DVDs burn correctly (no errors reported) but do not play -or- DVDs play on one player but not on another.
This is a fairly common problem that affects all DVD burners and players. The following factors affect whether a DVD will be playable (listed in order of importance).
1. Media Quality (Brand). There are measurable quality differences between different brands of discs. We recommend Taiyo Yuden discs (TY). There is a reasonable consensus that these discs have the best quality burnable surface. There are other acceptable brands of media available. Just be aware that price is usually a good indicator of quality. You may have to try several brands before you find the one that works for you. At first, buy small quantities for testing before you commit to a large quantity.
2. DVD Player Brand. This is the factor that you can control the least. Unfortunately it is one of the more important factors. Older DVD players and some newer players simply will not play burned DVDs. Other players will not play DVDs that were burned on lower quality media. These differences have nothing to do with price or quality. The best you can do is to make sure you follow all the recommendations on the factors that ARE within your control.
3. Drive Firmware. Update to the latest firmware. Firmware is found on this page.
4. Burn Engine. Update to the latest software. Burn engines are integrated into the software. Download the latest software here.
5. Copy Method. Some DVDs do not copy correctly using standard methods because of the way they were authored. See the related articles below to learn how to copy using the Data Job method (DVD Video/Audio job on Macintosh). This method is probably the best method to use in all situations.
6. Master Disc. Typically, copies are made from a master disc. This master disc can often be the source of the problem. First, it is probably burned on a different drive that may be of lower quality or out of date on the firmware. Second, it is probably burned on different media than the copies. The media may be of lower quality or the disc itself could have scratches. Third, the software that mastered the discs may add formatting that does not copy correctly through our software. All of these combined can mute the quality of the burn enough so that it does not play back in a particular player.
To fix all of these problem, it is possible to remove the master disc from the equation. The mastering program often has an option to master to Audio_TS and Video_TS folders on the hard drive instead of actually burning to disc. Hard drives are the most reliable storage devices available so the three problems discussed above are eliminated. You can then use the Data job method discussed in the related articles below to burn your copies.
Note: This method requires enough hard drive space to store the Audio_TS and Video_TS folders. Also, if you master your discs on another computer, you will need a network to connect one computer to the other so you can transfer the files to the computer connected to the duplicator. (Never burn data over the network.) Obviously if your discs are mastered off-site or by a contracted company you will not be able to use this suggestion. However, you can give them the same media that you use for blank, make sure they have a quality burner drive that is up to date with firmware and suggest they burn the master at 1x or 4x.
Related Articles:
How do I copy a DVD using Discribe? - Three methods.
How do I copy/create DVDs in Primo DVD?