Discs Don't Work?
 

What do people do when they deliver a DVD to a client and the disc does not play for them? I did a project recently and I checked the disc after burning it and it played properly, but when the person got it it did not play for them on their player. Fortunatly the person was a friend and I was able to explain to her that it was her players fault, not mine and she understood, tried it on a different player and it worked. But of course eventualy you will run into people who will not get it. What have people done when they have encountered the problem? I am going to put it in my contract that all DVDs are tested before deliverly and it's not my companies fault if it does not play when you get it.

Yeah - I think at one time, everyone has run into this problem. Typically, I just sent them a fresh copy of the DVD and see if that will work - who knows they could have scratched the original while taking it out of the case. That typically makes them happy.

I also keep around some DVD +Rs to try out just in case it is a old DVD player (sometimes that will fix the problem). I'm sure that once I get Blu-Ray these issues will increase, since people will try to play a Blu-Ray disk in their standard DVD players and expect it to work!

Ryan

I think that's ridiculous and this can only serve to illustrate that you've delivered DVD's in the past the wouldn't play. For every one of your DVD's the client can't play they'll show you 10 that will. What do you say then?

I'd look into changing media brands first or even burners.

As a last resort buy them a $30 player at Wal-Mart.

OK, this comes up time and again. Many factors can come into play here. The media brand is one but also of critical importance is the bit rate of the video on the disc so think about this.

Many (of the 6 or so) DVD players in my house will play DVD's at 8,500 kilobits/sec. However, older DVD players and an older laptop in my house will struggle big time at anything more than 6,500. It's worth "building in" some comfort zone with anything you're selling with the bit rate you burn it at, even though you and I know that close on top end on the DVD spec will deliver "best video quality possible" with MPEG2. Unplayable is not considered good quality by the customer. But, of course, the're will be customers who just do this to get extra free copies...but factor that into your pricing!

I'm no expert but that's my input.

I think the wording of your contract amendment is a little harsh. Maybe including some fine print information with the delivery of the disc stating that occasionally a burned DVD may not play in ALL dvd players. State that if there is a problem check the disc for scratches and try to play it in another dvd player. If it still does not work, then they may contact you concerning the problem. It's tough sometimes. I've had clients try to play DVDs in CD-ROM drives, putting the discs in upside down, and not having the DVD player hooked up to the TV properly. It seems as though the people unable to figure out technology tend to be the ones who get irate with it the most and look to find fault with the video guy instead...

I've done this for groups I produces DVDs for (like schools, etc.): I actually print a sticker to be placed on the DVD case giving the explanation that the DVD was prepared with exacting standards, but that certain, and particularly older players, may not be able to access the discs. I suggest playing it in a different player or on a computer systems to assure the content is there. If there is still a problem, I leave a phone number for further contact. In the older players, sometimes they could play one or the other of the (+) or (-) DVDs, so, though I never had any returned yet, I could try burning on the other medium for the customer to see if it would work.

That approach has worked for me in the past. I've convinced a few 'old-school' types to upgrade their DVD player. Thankfully, those SD models were affordable. I can't imagine telling someone with a new Blu-Ray player to upgrade, because its not compatible with the new authoring format.

Don't ever remember having this problem with VHS tape delivery. Should we expect it to get even worse in the future?