WTF is going wrong?!!

[joelholio]

Until recently I've had great success burning DVDs provided I stay with quality blanks (TDK, Sony).

Of late though I've had very little success. 3/4 of the way thru watching one on my stand alone players they start jerking, sometimes jerk back 5 seconds & continue on for a bit, eventually freezing entirely.

Hardware P4 1.8 ghtz 512 M Ram I/O Magic burner - all firmware upgrades applied; XP SP2 installed.

Software used:
WINAVI 7.1
WINDVD 2.0
DVD Shrink/Decrypter

all of these burning programs have worked fine in the past!

Lately I verify burns before playing with DVD Decrypter and use VSO Inspector - neither indicate problems yet 2 standalone players do the same thing.

Is it possible that my burner is crapping out? Anything else I should check?

[Carpo]

if you are burning iso/img files try imgburn - works a treat and have haad no issues with it so far

[setarip_old]

Anything else I should check?
Do these burned DVDs play properly on your PC? On other standalone players?

If they do, then your standalone player is likely at fault - and might benefit from running a DVD/CD cleaning disc on it.

If they don't, then your burner is likely the culprit - and it too might benefit from running a DVD/CD cleaning disc on it. Maxell makes one that sells for approximately $10US...

[CWR03]

Don't forget burn speed - for maximum compatibilty between players and drives, never exceed half the rated burn speed for which the drive or media, whichever is lower, is rated.

[joelholio]

If this doesn't confuse all of you, nothing will.

Forgot to mention in my initial query - I've pushed down the burn speed to 1X since this issue first cropped up.

I have used my latest 'problem dvd' in different readers and here's the results:
WMP used as the viewer in all PC dvd players.

In the original burner - dvd played audio but not video.

In a Toshiba notebook - dvd played flawlessly.

In a Compaq notebook (same specs as Toshiba) - dvd started to play then did the same thing it did on my stand alone.

In a neighbor's Magnavox (cheapie) stand alone -dvd played flawlessly.

When I say flawlessly I mean it starts fine, I can skip to any point/chapter and resume playback sucessfully. I certainly didn't sit thru the entire movie so it's an assumption that entire playback is possible.

So what does this say?!?!?!?!

[feedback]

First, make sure you are using the same previously working type of blank dvd's by using DVD Identifier Here. (http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=350) TDK uses several different manufacturers such as Ty yuden, CMC magnetics and of course TDK among others.

[Guest]

@joel

Please read and follow forum rules, specifically, rule 9: use a proper thread title. Also, WTF is arguably a profanity and is not appropriate. Thank you.

[setarip_old]

@joelholio

As I mentioned in general earlier, I'll now suggest specifically, regarding both your burner and your Compaq notebook:

They both might benefit from running a DVD/CD cleaning disc on them. Maxell makes one that sells for approximately $10US...