Everything on Wally's computer blows!!

[Sciascia]

Just messing with you, I feel your pain. I've noticed a little trend in your posts the last few weeks and I think that the subject title fits.

[wkulecz]

Not true at all.

Photoshop 6 works perfectly, as does MatLab, LabWindows/CVI, Visual Studio 6sp4, Premiere 6, MSP6.5 (hasn't crashed or locked up other than the problem opening MPEG2 files >4GB, seems these will eventually load if you wait long enough and don't click anywhere in the editor), Nero 5.5.40, scanner utilities from Nikon and Canon, to name but a few.

All the A03 problems are on my previous motherboard that ran all the above in the past (except it was MSP6.0 instead of 6.5) after doing a format and fresh install of W2K, SP2, DirectX 8, DirectX 8 DV patch, MSP6.5 (ask me about the bug in the update verifing my original MSP6.0 -- Ulead quality control is got to be near zero to have missed this, since the first advice from the "experts" here is "reformat and re-install everything", but I guess when you're getting free stuff its always full versions anyways) and finally the A03 software. PowerDVD 3.0 works well, but I don't see any obvious differences from 2.55. Prassi burned an iso image created by MSP6.5 DVD plugin without errors (so it said) but this doesn't play back correctly in any DVD player in stock at my local Circut City unless you accept random "video mosaic" breakups as playing correctly. Problem with MSP6.5 5500 VBR encoding? Prassi iso image burn not good? (not likely since the video mosaics and/or worse glitches have not yet ever been in the same spot in the video on different players) or MSP6.5 DVD plugin authoring to iso image? Chapter stops, and fast forward/reverse appear to work the same as on a comercial DVD on each player. So I'm beginning to think that either the MSP 6.5 5500 VBR doesn't meet the standards or the DVD-R low level technology just can't deliver what it promises.

I'm systematically trying to locate video mosic regions on my two players and then compare with the three computer DVD playback softwares I have to see if any correlation is there. This is tedious and time comsuming, but it gives me something to do while MyDVD renders and I await my RMA.

MyDVD still hasn't finished rendering the 1hr 8min project I started last night!

I've been around the block way to many times to install new stuff to my "real" system. I keep a near duplicate on the previous motherboard and swap in a different C: to reformat and reinstall when things get ugly. Doesn't get uglier than this.

On the A03 box is the link: www.pioneerelectronics.com/DVR-A03.htm go there and see what a joke support is. I can't say enough bad things about what appears to be Pioneer's first attempt at an end-user computer product. I've been very happy with OEM Pioneer DVD-ROM drives, and their comsumer electronics seems OK from what I've looked at and my friends own, but they appear to be in way over their heads here.

I can't emphasize enough that if you pop a DVD-R into a player and watch it for <5 minutes you will likey wrongly conclude it plays correctly. Can I live with 5-6 video mosaic breakups in an 1hr 8 min production? Should I have too? Most players couldn't do this good! If each player glitched in the same spot in the video (+/- a few seconds) it'd be easy to conclude there was something physically wrong with the disk (burn) or there were errors in the MPEG2 encoding, which is why I struggling with the lousy MyDVD softare to make a disk.

--wally.

I waste my time and money on this crap so you don't have to.

[Aryko]

Wally,

I just wanted to say thank you for your exhaustive time and effort into this subject. Since no one seems to be taking you to task on your research, your confirmation that "DVD burning isn't ready for prime time" goes a long way with me.

- A.

[BrianP]

The A03 thread is really bumming me out. (Not as much as it's bumming out Wally, I'm sure.) I had such hopes for DVD-R. It now appears the last hope will be the HP drive; otherwise, more waiting for something ready for prime time.

Thanks Wally, for doing all that testing "so we won't have to."

[Dr Mordrid]

Wally,

Forgive me if my memory doesn't recall this, but do you have the SeqHeader turned on when you create your DVD files?

[VIODRIVER]
SeqHeader=1

Dr. Mordrid

[wkulecz]

No I don't. Here's the relavent section of the ulead32.ini file:

[VIODRIVER]
Advance=1
mpegdll1=mpeg2.dll
SeqHeader=0
LigosDecoder=1
DCPrecision=0
LigosPlay=1
LigosAudioDecoder=1
LigosAudioPlay=1
MotionEstimate=20

Anything else I should change? I expressed my concerns about bugs in the inheritance of previous settings when I first did the update. I'll gladly dump the whole file here if you know what these setting do and what they should be.

--wally.

18 hrs and the MyDVD is apparently not thru transcoding the second of 18 ~4 minute DV avi files. Admittedly I may be triggering some of Sonic's bad programming by having the source files on a mapped network drive, but I don't see enough disk or network activity to see how this could be a problem. (I've 100BaseTX switched network). I'm about to kill it and see one the one file looks like.