Problems burning DVD that will play on normal DVD players

[SPG40]

I am new to DVD aurthoring and would like to take advantage of the wealth of experience on this site.

I have edited a small video from DV , 3 parts total 22 mins long.
With nice menu, first play clip and 5 min slide show.
It all looks fine in the preview window, but when I burn a disc the problems start.
I can not seem to get a disc to play on a range of DVD players no mater what I do.
I originally set the disc template to High quality 2 pass encoding and the results were very good when played on the computer (win DVD) but on my normal DVD player some sections were jerky and in the slide show the sound would splat when the picture changed.
If I use a DVD+RW it would be fine but with a DVD+R I would get problems.
I have tried deleting the image file to force it to recode the AVi files and each time it is slightly different.
I have tried lower quality ie good or standard, thinking that it might be the data rate for the DVD that my player is not happy with. But still seem to have problems, as well as blocky pics.

I have to make several copys to play on a verviety of players and so compatibility is esential

I have bought a new DVD writer and different disks (Intenso 1x-4x DVD+R) but it has made no difference.

What are the best settings for max compatibility with DVD players?
I have looked at the advanced setting and might have unintentionally changed some!

I have already spent far to much time on this project, and the wife is getting fractious!
So any advice would be welcome!

One other bit of information, the DV footage was digitised from a Sony Handycam into
Avid DVexpress pro 4.6 but unfortunately by mistake into a 25p project rather than 25i.
This has complicated things as I could not use any motion effects, and any freeze frames had to be deinterlaced in Adobe photo elements 2.
I don’t think this is causing my problems now though as the RW disc will play on my normal DVD and TV.

Many thanks

Steve.

[dannyp]

From my humble expirience I would sugest the Following:

Try burning your project on other DVD media such as "Verbatim"
Avoid letting WS do the encoding and use complient Mpeg-2 files and
do not check the "convert to disc templet" option in WS.

As for DVD-RW indeed I noticed that this kind of media has the least
competability issues with Standalone DVD players.

your last resort might be doing the project all over again but this time with
the correct settins.(I am not familiar with Avid)

Good Luck

[SPG40]

Thanks Danny,

I have been advised today that for best compatability I should be using DVD-R discs. And that a good supplier of quality discs is to be found at www.rambox.co.uk have any of you guys had experiance of this site?
And would you agree that I would be better of using DVD-R discs?

Thanks
Steve

[DVDDoug]

And would you agree that I would be better of using DVD-R discs?

According to DigitalFAQ.com, DVD-R is the most compatible. But, some players prefer a different format, and some simply won't play any "burned" discs.

It is also possible to run-into a "bad" batch, or a brand that does not like your burner. As far as I know, the brand & quality issues are mostly related to your burner. ...Once you have a good burned disc it should play on any player that handles that format. But, some players do have better error-correction than others, and are more tolerant of defects & damage..

[JohnPJenkins]

I've had problems with compatability with DVD+ discs. DVD-R s burned with a Pioneer burner seem to work fine. Some of the off brand burners also seem to cause some problems with some players.

We use these as masters and once they are replicated by a replicator we have no problems!

[dannyp]

Steve
In DVD Burning cometability issues are wide and some times can not be explained.
As stated by DVDDoug,I also agree that the burner and media used are
the main factors in competability problems.
I have 3 different DVD burners and 2 of them have more problems then
the third one which is a "Nec 3540A".(Just recently I burned with it a Dual Layer DVD and had no problem)
As I stated before I stick to the "Verbatim" and I find it the most tolerant
media for both burners and players and it does not matter if it was a
DVD-R or a DVD+R
As for the link you provided in your post,well,I live in Israel so naturally
I am not familiar with it and with the media they sell.

Take Care
Danny

[Liamo]

Hi Steve
I used to have problems with compatibility too. For the most part in my case this was due to the brand of didc. I now go to the media section of www.videohelp.com and search the brand name of the disks to see how other users found them with various players before I burn.

Regards
Liam