Forgive me if this is a noob kinda question, but I am very new to copying DVD's. I am using DVD Shrink as well as NERO and have been able to succesfully copy several DVD's. I have had some problems with others however, and I am wondering just what it is that I am doing wrong. DVD Shrink goes through the entire Encoding prodcedure, then prompts me to swap in a blank DVD which I do. It completes the process to about 99% and then the process fails and the disc is ejected. Oddly, if I choke the DVD size down to around 4,200MB using the Custom setting in DVD Shrink, I can get a successful burn. I have 1GB of RAM in the computer and burn with a Plextor DVD+/-R/RW burner which I am told is a decent unit. So, I guess my question is this ... What am I doing wrong such that I cannot seem to get a successful burn all the time when using the standard 4,464MB setting in DVD Shrink?
It is most likely that DVDShrink is making the output file to big for the destination (the burn also includes a lead-out which requires space on the disc). Are your DVDs that ended not tidy work in a DVD Player? Changing the size a bit will alow the media to handle the information without going to close to the edge and having a failed burn, and there won't be a notaceble loss in quality.
You're not really doing anything wrong. Some brands of media can't handle being written to, too close to the outer edge of the disk, especially if it's of poor quality or if burning too fast. The best thing to do is to choose good quality stuff (look for manufactured in japan), stick to a write speed of 4x or no greater that 8x, and lastly have shrink create files sizes of 4300MB so the drive doesn't have to try burning too far out from the center. The only other thing I would suggest to ensure a successful burn is to make sure your drives firmware is always upto date.
Thanks guys. Great information. Interestingly, when I choose a size of 4,200MB, the burn is a success. I did not realize that burning so close to the edge could sporadically be an issue. Question -- is 4,200MB too conservative? Could I use 4,300MB and likely still achieve a successful burn?
You will find that most people recommend 4300 as the outer limit unless you have very good quality media such as Taiyo Yuden or Verbatim. Alkohol, a Senior Member always burns right to the edge, using Taiyo Yuden without any apparent problems.
The assumption here is that Taiyo Yuden is the gold standard of DVD's? Who's got the best deal on those?
I cant help you with that one, I live in Australia so you might like to check out the Media Forum, Cheers.
There is the odd time a post about where there is a good price on them. It depends on where you live and what stores are around you. There are many fakes out there as well, many on eBay.
@Jetdrivr If you want the best, you can read about it as well as get it here (if you're willing to pay for it). http://www.mam-a.com/technology/index.html I personally use Sony DVD+R disks that are manufactured in japan and will often the burn very close to the outer edge and haven't had a problem yet, my write speed is 4x and ocasionally 6x.
Heres a link provided by Binkie7, stick to Taiyo Yudens if you want excellent quality. http://supermediastore.com
Hey, many thanks. I'll have to give them a try. Sorry if that was an overly obvious question. I'm still learning here.
As I mentioned before, if you look through the Media forum you might pick up something, they are always advising of SALES in that forum and sometimes there are some really good deals to be had. Good luck. Here's something from there, just to give you an idea
