NTSC Set Top DVD Players

Hi,
Here in Europe, it is usual that PAL Set Top players can play both PAL and NTSC disks.
Obviously the region code plays a role here.
I have a region free PAL disk that I wish to send to the US and Latin America.
Will they be able to play it without problems?

Silal wrote:
Drew
AFAIK Apple DVD Player doesn't bother about PAL & NTSC switchs, for sure it does limit the Region Code switchs.
Will go back and test I probably set the Region code and PAL, just trying to remember which opne it was complaining about
OOT
I would like to talk seriuosly with the group of people that decided the region code system.
If not for Region Codes, we would have nothing to worry about LOL just another wrinkle in the fun and games of DVD'Ville

Similar Messages

Why won't Apple provide a list of COMPATIBLE SET TOP DVD PLAYERS?

Why won't Apple provide its users a comprehensive list of COMPATIBLE DVD SET TOP PLAYERS? If they have, can someone direct me (us) to it? Although most set top DVD players will read Apple burned DVD discs, many set top DVD players will NOT read DVD's burned with the combination of iDVD and or DVD Studio Pro software and the built-in burners that ship with Mac computers. Obviously this is a third-party related issue, but it might be nice to provide at least the know set-top DVD players that DO WORK with DVD's burned on Apple computers using Apple software.

Although most set top DVD players will read Apple burned DVD discs, many set top DVD players will NOT read DVD's burned with the combination of iDVD and or DVD Studio Pro software and the built-in burners that ship with Mac computers
Blatantly untrue ... pure BULL. I've been burning DVDs for years with my Mac and DVD-SP. After thousands of DVDs delivered to clients, I've only had two (yes, 2) complaints of playback issues.
The two major factors to playback compatibility are the quality of the media and the bit rate used. Keep bit rates reasonable; don't use AIFF audio; use only good quality media like Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden and stay away from low quality media such as Memorex.
-DH

Dual Layer Disc Does not Play in Set Top DVD Player

Problem: Dual Layer Disc Does not Play in Set Top DVD Player
Solution: If your burner supports having its bitsetting changed, find a utility and change it to include DVD-ROM.
Additional Information:
DL (Dual Layer) is currently only a +R format. This is a serious problem, as you will find that on older players - and a lot of new ones - there is no +R support. It is not official, and therefore useless for any professional application.
By changing the bitsetting of your burner, it allows DLs (Dual Layer discs) to be burned with a book type of DVD-Rom and thus readable by many more players.
DVD player support drops off exponentially if your burner doesn't support bitsetting, allowing you to change the book type of your disc from DL to DVD-Rom. The DL book type will play on most newer software DVD players but not set top players.
If you've burned a dual layer disc without changing the bitsetting, it is a permanent semi-coaster as it will only play on your computer. I understand that newer DL burners are coming with firmware that automatically sets the book type.
Encore offers no control over book-type. My understanding is that this is a burner-specific parameter: some burners support allow themselves to be set and others do not.
Bitsetting (setting the Book Type) is specific to individual burners. There are some 3rd party software utilities out there that do a good job. The best thing to do is do a Google Search for your specific burner and find what works for yours.
LiteOn has a book type utility available for its DL burners:
I believe DVDInfoPro can set this on burners which support it.
Note: I would caution everyone who updates their firmware to check their bitsetting before burning DL discs. I don't know if it always returns to its default but it did in my case.
Bitsetting is done prior to burning the disk and generally only needs to be set once (unless like me, you update the firmware of your burner). The book type identifies to the player what type of disk is in it. Most players will play DVD-Roms with no problem. However, the book type of a DL disk is DVD+R DL as opposed to DVD-Rom and few players can read that.

Some general comments about the OP's several questions
Remember that reading a burned disc is not part of the original, core specification to play a DVD... so while most players do, now, they are really not required to do so to be able to play a replicated disc
This may (probably is) even more so with dual layer discs... the disc material is different, and a player that will happily read a replicated disc may have problems with a burned disc
There are many messages scattered in the forum, over the past several years, about brands of disc that are better... due both to overall quality control and the type of dye on the disc that is burned by the laser... with the bottom line being that not all discs are going to play in all players with 100% success
As for studio discs... there is software out there that costs many thousands of dollars which do many (up to 9?) encoding passes to get the best, and smallest, possible result to fit more on a disc

Buttons over video doesn't work on set top dvd player

I've tested my project on apple dvd player & my set top panasonic dvd player and it works fine. my friend has tested it on his sony & a few other set tops without any issues.. I just put the disc in another sony dvd player & now the button hi-lites aren't showing up! To see if it was just the dvd player I tried a disc authored in scenarist that also uses buttons via forced subtitle streams & it works just fine. is my issue a result of using dvd studio semi-pro?
has anyone out there run into this?
p.s. both my track and disc settings have "force display" checked.

Unfortunately I have come across this all too often. So lets establish the facts here. The disc;
plays fine on stand alone DVD players
plays fine on Macs
plays fine on Windows computers
but it has trouble playing on her computer.
So her argument is that their must be something wrong with the disc...
Really?

Faint red banding on NTSC playback of DVD from DVDSP4

I have completed a single-layer DVD-R. It plays back fine on both NTSC displays and computers, with the exception that the NTSC playback seems to include faint red banding in the full black screens.
The banding slowly moves upward, almost like a traditional TV is slightly mistuned. I originally thought there was something wrong with the mpeg encoding of the feature, but on further inspection I found that the banding also occurs during the transition from the menu to the movie (and continues over any part of the movie that displays solid black; only over the black). This banding cannot be seen over any other colors.

I've been doing some research, and I thought this might be one of those IRE setup issues, but from what I've read, it looks like if it were an IRE issue, my video on the dvd would appear washed out and brighter, not darker. Again, it looks great on 2 set top dvd players I've tried, as well as the built in apple dvd player on the powerbook screen. On two other set-top boxes, it appears dark and muddy.
It sounds like it may be DVD Player or television set-up related. If it behaved the same way on each player/tv then it could have been related to encoding settings, gamma etc. - did you double check the set-ups to make sure?

DVD players won't recognize my DVD

I recently made a DVD slide show and both on my son's portable DVD player and my own fixed DVD player, the DVD continued to "load" as an endless loop and could never be played. I have a new IMac with IDVD 6.0.3. I have made movies (with the new computer and current applications) and burned them to a DVD and nobody in the family had trouble playing them. I use HP DVD-R 16X and I burn at maximum speed. What am I missing? thanks, Dr.Steve

I use HP DVD-R 16X and I burn at maximum speed. What am I missing?
High speed burns tend to result in more burn-errors which result in problems playing the DVDs in set top DVD players (usually such discs will play in computers, because computers have more error correction than set top DVD players).
iDVD doesn't give you burn speed options.
The only way (other than finding low-speed media) to keep the burn speed at 4x or less, is to make your DVDs in two steps: Step One Create a disk image of your completed project (it's an option under File) and Step Two Use Apple's Disk Utility application to burn the image to writable media. DU will give you burn speed options.

CS3 Mac: Button highlights preview and show on computer but not set top player

Hi,
I have a pretty simple project on CS3 Mac Encore (all Apple & Adobe updates except Quicktime is 7.3.1). It consists of three menus which started as Photoshop files with the button overlays done in Photoshop.
I have been DVD authoring a long time on DVD Studio Pro and am an expert with After Effects, so I had no problems setting up the DVD on Encore. It previews perfectly, and when I burn it to DVD, it plays perfectly on my Mac. However, when I tried to play it on two different set top DVD players (both high quality - one JVC and one Panasonic) the button highlights do not show up at all -- you can't tell at all which button is active.
I hunted through the posts here and at other forums, and the only suggestions that I have found are that it might be a corrupted project. I have tried trashing the preferences, repairing permissions, and rebooting, and the problem persists. It is a very new installation (I recently formatted the drive, and installed a fresh OS with Apple's suite and Adobe's suite because of the recent Quicktime 7.4 bug).
So... I will try to create a new project and see if this still happens. In the meantime, has anyone else seen this?
Thanks,
Graham Jones.

I'm having the same problems with a very simple dvd I created. 1 main menu (static background image and buttons from the encore library) and 1 scene selection menu (static background with the same button). Ouput to dvd -r and have 100% playback on computer, but I'm having varied playback on set top players. The dvd's play, but button highlight is not visible. The dvd will navigate as long as you count the clicks of the remote... I have duped 40 copies and my client couldn't play them on several different dvd players he has. We have tried them on several of our own players and not found a problem, but I traveled to his site and checked myself; they don't work. The 2 players that wouldn't display the highlights are a jvc dr-mv5su and a brand new durabrand sts96. I have re-created my dvd using dvd architect and they play fine on all the players (using a standard underlined text highlight). Any suggestions??? I really don't think I'm doing anything wrong, but I am new to Encore CS3 Mac.
Barry

Compressor setting for DVD Studio Pro

What's the best Compressor (v.3.5.3) setting for DVD burning in DVD Studio Pro?
I used DVD: Best Quality 90 but the DVD burned via DVDSP plays on a Mac but not on DVD players and PCs.
The DVDSP log contains this line for each of the four video and audio assets:
Note: The file ‘<filename>-MPEG-2 6.2Mbps 2-pass.m2v’ found in the ‘Final edits’ folder is not a DVD-Video file and will not be included in the final disc or DLT.

Message means nothing. It could be the brand of DVD media you're using. Have you tried it on set top DVD players?

Audio problem after burned DVD on set top player only?

My burned DVD's play great on any computer PC or MAC but on client's (and mine) set top DVD player the first 3 seconds of the 30-min program don't play any audio???
Client's set top DVD player is brand new and has HDMI out puts, my player is old, 3 years maybe but both players do the exact same thing...the DVD's we're trying to play on the DVD players are all built and burnt from Mac using DVD SP. So the menus all work, even the audio perfectly, but when you choose the program it won't play the audio for 3 sec, then it kicks in, though the video plays perfectly from beginning. I've got 1 sec of Black at the head of program, then it fades up to first shot. I've got that same black slug on both audio tracks for 1 sec as well...tried with and without the black in the audio tracks, no change. Now on a 4 year old Panasonic EM-50 something DVD recorder/player the DVD's did work.
Thoughts?
K

Hi tomwros
Welcome to apple discussions. Sorry to hear you are having problems navigating a burned disc. In most cases on apple discussions it's the result of the media and not of the hardware / software.
Please tell us which brands you have tried. Include speed of the media itself and if it's plus or minus media. Also when you used Roxio Toast, what speed did you burn at within Toast?
SDMacuser

DVD I just made in DVDSP plays on set top player, not in my Macs

I just burned a DVD in DVDSP like I've done many times before, but this time the disc won't play on either my G5 or MacBook Pro. It plays just fine in my set top DVD player, though. I don't get any sort of error message, the DVD just won't mount. "Hollywood" DVDs play just fine in both computers, though. I'm using Sony DVD-R 4.7GB discs, which I've always used and have previously worked fine.

check your region on your mac player the first time you open `!!! you might chose a region doesn't match the region you made on your dvdsp project.

Playability Issues with DVD's in Set-top Players

One of the problems that users often encounter is that a DVD-Video disc will not play in a stand-alone player. Often, these will play in a multi-drive on a computer, through a software player. What is the reason?
Well first, that disc is not really a DVD-Video, per se, but is a DVD-ROM, as it was burned, and not stamped from a glass master in a replication house. All DVD players are certified to play any replicated DVD, regardless of whether it is a DVD-5, or a DVD-9. None are certified to play any burned DVD, regardless of type (+R or -R), or any configuration, DVD-5 or DVD-9. Most will, given certain criteria, but some just will not.
The best that one can do is to use top-quality blank DVD media. This is the biggest cause of issues with playability in set-top players. The issues can be hangs, skips, dropping of Audio or Video or plain failure to play. Verbatim, Falcon Pro, or Taiyo Yuden are about as good as it gets. Brands, such as Memorex, TDK, recent Ritek and any store brands are to be avoided. Most will use the cheapest possible media and just rebrand those to their logo. A spindle of 100 might have blank discs from 4 different mfgrs.
Another consideration is to use a slower burn speed, rather than the fastest possible. One limit with PrE is that it will take an average of the speed of the media and the burner, and choose the fastest possible burn speed. The best that one can do is to buy the slowest media possible, say a 4x, rather than 16x media. A workaround is to Burn to Folder, and then use a burning utility, like the free ImgBurn, and then choose a speed in the middle/lower-middle of the range. ImgBurn will also tell you who the mfgr. was for your blank media, and the lot number.
The Burn to Folder is a good way to test a Project, as you would then do a test with a DVD software player, checking for errors. A second approach is to use a DVD RW disc (for testing ONLY and NOT for delivery), and test in several set-top players. One 10-pack should last for years.
Last, in years past, the type of blank media, +R or -R made a bigger difference. Most newer set-top players are much more lenient regarding type, but older ones still can pose problems, if the other type is used. Most BD players will handle either just fine, when playing a DVD.
Good luck,
Hunt

Also see this ARTICLE on blank media brands, and more.
Hunt

Cannot play DVD on Set-Top Players

First project with DVDSP. Created the DVD and it plays fine on my MAC using Apple DVD player. Won't play on any set-top player, and I've tried 3. Please help.

Bitrate is probably the key factor in authoring DVDs for compatibility with recordable discs on set tops.
For example, if you encode an hour long video at 8 .5 megabits per second, then it is likely that no set top can sustain that throughput.
Bit rate is done in one of two places.
In the preferences section of DVD SP, or using a preset in Compressor.
Without knowing more about your workflow, or whether you have authored previously with success in DVD SP, nor your experience, or how much of the manual and tutorial you have gone through, it's hard to assist.
let us know

Recording a DVD with LG DVD Recorder and FIOS Standard Set Top Box

I have FIOS Standard Set Top Box, a Sony TV, and an LG DVD Recorder. I cannot figure out how to record a TV program on my LG DVD Recorder. I have 3 remotes: a FIOS Remote, an LG DVD Recorder Remote and a Sony TV Remote. What remote/s should I use, and in what order? Thanks.

1) Connect coax (cable) wire from the wall to the RF input on the back of the STB.
2) Connect coax (cable) from the cable out (might say "to TV/VCR") on the back to the STB to the cable in on the back of the TV.
3) Connect composite (red, yellow, white) wires from the back of the STB to the input of the DVD player.
4) Connect composite (red, yellow, white) wires from the back of the DVD player to the back of the TV.
Let me know if any of those aren't possible based on your equipment. The SD STB (QIP 2500) has very few outputs so there are not a lot of options for a setup like this).
In order to record a program, you will have to do the following:
-Set the STB to whatever channel you want to record and keep it on. You will not be able to change the channel, because the DVD player will be recording whatever the STB outputs (the same feed the TV gets). With FiOS, it is not possible to have a DVD do the tuning for you, because it is an all-digital signal and most DVD players can only tune to analog chs 1-99.
-Set the DVD player channel to "input" or something of the like. This will get your DVD player to show the signal from the STB.
-Set your TV channel to composite input. This will show you whatever the DVD player is getting from the STB.
-If you want to watch normal TV without the DVD player, you can turn your TV to Ch. 3 or 4 and get the feed from the STB without having to turn on your DVD player.

Smoothing out Differences in Set top players and media

What do experienced dvd authorers do about the differences in the wealth of media brands and formats, and the differences in set top players, to try to ensure there productions are usable in most cases?
I'm not attempting to start a brand war but I suppose this may not be answerable in any other way than person preference. I'd like to here from well experienced people there thought on this.
I've heard DVD-R is more likely to work good in most cases than DVD+R.
Also I've seen Fuji mentioned as a stable reliable media brand.
My experience is way too limited to draw many conclusions from but today I've burned some 6 tests on available media and played them on my limited collection of settop players.
I only have memorex DVD+R and Sony DVD-R to test with currently but I seem to be seeing much better results on my settop players.
Go.Video DV2140
Go.Video DV2150
Sony SLV-D350P
With the memorex media.
3 discs burned on the Sony media fail badly on all three players (although in different ways)
3 discs burned on memorex all work as expected.
The data burned was only similar not exactly the same. Its a wedding video I'm still making small edits on.

Memorex Media is notoriously dreadful.
All they do is take the cheapest they can find & slap their brand on it, and from a cake of 50 discs you will get a fail rate of around 30% or more.
Additionally, if you run DVD Identifier, you'll find (usually) several different brands in the same cake. 3 or 4 is not uncommon.
Dump them in the nearest skip - it's all they are fit for.
Use high quality blanks, like Verbatim Data Life Plus or Taiyo Yuden.
Use DVD-R as opposed to +R as more players will read these.
No players are actually
i required
to play back written media, but most do.
Keep firmware up to date on your player.
Keep the maximum video data rate to 7Mb/sec or less on written discs, as older players - and some current ones - choke on the bitrate as written media just isn't as reflective as replicated (or pressed) discs.
Finally, keep burn speeds as low as possible.
That's about as far as I can go for now.

Dvdsp authored dvd really quiet in a Mac only - fine in set-top and pc

i've gotten a test dvd back from the replicator and there's a strange thing happening with the audio: in a set-top player and a PC the audio on the disc is fine; when played in a Mac - I've tried 3 different machines - the audio is so low it's barely audible. Anyone have this problem in the past or have any suggestions?

I've edited in FCP and exported with compressor with all the appropriate settings, to mpeg 2.
Double check to make sure that you edited in Anamorphic and also encoded as 16:9 video not 4:3 - also make sure you set the Track to 16:9 Letterbox in DVD SP.
What encoding rates did you use for the video and audio? Sometimes if the rates are too high it can cause drifts.
On the audio side, did you export the FCP as self contained and make the audio AC3? Also you can try just exporting the audio as an AIF and encode that as an AC3.
How did you burn the DVD (Speed and Media used?) Sometimes bad burns/media can cause issues.
Also look at these threads
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3131142&#3131142
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1872235&#1872235
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1363574&#1363574
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1086775&#1086775

NTSC Set Top DVD Players

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