New Blu-ray Players: The disk might not be finalized.

[Surtr]

Using Win7 x64 Home on a system I built July, 2012:
I7-3770K; Z77; 16GB RAM; 1TB HDD since replaced with 500GB 850 EVO.
Using Intel HD4000 on-chip GPU.
LG WH14NS40 burner
DVD Fab Blu-ray Copy, default settings throughout.

Sony BDP-BX18 Player, bought in 2011.

My copy process has been and is as follows:
Copy disc as BD50 main movie to HDD/SSD.
Convert BD50 to HDD/SSD as BD25, BD9 or BD5.
Burn movie folder to appropriate Verbatim disc.
(Using DVDFab VSO, Nero, AnyBurn, BurnAware or InfraRecorder over time, not in that order. I prefer AnyBurn.)
Insert disc into Sony player.
Watch movie.

I've also used Fuji and Memorex RW discs at times to ferret out and fix the occasional burn issues.

Bottom line: 100% of the discs I've made have started up and played directly upon insertion into the BDP-BX18.

Samsung has stopped producing players and has ended shipments of existing players as announced at CES in February. Since then, news is other makers will be following suit.

I decided to grab a late model player and mothball the BDP-BX18.

I picked up an LG UBK80 at a screaming Black Friday deal, $99 USD. I immediately discovered that my discs evoked a white screen with a "Check Disk!" I soon found this was the case with all my BD9 and BD5 disks burned after November 2017; the BD25s opened as data discs and I could drill down to the m2ts file and play it. ALL discs from October, 2017 going back to 2012 played OK!

The LG had a manufacture date of April, 2019, the firmware dated back to 2016, current as of as of a system update check, confirmed on the LG website. I decided to swap it out for a Sony UBP-X700 (at $80 greater expense) which already had the latest firmware, March 25, 2019.

All my pre-November 2017 discs play OK but those newer failed but reported greater detail than the LG: "Unable to play this disk (sic). Check that the disk can be played by this unit and there are no scratches or fingerprints on the disk. The disk might not be finalized." Again, the BD25s opened as data discs.

This is perplexing in that it can be assumed DVD/Blu-ray burning software finalizes video burns (there's even the option to disable that in the project screen in Nero and AnyBurn). FYI: I know the difference between finalization and closing.

I copied my Avatar Blu-ray using DVDFab 11.0.6.2 and its VSO engine as a BD5 and it failed to play.

It's not the end of the world as I burned the m2ts files from two BD5 discs to new discs and they play OK. Without all the Main Movie bells and whistles, of course.

Having cut my teeth creating and burning CDs and VCDs in Windows 98, this has got me flummoxed.

Technical insight as to a cause for the newer players' behavior with my post-November 2017 discs would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone having run into the same issue (regardless of a time line) and enabled a fix, what is it?

Cheers.

[Mona]

We don't have those models yet, please use the latest version DVDFab and set DVDFab Burning Engine or Imgburn to burn and see if it will make a difference.

[Surtr]

Thank you for the fast reply and taking the time to read my lengthy accountings and to admin for approving my login account.

Please note I reported, "I copied my Avatar Blu-ray using DVDFab 11.0.6.2 and its VSO engine as a BD-5 and it failed to play."

In the meantime, 11.0.6.3 was released on Wednesday. At your request, I installed it and repeated the process with my Rogue One Blu-ray. The UBP-X700 displayed the "the disk might not be finalized" failure.

To be specific, the method used for both burns is as follows:
Open DVDFab.
Insert Blu-ray Disc.
Set Main Movie.
Select Output BD5 1080p/i.
Save to: burner drive.
Start.
Inserted writable disc.
(Observed "Finalizing..." step)
Process Completed Successfully.

I am puzzled and somewhat troubled by your statement, "We don't have those models yet..." which suggests DVDFab requires players you test for compliance. And the manufacturers have developed methods (other than Cinavia) to prevent DVDFab (and/or others) burns from playing at all. This is something I was completely unaware of, that the player is an issue in the successful use of Blu-ray Copy. To the best of my recollection, I never noted a New or Fix for players in the "From DVDFab Staff New!" posts over the years.

In a 12/03 email to support, Subject: Check Disc Failure - LG UBK80(technical_support), I reported the issue in detail, though not as verbose as in this forum posting. A Support Team member replied, "We do not know the reason."

In response to my question, "Do you have a listing of 'approved' 4K players?" I was given your /4k-uhd-drives.htm link for burner drives. I decided not to follow up on that misunderstanding as I gambled the LG was at fault.

As I related, the LG UBK80 was exchanged at the retailer for the Sony UBP-X700 (so the LG is no longer of concern).

My main anxiety is that, years from now, should what ever player I have in service (right now, the Sony UBP-X700) suffer catastrophic failure, I have another on hand (my mothballed Sony BDP-BX18) to replace it considering no one will be selling players anymore.

My questions:

1) Can I expect the Sony UBP-X700 to become one of the models among the ones you have, therefor fixing my issue? When? Guaranteed?

2) Do you have a link to a listing of the models you do have? If not, can you provide a short list of the latest manufactured units?

At your earliest convenience, specific and forthright answers will be greatly appreciated as, for #1, if positive, wait on the fix and, if negative, return the UBP-X700 next week for full credit and monitor ebay for an acceptable BDP-BX18. Or for #2, shopping for a player you already have though that might mean buying from on online retailer which I would prefer to avoid. DVDFab support will determine my decision.

Thanks again!

[signals]

You can easily test this to see if the DVDFab output or the burn is at fault. First, write the output to a folder on your HDD. Open it with a licensed player like PowerDVD and see if it plays without error. If it does, open Imgburn in Build mode and write it to disc. You will be able to watch the entire process in the ImgBurn log window. I suggest a write speed of 4x maximum. Now test the disc in any standalone player and report the results here.

[Surtr]

@ Signals Much obliged for your reply.

As I described in specific detail, discs play perfectly in my 2011 Sony BDP-BX18 but fail in two 2019 players (models you don't have yet), the Sony UBP-X700 revealing a finalization issue; the LG UBK80 simply announced "Check Disc!" These are Blu-ray Copy discs that I burned recently and years ago and the ones I burned in the course of this discussion.

To address your regards, for burns over the years, almost a decade, the DVDFab output folders AND the discs have played on whatever systems I had and now have using whatever PC player I was and am running, including Windows Media Player as well as an I-forget-what-app on an Ubuntu system about three years back. I've even played an output folder off a USB stick in a friend's Samsung TV.

While I don't claim to have professional expertise, I have about 20 years of fun authoring discs and copying DVDs to disc and drives with very good success. Network Optix's tsMuxeR is one of my favorite tools for tweaking m2ts files prior to MP4 conversion. Of course, HD Decrypter was and Blu-ray Copy is a joy to use, far better than your competitors' products.

In cooperation with your instructions, here is the report: I once again ran my Avatar and Rogue One Blu-ray discs outputting as BD5's to my SSD. They play just fine on my Windows 7 and when copied over to a Windows 10 system, there as well. When copied to a USB stick, the m2ts files play on the Sony UBP-X700. The Sony AND and the LG refuse to recognize the Blu-ray Copy's disc finalization. That the Main Movie Blu-ray Copy discs I created prior to November, 2017 play in the UBP-X700 and played in the UBK80 leads me to conclude the manufacturers have hardened their players you don't have yet against disc copies to an even greater degree and Blu-ray Copy hasn't been upgraded for them.

In this post, along with my #1 and #3 posts, I am unable to express this experience with any greater precision or eloquence.

At this point, the issue has been ascertained (late model stand alone players you don't have yet) which is why posted up those two questions in #3.

@ Mona

I await with some urgency your reply to my two questions in #3 so I can make a decision on a stand alone player strategy. Hopefully that the DVDFab Blu-ray Copy will support the Sony UBP-X700 very soon. If not, please bear in mind, time is limited as to when I can return the UBP-X700 for a $180 USD refund. BTW, this is Sony's most popular Blu-ray player.

I should mention my UBP-X700 firmware is version is M43.R.0277, current as of this posting per the Sony web site.

Thank you for your time.

[Surtr]

Sorry! I forgot to mention I burned the Rogue One as BD5 using ImgBurn as requested. It failed - Sony reported as not finalized. Strange, though, in that I reported DVDFab's VSO burn failed, it was advised I try ImgBurn. (I've used ImgBurn in the past but have long considered BurnAware and AnyBurn to just as effective for "day-to-day" burning.) Cheers.

[signals]

Have you recently changed blank disc suppliers? I can’t imagine ImgBurn failing to finalize a disc properly. As to the other burning software you mentioned, I am not familiar with them. Checking in the Sony model that fails to play.

[Surtr]

The discs are 4.7GB Verbatim, from stack of 100 I bought early last year. I focused on BD5 burns for this report and analysis because they're not as expensive as the 8GB and 25GB Verbatim.

Now, no disrespect... It's doubtless you're very busy and I don't know if you had the time to read all of my lengthy posts word for word. THIS IS NOT ABOUT FINALIZING!

I think you have not fully realized the issue I'm reporting on. Please, please read this:

• ALL the discs I've EVER burned, including the ones I've burned in the course of the reports in this topic, play in the Sony BDP-BX18 I bought in 2011. The Sony UBP-X700 ("The disk might not be finalized" fail) and LG UBK80 ("Check Disc!" fail) are of 2019 manufacture. Two brand new models: DVD plays NOT. Old model: DVD plays OK.

• The core purpose of Blu-ray Copy AND MY WIN7 PC GEAR are OK in that the m2ts files themselves play when burned to a disc (or copied to a USB stick) wherein the players identify the optical media as data discs.

• With reference to #2 above, Mona's "We don't have those models yet," (Sony UBP-X700, LG UBK80) this clearly suggests Blu-ray Copy is specific to certain players and needs to be updated as newer models are released.

I hope this wraps it up because, respectfully, I'm growing frustrated with this circular dialogue. Especially since I'm not complaining about or insulting Blu-ray Copy, requesting a refund, etc. I renewed my license in August and will do again next year. As a long time customer, I'm reporting on a breakdown in its functionality.

1) Can I expect the Sony UBP-X700 to be supported, that is, added to the models you have, thereby fixing the issue? When? Guaranteed?

2) Do you have a link to a listing of the models you support, that is, that you do have? If not, can you provide a short list of the latest manufactured units?

Thank you!

[signals]

This is not a DVDFab issue. I am sorry to report that LG at least has discontinued support for the BD9 format. I suspect Sony has also. Find an older player still in stock somewhere. LG says none of their current models support BD9 and will not in the future.

[Surtr]

Thank you. Perhaps I didn't search well enough here for the newer player loss of BD9 (or BD5 or BD25) or all on 'em) support before I began this topic. My apologies.

With reference to #2 above, Mona's "We don't have those models yet," I didn't mean to infer a DVD Fab issue, just that I interpreted that to mean updates could be forthcoming.

I did say the core purpose of Blu-ray Copy is OK otherwise.

As for newer player BD9 support, in my previous posts I report all BD25, BD9 and BD5 discs I burned prior to November 2017 play OK in the Sony UBP-X700 and played OK in the LG UBK80. This will have to remain as the enigma it is. My "then there's always this" workaround below will handle that. Or I'll just spin the original disc if it's not free-streamable; the older copies don't hold the importance they once did.

I still have my 2011 Sony BDP-BX18, so I don't have to find an older player. But it's a good idea for the user base to scarf one up now in case their current player goes full fail in the future when no one is making or selling stand alone players anymore which is why I got a new one to begin with and mothball the BDP-BX18 as a backup. I'll need the UBP-X700 for 4K when a TV I like shows up at Best Buy.

As I'll be keeping the UBP-X700, and all what's been said so far, this conversation can be closed out. I don't have need to revisit it.

Except for the user base, I stumbled across a new work around...

Blu-ray Copy (or ImgBurn, if you use it) writes the Main Movie BDMV and CERTIFICATE folders to the root of the disc.

In Blu-ray Copy save the main movie to the HDD/SDD and not to the burner drive.

Close Blu-ray Copy, open AnyBurn, select "Burn or append files/folders to disc," then in the first dialogue, from the Main Movie folder, add the movie named folder itself. (AnyBurn is free and in current development and support. Use teh google to find it.)

In the next dialogue, check the "Finalize disc" box and hit Burn Now . (Leave all settings under "File system" in Options at default, unless you really have the know-how.)

Your new player(s) now sees this as a data disc and you can drill to the STREAM folder and select the m2ts file.

Two downsides:
- No chapters, but audio & subtitles still work.
- Some STREAM folders have multiple m2ts files. Just choose the one with the lowest number. As the player moves from one m2ts to the next, there'll be a 2-3 second animated graphic or "please wait." "(Tools are available to combine multiple m2ts files into a single m2ts file based on the mpls file in the PLAYLIST folder. I use Network Optix's tsMuxeR, though there's something newer and easier to use by now.)

Then there's always this:

For any of the discs now in your library which won't open in your new player, you can always burn just the m2ts file to another disc, The player will see it as a data disc and you can select the file and it will play.

Cheers!