Burning DVDs to play on old players.

[tehpwner2]

I intend to take a dvd home with me this weekend to play on my parents old Yamaha that isn't supposed to support DVD+R, however the other night they apparently got a burnt dvd to work properly. I have some videos that I have taken myself encoded in xvid and I wondered if I could burn these to play on this DVD player. Is there anything special that makes these discs play on old machines?

[setarip_old]

Hi!

You'd first have to convert your XviDs to DVD-compliant format.

I'd then suggest that, if your burner has the capability, you use its bitsetting function to make the burned DVD "appear to be a DVD-ROM"...

[r0lZ]

Unfortunately, the bitsetting tip can't help if your player really doesn't support the DVD+Rs. Setting the booktype to DVD-ROM will force your player to try to play the DVD, but there is absolutely no guarantee that it will succeed.

[Mr.Bitey]

tehpwner2,

Maybe the disc they 'got working' was a dvd-r :).. I find Taiyo Yuden DVD-R's (TY G0x)'s to provide the best compatability with old players - even ones that dont support dvd-r

Cheers,
Bitey

[setarip_old]

@tehpwner2

If it's feasible for you, you might consider buying your parents a new standalone DVD player. Nowadays, you can find them for as little as $30 US - and they'll play virtually anything ;>}

[r0lZ]

You're lucky! In Belgium, the cheapest players are around 150 euros (approx $175.) And to buy something relatively good, you have to pay at least $250.

[setarip_old]

@r0lZ

Aren't you able to purchase from companies anywhere in the European Union?

[r0lZ]

Yes, theoretically. Anyway, the prices aren't that different! (But it is true that Belgium is particularly expensive for the hardware!)