Freeze during playback - possible layer break? I don't know.

[Tufflaw]

Hello, I'm having a strange problem, hopefully someone can help me out. I was watching a movie on a standalone DVD player, it was ripped and encoded with DVD Shrink 3.2, movie only with some compression. It was working perfectly until about an hour into it it started to freeze. It would freeze in different ways also - either the picture would freeze but the timer on the DVD player would keep going, or the picture and the timer would both freeze, sometimes the timer would freeze and then go back a few seconds. I tried watching it on my PC and it didn't freeze at all. Then I tried it on the player again and it didn't freeze at the spots it froze before, now it freezes at different spots. I read the thread on layer breaks causing freezing but wouldn't the freezing happen at the same spots each time?

Any suggestions would be most appreciated - I'm brand new to all this so maybe I'm just doing something wrong. Thanks!

[Floppy]

Hi there Tufflaw

The laser in your computer's DVD drive is far better than the Standalone DVD player. Not to mention more compatible with different Media.

Since this freezing is not ocurring in the same spots there are several thing's that cause this sort of thing.

Labels.
Dirty laser.
Dirty disk
etc...

If you dont have labels on the DVD and you have cleaned the laser and the disk AND you still experience this then we will look at other solutions.

Try these for now though

[Tufflaw]

Thanks...

Thanks for the advice, I tried another DVD which was a compressed movie only and it worked fine, so maybe it's the disk itself. The DVD player is brand-new, literally - this was the second movie I've played in it. I'll get a cleaner for the player and disk though and try again.

It wouldn't be a label problem, I don't use them.

[Floppy]

Your very welcome.

There is a option on DVD shrink to remove layer break if you have this checked it will reduce the pause/transition.

If the Player is new than cleaning it just now will be required, but the disk you can clean it using a mild sopay water solution and polishing it from the inside out in staright strokes with a lint free cloth.

Good things

[lgha]

Something else you may want to read:

for writer compatibility search here:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters

and for DVD player compatibility search here:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers

You say your player is new - you may want to check the manufacture website for your burner to see if there is a firmware update for your burner model. Skipping and freezing are generally media related, and what works well on one unit may not work as well on another. A great many posters here prefer the Ridata or Ritek in G04 grade A, but read the links above to see for yourself.

[Tufflaw]

Still having problems...

Hmmm, tried it again with another disk and it started freezing again. I cleaned the disk and it still froze in the same spots. It starts about 80 minutes into the movie and it becomes literally unwatchable. I tried cleaning the disk to no avail. Again, I put it in the PC and it worked perfectly. I checked and have the latest firmware for my DVD burner and the standalong player. The weird thing is that after watching it on the PC, I put it back in the DVD player and it worked fine, it didn't freeze at all. The other movie I tried still froze but in different spots.

It's VERY frustrating. I can't tell if it's the media, the player, or what. It's definitely not the encoding, otherwise it wouldn't work in the PC, or it would freeze in the same spots.

I'm using a Mad Dog 4x DVD-R burner (Actually a wrapped Toshiba), with Ridata disks. I have a Philips DVP642 player. While the Philips technically isn't supposed to play DVD-R disks according to the manufacturer, every review of the player says it plays them, and it works most of the time (see above, it played Seabiscuit perfectly with no freezes.)

Any suggestions?? Thanks!

[setarip]

"While the Philips technically isn't supposed to play DVD-R disks according to the manufacturer, every review of the player says it plays them, and it works most of the time"

Based on EVERYTHING you've said, this appears to be your problem...

[Tufflaw]

I haven't read any reviews where anyone had any problems playing DVD-R disks on the Philips though, and I don't understand why it would freeze sometimes but not other times.

I just checked on http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers and all the reviews say the DVP642 plays DVD-R format.

[hollywebvideo]

Also, if your burner is buffering at a slow rate, it will also cause this. That is what happened to me until i got the correct software for my burner, and now no disk freezes or skips! By the way, I truly do not believe a label can cause this or has anything to do with malfunctioning disks.

[Tufflaw]

I thought it might be a software problem but I have the latest firmware and I'm using Nero 6 which actually came with the burner, so I don't think that's it. I think it's the player. I'm going to return the DVP642 and probably get a Panasonic S47.

[Floppy]

Hi there everyone

About the intermitent freezing you are experiencing, you may wqant to look here:

http://www.dvd-burner.ca/DVD-Tutorials/No-Stutter-DVD-Playback.html

But not trying to be funny, even though labels arent always the cause, it has been know to be the only cause in some cases.
Read more about this here:

http://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=138166

http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?threadid=40707&highlight=labels

And for the final one take your pick.

http://forum.digital-digest.com/search.php?action=showresults&searchid=806212&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending&perpage=25&pagenumber=3

Good things.

[Tufflaw]

Thanks for the info - unfortunately the freezing is not during playback on the PC (it's perfect on the PC), but on the standalone player. Hopefully getting a different player will solve the problem.

[Floppy]

This is like a riddle and mabe it lies on your player.

For more look here:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/lite/t-65425

I hope it gets resolved. If you are consedering a DVD player then I can tell you that NAIKO is cheap and wonderfull.

I got that for a christmas presie from my boss, because I couldnt play Spider-man on the PS2. It plays anything I put on it and there are very good simple hacks or it too.

Good things buddy :d

[Tufflaw]

Hooray!

OK I got a Panasonic S27 and it works flawlessly. Bye bye Philips! Thanks everyone for your suggestions, it looks like it was the player after all.

[Floppy]

Hi

I'm happy that this was a simple fault that was hard to pin-point and above all that your happy and have resolved the problem.

Your very welcome for all the advice/suggestions. (I speak for all of us here at the Digital-Digest forums) I think?

Good Things