DVD does not play on DVD player

Yes, disk brand could be another factor.

The last show I worked on, I had to "fix" someone's dvd that would only play on a computer and needed to play in a regular dvd player. I found the .VOB file I needed, used Quicktime Pro with the MPEG2 addon to convert the file to .mov and created a new dvd with iDVD. The new dvd worked fine in their dvd player for the booth monitors. I have no idea how the original dvd was made so I don't know if it was a disk problem or what.

Lauri,
Thank you very much for your response. I had not known of the work-around for "reluctant" players which you have provided. I'll have to try this method to see if I can get my movies to play in the Panasonic player.

(I'm also waiting for delivery of a Philips DVD player (DVP642). My product search indicates this is one model which has better "error correction" than the Panasonic and many others.)

Of course - I also hope I adequately addressed your question about the brand / quality relationship of DVD media disks.
Regards,
macnoel

Actually I need to correct my post. I actually opened the .VOB file in MPEG Streamclip to convert to .mov. It's a free utility for converting files. It told me I needed the MPEG2 addon for Quicktime before it could convert to .mov. Quicktime Pro can open VOB files too so it probably would have been able to convert it, too, with the MPEG2 addon that you have to buy from Apple separately for $20.

Actually I need to correct my post. I actually opened
the .VOB file in MPEG Streamclip to convert to .mov.
It's a free utility for converting files. It told me
I needed the MPEG2 addon for Quicktime before it
could convert to .mov. Quicktime Pro can open VOB
files too so it probably would have been able to
convert it, too, with the MPEG2 addon that you have
to buy from Apple separately for $20.

Thanks too for this clarification. I was wondering... but have learned how to "google" well enough to have found this information with a bit more work.
It's just very nice of you to provide this shortcut to my searching.

I wasn't successful with a 16x capable DVD disk but was
successful with an 8x capable disk. The actual burn
speed used for both was the same and I tried both an
image and a direct burn. I should have known not to
buy disks with capable speeds much faster than my
Powerbook burner but apparently I grabbed those and
they definitely don't work in my dvd player.

Yes - trying to use a disc with a higher rated burn speed than your drive is rated for usually/often won't work. Some early drives (2x rated) could be damaged trying to burn high speed media without a firmware update.

I'm still using 2x and 4x rated discs but they are getting difficult to find.

Hello Macnoel,

I investigated and learned there are many DVD set top players which will not play homemade videos "properly" or at all.

How did you investigate this/what are the sources for this information?

Like your friend, i create DVDs for a living and haven't had much of a problem. I burn between 60 and 90 DVDs per month and have a failure rate of about 0.5% and not all of them can be attributed to burn issues.

While it is true that there are stand-alone DVD players that do not accept DVD-R media (or are very picky), I wouldn't go so far as to say that there are many DVD players, which will not play home-made videos properly/at all.
I believe most of these issues can be eliminated at the source. Authoring/encoding, burn speed, DVD media and the burner itself are all factors that contribute to "coasters" - but all these factors can be controlled and errors eliminated

mish

PS: this is not a rant, just an opinion .... no offense 🙂

I understand that I need to slow down my burn speed since I am having problems getting my dvds to play on all media. I have made a disk image, but in disk utility, the option to change the burn speed remains gray and unusable. Why can't I get it to allow me to change the speed?

artieegirl

From my original post, I meant to say "play on all DVD players" not "media."

artieegirl

Hello mishmumken,

Yours is a proper and reasonable question - no offense taken.

My research was (of necessity) limited by the time available. But to answer your question I took three paths:
1. My own experience playing my own DVD videos and those of a more experienced friend (apparently with experience comparable to your own) on my Panasonic PD-V4743 produced many problems with these disks: skipping and freezes being the most prevalent symptoms.

2. I posted a request for recommendations for the "best" players to be used for non-commercial DVS (i.e., "homemade videos") on the MacAddict forums.
(Used this forum before and have gotten very good results - aside from the usual wisecracks.) The majority of recommendations were for the Philips DVP642.

3. I tried to verify the recommendations for the Philips by checking (a) Philips' published specs and (b) reviews. I noticed this model is touted as "if you've got it, this [unit] can play it" capable player. Also saw that Philips' specs do specify it will play home videos.

I just got delivery of one of these (DVP642) players yesterday and have only had time to do the set up, read the manual and only started tests today.

So far: It looks as if it's a question of variabilities in stand alone players being an "added complication" - in no way mitigating what you and everyone else says about the need for care in producing our own DVD videos.

Specifically: What I've found so far (and this is after trying only 3 homemade videos - produced with iMovie and iDVD) is that the Philips does indeed have better error correction capability [this is the essential lack in some players]. But - it would still not play one of the DVDs produced by my friend. I notice that it played the first chapter (of 5) perfectly - I was amazed. But during Chapter 2 - pauses appeared. During Chapters 3-5, the player simply wouldn't play the video segments and repored "disk error" for each.

I should add - I've also tested "bargain priced" commercial DVDs with the Philips and those all played better than they do with my Panasonic. This only confirms: some stand alone players do not have enough error correction software or the software installed is just "minimum needed to get by."

My point stands: this variability in consumer players is an added complication for home video producers. When I bought the Panasonic, I wanted only a "durable & high quality" player but did not at that time have ANY idea I'd eventually be making my own videos or playing videos provided by friends & family.

Also - when I discovered the Panasonic wasn't able to play homemade videos, I took it in for service at the original sellers' store. It was pronounced trouble free (and there was no charge for the diagnosis).

I hope this answers your question. I've tried to be as thorough in checking this matter as possible for me at this time.

I did run across an interesting (and ironic) question during my research. The question was (and is): Why can "garage studio" **** producers make DVDs for mass distribution while "family entertainment" home producers struggle to produce 3 copies of wedding and birthday party videos - which end up "useless" on Aunt Jenny's DVD player?

For that matter: you have said that your videos have few or no problems when played in a variety of players. Sincerely : Perhaps you should write a tutorial. It would save the rest of us a LOT of headaches.

Hello Macnoel,

thanks for the thorough explanation.

The majority of recommendations were for the Philips DVP642.
Philips - IMHO - has a very good reputation, qualitywise, but I think you will find something that it will not play - just wait until you get the wrong DVD media brand.

But - it would still not play one of the DVDs produced by my friend.
It seems to me that the problems with the DVD burned by your friend are not related to specific stand-alone DVD player. Depending on the software he uses, there can be several probable causes.

Why can "garage studio" producers make DVDs for mass distribution while "family entertainment" home producers struggle to produce 3 copies of wedding and birthday party videos
DVDs for mass distribution are not being burned but pressed.

Perhaps you should write a tutorial
That is very flattering - but there isn't really much to say .... a Mac just works out of the box 🙂
What I do is this:

• edit the footage in iMovie, save and close when done.
• open new iDVD project, select a theme and modify until satisfied. Note: unclick Motion unless you need to check the performance of the menu.
• import the movie by choosing File > Import > Video from the menu
• save as disk image
• burn the disk image with Toast Titanium at 2x to Ritek printable DVD-R
• verify the DVD on my Toshiba laptop and a chinese no-name DVD player

things I avoid:

• sharing to iDVD from iMovie. I tried that in the beginning but it was nothing but headaches
• burning more than 5 DVDs in a row. An overheating burner produces errors
• chapters. I've had some skipping when setting chapter markers, nothing serious for home use but certainly not to be given to a customer. For more "complicated" things with chapters/multiple menus I use DVDSP (and FCE)
• movies longer than 90 min.

DVDs that do not play, may do so for a number of (obscure) reasons. To give you an example: I had a customer 2 weeks ago who was anxious to watch his DVD, so he popped the thing into the player in the hotel room - and got a message saying "bad disk". He called me and I assured him I'd fix the problem in no time. So I sat down and burned another one at 1x instead of 2x. The next day he thanked me profusely for fixing the issue. So I asked him, if he remembered what brand DVD player was installed in the hotel .... turned out to be the same chinese no-name brand (and model!) as mine - go figure.

mish

Mish,
First of all, let me thank you for sharing your "do" and "don't" lists. This is very helpful - and I suspect many will benefit besides myself.

Also, I did not know of the specific manufacturing differences between home burned and commercially pressed DVD videos. Thanks for adding to my knowledge - without that detail, it was puzzling to me.

Finally - I can confirm (from my further testing) that my friend's DVDs are (in themselves) defective. Neither of the two played on my new Philips player.
Detail: each of the two showed early promise but problems started after the first chapter.

So your info about using DVD-SP and Final Cut Express for setting chapters may be the answer. (Although its disappointing to learn that it may take much larger expenditures of money to get around such problems.)

I also re-checked them by playing both movies with DVD Player on my eMac: both played w/o trouble and were beatifully composed, a pleasure to watch. (What a shame they won't play on either of my two stand alone players!)

Now I will begin again with a project I started (before I got a quality burner) a while ago. I'll follow your recommendations in addition to "standard operating procedures" and (like my friend) already have high quality blanks on hand.

Regards,
Macnoel

Hi Alps:

I've been away these last few days getting married and I come back to see so many interesting posts from you all. Thank you all very much for the help and advice.

Hmmm...maybe one more piece of advice, if you don't mind...perhaps you should spend some time with the new spouse-we'll be here when you get back!

LOL! Congratulations!

:)Sue

....perhaps you should spend some time with the new spouse
Your advice is always the best, Sue 🙂

We'll be here when you get back!
Promised!

Alps,
Congratulations!

mish

Hi Sue

100%

I use to recommend an egg-timer to keep time in control and that the spous
may be could get a fair share of computing-time - may be also a shared
video or photo interest.

The intermarrital understanding could increase and be more positive than
people using editing (or gaming) as an escape rout. (In my opinion No Good - path)

AND Congratulation Alps !!!! 😉

Yours Bengt W