[SCH]

I'm looking for suggestions on which media and/or encoding settings are most reliable for burning DVDs so that they can be played back in most (US) DVD players. I'm not having much luck with what I'm currently doing. In one player (an older Toshiba combination 13" TV/DVD) the discs are not recognized at all. In another (a newer Sony BD player), the disk is recognized and some chapters play... some hang the device (as if the disc were damaged or exceptionally dirty - which it is not)

The source programs are standard def recordings from a Tivo HD DVR, which I have trimmed down in Toast Video Player... most are MPEG-2, 528x480, 29.97fps, Dolby Digital, Stero, 48000Hz.

I'm attempting to record to DL DVD (Philips Double Layer DVD+R) using Reencoding "Never"... maybe I am wrong, but I thought that rendered whatever my other settings were irrelevant - but just in case:

Avg Bit Rate: 4Mpbs
Max: 8Mbps
Motion Est: Best. Half-PEL checked.
Field Dominance: auto
Aspect: Automatic
Reencoding: never
Audio: Dolby, Data rate automatic.

Toast version is 10.0.4 (10.0.5 has issues with Tivo files - at least for me... lots of green boxes and nothing else).
Mac OS version: Snow Leopard, all the latest patches.
Hardware, early 2009 iMac
DVD Drive:
HL-DT-ST DVDRW GA11N:

Firmware Revision: KA16
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO


Thanks in advance.

[tsantee]

The most reliable DL media is Verbatim DVD+R DL. If you are in the U.S. these are stocked by OfficeMax and I think Walmart. If Toast reports "multiplexing" rather than "encoding" then your video files are being transferred in their original captured format.

Your older Toshiba player may not be able to play dual-layer burnable media or possibly +R media. Some older players only could accept -R discs. You might get some single-layer -R discs to test with the Toshiba player. Those would have the greatest compatibility with standalone players. Again, Verbatim discs are a very good choice.

This post has been edited by tsantee: 01 February 2010 - 11:37 AM