Discs created by Studio do not play back or appear blank

If you have a problem with a disc created by Studio not playing back, these steps will help to resolve that issue. This FAQ assumes that you have put the disc into either:

1. A set-top player and the disc is not playing (there may be an error on the display panel of the player)

OR

2. A drive on your computer and it won't play


Troubleshooting step for discs created by Studio that do not play back or appear blank

1. Check the disc for cleanliness. Ensure that there are no obvious smudges or scratches on the disc surface. If the disc is dirty, clean it with a soft cloth by wiping the DVD from the center of the disc to the outside edge. Never clean in a circular motion.

2. Insert the DVD into a DVD drive on the computer.

• Double-click on My Computer.
• Then, right-click on the drive that the disc is in and choose Explore.
• See if there are folders on the disc.

There should be two folders on the DVD. These folders are AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS. The AUDIO_TS folder should be empty. The VIDEO_TS folder should contain .BUP, .IFO, and .VOB files. If there are files on the disc, then Studio burned the DVD, and this is definitely a playback issue.

Blu-Ray discs should contain BDMV and Certificate folders. Within the BDMV folder you should have subfolders like: PLAYLIST, CLIPINF, STREAM, AUXDATA, etc. If this is all present, then it is likely a playback issue.

If the disc is in fact blank, there is a burn problem rather than a playback problem. In this case, follow the instructions in the FAQ on burn problems in Studio. Click here to see the FAQ on burn problems in Studio.

3. Try playing back the disc on the computer. The disc should play back with player software such as PowerDVD, WinDVD, Windows Media Player (make sure you have an updated version), etc.

4. If the disc will not play on your set-top player, then we recommend that you try to play it on other set-top players. Some players may not play a certain brand or a certain media format (i.e. -R, +R, -RW or +RW).

Make sure that the player will play the type of media being used. Check with the player manufacturer’s website to see what disc formats it supports. Another good place to check for compatibility is:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers

If the type of disc being used is not supported by the player, please try a different disc media format.

You may find that the disc plays in one player but not another. In this case you should burn the project again using a few different brand and types of discs to find a combination that works for that particular player. It is also possible that the player is starting to fail (or have problems reading writeable media).

NOTE: When troubleshooting all burn or playback issues, it is recommended to use rewritable media to avoid wasting discs.

5. Make sure that the disc you are creating is set for the correct playback format for your region (NTSC for North America, PAL for Europe). If it is not set for the correct format, the disc you create will also be in the wrong format and some players will not be able to play back the disc.

By default the disc will export with the format that is on the project timeline, but this can be changed. With Disc selected in the Exporter, click Advanced. In the Settings section, change the Video Standard from Auto Detect to the desired format. For North America, it should be an NTSC format. For Europe it should be a PAL format.

Also, follow some General Troubleshooting steps as given below:

a) GET THE LATEST FIRMWARE: Ensure that the DVD burner being used has the latest firmware update from the burner manufacturer.
b) CHECK DISC SPEED: Make sure that the disc media speed (printed on the media or on the media box) is compatible with the DVD burner. Some burners may not work with media that has a higher maximum supported burn speed. For example, if the burner being used supports 8x disc media, do not use 16x disc media.
c) ALWAYS RE-ENCODE: Go to the Advance settings and check 'yes' to "Always re-encode entire movie" under Settings > Video.
d) Delete the Render Files by going to Setup > Control Panel. In the Control Panel select Storage Locations. Finally, click the “Delete render files” button.