I used the iso mode in dvd dec. to burn some dvd type 5 dvd's and they will play fine on my computer but will not play on two apex dvd players that I have tryed so far. I am using princo dvd-r diskand a lf-d321 burner with firmware a122, is there any new firmware or would nero be a better software to burn the iso with instead or is there a better dvd-r disk to use for video? thanks

DVD-R playback issues seem to be related to the media you use and not what you burn them with. You might go to http://www.vcdhelp.com and look at the DVD player compatibility list. See if there are any comments on media to use. Also, http://www.nerd-out.com has some Apex forums. You could ask there what brand DVD-Rs seem to work best.

I'm surprised to hear that they don't work. Now I'm not into "ripping" or copying stuff, I author my own stuff and can say I have the same Panasonic burner as you do (with the original firmware) and over the past year have burned over 100 dvds. Not one single problem with any of them and they all play on every DVD player I've tried (to date two Philips, a couple Apex models, couple different Sampos and an RCA) I've been using the cheapest discs I can find. DVD-R under a buck (mostly 79 cents in bulk 100 packs. I recently picked up some Princo discs for 89 cents .. They also work fine. I've also used Maxell, Sony and a bunch of other high priced discs for testing. No problem.

I think you should look to the technique being used to rip and burn those copies. OR it just might be that your stand alone DVD player can't read DVD-R .. Consumer authored DVD-R medium is not the same as a commercially pressed DVD-ROM medium. Most of the newer DVD players (stand alones) are now better suited to playback both. As little as 12 months or so ago, this was not the case.

Since it seems to work fine in your computer, I'd say the biggest problem would most likely be your stand alone player. Or as I mentioned in the first part, something out of spec involving your ripping and burning. I'd bet on the stand alone player as being the problem.

Take a copy of one of your discs to the local store and try it on some of the display models. Most stores will allow to test their units that way. Good luck.

Rich, it probably is the player. From what I've read, some Apex DVD players seem to be crap. I own 2 older models that work fine, but some of the newer ones are junk. There's one that Circuit City sells for $49.95 and depending on when it was made you get either the greatest player in the world for 50 bucks (it plays DVD, VCD, SVCD, MP3 and miniDVD) - if it was manufactured early this year - or a cheap player that plays DVD and MP3 and that's it
if it was manufactured recently. It has been reported that only the Circuit City sold versions of these players have any chance of playing VCD, SVCD and miniDVD. Apex was plagued with tons of quality issues with the infamous 7701 DVD/SACD/DVD Audio player. From what I've read, it seems that as time goes on, Apex's models lose functionality. Many (most?) of the newer models can't be firmware hacked either, which was the main reason for buying them.

I was thinking it was the player since I had it for a while , apex 600a but going to get a pro scan after the 1st of the year.I am really happy with the burner though and now that I foung the princo dvd-r for 62.00 for 100 not a bad price. But I would like to ask something else, Does the drive support dma ? I got a email from the support dept. from panasonic and they told me it did not but on there firmware update info they say to reclick dma after updating the firmware. I am not updating my firmware unless I need to , was just reading the links and info about the drive.

Hey Patch,
Did you get the firmware upgrade from Panasonic? If so a link would be appreciated. I've had the same experiences as Rich, same results. I do rip my kids DVD's so they use the copy and the original doesn't get wrecked, and no problems there either. I use Nero to burn, they have a DVD-Video setting which is ISO/UDF. Perhaps your burning is omitting the UDF part? If you have Nero you should give it a try.

Tim

Here is the link for the lf-d321u drive and has the link to the firmware. I did not update my firmware I left it www.panasonic.co.jp/dvdram/english/a122 So let me know if you see a diff. I used the dvd decripto software to burn the iso mode of the dvd. Do you have your lf-d321 set on dma?

If you have old 600a with hidden loop as I do it will not play DVD-r. According to one user, If you update the firmware it will play but you lose the hidden loop. I did not want to do that so I bought a JVC 7 disk unit for $300 XVFA-95. It plays all formats I can throw at it and is great for multiple volume svcds, vcd, mp3, dvd-r. I also got a 3year warrentee for $50 just in case.
CaptKrunch

Hey Patch,
Tried your link for the firmware upgrade, but it no workie. I did find this though http://www.panasonic.co.jp/dvdram/english/ which says the latest firmware is A127. Mine's working fine with A122, so I don't think I'll mess with it.

Tim