVD's, some will not and some are a bit fussy.

[bryave]

Have you tried updating your burning engine with ulead?
Try this link: CD/DVD Burning Pack (Version: 3.6.19 .281, Release Date: 2005/07/27 )

http://www.ulead.com/tech/dps/dps.htm

Do you have other burning softwares? Temporarily disable/uninstall them first and lets see if this one works.

Hope this helps.

[skier-hughes]

Also check the bitrate if you can, lots of dvd players will not play dvds with a bitrate over 8,000k, so ensure it is below this.
The newer and cheaper the dvd player the better the chance of playing home made dvds.
My, relatively old now, pioneer mega buchs when new dvd player is fussy on what it lays, my £25 Aldi special plays anything you put in it.

I'd suspect though it's incompatibility with your dvd player.

Graham

[richtersl]

Thanks, everyone, for replying!

Is the bit rate, the number on the DVD that's followed by the letter x? As in 8x?

This is really maddening! Why can't these folks come up with one industry standard? Some play SVCDs and VCDs but not DVDs; others play VCDs and DVDs but not SVCDs; others don't play SVCDs orVCDs but will play DVDs; and others might not play a damn thing you burn.

Forgot to mention that I did update the burn engine and that didn't work, either. I tried burning on some other software that came bundled with the PC -- didn't work. And, I'm not about to buy every single brand of DVD that my local Office Staples sells to see which brand will work with my player....LOL.

Why can't I burn to the same kinds of DVDs that they sell commercially? Because they seem to not care what player they're played on!

Linda

[skier-hughes]

The dvd standard is set, but it is very very wide, it encompasses both pal and ntsc standards adn also odd frame sizes as found on the new dvd cams. Bitrates can vary from virtually 0 to over 9,000k. The bitrate should be found in the burning part of the programme. I don't use this, so am guessing, but when you have the settings for burning a dvd, you may get things like low quality, high quality, or you may be able to alter the settings manually, so picking the max, min and std bitrates.

It's a minefield until you get to grips with it.

Commercial discs are mastered, not burnt, which is why they always play.

[AnimeChick]

Tried the DVD's in another player. They played fine. No problems. Both the -R and +R worked.

I think you have solved this one Watson!
Not ALL DVD Players are the same, some will play home made DVD's, some will not and some are a bit fussy.

Agreed. Check your DVD Player here.

I don't think updating the burn engine or any patches will change anything. They only seem to work if you can't burn the DVD.