Trouble reading +DV with Toshiba SD-210E after DVD Authoring

[DSHolloway]

Am I using incorrect settings when using Movie Factory 4.2 with DVD+R DVDs. I have made several +R DVDs for my daughter-in-law who has a Toshiba SD-210E Player which can read +DVD, yet not mine created with M.Factory why?
No problem with DVD-R discs, Help!

[Terry Stetler]

That deck appears to be a bit choosy as to what brand of media ie will acccept. Check out this page on VideoHelp.com for specifics;

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers?DVD ... me&hits=25

You might want to keep their main page handy as well. There is all manner of information there about decks, burners, brands of blanks etc. etc. etc.

http://www.videohelp.com/

Take this for what it's worth, but in my experience the cheap Chinese decks will play about anything round with a hole in it. Many times I've seen expensive name-brand decks fall on their face with discs that play just fine in el-cheapo decks by Norcent, Cyberhome, APEX etc.

Haven't tried a sliced bagel yet, but....

[DSHolloway]

Thanks for your response & for the links Terry, looks like you are right about disc sensitivity as my daughter-in-law has told me that she has been given a +R disc that has played. I have used Verbatim discs for this last job I did for her which obviously the player does not like. I tested the discs on a Pioneer DV-565A which tackles most types and the Verbatim plays without trouble. I also have a Panasonic DMR-E50 Recorder which I know only favours -R etc.
How does one deal with these various standards and disc sensitivities when it is not possible to know what player is being used? Wouldn't it be easier if there was just one standard!

[Terry Stetler]

It's like the US tax code: there is just one set of standards, but a lot of interpretations

I'm suprised that Verbatim discs have given you trouble as they're usually very reliable, but then one can never tell about how a given burner + disc brand + player combination will behave. Another factor is the +R disc type. Some players, especially older ones, do better with -R's

You might also want to install the latest Ulead Burning Pack. This patch provides support for new burners plus it often patches the Ulead drivers for exising burners. Never can tell....

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

[Devil]

Another point you may care to consider: update the firmware on your burner. This may make a difference.

[Terry Stetler]

Quite true, but be very careful and follow the firmware installation instructions to the letter. Mess it up (accidental power down during the flash etc.) and your burner becomes a doorstop until you can get it fixed. Sometimes you can just repeat the flash, but other times not.

In other words: don't do it during a storm or with a kid in the room

[Scenestealer]

There is athing you can do with +R's if you have the right burner that supports it and that is to use a piece of free software that "bitsets" the lead in on the disc so that it appears as a straight DVD-ROM to the player.
Most all players play ROM's.

My NEC2500 burner wont support bitsetting and my Toshiba SD1300
wont play +R's - bummer - but I have managed to play a +R where I think it had been bitset.

Ss

[Terry Stetler]

Bitsetting sets the disc media type to "DVD-Video". Many burners do this automatically, including my LG's and my neighbors Toshiba, Pioneer and BenQ.

As to others I cannot say but you do have to watch out for burners that only do auto bitsetting on dual layers. Others can do them on single, dual or RW, though it may not be listed in the specs. Google time

[DSHolloway]

Thank you for your advice, have installed the Ulead Burning Pack Terry and am waiting for my computer expert son to give me guidance on the firmware update of my DVD burner in my PC (Plextor PX-708A). Thanks for the advice Devil; after seeing the Plextor web site downloads for this burner I appreciate the need to be cautious as advised. It certainly appears that there are a number of fixes for the Plextor that seem relevant.
Anybody out there using the Ulead MPEG 4 plug-in; any comments welcome as I am thinking of acquiring it. What compression does one achieve on a standard DVD of 4.7 GB and would it be better to use a dual layer drive with standard MPEG 2 compression and suitable DVDs to get more on a single disc?