Burn Successful, Nothing On Disk

[Invex]

I have a Dell XPS 700 with Windows Vista SP1.

I have Roxio Creator 2009 installed with SP3.

 

I chose Roxio Creator 2009 because it was suggesed on the TiVo site because it automatically strips off the TiVo encryption.

 

When I burn a DVD, the program runs normally, says it is successful and kicks out the DVD. The DVD won't play in any of my DVD players, either PC or home based. On the PC I click on the drive the DVD is in and am told to insert a disc. On my home based DVD players I'm told that it cannot play the disc.

 

A friend at work found a step by step process on the TiVo forums on how to use Roxio Creator 2009 to burn a DVD and I followed it to the letter and got the same result. Then he followed the exact same procedure on his HP laptop and it worked flawlessly.

 

Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong? Everyone at Dell insists that there is no compatibility issue. Dell in fact includes Roxio in it's preloaded software.

 

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Invex

[Jim_Hardin]

If it is encrypted, it won't even load the file, that would be illegal!!!

 

Aside from that, you gave us a very good list of events but without any of the details.

 

List step by step what you do and what settings you are using. Note the name of each program (at the top in the border).

 

I doubt if it is anything too troublesome to fix.

 

[Invex]

Jim

 

I posted this from work. I can give you more details once I get home.

 

My friend who had no issues on his HP laptop suggested that maybe what I'm really doing is writing to a file. If that is the case, then all of my brothers were correct all these years, I really am THAT stupid!

 

At any rate, I'll get you more details once I get home.

 

Thanks

 

Invex

[gi7omy]

One possibility - you said that Roxio (but didn't say which version) was pre-installed.

 

Did you do the 'clean install' procedure? The reason is that Creator 2009 has been known to have problems with some earlier versions if they are present.

 

I had the 'blank disc' problem happen to me and that was the cause

[Jim_Hardin]

Well that was one possibility that crossed my mind – the File part not the stupid part

 

Easy test, use Explorer to examine the disc contents.

 

DVD Movies will have a VIDEO_TS folder in which are xxxx.IFO, xxxx.BUP & xxxx.VOB files

 

A Data Disc won't have anything like that, just a xxxx.mpg file or some other extension.

 

[Invex]

One possibility - you said that Roxio (but didn't say which version) was pre-installed.

 

Did you do the 'clean install' procedure? The reason is that Creator 2009 has been known to have problems with some earlier versions if they are present.

 

I had the 'blank disc' problem happen to me and that was the cause

 

 

gi7omy,

 

I have a clean install of Roxio Creator 2009. Whatever came with the original Dell setup is long gone due to a hard drive crash. I did a clean install of Vista and Roxio Creator 2009 on a new hard drive.

 

Thanks

 

Invex

[Invex]

Well that was one possibility that crossed my mind – the File part not the stupid part

 

Easy test, use Explorer to examine the disc contents.

 

DVD Movies will have a VIDEO_TS folder in which are xxxx.IFO, xxxx.BUP & xxxx.VOB files

 

A Data Disc won't have anything like that, just a xxxx.mpg file or some other extension.

 

Jim,

 

Perhaps "stripping off the encryption" is not an accurate term here. TiVo recommends Roxio because it automatically converts the TiVo files so that they can be burnt to DVD's and enjoyed on home DVD players. The process for that is posted on TiVo's website and is as follows:

 

1) Launch Roxio Creator 2009

2) In the left navigation window, select 'Video-Movies'>'Copy and Convert DVD-Video'

Roxio's 'Video Copy & Convert' application will launch

3) Select 'Video Compilation.' The, from the 'Source' window, select 'Add Movies'

4) In the popup window, navigate to the 'My TiVo Recordings' folder on your PC, and select

the shows you want to add to your DVD. Click 'OK." Your shows will be added to the

'Source' window.

5) In the 'Destination' window, select your output format.

6) Click the 'Options' button to set the DVD title, add a main menu, and set other options.

Click 'OK' when finished.

Note: When you set options, the DVD format will become 'Custom Profile DVD'

7) If you chose to include a main menu on your DVD, click 'Select Style' to choose your menu style.

8) Use the 'Size' drop-down menut to select the DVD size.

9) Click 'Burn'

10) In the 'Burn Setup' dialog box, set your burning options and click 'OK'.

11) Enjoy your DVD

 

I followed these instructions exactly, except for #7 and #8 since they didn't really apply. Come to think of it, I guess I skipped #11 too. Since it was more or less a test, I pretty much went with a program I knew would fit on the disc and stuck pretty much to the 'defaults'.

 

I also tried it by skipping the 'Copy and Convert' feature and went right to:

 

1) 'Video-Movies'

2) 'Create DVDs'

3) 'Add New Movie' ( using 'DVD' as the 'Disc format' from the dropdown above it )

4) Making sure the 'Burn to Disc' box is checked

5) 'Burn'

 

I got the same results both times, it appeared to work, said it was successful and then, nothing.

 

Thanks for your help, hope I provided enough details. My mind is mush after a 12 hour shift!!!

 

Invex

 

[Jim_Hardin]

Yes those are the steps (although I don't/won't have TiVo) but until you can examine the DVD that was burned for the files & folders I described, we will sit in the dark.

 

Other things are that old Players might not work with certain media, like 'dash' or 'plus'. I have seen one that wouldn't play anything but an RW disc another that wouldn't play any RW disc… (really enjoyed dropping one of them in the trashcan)

 

So one step at a time – what's on the disc?

 

[Invex]

Yes those are the steps (although I don't/won't have TiVo) but until you can examine the DVD that was burned for the files & folders I described, we will sit in the dark.

 

Other things are that old Players might not work with certain media, like 'dash' or 'plus'. I have seen one that wouldn't play anything but an RW disc another that wouldn't play any RW disc… (really enjoyed dropping one of them in the trashcan)

 

So one step at a time – what's on the disc?

 

Ah, and there is the rub, when I click on the drive that the disc is in, I get a popup telling me to insert a disc, it's not recognizing the disc at all so I can't check to see what is on the disc.

 

An interesting sidenote, I decided to try again just for fun and what it seems to be doing is "encoding" the disc, but never actually "burning" a disc. Which places me further out in the weeds than I was to begin with.

 

Hey, I have to get to bed, I have to work tonight. But I want to thank you for all your help so far. I didn't want you to hang out all day thinking I'm about to post "The Great Breakthrough"!

 

I'll pick this up again in the morning. If you have any other thoughts, I'll log on from work tonight and check the thread.

 

Again, I can't thank you enough for your assistance. Most things PC-wise, I have no problems. This stuff has always confounded me for some reason.

 

Invex

 

Ah, and there is the rub, when I click on the drive that the disc is in, I get a popup telling me to insert a disc, it's not recognizing the disc at all so I can't check to see what is on the disc.

 

An interesting sidenote, I decided to try again just for fun and what it seems to be doing is "encoding" the disc, but never actually "burning" a disc. Which places me further out in the weeds than I was to begin with.

 

Hey, I have to get to bed, I have to work tonight. But I want to thank you for all your help so far. I didn't want you to hang out all day thinking I'm about to post "The Great Breakthrough"!

 

I'll pick this up again in the morning. If you have any other thoughts, I'll log on from work tonight and check the thread.

 

Again, I can't thank you enough for your assistance. Most things PC-wise, I have no problems. This stuff has always confounded me for some reason.

 

Invex

 

Actually, this time I used 'Create DVDs - Advanced' and GADZOOKS and EUREKA, it WORKED!!! It acted exactly like it did before, never actually said "burning" but there on the disc...DATA! Quality seems to leave a bit to be desired but it was a show recorded on an anolog channel. Maybe a little tweaking will clean it up. Thank God for RW discs, eh?

 

Again, thank you so much for your help and patience.

 

Invex.....Roxio Ninja!!

[Jim_Hardin]

Good!!!

 

Create DVDs-Advanced is the full version of MyDVD and a pretty nice Authoring program at that…

 

Quality can be sticky… It can't be better than the original recording but MyDVD is stuck to a default of Fit to Disc.

 

Most of us open MyDVD and change the quality to High Quality (HQ) as soon as it opens. (lower right corner)

 

One possible experiment you may want to make is to use VCC to make a Disc Image. It works as you have been using it but when you click Burn, you clear the checkmarks by any Burners you have and put one in "Save disc image file". (note the location it is saving the ISO file to)

 

After it is done go back and select that ISO file to burn with VCC.

 

It sounds funny but by breaking it into 2 distinct functions, sometimes it works better.

[Invex]

Good!!!

 

Create DVDs-Advanced is the full version of MyDVD and a pretty nice Authoring program at that…

 

Quality can be sticky… It can't be better than the original recording but MyDVD is stuck to a default of Fit to Disc.

 

Most of us open MyDVD and change the quality to High Quality (HQ) as soon as it opens. (lower right corner)

 

One possible experiment you may want to make is to use VCC to make a Disc Image. It works as you have been using it but when you click Burn, you clear the checkmarks by any Burners you have and put one in "Save disc image file". (note the location it is saving the ISO file to)

 

After it is done go back and select that ISO file to burn with VCC.

 

It sounds funny but by breaking it into 2 distinct functions, sometimes it works better.

 

I'll give that a shot. Now that I've found a way to actually burn a disc that works, I can go experiment with different settings and processes.

 

I find it very odd though that the 'Create DVD - Advanced' worked when the other two processes failed but again, it gives me something to go back and experiment with.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

Invex...Roxio Ninja (I'm not really a Roxio ninja, I was just looking for an excuse to use the emoticon)