Let me preface this by saying I searched the forums and the guides before I posted. This thread (http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/87282) does touch on my issue, but I couldn't reply because I'm a newbie and it was older than 60 days. Anyway... Specs: -iMac 15" Flat-Panel original, running 10.3.5 -Pioneer DVR-104 DVD-RW drive, firmware A227 -JVC XV-THA10 DVD player (part of the TH-A10 home theater system) -Sony DVP-NS725P standalone DVD player Issue: Twice I burned a VIDEO_TS folder (.DS_Store files removed) onto Memorex DVD-R 4x media at 1x. The first time, I used Toast 6.0.3 (didn't know about 6.0.7 at the time) with the DVD-ROM (UDF) setting. It burned fine, but it found an error on the verify. The second time, I used Dragon Burn 4.0.22. It burned fine with no errors. The JVC DVD player didn't recognize either disk. The Sony read both disks fine (though the error on the Toast-burned disk froze the screen at one chapter but played every other chapter fine). The weird thing is that neither disk mounted on the iMac (as the thread above said). Reading around, I thought it might have been bad media so I bought some TDK 2x DVD-Rs. This time, I burned at 2x with Dragon Burn and no error. And it mounted on the iMac! But the Sony didn't read it, coming back with a "disk is dirty" error message. Even more peculiar, the JVC read the disk, but with some hesitation. (Note: In the manual, the JVC says it won't read DVD-R or -RW. So it's not a big surprise, but it should have played in the Sony.) But to FURTHER complicate matters, I tried some Memorex 4x DVD-/+Rs my friend burned at 4x on his PC using the Pioneer DVR-107. Both the +R and the -R read fine in the Sony AND the JVC, and the -R mounted on the iMac. So... I'm confused. Is it the media? Is it the burn speed? Is it the drive? Tomorrow, I'm going to the Apple Store to try to mount the disks that didn't mount on my drive. Also, I'm going to try burning the 2x TDK media at 1x in Toast. (When I tried burning the TDK 2x's at 1x in Dragon Burn, it still burned them at 2x. Software glitch?)
On a DVR-104 I would only use 2x media because higher speed media will only be burned at 1x. Burning at 2x on 2x media should not give you any problems. Many people have reported problems with Memorex media (they buy the media from different manufacturers and one of them is crap). I would suggest not to use the computer while burning if you have limited RAM. How much RAM do you have? Give it another try using the 2x TDK media at 2x but do not use the computer while burning. Try to burn with Disk Utility 1. Get DVD Imager (http://lonestar.utsa.edu/llee/applescript/dvdimager.html) 2. Open it and drop the VIDEO_TS folder you got from DVD2OneX to create a Disk Image. 3. Open Disk Utility (Applications/Utilities) and press the burn icon. Select the Disk Image and burn it If you still experience problems maybe there is something wrong with your Superdrive like a dirty lens. PS. If you want to play the DVDs back in your computer stick to -R media.
I read about the Memorex media at this link (http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm), so that's why I thought it was a bad batch of disks. The very first time I tried burning this VIDEO_TS folder (not mentioned in my original post) I tried DVD Imager and Disk Utility, using the Memorex 4x media. But I got a buffer underrun no more than a second after it "started." (Any idea why? I thought I saw another thread here about it.) That's why I used Toast and Dragon Burn. But I'll try again with the TDKs. I have 512 MB of RAM, with a 60 GB HDD. There's about 10 GB of space left, so that could be a factor as well. I didn't use the computer at all during any of these attempts. I even turned off the screen saver and the display energy saver. I read somewhere on a different forum (unfortunately after I did all this) that someone had similar problems, and it was just a dirty lens. So I'm gonna try cleaning it before I start up again. Thanks for the help Londor. I'll post the results of my attempts. P.S. Yeah, I was planning on sticking with the -R media because the DVR-104 doesn't have +R capability (last I checked) and I don't wanna use -RWs.
Read this Apple document about "buffer underrun" errors. http://docs.info.apple.com/article....ymous|2884280&kbhost=kbase.info.apple.com:80/ Also have you got any other problem in your computer like kernel panics, applications quitting unexpectedly or freezes? If you do you may have a faulty RAM stick.
I have yet to experience a kernel panic (as far as I know). The only apps that crash (and very rarely at that) are ones that are in beta (e.g., Camino 0.8+ with the most recent tabs patch). The computer hasn't frozen in the 2 years I've had it. I'm in the Apple Store right now, and I just tested the TDK 2x burned at 2x and the Memorex 4x burned at 1x. Both disks mounted on G5s with a Pioneer DVR-107D or a Sony DW-U10A. However, in the G5 with a Pioneer 106D, only the TDK mounted (same as my iMac). The 106D spit out the Memorex after trying to read it (just like my iMac). So it seems there's something up with my DVR-104. Like I said in my first post, my friend's disks (Memorex 4x burned @ 4x on a DVR-107) mounted fine on my iMac and played in both of my standalones. Maybe it has something to do with the "older" Pioneer drives vs. the more recent ones? I haven't done lens cleaning yet, but I'll post my findings when I do.
You can use this aplication to check the media code in your discs and in your friend's Memorex to see whether they have been manufactured by the same company. http://homepage.mac.com/raktajino/dvdmediainspector/dvdmediainspector-1.0b1.dmg
Sweet! I've been looking for a media ID reader for the Mac. Thanks for the link, Londor. And part of my problem becomes apparent: My friend's Memorex 4x is PRODISC03 (yum) and my Memorex 4x is CMC (bleh). So bad media is involved. I cleaned the DVD-RW drive, and the Memorex 4x now mounts! I also cleaned the Sony standalone, but it still couldn't read the TDKs. (Hey at least I made some progress with the Memorex mounting!) But here's another twist: I wanted to see if there was a problem with my Sony 725P. So I took the TDK disk into Best Buy to try it on the floor model. When I bought the Sony a few days ago, I did the same and tested the Memorex. It played fine, and I stopped play at around 1:16:23. Now the Sony has the auto-resume feature (hit stop once, it will resume; hit stop twice, it won't). Today when I put the TDK into the Sony, it picked up right where the Memorex left off and played normally! (I'm assuming no one tried a disk since I did, which is a fair assumption.) But when I cancelled the auto-resume, it came back with the C 13:00:00 error, disk is dirty. So the movie is on the TDK, the Sony just can't get it started. The disk might have a screwy lead-in because it was burned with a dirty lens. And maybe the 106D drive in the Apple Store had a dirty lens as well. And maybe my JVC standalone had problems with the CMC media but not with my friend's PRODISC. I'll try the disk image method later this weekend and post the results. If that works, I think I'll have all the issues figured out (just in time before grad school starts).
Success! I just did the DVD Imager/Disk Utility method on the TDK 2x media, and the disk worked in the old JVC player and the new Sony player. And it mounts on the iMac! (And it only cost me $5.40 in coasters.) I haven't tried using Toast or Dragon Burn, but I'm not gonna mess with a good thing (just yet). So I guess the lessons learned are: 1) Keep your lens clean 2) Don't use 4th class media 3) Train hard, eat your vitamins, and say your prayers Thanks again for the help, Londor!
