I don't have NERO. I assume I want the trial version on the nero site. I will test it out later tonight or tomorrow. What I use is decrypter to burn the disc. What's Nero going to do differently?
The only way you can slow XCopy burn speed is to use 4x disks, otherwise it will burn at max. If your standalone DVD player is sensitive to errors it will freeze/skip using Xcopy and low quality media such as CMC Mag, I know have this program. Also Nero will default to max setting for burning. You can use DVD Decrypter to burn, and set max write speed to 4x. Use good media Use guides http://home.comcast.net/~bbmayo/ http://www.dvdplusvideo.com/petesguide2.html
Here's a good guide thanks to ScubaPete. http://www.dvdplusvideo.com/petesguide2.html bbmayo also has some good guides. Just click on his sig. You don't have to use nero to burn with. It is just a good overall burning rom and since you're not having much luck with dvdd, this is just an alternative to try. You will probably need to rip with dvd decrypter to file to remove any css encryption on the original disc. arniebear is absolutely correct. Only exception being if you have a burner only capable of 4x max burn speed like my old litey 451.
I also have the same problem. Any dvd copied with dvdXcopy had problems during playback on a Sony DVD player. What I have discovered was, it wasn"t the dvd itself or the "dvd writer" that was causing the problem. It was SONY, all the way. With Toshiba DVD player, I no longer have any problem during playback. Sony may have found way to deter duplication. Get rid of Sony.