I'd like to hear from anyone who has successfully burned a dual-layer project to a DVD+R/DL burner using DVD Studio Pro Version 4 and a THIRD PARTY burner (NOT an Apple SuperDrive that came with the Macintosh).

1. What drive are you using?

2. Is the drive external or did you upgrade the internal drive?

3. What media are you using?

4. Have you encountered any notable problems along the way? Any words of wisdom to share regarding the creation of dual-layer DVD projects?

5. If the breakpoint is fine and the layer switch works OK on the DVD+R/DL created, is it safe to assume that when you make two DLTs and ship them off to a replciator, all will be fine, or are there some gotchas to watch out for?

I think an answer to these questions would help lots of readers, thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

Cheers!

David (617.216.1096)

Since no one answered my question, I figured out the answers and have
successfully created two master dual-layer disks for replication. So
here are my answers in case you're curious:

1. What drive are you using?

Plexstor PX-750UF (see note at end).

2. Is the drive external or did you upgrade the internal drive?

It's an external drive with a Firewire interface.

3. What media are you using?

Verbatim DVD+R DL Media

4. Have you encountered any notable problems along the way? Any words of
wisdom to share regarding the creation of dual-layer DVD projects?

I did encounter some strange problems in which some video segments
would not play on Macintosh G5 and MacBook Pro drives. I fixed the
problem by putting those video clips on a second track. It looks
like there may be problems with some drives and long tracks. Not sure
exactly what the problem was, but splitting the video into two tracks
on the disk rather than all two hours on a single track fixed the
problem with it some chapters not playing on the Mac drives.

5. If the breakpoint is fine and the layer switch works OK on the
DVD+R/DL created, is it safe to assume that when you make two DLTs
and ship them off to a replciator, all will be fine, or are there
some gotchas to watch out for?

While some replicators like to get DLT drives, strides have been
made with dual layer drives. Your replicator will check the DVD+R DL
MASTER you provide for errors. If no errors are encountered, you should
be good to go for the mastering process. Some percentage of DVD+R
DL masters get rejected, DLT is both a good transport medium and
a good back up medium for the project in any event.

I originally tried to use my existing LaCie dual layer Firewire
disk burner. It did not work with DVD Studio Pro. LaCie technical
support was slow to respond and dismissive, would not talk to me
about using their drive with a third party product like DVD Studio
Pro so I went out and bought the Plextor drive after reaching a
point of frustration with LaCie after four days of emails going back
and forth (they did not respond to my last email, so that's when I
went out to buy another drive. Why pay more for a DVD burner
that comes in a fancy aluminum case? Certainly technical support
is not one of the reasons.

I'd still like to hear from anyone who has done this, I'd like to hear about your experience... or is this a rare thing for someone on this board to do? Anyone else out there creating dual-layer DVD+R DL masters for DVD-9 replication?

I had a horrific time with an NEC burner (internal) and Memorex media. I actually just wrote on another thread that my discs were so inconsistent that I gave up and went to making single-layer preview discs. I send everything for replication on DLT anyway so it wasn't worth the trouble. I also read lots of other accounts that said dual layer DVD+R was not reliable. Do you think the Plextor drive is what made your successful? I've heard those are the best optical drives available.

4. Have you encountered any notable problems along the way? Any words of wisdom to share regarding the creation of dual-layer DVD projects?

5. If the breakpoint is fine and the layer switch works OK on the DVD+R/DL created, is it safe to assume that when you make two DLTs and ship them off to a replciator, all will be fine, or are there some gotchas to watch out for?

David,

I just switched to Mac the other day and only have experience with Vegas. My dual layer experience was that when I sent out 5 DVD + DL, only one would work in a set top player. Don't ask me brands though. I was using a sony d/l burner. For DVD-, it works great but + & DL, I have had a lot of problems. I also am working on a project to go to replication and a word to the wise, all a replicator will do is scan the data. They will NOT be responsible to ANY menu, chapter or link issues. You need to test your disk and be satisfied that it will work wherever you intend to market it. The replicator will reduce the job down to 1's and 0's and if there finished product matches your master, they're off the hook if you have problems.

My 2 cents.

Jeff

I had a horrific time with an NEC burner (internal) and Memorex media. I actually just wrote on another thread that my discs were so inconsistent that I gave up [...] Sorry to hear that. I had heard from several practitioners that DVD+R/DL was a riskly method of making a master, but OK for preview. Then, the folks at Discmakers assured me that great strides have been made with DVD+R/DL burners and with the latest drives (which I assume to be Plextor) there have been less problems, plus, they test disks for errors prior to mastering. So while a year ago DLT was the only way to go with a DVD-9 replication project, today DVD+R/DL can be used in lieu of a pair of DLTs for delivery to Discmakers.

I [...] Do you think the Plextor drive is what made your successful? I've heard those are the best optical drives available [...] Yes. Plextor is the way to go. LaCie tech support wasted my time passing the buck as to why their drive did not work with DVD Studio Pro, they said they only support burning with Toast. Well, DVD Studio Pro is THE pro authoring tool. They don't support it. Huh? My response? Toss out the LaCie, bought a Plextor drive, and I've burned many disks since then with no problems. I'm really disappointed with both LaCie's disk and their tech support. Plextor saved the day by working with DVD Studio Pro, no issues.