PrE Can't Find My DVD/BD Burner - Why?

Question

You have a multi-drive (DVD, or BD drive and Burner) installed on you computer, and it appears fine in the Control Panel>System>Hardware profile. Other programs can use it, but PrE, or Encore cannot find the burner, and reports such. What is going on here? Well, there are “packet-writing” modules in Roxio, or Nero, that can "hook" the burner. If those particular modules are installed with other parts of the programs, then they will launch at boot-up, and change how the OS sees the burner. For Roxio, the module is DLA, and for Nero, it's InCD. These are packet -writing modules and will turn the burner into a virtual HDD (Hard Disk Drive) in the eyes of the OS, thus allowing one to Drag-n-Drop files to a blank DVD/CD, just like it was HDD. These modules load at boot-up, and basically tell the OS that the burner is a HDD. When Adobe programs attempt to burn to a disc, they cannot find any burners, as the OS is now displaying them as HDD's. There are a couple of ways to handle this:
1.) Uninstall these modules - usually, it is easier to do a complete uninstall of the full product, and then do a Custom Install, of just what one needs, omitting either the DLA, or InCD module. It was once the default for these programs to install everything, UNLESS a Custom Install was chosen. Many have reported that this has been changed with later versions, and now to get the modules, plus others, one MUST do the Custom Install. The last version of Nero that I did install was not that way, but newer versions' installers could well be different. This will mean that Adobe programs can see and access the burner(s), with no problem, but that one will not have the Drag-n-Drop function of packet-writing.
2.) If one does want Drag-n-Drop, then the Adobe products will not be able to work with the burner(s), but other programs can. One such burning utility is the free ImgBurn. It looks beyond what the OS is reporting and knows that, say D:\ is really a burner, regardless of how it has been hooked by DLA, or InCD. One would just use the Adobe program to Burn to Folder. This Folder will be the full DVD-Video VIDEO_TS folder with the necessary files (mostly INF, BUP and VOB's) inside. It will be located on the user's HDD, where the Adobe program was directed to write it. Then, one would use ImgBurn (or another burning utility, like Nero, or Roxio, or CyberLink) to do the physical Burn to blank media in the burner. [Adobe Encore will also write an ISO (Image file), that can be handled by ImgBurn (or other utiltiy) to create the VIDEO_TS folder, or as an archive file. Some other Adobe programs cannot write to an ISO.]
Just having Roxio, or Nero, is not a sign that the packet-writing modules ARE installed, though they might be. It is just these modules that get in the way - not the rest of the program suite. *
There is a FAQ Entry from the Adobe Encore Forum, that is very good in explaining various software, etc., that can get in the way of using any Adobe program to burn to disc.
Some people wonder why, when the Burn to Folder and open up that folder, some of the files have an icon for programs like CyberLink's PowerDVD. Well, the reason for that is that these file types are registered with the OS for that, or a similar DVD software player. To play a DVD on your computer, you need to have such a software player installed. When you do that installation, it will register certain file types with the OS. If one has their multi-drive set to AutoPlay, then the OS will see these registered file types, and immediately launch that DVD software player, assuming that you will want to play the DVD-Video material. The reason that no Adobe program is registered is that none is a DVD software player - they are editors, or authoring programs, not players.
Here are some useful links to articles on the structure of the VOB files inside of the VIDEO_TS folder, and also on which brands of blank media are the best to use:
VOB's - Some Background
Blank Media Recommendations
Hope that this helps,
Hunt
* There are some other modules in Roxio and Nero, that can get in the way, though in a different way. These suites usually include little utilities that will monitor certain folders and folder types, looking for files that might need to be burned to disc. These are often referred to as "sniffers," or "watchers." They try to take the guesswork out of burning to disc, but sap resources, and constantly monitor any folder, that it "thinks" might be used to burn a DVD, surveying each and every file that is written to those folders. I find these modules pretty useless, as I know what I want to do with my folders and the files inside, and also remove/do not install these. Many have reported system crashes, or program hangs, when these modules spring into action. At the very least, they use computer resources that could be better invested in editing, or authoring.

Answer 1

For playability issues, see this ARTICLE.
Good luck,
Hunt