Dual Layer crashes and other issues

[zapt]

Just tried to back up Zappa Plays Zappa to a Philips DVD+R DL disk using DVDFab x64 10.2.0.30 (Full Disk mode), DVDFab's built-in burning routine, and a new drive (first DL attempt with it). Although it read the disk fine, the write froze at 0% on two separate attempts and then the program crashed. I checked the blank via My Computer, and it said it was still blank after each attempt. On the fourth attempt with speed set to Recommended and ImgBurn as the burning software, it made it to 49% and recorded an I/O error. Finally, I set the write speed to Slowest, used ImgBurn again, and DVDFab reported it as a successful burn.

To ensure that the disk actually worked, I tested it in two different DVD players. On the first (a fairly new, expensive SONY player), it came up with a "No Audio, No Video" error and refused to load. On the second (a much older SONY), it ran but stuttered every few seconds. Finally, I tested it on it on the computer on which I burned it (using Windows Media Player), and it played perfectly.

There are too many variables for me to sort through here: new drive, the particular media, and a new version of DVDFab. The crashes, of course, are a major concern--particularly given that they repeatedly occurred with the built-in software but not with an out-of-date version of ImgBurn.

Any thoughts?

[signals]

Try this: open ImgBurn in standalone mode and load one of the DL blanks into your new drive. See what ImgBurn reports as the available write speeds. Set one of the supported speeds in DVDFab Settings rather then Recommended or Fastest. +R DL blanks, even the best, can perform poorly if not burned at the optimum speed for your drive.

[october262]

For the new drive, try updating the firmware.
Also try better media such as Verbatim.
And as for the burn speed try burning at 4x speed.

Something else to try is to start imgburn - tools - settings - write - page 1 - then tick "perform OPC before write" click ok and try burning the disc again.

[zapt]

ImgBurn says the disk supports 4, 6, and 8x writes. Realizing that writing too fast is a common source of burn errors, I set Preferences to 1X on my second attempt. When the burn (with the built-insoftware started), a dialog box appeared giving write speed options. I set it to the lowest speed available (4x, I believe), and it crashed again. As I mentioned, the second ImgBurn attempt (at SLOWEST, which I assume was 4X) was successful.

Any idea why the disk is only playable on the burning computer and not two different DVD players?

I should also mention that I was able (after 2 attempts) to successfully rip the burned DVD to an MP4 file. The first one registered read errors from my new drive. The successful one was accomplished with my VERY old 8X Pioneer drive.

Anyway, there are still a couple of important issues here:

1. The fact that the current version of DVDFab crashed several times while attempting to burn. I know that every possible error condition can't be trapped, but crashing is normally frowned upon in commercial software.
2. The successfully burned DVD wasn't playable on anything other than the computer.

I'll check to see if there's a new driver when I get some free time. Thanks to both of you for the suggestions. Much appreciated.

[signals]

Even with Verbatim blanks, if you burn too slowly they will have errors .For instance the 8x-10x type of Verbatim DLs work poorly if burned below 6x. It sounds like the disc was not finalized properly, rendering it unreadable on any drive other than the one in your PC. Especially for troubleshooting, I suggest using ImgBurn in standalone mode for burning DL DVDs, it not only allows you to see what is happening as the burn progresses but also gives more control over the layer break position. To do this, write the DVDFab output to a folder on your hard drive, then run ImgBurn in build mode with the blank DL disc as the target and set a specific write speed. If you continue to have problems with this, attach the DVDFab internal log session and the ImgBurn log file for the burn. Instructions for log attachment are linked in my sig, below.