Pixelated & Skipping Backup-Solved

[Jack'n'xbox]

Hi
I have been getting a lot of pixilation or even worse scene skips, some call it a bad burn. I all it a pian is the ass. And it is driving me nuts. I want my back ups perfect (or as close as I can get it). I have been tiring shutting down all non-essential software that runs on my computer and still I have the problem.

So I have been playing with different types of media and being a perfectionist I went to the big guns first based on this sit.

http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

So I tried verbatim then Ritech G05. Then TYG02. I liked TY but I still get the pixilation or even worse scene skips. So it’s not media (I think).

So now I’m thinking Power fluctuations. So I tried shutting major appliances and the heating during a back up (pain in the ass when it’s cold out). I’m tired of the wife complaining that’s it’s cold or asking me to change the fringe light. Oh and this failed to satisfy me to. I’m gong to get a UPS And hope this works tomorrow.

So is it hardware??

I have an LG HL-DT-ST GSL 4160b a304burner

Motherboard Manufacturer, Intel Corporation
Motherboard Model, D845EBG2
Motherboard Serial Number, CF2B23408635
Motherboard Version, AAA83973-206
Bios Vendor, Intel Corp.
Bios Version, PT84520A.86A.0015.P08.0302261328
Bios Release Date, 26-Feb-2003
CPU Manufacturer,GenuineIntel
CPU Family,2
CPU Version,Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.00GHz
Approximate MHz,1,999
CPU Socket,J2E1
Video Bios Date,2-Aug-2013
Video Adapter,RADEON 7000 SERIES
Video RAM,64 MB
Network Interface,Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC - Packet Scheduler Miniport
Network Interface,MS TCP Loopback interface
,
IDE 1 Manufacturer Model Number,SAMSUNG SP8004H
IDE 1 Manufacturer Revision Number,QW100-60
IDE 1 Manufacturer HDD Serial Number,0415J1FT808508
IDE 1 BufferSize,2 MB
IDE 1 Cylinders,16,383
IDE 1 Heads,16
IDE 1 Sectors Per Track,63
IDE 2 Manufacturer Model Number,Maxtor 6B200P0
IDE 2 Manufacturer Revision Number,BAH41B70
IDE 2 Manufacturer HDD Serial Number,B410PPRH

Or is it my stand-alone player. I’m going to get a new one while I get my UPS (don’t tell my wife she thinks we need a new fridge, stupid light).

I’m going out of my mind with this and I need some guidance here before my wife shoots me.

Desperately seeking peace.

[jel]

umm .... to be honest, the one thing you seem to have missed is telling us what software you use to make your back-ups with :p

considering the lengths you have been going to with your hardware and media, that would be my next logical item to investigate.

[Chetwood]

Desperately seeking peace.

It's a combination of good media and your writer which has to have the proper routines in it's firmware to know how to handle a certain brand. Check out the LG homepage and use some brand they suggest their and burn on 4x max to test it out. You're usually on the safe side with genuine Taiyo Yuden (if they are quite cheap they might be fakes).

[NaN]

Since you've the latest firmware, I think that maybe buffer underruns are the problem. Sure Burnproof or seamlesslink prevent throwing away the discs, but some standalone dvd-players have problems with these interruptions (even my new Pioneer player!).

Before you invest a lot of money - for probably nothing, since power fluctuations are usually stopped by the capacitors in your powersupply - get the fridge light, make an iso from your VIDEO_TS-folder with imgtool classic, and burn that at lower speeds (8x) with dvd-decrypter (in settings->io tab choose buffer size accordingly to your RAM, maybe 170MB if you've 256Mb RAM).

That should help.

Cheers, NaN

[Jack'n'xbox]

Wow you guys got some ideas I never saw before but first I will answer a few of your questions first.

Jel


I use dvdd with dvd Shrink and menu shrink. All are up-to-date.

Cheatwood

I have the latest firmware for my burner and I get my media here
www.blankmedia.ca The spindle of 50 cost about 30$.

Nan

I took a look at the buffer size and was surprised to see it at 20, I have 512 so I think I should max it out to 256. And I’m looking for imgtool now, is it a freeware?


Too all of you I’m very grateful for the help.

Thank you and I hope that I have answered all of your questions.

[Surf]

Thanks for a chuckle or two, Jack. Go ahead, replace that fridge light and hold off replacing your standalone till:

1. You didn't mention any problem playing the commercial dvd with your standalone, I'm assuming it plays ok?

2. Like NaN said, slight variations in power are handled by the capacitors inside the computer's power supply unless you live in a tornardo belt or something. Doesn't hurt to get a UPS(battery).

3. Defragged the hard drive lately?

4. Check your DMA settings..

[NaN]

Hi!

imgtool classic is freeware and may be found here

http://www.coujo.de/ib2/index.php?act=module&module=include&incl_name=download

But of course you can continue using dvd-shrink to build your isos. Nothing wrong with that. I suggested imgtool cl. just because I didn't know you're already using dvd-decrypter!

Cheers, NaN

[Jack'n'xbox]

I’m’ back with more info.

Buffer under runs.
Well I use dvdd to burn and the two buffers are always full till the end. So I don’t think that’s the problem.

Surf

When I play commercial DVD’s there is the occasional small pixilation but never a skip, and for my hard drive I just checked and it’s fine, but I will run it tonight just in case. But for the Dma setting how do I check that. I do believe its in the device manager.

[Chetwood]

And I’m looking for imgtool now, is it a freeware?


No need to use it since DVD Shrink can encode straight to ISO (and even burn this if you wish).

[Surf]

On 2nd thought my two suggestions on defragging & dma checking which are the main culprits in slowing the burns, not necessarily causing pixelation & skip.

So, have you EVER achieved a good burn with this LG 4160? What about your backup method, removing as much as possible or retaining everything which means compression at 60%? Try renting a latest release on Tuesdays to check your standalone. If this still pixelate then I will write to your wife allowing you to buy a $6000 Denon. :D

[gizzin]

I had a good laugh too. A simple solution to your problem jack n the box, dont use DVDshrink, It's probably the best transcoder that or IC8. But the quality of the video is poor when encoded. What was the percentage the video was reduced. Or was it even reduced at all?

[Chetwood]

I had a good laugh too. A simple solution to your problem jack n the box, dont use DVDshrink, It's probably the best transcoder that or IC8. But the quality of the video is poor when encoded. What was the percentage the video was reduced. Or was it even reduced at all?

LOL, right. Ever tried Shrink with AEC enabled? No? Maybe you shouldn't blame Shrink then.

[gizzin]

Im not gonna get into a war about whats better. Yes I've used DVDshrink with AEC enabled. That's like saying I'm dumb or I don't have an extra half and hour. Using HC, Quenc, Or CCE (If you got the cash) incorporated with DVDRebuilder would yield higher quality meaning less to no pixelation or noise. 9.5 outta 10 times a encoder will out perform a transcoder.

[writersblock29]

@Jack'n'xbox

The suggestions given to you thus far are pretty good ones, and may well carry you in the right direction. One concern, however, is the pixelation you've noticed in your copies... Very rarely -- very rarely -- is due to a bad burn so long as the playback is, overall, smooth. Most of the time, it's due to poorly compressed material. DVD Shrink certainly has its uses. But it also has its limits! If you're doing full-disk copies, you're well-advised to be choosy about what you keep (those French audio tracks eat valuble disk space that could have been used to improve the quality of the material you'll actually use -- as do DTS audio streams). So, really, you have to do surgery on your disks when you do a backup. Do you want movie previews? How about those music videos they sometimes put on there that aren't even the type of music you care to listen to? Everything you don't keep improves the quality of the stuff you do keep. Movie-only projects tend to offer a best-you-can-do scenerio for keeping the quality high on the main movie. And yes! Remember to enable AEC on 'Shrink, if you haven't already.

GIZZIN's suggestion about trying out Jdobbs' DVD Rebuilder, which has tons of versitility while remaining easy to use, is a mighty fine one. Again, think about removing stuff you don't plan on using, because even encoders have limits, too. ;)

If you still want to try other burning options, you could try out VSO's CopyytoDVD.

http://www.vso-software.fr/download.htm

The demo's a fully-functional version of the paid version -- only with a time limit of (I believe) 21 days. At least by then you'll know if it's worth your while.

Good luck, and hope we're helping! :cool:

[Edit] Sorry, SURF... guess we're on the same train of thought!

[NaN]

Cmon guys! 1st line of his 1st sentence! Scene skips!

It's stupid to recomend a different encoding package when he obviously has different problems. Why don't you guys just say that you don't really have a clue?

Shrink doesn't introduce scene skips. Never.

He uses DVDD to burn, HQ media, no underruns, on the pc everything is fine? I would think of the dvd-player or that the burner is flawed. Did you try playing back your discs in a different one?

Cheers, NaN

[Jack'n'xbox]

Hi all
First I have to thank all of you. When I posted this I never thought I would get all this help that I’m getting now…WOW.

Hats Off to all of you.


Now to answer a few questions.
I never burn under 60% with shrink, and I get rid of all the unneeded crap that comes with the DVD i.e., language and unreferenced material.

I do get good burns but the average is to low, 40% are bad.

NaN
I’m going to test my DVD’s in 2 other stand alone players of some of my friends, ( hey, I get to go out and have a beer with my friends) why I didn’t do this before I don’t know, god if it’s my player I’m going to kick my self.

[gizzin]

That's probably the reason why your stuff is so pixelated, when I did use shrink I didn't go under 80%, For me anything under 80% was poop. Use DVD rebuilder it is far superior to shrink. (In my opinion)

[Chetwood]

That's probably the reason why your stuff is so pixelated, when I did use shrink I didn't go under 80%, For me anything under 80% was poop. Use DVD rebuilder it is far superior to shrink. (In my opinion)

I doubt that especially when you're using EAC settings in Shrink. I do get under 80% almost every time and I never get any pixelation on my 23" TV. Like explained in this thread (http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45129) percentage doesn't matter, it's bitrate that counts!

[feedback]

Just so you know for a fact that your media is what you think it is try this tool Here (http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com/). DVD Identifier it may help and can't hurt.

Regards,:)

[gizzin]

In most cases If your T.V. isn't HD or is a smaller tv it will be harder to tell the difference thus a lower reduction rate. Don't try to outsmart me chetwood I've been doin this to long to not know what I'm talking about. The bigger the television the bigger the pixelation or mosquito noise or what have you.

[Jack'n'xbox]

I don’t believe it, it’s the player, I took two of my DVD’s to play in two different players that both had progressive scan and they played perfectly. Mine doesn’t have progressive scan.

Any suggestions to what type of a player to get?

[Chetwood]

In most cases If your T.V. isn't HD or is a smaller tv it will be harder to tell the difference thus a lower reduction rate.

Really? FINALLY somebody tells me...


Don't try to outsmart me chetwood I've been doin this to long to not know what I'm talking about.


Maybe you should have mentioned bitrate then too.

[Surf]

Jack, now is a good time to look into a DVD recorder, with or without the harddrive based on how convincing you are with Jill. I am not too keen on cheapos like Apex, Aspire; if you are choosing without hdd then consider Liteon or BenQ, either should serve you well within a year or two till the new HD recording matures. I personally would not want to spend tooooo much when hd-dvd or blu-ray's on the horizon.

Chetwood & gizin, both of you are correct. I had the MIS-fortune of watching a few boot-leg movies, Spiderman2, I-Robot, Colateral....HORRIBLE!!! Totally killed the enjoyment! Same movies look ok on a non-hd tv. Like everyone who ventures here, I am very critical of quality. Any worthy movie would be backed up zero compromise, i.e., no shrinking! It would be splitted into two disks with VobBlanker. I just don't have the time for Rebuilder nor AEC with max sharpness. It's very rare for me to watch a movie without getting off the couch once anyway.

[NaN]

It's hard to believe but all cheaper players (sub 150$) use variants of the same chipsets (usually Mediatek, ESS), so their qualities are quite the same. If you think of getting hacked/updated firmwares I would recommend getting a popular player.

A popular player would be e.g. the Pioneer 470 or 575, they're quite nice, but have problems with buffer underruns (scene skips).

Got the fridge light? ;-))

Cheers, NaN

[gizzin]

As far as bitrates go, In my knowledge a bitrate of 3000kb or more with CCE will yield almost undistinguishable quality from the original. I have done encodes at lower bitrates 2500 for example which is SVCD quality and they are really good too (for movies like jay and silent bob strike back). For movies with lots of action like saving private ryan or we were soldiers I found 3000kb wasn't sufficient you need something in the 3500 range. This has nothing to do with DVDshrink though it would apply ( the higher the bitrate the better quality) very simple concept. Jack n Box your problem is you are using dvdshrink. Use CCE, QUenc or HC like I said before these are all high quality mpeg encoders. Remember people this is all just a opinion.

[Chetwood]

Jack n Box your problem is you are using dvdshrink.

Jack n Box, your problem is not that you are using DVD Shrink cause it can yield fairly acceptable quality even on comparatively low bitrates, it all depends on the source material. You can search these forums for links to tests that compare it to encoders to see for yourself. Of course there's no substitute for less compression.

[darkangle73]

hey jack, welcome to the forum.

I have a 5 disc sony with progressive scan paid about $ 150.00 at circuit city.
model # DVP NC665P you can pick one up now for about $ 100.00

they do have a pioneer that makes a great player (plays anything you put in it) but I can't seem to remember the model number.

but before you buy..... check out this site to compare players !

www.videohelp.com

:helpful: :sly:
p.s. progressive scan, It gives you a great picture but depending on how mutch compression you use in your backups could cause the player to freeze up. (finding nemo is the perfict example of this)

[NaN]

Are you sure that you all know what progressive scan is good for?

It's only an advantage if you've got a lcd-tv or a beamer that can display non-interlaced pictures. Otherwise it's just useless. Besides: cheap dvd-players have usually extremely crappy progressive scan.

Cheers, NaN

[Jack'n'xbox]

I got my self a JVC, for 85, it plays great. Even the dvds I thought were bad. To think of all the dvd's I tossed. What a wast.

[baker]

I'm sorry, but this has to be the stupidist post on the whole forum!!! how on earth did no-one cop it was his DVD player!!!!! It was obvious from the start, and even more obvious when he said that he was having similar problems with originals!

Baker

[dragongodz]

how on earth did no-one cop it was his DVD player!!!!! It was obvious from the start, and even more obvious when he said that he was having similar problems with originals!
excuse me but he did not say it from the start. he didnt mention any problems with originals until surf asked him. then he said he occasionally got tiny pixelisation. so surf asked him to check with a brand new dvd and if that did it then it was the player. then he finally came back saying he would try it on other players. ok some people babbled on about the good and the bad of dvdshrink to their minds, which was pointless, but that doesnt negate surfs questions and suggestions etc. please trying reading the whole thread from the beginning next time.

I'm sorry, but this has to be the stupidist post on the whole forum!!!
no, posts where people just post to say a post is stupid are infact the stupidist posts. :D

[Jack'n'xbox]

even more obvious when he said that he was having similar problems with originals!

Baker
I didn't say that I said I had the occasional pixilation, mabey one event out of 2 dvds never a skip.

Never dis people that are tring to help.

[gizzin]

k first off baker you don't what you are talking about so shut the F*** up. pixelation and scene skips are usually due to bad media and then next in line would be the encoder or transcoder even maybe the burning software. Its very rarely the standalone, could be that the standalone doesn't like the certain kind of media, whatever. Helping a person eliminate the problem is what were here for. Not people like you saying its stupid when actually you are the stupid one. Next time get a brain. Jack n the box glad I could steer you in the right direction

It's stupid to recomend a different encoding package when he obviously has different problems. Why don't you guys just say that you don't really have a clue?

Shrink doesn't introduce scene skips. Never.

A encoding package can introduce all these errors and then some but not so much as it is 99% of the time it tends to be the authoring package. Whether it is dvdshrink, dvdrebuilder or Big3 or it could cause skips or pixelation (missing data and standalone is compensating) or not work all together you should know that. You be in right to say that this sounds more similar to a bad media issue but saying never is just stupid. In his case it was the standalone. So do yourself a favor and get your information right before you call other people stupid when it is infact you.

[castellanos]

Hm... It's getting a kind of war here... but I think we should help Jack'n'xbox who actually found already that the problem was the DVD Standalone...
@Jack'n'xbox: I got the Philips DVP630... I like it and I can speek sincerely only of what I got, the rest I just don't know, but I am very sure you can find now better players, if your does not give you enough satisfaction anymore... I red the whole thread and I saw that you are using good blanks DVDs and good programs too, so, I don't think there is a problem.

Originally posted by gizzin
Im not gonna get into a war about whats better.
:D You got it already here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=84445).

Originally posted by gizzin
k first off baker you don't what you are talking about so shut the F*** up... Next time get a brain...
I do not agree with baker either and I don't think somebody is stupid trying to help...but that is also not a nice way to talk gizzin.
Rule 4 for both!

Originally posted by dragongodz
no, posts where people just post to say a post is stupid are infact the stupidist posts.
:D :D :D funny! I agree!

Greetings! :)

[gizzin]

IC8 and DVDshrink with AEC are about the same quality now even though a barely use them anymore. I don't mean to start wars but when people call you stupid I think its almost warranted. I'm trying not to break the rules here.

[Chetwood]

ok some people babbled on about the good and the bad of dvdshrink to their minds, which was pointless

"To their minds", my ass. I'm simply sick and tired of ppl blaming Shrink for their bad rips when it was bad media or using labels or something. If you tone down bitrate to 1,5 mbit/s or something it'll look pixelated no matter what encoder you've used.

[Surf]

This forum never fails to provide me a healthy dose of guffaws a day.

Call me Dr. Freud, I think Baker er, um, er, got agitated due to the partial fact that the title of this thread is quite mis-leading. I guess he's hoping for a revelation upon stumbling on "The perfect backup" only to see a side-bar of ECC vs AEC mixed with TY and a dash of Ritek. :D

So, Jack, do us a lil favour and edit this title to "Pixelated & Skipping Backup-Solved" ?

OT: now that you have embarked on learning Rebuilder, all I probably have to do is follow your posting and learn from you. :D I find the learning curve is just toooo steep. Actually too haphazard. You know, trying to learn to stand on a sword kinda thing without a few years on the punching bag.

[Jack'n'xbox]

Done.