e1405/640m : DVD-RW problem?

I burned some DVDs with my new e1405 and I have problems watching them on some DVD players... the same DVDs burned on the same blank DVD with my desktop's DVD-RW are OK...

Could it be an issue with my laptop's DVD-RW unit?

What Dell will do If I call them with this problem?

Thanks!

 

Are you using the same software on both machines?

Are you writing them to DVD-RW or (write-once) DVD+-R? DVD+-R are more compatible with standalone DVD players than RW.

Some DVD burners allow you to bitset the DVD+-R to DVD-ROM. Commercial movie DVDs that you buy in stores are DVD-ROMs. If you bitset, it makes it more compatible with standalone DVD players. However, you can't do it on probably most laptop DVD drives. Don't know if what Dell puts in is one of them.

I think it's possible that it's an issue with the unit, but it's also possible that it's not and it's just a shortcoming of the drive. I don't know much about drives, but you can check CD-Freaks. Make sure you post your drive manufacturer/model. Good luck!

Malia

 

Same software, same Media (DVD-R)

 

Just because it's a DVD-R each time doesn't mean it's the same media. Even if it's the same brand but different spindles, the media CAN be different, it depends. You can find out if it's the same media or not through Nero Speed. However, with bad media, you can have variations in quality from spindle to spindle because of bad quality control.

If they're from the same spindle, what I said before applies - i.e. it's possible that there's a problem with the drive, but it's also possible that there's no problem and the drive model sucks. So, I suggest you find out what drive you have and do some research on the drive through CDFreaks. People there are very knowledgeable about this stuff.

Malia

 

Same spindle... same problem with 5 DVD-R... I guess my DVD-RW sucks lol

 

Try some different discs. Quality varies greatly. Might also want to lower the burn speed.