Dazed and confused

[captain_video]

I've been using DVD-RB for a few weeks now and have become quite frustrated in that time with the hit or miss results I've been getting. I have used CCE basic 2.69 (?) and SP 2.50 and 2.67 (trial versions), CCE SP "patched" to get rid of the logo (I know I'm not supposed to talk about that but I'm trying to make a point so bear with me), CCE basic 2.69 (retail version, purchased by me), and Canopus Procoder 2.0. I have not tried Quenc or Rejig as I want the results to be of the highest quality possible.

The CCE trial and "patched" versions were all giving me intermittent stuttering and freezing on about every other disc I tried them on. Procoder 2.0 gave me excellent results but was taking about 15 hours per disc to transcode vs. about 4 to 6 hours per disc with CCE. I bought the basic version of CCE figuring the "patch" I was using would not allow the trial versions to perform properly (it was always my intention of buying the software but I needed to know if it would work for me first). Although I was having problems with it I had read that many others achieved good results when using it so I was persuaded to make the purchase based on numerous positive posts.

The first couple of discs I processed with CCE basic worked well in my DVD player with no problems. The next four did not fare so well and suffered the same stuttering problem as before. The one difference is that I started using the iso method for extracting with DVD Decryptor instead of the file mode. I read that the iso mode was the preferred method so I thought I'd give it a try. So far I'm batting zero with iso mode. I guess this is a clearcut case of "if it ain't broke don't fix it."

So my dilemma is this: Do I go back to extracting in file mode, use CCE Basic, and keep my fingers crossed that I won't be burning yet another coaster or do I go back to Procoder 2.0 that so far has proven to work with all DVDs that I've tried it with but takes forever and a day to process?

[candsh]

I have used CCE Basic to back up many disks and have yet to have the first problem. The only thing I use to do any preprocessing is VOB Blanker and then I never "edit" out portions but rather remove (Blank) things like previews, unwanted extras etc. to create more space for the main movie.

It appears that the ones having repeated problems are those doing extensive preprocessing before RB which is really intended to be a "Full Disk" backup system with no preprocessing at all. I did it that way for quite a while but got sick and tired of some of the disks that made you sit through all the previews and commercials before getting to the movie so I tried VOB Blanker. Beleive me if I start having problem this way I will go back to the 'full disk' again.

[borgraf]

Originally posted by captain_video
The first couple of discs I processed with CCE basic worked well in my DVD player with no problems. The next four did not fare so well and suffered the same stuttering problem as before. The one difference is that I started using the iso method for extracting with DVD Decryptor instead of the file mode. I read that the iso mode was the preferred method so I thought I'd give it a try. So far I'm batting zero with iso mode. I guess this is a clearcut case of "if it ain't broke don't fix it."

So my dilemma is this: Do I go back to extracting in file mode, use CCE Basic, and keep my fingers crossed that I won't be burning yet another coaster or do I go back to Procoder 2.0 that so far has proven to work with all DVDs that I've tried it with but takes forever and a day to process?
I think ISO mode is recommended only because it makes sure the user doesn't accidentally mess up the source files. If you know what you're doing there's no harm in using FILE mode; I think most users here prefer it.

If time is an issue i'd use CCE Basic for most projects and when it doesn't give the quality, like on low bitrate, switch to ProCoder 2 for that project. To minimise coasters I often burn to a RW disc first to make sure everything works.

hope it works out :)

[NaN]

What version of the dvd-rebuilder are you using? In 076 an error was solved that seemingly caused stuttering on some players.

You can test wether this bug is the reason by just rebuilding your finished dvd-backup. Do this by choosing "No compression" in the menu, point the video folder to the finished backup, set a working/output directory. It should finish after a couple of minutes.

If this output works well, you just have to wait for 076s release. Until then you know what to do ;-))

Cheers, NaN

[jdobbs]

The errors recently fixed only show on certain players and on certain discs (where cells are split into multiple segments), so it might be the cause -- you also might try deleting and reinstalling all components from scratch. Changing CCE versions can sometimes cause confusion.

What version of DGDECODE are you using? Make sure you don't use anything above v1.1.0.

Do you have any special filters you use? Settings (like half-d1, etc.) Preprocessing?

What player are you using? Standalone or computer?

I know the setup can be a pain, but once you have DVD-RB up-and-running you should work every time without fail -- and CCE Basic is the preferred encoder. ISO mode is fine -- but DVD-RB was designed to work in file mode, even if you mount the ISO DVD-RB treats it like a directory of files anyway.

[captain_video]

I'm using the latest public release of DVD-RB (version 0.72) with the installer package for automated setup. I've turned off all preprocessing so the full DVD is being processed unilaterally for all segments. The version of the dgdecode.dll is 1.1.0 as supplied with the installer.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the program numerous times and it did, in fact, generate some confusion as to which version of CCE I tried to use as it kept pointing me back to CCE SP and would not let me make any corrections. When I tried to change to CCE Basic the program just quit and refused to do anything. I eventually got it working again but the results have not changed. I switched back to Procoder 2.0 and now I'm getting stuttering and freezing with it as well.

My DVD player is a Marantz DV-9500 which is a very high-end universal player ($2100 list; plays all video and audio formats including DVD-Audio and SACD discs) so you can see my frustration at not getting it to work with such an expensive player. Ironically, the discs seemed to work fine with my older Sony 715.

I only use DVD-RB for archived TV series' on DVD. For movies I use DVD-Fab to cut out all but the main movie and fit it on one or two discs with no additional compression or transcoding. These DVDs play with minimal or no problems, although I did have one freeze up on me but I was able to get it going again without too much difficulty and the error has not reoccurred.

I'm using DVD Decryptor to extract the files in file mode with the iso image mounted on my virtual drive. I'll try using CCE Basic again to see if it works better in file mode since all previous successes have been using this mode.

[jdobbs]

The only way DVD-RB could set your path and encoder back is if it were loaded from an project file. The project file contains all your settings. Delete all .RBD files until after you're set up.

Also make sure you select the correct version under Options/CCE Options.

Check your PM.

[captain_video]

I just tried the latest version of DVD-RB (0.77 beta) and the first disc I reprocessed with it came out perfect (thanks, jdobbs). I had previously processed the same DVD at least three different ways and all of them produced DVDs that stuttered and froze up. I'm currently running the other three problematic DVDs through the latest DVD-RB and will burn them to disc as soon as the last one finishes processing.

I tried something different with the installation this time around. Since I only had the Rebuilder.exe file for version 0.77 I really didn't feel like having to go through the manual setup thing all over again. I had previously installed 0.72 using Rockas' installation program but 0.77 was not packaged with it. Instead, I made a backup directory containing all of the files installed by Rockas' program and then did a formal uninstall of DVD-RB 0.72.

I then replaced the Rebuilder.exe file in the backup directory with the 0.77 version, renamed the DVD-RB backup directory, and created a shortcut to the Rebuilder.exe file on my desktop. When I started up DVD-RB it was version 0.77 and all of the encoder files and settings were all linked as before without having to do a complete manual setup from scratch. So far everything is looking good but I've only had a chance to test one disc so far. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

BTW, I looked around for some RDB files but couldn't find any. Where would they have been located?

[captain_video]

I'm now 4 for 4 with the problematic DVDs. All of them processed fine with the latest version of DVD-RB. Thanks to jdobbs for all his help and a great program.

[Rockas]

I then replaced the Rebuilder.exe file in the backup directory with the 0.77 version, renamed the DVD-RB backup directory, and created a shortcut to the Rebuilder.exe file on my desktop. When I started up DVD-RB it was version 0.77 and all of the encoder files and settings were all linked as before without having to do a complete manual setup from scratch. So far everything is looking good but I've only had a chance to test one disc so far. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Well you didn't need to have that trouble... if you used the installer and you want to update to a VIP version you just have to replace the old .exe file with the new one... the same goes for the .txt file... of course :)

[captain_video]

LOL. Yeah, I found that out after the fact. I saw your post about swapping out the Rebuilder.exe file after I had already done it. Based on that, I plan on giving your latest installer a try and then substitute the 0.74 DVD-RB file with the 0.77 version. I'm anxious to check out the new UI.

[captain_video]

Here's an update some of you may (or may not) find interesting. Ever since I had started using DVD-RB I have always had spotty results. I think I've finally narrowed down some of the issues I've been having to one or two factors that have been affecting the outcome of my DVD-RB compilations.

Recently, I had processed three Babylon 5 movies with DVD-RB, version 0.78, and all three discs exhibited freezeups near the end of the DVD. I was using Ritek 4X printable white surface DVD-R media. I rerecorded the same three movies using Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-R's from the same set of DVD-RB files and all three movies played with no problems. My DVD burner is an NEC 3520.

I'm not quite certain what the problem is but it seems that the combination of the DVD recordable media, my Marantz DV-9500 player, and DVD-RB results in extremely finnicky DVDs. My Sony 715 plays them fine but the Marantz doesn't care for them. I had previously thought that some of the issues were a result of trying to use the PC for other things like surfing the net while processing the files with DVD-RB was causing some of my playback problems. This may be a contributing factor but lately I've only been processing DVDs with DVD-RB when I go to bed in the evening or when I leave for work in the morning so the PC can work with no interruptions.

This seemed to solve the problem until I ran into the three B5 movies that caused my player to choke. Once I recorded them again on the T-Y discs with no other changes in the process I became convinced that my problems were stemming from the use of the Ritek media. I find this strange because up til now I had always gotten excellent results with Ritek DVD-Rs and they still work great for files extracted from my DirecTivos and Dish PVR.

The bottom line is that if you're having problems with freezeups and stuttering, try a different brand of media. I highly recommend sticking with a top name brand like the T-Y's or Verbatims, among others. Your success rate should greatly improve as a result.

[fedge]

Why not test the iso or img files with a img mounting tool first..if it plays fine in the comp it is your dvd burner or media.. TY is the best.. Rima.com sells the premuim quality disks at a decent price.

[NightSta]

I was using Ritek 4X printable white surface DVD-R media. I rerecorded the same three movies using Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-R's from the same set of DVD-RB files and all three movies played with no problems. My DVD burner is an NEC 3520.
While many people swear by Ritek, I've personally found them not to be the ideal discs for NEC burners. My NEC 2500 didn't like them at all (G04, I believe), producing multiple coasters before I opted to burn them on my Pioneer DVR-105.

The 3500 while not producing coasters on that same order/magnitude, doesn't seem to prefer them either. I always run verify on DVD Decrypter when I burn an image file to disc; I've noticed at the very end, somewhere within the last 10% of the disc while in the verify process, the read speed drops significantly. As a general indicator, it suggests problem writing or reading from a certain place of the disc time after time.

To better illustrate my point, other brands (MXL, Sony, Fuji+R, and even crap lesser brands/manufacturers) start at a certain speed in the verify process and end at about 16X without experiencing a decrease in speed as things progressed.

[jdobbs]

:goodpost:
That "end-of-disc" phenomenon is common on a lot of low-end discs. That is one of the many reasons I don't recommend changing the TargetSectors setting. It doesn't screw up on the last 1% or so of the sectors if you don't write to them...

I don't change it and have never gotten a coaster on a Ritek G04 -- which is a disc I use very often.