Bad Burn

[MagnificentMarcus]

Has anyone ever had this problem with a set they have burned? I used the Fuji TYG02 discs to burn this set on. This is an e-mail I got from a trade I did:


**I was just about to start copying the first wave, and when i check every single dvd The whole set turned out to be blank dvd's. i have checked them on my dvd player and the actual episodes play.

but when i put it in my drive to copy them, their is no info on the dvd's themself and only copys as blanks. they are 0kb no info at all.

normally when you copy them, they at least have info on them like 3.8GB. But i check every single one and they can't copy because they register as blanks.

i have checked thse on both my computers, which also says the same. Yet it plays on my dvd player fine, which don't make sense.
Can you get me a new set made up yourself ASAP?**

Anyone have an idea what could have gone wrong? If memory serves me right I check every 5th disc by both running both verification and Nero CDspeed scan disc program and had no problems.

[lordsmurf]

It's an issue with his drive and/or drivers. No amount of extra copies will fix this. It's a problem on his end. I would not replace them.

Sometimes when I have just finished burning discs, it cannot see the discs I just burned. The drive is "locked" by the burning software (meaning Windows cannot access it, even to read the disc), and I have to close all programs, maybe even reboot the computer. This is fairly common.

And then there is the "UDF" issue, as not all version of Windows can read UDF mode discs (which is the standard for DVD-Video, either UDF only or UDF-ISO bridge). If he has anything less than Windows XP, it does not read UDF format natively (although some of them were upgraded through service packs in the years).

There are two facts here: (A) DVD player reads discs great, and (B) computer cannot even see the disc. This is not a "bad disc" issue. It's a computer problem on his end.

[Padre2]

I recently had a similar issue. Made a backup of a set of 24 dvds, and then sent those masters to the trader (I did it so I could transfer them to printable media). I had no troubles reading or copying them in my standalone duplicators or PCs. But the trader said they couldn't copy any one of them, although they play perfectly. It sounds like he had that UDF issue. I suggested his method of duplicating must be flawed, and gave him a few ideas to try (creating an ISO file image, etc.). Nothing back from him in weeks, I suspect he figured out the problem.

[tobal2]

I've had this happen before, typically after reading or burning several discs in a row without rebooting my PC's.

It's happened under those conditions for me on 2 different machines - different setups/brands/burners/operating systems, so it's not unusual...

[markatisu]

I have had the same issue on my Mac but it was similar to what Ron mentioned, I was ripping a DVD and it encountered an unreadable part so it hung and I quit the program but the drive remained locked even thought I was able to eject the DVD, a reboot fixed it by unlocking the drive at boot

I think some people just need to learn their hardware before complaining, I will only ask for a replacement if I cant get the thing to read or play in anything or if I try to make a copy and it has so many read errors it cant be saved

In your case Marcus I would not send a replacement and suggest they try reading it on another computer or doing a little more research

[MagnificentMarcus]

I must admit I didn't know that DVD Decryptor could read or convert to ISO and write or burn as well till probably six months ago. Now, that is all I do. The discs that Greg makes always have an RM folder since they come straight from his DVD recorder instead on the audio folder. The only way I can convert or copy them is to burn using Nero copy program or DVD decryptor.

[debwalsh]

Personally, I don't feel anyone has to guarantee copy-ability. Yeah, it's nice, but so long as the disc plays properly, you've provided your share of the trade. I've run into a few discs, mostly from the guy I get my unaired pilots from, that won't copy. Oh well. I take those off my list of available material, or if it's something someone I know is looking for, I copy it to high grade tape and re-record it to disc. I realize that's not practical with an entire series, but unless the trader stipulated up-front "must be able to be copied using my personal setup," I don't think you're obligated to do anything more.

[battle7]

Deb, you do know you can hook a dvd player up to your recorder and record dvd-r's don't you, it would eliminate the step of having to put it on tape, then recording it to disc, just do a disc to disc, or even just an episode. Should be able to hook it into one of the various different inputs, I know my panasnic has several inputs.

[MagnificentMarcus]

Ron, I guess I don't understand your statement. Are you saying that if your burn a bunch of discs that it will produce discs that are unreadable or that your computer won't read discs after doing so unless you reboot?

I do believe that all discs we trade should be copyable, or what is the use of trading if you can trade a set with someone else.

The solution I've come up with for my problem- is that I've told this trader that I will burn a new set, but I want the old set back so I can check them. I'm even willing to pay the return postage.

[debwalsh]

Battle - Lordsmurf says DVD to DVD recording is a no-no. And multiple inputs is one of the reasons I stick with my Panasonic - I have multiple VCRs, including a Beta deck, an S-VHS deck, and two multi-standard decks, plus analog cable, and DISH all attached to my DVD recorder. I even have another DVD player attached, for emergency transfers, but I usually go disc to tape to disc to avoid disc to disc errors.

[tekken1701]

I have to agree with Deb on this one. Nothing says that we guarantee copy-ability. The trade is from one person to another not one person to another plus "the 6 other people I want to trade this to.". I think as long as the disc plays then the trade obligation is met. Copy-ability is an extra NOT a requirement..unless other details have been discussed between traders before the trade takes place.

[lordsmurf]

If you can play the disc, you can copy it. You are being falsely limited by aging lasers or weaker hardware on your copy equipment. This is a reason I have a couple of BTC burners, as they make some of the strongest lasers around. And then I have 2-3 piece of recovery software that will be able to extract the disc data.

Going DVD player to DVD recorder is a bad idea for copying discs, but it's probably a lesser evil than going DVD player to VHS to DVD recorder.

The ability to re-copy discs is not guaranteed, as long as it's the fault of the person trying to copy the discs (meaning they have uncooperative hardware). However, if the discs are bad or out-of-spec cheap trash (Bulkpaq, Princo, Matrix, etc), then they absolutely need to replace.

[tobal2]

Marcus,
What I'm talking about in my case is that, after a prolonged period of steady use (i.e. reading/copying/playing discs, plus intermitent surfing, etc.), my computers will sometimes get flaky and believe that discs are blank even when there is clearly data on them and they play just fine.

My only conclusion is that the PC's periodically need a good reboot or shutdown to get everything reset properly and get the memory cleared out. Some people believe they can leave their machines running for days/weeks on end and they should have no problems... in my 10 years of IT experience I've rarely found that to be the case though.
We have to keep in mind that we're not talking about little downloads or mp3 files. We're typically reading/writing several gigs of data at a time, which will play havoc on virtual memory and hard drives over an extended period of time.
Plus, some folks like to record "on the fly" or disc-to-disc which taxes the systems even more to keep up sometimes.

[lordsmurf]

quote:Originally posted by tobal2

Some people believe they can leave their machines running for days/weeks on end and they should have no problems... in my 10 years of IT experience I've rarely found that to be the case though.

Amen, my friend! Those people that never reset are foolish. I even like to turn mine off several times a week, to let them cool down every now and then, as running hot 24/7 is not good. Computers were NEVER designed for 24/7 operation, although many of them can do it for long periods of time.

[MagnificentMarcus]

Thank you Ron, I understand now and I do agree. You need to shut your computer off and reboot regularly. I do shut off all my computers at night for this reason and to let them cool sdown, plus I save energy. I also may reboot when I've been burning a lot.

[MagnificentMarcus]

LS, what or who makes a BTC burner?

[lordsmurf]

BTC makes them.
They're a Taiwanese/European company.
Their drives are rebranded often as Emprex, MicroAdvantage or Insignia.

[debwalsh]

Huh, I could have sworn LS had posted that disc to S-VHS tape to disc was preferable over disc to disc. That's the only reason I've been taking that step. Oh well.

As for computers, far too much software code causes memory leaks, and extended use of programs, even closing and opening them repeatedly, can eventually create an environment rip for memory conflicts and crashing. If you've got any kind of firewall or virus protection running as well, the problem is usually compounded.

[lordsmurf]

I think the disc to S-VHS to disc was for a special situation.

[markatisu]

Also remember SVHS is not any normal VHS, big difference between going from DVD to SVHS and going DVD to regular VHS. Its the same reason when "restoring" we all try to use SVHS machines

Often DVD to SVHS is useful if a recorder disc has a error or a problem during finalization (when the RW craps out) and cannot be read in the PC to extract the episode and you may not have access to the original source so doing DVD to SVHS and then SVHS back to DVD would be a likely option, I have done it quite a few times when the Imation DVD-RW's I had took a dump and could not be finalized but still read in the JVC DVD Recorder and never received a complaint about the quality of the episode even from the anal retentive on this board who would have taken me to task if it had been crap