I've encountered a problem I thought was unique to my Samsung Blu-ray player but now it appears it affects PS3s also.

These are the symptoms:

Once the DVD has started playing on the second layer at the end of the next chapter the machine loops back to the head of the chapter, starts playing the chapter again and won't advance.

If I use scene selection to move directly to a chapter on the second layer, at the end of the chapter the machine again loops back to the head of that chapter and starts playing again.

I create the DVD-compatible MPEG in Avid Liquid, use TMPGenc 4 to encode, DVD Studio to author. Disks are Verbatim DVD-DL+R

Has anyone else encountered this problem and what is your solution please?

I don't want to tell the client to get a DVD player (they work fine in all my DVD players) and I'm considering authoring with TMPG Authoring Works - which we already use for BD authoring. I'd switch tomorrow if TAW was as good as DVD Studio but it isn't.

is there a suitable cell at the layer break

how was the layer break set?

IMGBurn (free) can give you an idea if your compilation has a suitable layer break prior to burning, and if it does, you can set it, if it does not, don't bother burning and fix the problem in the authoring stage

Anton, frankly I was not aware I had to set the layer break - I've always assumed it was determined automatically, certainly none of my software (TMPGenc/DVD Studio/Nero 9) has prompted me for the info. Furthermore, the phenomenon is evident on a number of different programmes.

However, let me check the program to which you refer and I'll come back. Thanks for the information and guidance. .

Hi Philip, I will second Antons suggestion regarding IMGburn.
I use DVDitProHD for all my Blu ray / DVD but when burning DL discs IMg burn allows you to choose the layer break giving you the chance to preview it prior to burning.
it has to be the most reliable burning program ive ever used, so im sure it will solve the problem.

on a side note how do you like TMpg auth works for your Blu ray work, I find dvdit frustrating on occasions and had looked briefly at tmpg as a possible option.

cheers john

John, thanks for your message and advice.

I've used DVD Lab for a long time so it fits like and old shoe. I wish the designers weren't so convinced that Blu Ray will fail that they ignore any question of extending their product to cover it. It's not that it's easy - rather the opposite but having got into it I find it very intuitive and immensely powerful. In the same way, I find TAW very confusing, not least because of its use of terminology. I can't the be only person to find it thus because on the second "page" they go to the trouble of reminding the user that "clip" means video file.

Unfortunately for me TAW is the future so I have to make the leap from DVD Lab to TAW and one of my tasks for the weekend is to plough through their tutorials and get my head around tracks (which I think are chapters) etc.

Since my initial objective was to find an authoring program that would permit me to finish the present job, I have initially pursued the TAW (TMPG Authoring Works 4) route - I shall return to the Imgburn suggestion later or if the TAW route is not satisfactory.

But, initial tests suggest it is. I hoped it might be because it embraces BD authoring as well, although obviously I had no technical grounds for the hope.

Later....

although the first test looked promising the full authoring replayed in a Samsung Blu-Ray player showed the same unsatisfactory results as the DVD Lab authoring. I'm going to check the play in a Sony Blu Ray player although frankly that wouldn't be conclusive enough for me.

In the meantime, I'll try Imgburn and see if the selection of the breakpoint is the factor which makes the difference. If it isn't then I'm afraid we're simply going to have to remind clients of the limitation - however, since we're upgrading our package to include Blu ray from January 1st it's not a problem that will bother us for long.

Even later...

It occurred to me when I looked at the disc that the second test disk had obviously been burned differently to the first. The only difference in procedure was that I'd burned the first within TAW4 but the second I'd done the actual burn in Nero 8 - simply because Nero offers a validation which TAW doesn't. However the distribution on the disk was clearly difference so I've just started a burn of the second authoring within TAW4. It may be that if the problem is related to the break point that the problem lies within Nero 8.

Later still....

right, the TAW4 burn plays correctly in the Samsung Blu-ray player. So far so good. I'll now test it in a PSP3 and a Sony Blu-ray player to check them, but of course, that may only confirm that that particular group of three programmes plays correctly. In total they're just over the limit for a single side DVD.

Next I'll author in TAW4 a much bigger group of programmes that require almost the full capacity (at 8Kbps) of a Dual Layer DVD and see if they play correctly also.

I hope these tests and the ongoing commentary is useful to others.

Hi Philip, thanks for all the feedback as I have also looked at TAW4 , mainly due to DVDITPro Hd terrible support from roxio and its well documented bugs.( I think its been dumped by roxio ages ago but they still sell it!)
I also have sony dvd architect pro but I cannot get to grips with it and I dont think it alows pop up menus in Blu ray.

john