Is this a DVD writer issue?

deepakvrao · 3rd July 2008, 17:39

I have a Dell Vostro 1200 notebook which is about 5 months old and have noticed the following problem.

I often make copies of my own music DVDs and try to play only the copies so that the originals are not damaged. I use DVD decrypter to rip the DVDs, DVD shrink the DVDs, and again DVD decrypter to write the ISO file back to a DVD-R.

This was all fine with my previous Acer notebook [which I still have and still works fine] but with my Dell I occasionally get a DVD which just stops playing usually about half an hour into the DVD. The problem 'seems' less if I write at 1X but its not frequent enough for me to comment really. IO really dont want to burn so slow either.

How do I check whether its a DVD writer issue? or some issue with the blank DVDs? Like I said the problem is not in every DVD so its difficult to actually test it.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Deepak

diabloo · 3rd July 2008, 17:43

Why shrink? Why not direct DVD to DVD copy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepakvrao

I often make copies of my own music DVDs and try to play only the copies so that the originals are not damaged. I use DVD decrypter to rip the DVDs, DVD shrink the DVDs, and again DVD decrypter to write the ISO file back to a DVD-R.

condor · 3rd July 2008, 18:04

like @diabloo said, why the double conversion ? No conversion is loss free, and you will lose some quality when you do it. May be it is not discernable, but it will be there. While this is not part of the problem experienced, it can still save you one step of the activity.

* DVD's can be faulty. The ones which have failed may have had a problem in them
* Check for patches /updates for the s/w you are using.
* Check on the web if there are known issues for the combination of the s/w you are using and the make of the dvd writer in your laptop.
* Try on your old laptop.
* Try a direct copy of the DVD and see if the problem recurs.

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 3rd July 2008, 19:57

But why don't you simply rip them to MP3s?

Or even WAVs, if compression is a problem?

anupmathur · 3rd July 2008, 20:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

But why don't you simply rip them to MP3s?

Or even WAVs, if compression is a problem?

He said music DVDs! Video content, you know. Or am I missing something regarding mp3 ability to store video?
About WAV, are you serious?

dadu · 3rd July 2008, 20:22

DVD shrink works only for Video compression and not on Audio. Are you copying Songs or Movie ??

In some music DVD's they add additional ArccoS protection, which adds bad sectors in the DVD not readable by your PC/Laptop DVD.

anupmathur · 3rd July 2008, 20:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadu

DVD shrink works only for Video compression and not on Audio. Are you copying Songs or Movie ??

In some music DVD's they add additional ArccoS protection, which adds bad sectors in the DVD not readable by your PC/Laptop DVD.

In view of the above:
Well, perhaps a change of software is in order!
How about trying DVDFab Platinum and DVD Region & CSS Free? This combo has worked very well for me.

deepakvrao · 4th July 2008, 07:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloo

Why shrink? Why not direct DVD to DVD copy?

If I use shrink I can leave out the extras and I 'reauther' the DVDs to contain only the main title. That way if I put it on a single layer DVD I get less compression and better quality. However if sometimes I use DL blank DVDs then I dont shrink the DVDs.

With direct DVD to DVD, if you use single layer then the compression is from 8.5GB to 4.5GB

deepakvrao · 4th July 2008, 07:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

But why don't you simply rip them to MP3s?

Or even WAVs, if compression is a problem?

Anup is right these are video DVDs of music shows

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadu

DVD shrink works only for Video compression and not on Audio. Are you copying Songs or Movie ??

In some music DVD's they add additional ArccoS protection, which adds bad sectors in the DVD not readable by your PC/Laptop DVD.

The DVDs are getting read, ripped AND i get a working ISO image on my HDD. Its when I am trying to burn the ISO to a DVD that I am facing this issue.

deepakvrao · 4th July 2008, 07:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by condor

like @diabloo said, why the double conversion ? No conversion is loss free, and you will lose some quality when you do it. May be it is not discernable, but it will be there. While this is not part of the problem experienced, it can still save you one step of the activity.

* DVD's can be faulty. The ones which have failed may have had a problem in them
* Check for patches /updates for the s/w you are using.
* Check on the web if there are known issues for the combination of the s/w you are using and the make of the dvd writer in your laptop.
* Try on your old laptop.
* Try a direct copy of the DVD and see if the problem recurs.

Actually if there is no compression then all this is in digital and there is no loss of quality at all with any number of conversions.

It works fine on my old laptop.

Checked the web and it seems this particular DVD drive is having issues in a lot of Dells. Time to give Dell a call I guess.

deepakvrao · 4th July 2008, 07:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by anupmathur

In view of the above:
Well, perhaps a change of software is in order!
How about trying DVDFab Platinum and DVD Region & CSS Free? This combo has worked very well for me.

Why the combo? Does DVD Fab not do the job alone? Does DVD Fab decrypt the encrypted and copy protected DVDs?

vinayvtec · 4th July 2008, 07:18

Hi Deepak, did you try updating the Firmware of the drive? Drivers & Downloads click on this link and click on CD/DVD and download the Firmware and install to your computer. Also try using nero for burning the media, also install the DVD player codec Free-Codecs.com : Download K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.5 FULL, K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.0 STANDARD, K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.0 BASIC : K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of codecs and related tools install the Download [ K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.5 FULL ]. If you have any issue in updating the Firmware PM me, I will assist you on that.

deepakvrao · 4th July 2008, 07:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinayvtec

Hi Deepak, did you try updating the Firmware of the drive? Drivers & Downloads click on this link and click on CD/DVD and download the Firmware and install to your computer. Also try using nero for burning the media, also install the DVD player codec Free-Codecs.com : Download K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.5 FULL, K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.0 STANDARD, K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.0 BASIC : K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of codecs and related tools install the Download [ K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.5 FULL ]. If you have any issue in updating the Firmware PM me, I will assist you on that.

Thanks Vinay for the suggestions.Will try Nero. What are the K-lite codecs for?

When I went to Dell support site they have new firmware for this DVD drive:

HLDS GSA-T21N 12.7 tray IDE DVD+/-RW

But my device manager shows this DVD drive:

PBDSDVD+-RW DS-8W1P

And I checked the Dell India site too.

vinayvtec · 4th July 2008, 07:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepakvrao

Thanks Vinay for the suggestions.Will try Nero. What are the K-lite codecs for?

When I went to Dell support site they have new firmware for this DVD drive:

HLDS GSA-T21N 12.7 tray IDE DVD+/-RW

But my device manager shows this DVD drive:

PBDSDVD+-RW DS-8W1P

And I checked the Dell India site too.

You can download from Drivers and Downloads, K-lite codecs its a DVD encoder.

I have taken 10 minutes for getting this simple driver and its not fast at all, I should be even more quick

It should work, if its not working then try Nero it will, how much RAM your computer has got? do you run any other application while burning the DVD? Also disable anti virus and spyware while burning the DVD.

deepakvrao · 4th July 2008, 07:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinayvtec

You can download from Drivers and Downloads, K-lite codecs its a DVD encoder.

Thanks Vinay - how did you get that so fast? I tried a Google search for that drive and I got 2 pages written in Chinese.

Did it - now lets see if the firmware update works.

3rd July 2008, 17:39	#1
deepakvrao BANNED Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 300 Thanked: 2 Times	Is this a DVD writer issue? I have a Dell Vostro 1200 notebook which is about 5 months old and have noticed the following problem. I often make copies of my own music DVDs and try to play only the copies so that the originals are not damaged. I use DVD decrypter to rip the DVDs, DVD shrink the DVDs, and again DVD decrypter to write the ISO file back to a DVD-R. This was all fine with my previous Acer notebook [which I still have and still works fine] but with my Dell I occasionally get a DVD which just stops playing usually about half an hour into the DVD. The problem 'seems' less if I write at 1X but its not frequent enough for me to comment really. IO really dont want to burn so slow either. How do I check whether its a DVD writer issue? or some issue with the blank DVDs? Like I said the problem is not in every DVD so its difficult to actually test it. Any suggestions? Thanks, Deepak
	() Thanks

3rd July 2008, 18:04	#3
condor Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Speed-brkr City Posts: 16,048 Thanked: 16,387 Times View My Garage	like @diabloo said, why the double conversion ? No conversion is loss free, and you will lose some quality when you do it. May be it is not discernable, but it will be there. While this is not part of the problem experienced, it can still save you one step of the activity. * DVD's can be faulty. The ones which have failed may have had a problem in them * Check for patches /updates for the s/w you are using. * Check on the web if there are known issues for the combination of the s/w you are using and the make of the dvd writer in your laptop. * Try on your old laptop. * Try a direct copy of the DVD and see if the problem recurs.
	() Thanks

3rd July 2008, 19:57	#4
BaCkSeAtDrIVeR Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kochi Posts: 2,541 Thanked: 755 Times	But why don't you simply rip them to MP3s? Or even WAVs, if compression is a problem?
	() Thanks

3rd July 2008, 20:22	#6
dadu Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,803 Thanked: 463 Times View My Garage	DVD shrink works only for Video compression and not on Audio. Are you copying Songs or Movie ?? In some music DVD's they add additional ArccoS protection, which adds bad sectors in the DVD not readable by your PC/Laptop DVD.
	() Thanks

4th July 2008, 07:18	#12
vinayvtec BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 390 Thanked: 10 Times View My Garage	Hi Deepak, did you try updating the Firmware of the drive? Drivers & Downloads click on this link and click on CD/DVD and download the Firmware and install to your computer. Also try using nero for burning the media, also install the DVD player codec Free-Codecs.com : Download K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.5 FULL, K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.0 STANDARD, K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.0 BASIC : K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of codecs and related tools install the Download [ K-Lite Codec Pack 3.9.5 FULL ]. If you have any issue in updating the Firmware PM me, I will assist you on that.
	() Thanks