DVD-VR Issues

[Neuroslicer]

This info has been posted before, but an occasional reminder won't hurt, especially if you're new to the forum:

I received two seasons of Man From U.N.C.L.E. which had been formatted in DVD-VR mode. Because all of my stand alone DVD players are compatible with this format, I didn't even notice it. But two of the traders receiving the entire set replied back with incompatibility issues. So the first lesson as you author sets, is be sure to format the DVDs in video mode and not VR mode.

How do you tell if dvds you receive are in DVD-VR format? Instead of the usual two folders on a disc formatted in video mode (AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS), you'll see VIDEO_RM and VIDEO_TS on dvds in DVD-VR format. With either format, DVD Decryptor goes right to the VIDEO_TS folder to extract files.

Next, how to resolve the problem to increase compatibility with all stand alone DVD players? What I tried last night was importing the individual episodes into Ulead Movie Factory, setting up an entirely new menu, and then burning to a new disc in video mode. This then produces a DVD with both AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folders.

If you know of a way to make the conversion more directly, without mucking around with new menus, I'd like to know, but for now Ulead seems to be an adequate answer to the problem.

[markatisu]

You can also import this into TDA and just make one long track with each chapter stop being the next episode, that way you wont have to make a menu but the downside is you lose whatever recorder menu you had. You could also do just as you are doing in TDA as well by making a new menu, etc etc

I though have never seen compatibility problems playing a VR mode disc myself and I am using players from 99/2000 (such as the Apex 500w series) as well as ones made just earlier this year so "compatibility" may be used here as a term that the trader receiving the disc has really crappy equipment, the same kind of people who love Princo and crap media as well

[Neuroslicer]

Marcus had an observation. I did not include the info from the VIDEO_RM folder when I made copies, but only transferred the VIDEO_TS folder. (Normally this isn't a problem because the AUDIO_TS folder is empty.) Still, the last couple days has been my first experience with Ulead Movie Factory. This program is making the re-authoring process so easy, and the new menu that I've added is so much nicer, that I am just going to redo all of seasons 3 and 4 anyway.