Rivergate Software Inc. - makers of DVDAfterEdit

Well, I tried a slightly different approach of cramming in as much dummy black as I could into VTS 1 to push everything down the line a little.

Then I removed Toast and DVD AE from the equation and did something odd. I built the image in DVD SP as usual but this time under the "Format" tab I went straight to DVD+R DL from the build without formally making an image.

YES I KNOW now no layer break data is being adhered to ... that never helped me before!! Anyway, the resulting disk was perfect in that the one and only possible layer point was actually chosen - hooray.

Of course, the pragmatist in me says that this all proves nothing anyway. They're not replicating from that burned disk and they're not replicating from the build that created that disk. They're replicating from the DDP disks I'm making right now and this is the point where I hold my breath and don't release it for a week or two while REAL disks are made.

Thanks to all for their help.

I re-read your original post. You stated that the LB appears to be 8 minutes earlier than expected. This would imply that layer 0 is in fact smaller than you planned. So maybe the problem is that the burning software is trying to balance the two layers - not fill layer 0.

I think my suggested test is still worth doing as it will at least prove that the LB is shifted by the burning software because of the free space.

Michael

Thanks for the comprehensive reply Michael.
Taking what you've said then, the disk is ignoring what authoring is recommending and doing its own thing, despite there being none of those barriers that would normally jeopardize this process. The disk has over 900MB free. Layer 0 is nicely larger than layer 1. I'm using +DL disks which have been fine in the past for using the programmed layer break.

If the only way of knowing where the break is is using players, then our Sony which displays the current layer is the master here. It proves that the break is where the Pioneer machine freezes and not where I want it. It's also making a seamless break in the middle of the performance which makes no sense. Also, I've re-encoded both the video and audio for this area to no avail so I don't think it's a bit rate spike.

If as you say, "the location of the break on the replicated disc cannot be determined using any of the tools commonly available to DVD authors (including DVDAE)", then what is DVD AE showing me when I load in a replicated or burned DVD? It does the whole red and blue arrow thing so am I not to take this as definitive? If not, then what use is it?

Thanks.

Thanks for the help guys but my situation is becoming ridiculous.
As I mentioned in my original post, I've actually loaded my burned disk into DVD AE and it shows me that the layer break is in the correct position. BUT playing it on a player proves it is not correct. Who's telling the truth here? I can't trust that the DDP will be OK. Plus, I've tried using DVD AE to make DDP folders and then read those back into DVD AE, made an image and then burned a disk with exactly the same (bad) results.

DVD AE is showing me that the layer break is seamy, as I wish. The burned disk is getting a seamless layer break which is what's freezing one machine.

Larry - you say VIDEO_TS folders do not have layer break information, yet the only way DVD AE can look at a disk image is to open it to its VIDEO_TS level. I've been making pro level disks successfully for 8 years and I've never been more confused about layer breaks than I am right now. Sonic Creator made this very easy in terms of what was possible and what wasn't.

Hi guys,

Thank you both for the response. A couple of things:
In my haste, I wasn't clear about the fact that I AM using +R DL disks. I had used the hyphen in my description as a separator and not a format. Totally my bad.

Secondly, my normal practise here is to create the build in DVD SP and then open that with DVD AE and create the image to burn. I totally understand that I need an image file to preserve the chosen layer break. My expectation is that DVD AE will allow me to verify and/or change the layer break position from the VIDEO_TS prior to making the image.

At this stage, DVD AE shows me the layer break is EXACTLY where I programmed it. Once I create the image and burn the disk, I open that disk in DVD AE and it once again visually confirms the layer break to be exactly where I want it. Unfortunately reality shows this not to be the case.

Ian - you say DVD AE can't read the exact location from a disk. Presumably this includes VIDEO_TS folders that we make? If that's the case, then what good are the layer options in the program? I'm sure I'm missing something here!

hi michael,
let me say, first of all, a DVD-R DL is no good choice to proof a DVD. I guess you get better results with DVD+R DL because they are more compatible (you can´t talk about relyability with DVD-R DL-media, as we all know ;) )

As I understood your post, you created DVD-Images within DVDSP and burned them with toast, is this right? Have you checked the layerbreak-position within the IMG-file with dvdafteredit?

backround: if there is no valid layerbreak-position within DVDSP, it automaticly set the layerbreak-position back to automatic, so then the layerbreak could be somewhere else!

You could proof this, when you look with dvdafteredit into the opened IMG-file. Another possibility is to have a look within DVDSP, into the format-option, 2nd. tab, if you have a valid layer-break-position it should be fine!

Just be sure you burned IMG-files to the disk, otherwise toast set the layerbreak where IT wants.

danny