Why a Burned Disk Won't Play in Your CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Player or Car

Troubleshooting a Burned CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Disk/Disc That Doesn't Work in a Player/Car

If a disk/disc burning program like Express Burn burns your disc without reporting any errors, but the the disc doesn't play when you put it in your CD / DVD / Blu-ray player, there are a few things you can try to fix this irritating but common issue:

Confirm Which File Formats Are Compatible

Again, check the manual that came with your player. An MP3 CD can store more songs than an audio CD, but an older CD player may not be able to play MP3/Data CDs. Likewise, a data disc of JPEG files is a great way to view a photo slideshow on recent DVD players but to view a slideshow on an older DVD player, you may need to create a video DVD using something like PhotoStage Slideshow Software.

Confirm Which Disc Types Are Compatible

Check the manual that came with your player/car for a list of compatible disc/media types. Are you trying to use a rewritable (RW) disc when the player only supports non-rewritable (R) discs (like in many older disc players, especially in cars)? Are you trying to use a "plus" (e.g., DVD+RW) disc when the player only supports "minus" (e.g., DVD-RW), or vice-versa? (The manual may use the symbol "±" to mean either plus or minus will work.)

Use Quality Discs

Cheap discs often have more read errors than higher quality discs, and some players will have more trouble with reading errors than others. Buy good quality blanks, and avoid discs with scratches, fingerprints, or dust.

Choose the Burn Speed Carefully

Take note of the minimum and maximum burn speeds that your drive is capable of, and that your selected discs are capable of. Contrary to popular belief, burning at a slower speed does not always give a better result than burning at a higher speed. Check what write speed(s) your disc has been rated for. If the disc specifies a single write speed (e.g., 4x) then you must burn at that speed. If the disc specifies a range of speeds (e.g., 4x-12x) then you must not burn at a speed outside that range.

Make Sure Your Drivers are Up-to-Date

Sometimes another program can damage Windows drivers for your CD/DVD drive. Microsoft provides a utility program to fix these cases and instructions: Windows CD or DVD drive support

Enable Verification

A feature in Express Burn; you can check the Verify burned content is correct after burning the check-box in the burning dialog. It will take longer, but you can be sure at the end of verification that your burn actually worked.

Click on the link to download or purchase:

Express Burn ISO/Disc Burning Software by NCH

Create Blu-Ray/CD/DVD Discs Using ISO Files in Express Burn

Create Blu-Ray/CD/DVD Discs Using ISO Files in Express Burn

What is an ISO file?

An ISO file is an archive file of an existing CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray disc, and is one of the most common file types in transferring data from/to optical disc media.

ISO also has the ability to be mounted or emulated to use without a physical disc reader using a virtual drive program.

Any single-track CD-ROM, DVD, or Blu-ray disc can be archived in ISO format as a true digital copy of the original. Unlike a physical optical disc, an image can be transferred over any data link or removable storage medium.

Burn ISO files onto discs with Express Burn

Express Burn can take ISO files and burn them easily and quickly onto the appropriate disc media, and can also take existing discs and create ISO images to save to your hard drive.

Once you have downloaded or copied an ISO/IMG file onto your computer, all it takes are six easy steps to burn an ISO image to a CD, DVD, Blu-Ray of your choosing with Express Burn:

1. Start Express Burn. (If the Select a New Disc to Burn dialog appears, click Cancel.)
2. Select the ISO tab and click Write ISO.
3. Select the ISO file and click Open.
4. Insert a blank disc into the drive.
5. Check the burning options, change any if needed, then click Burn.

Click on the link to download or purchase:

Express Burn ISO/Disc Burning Software by NCH

Digitize Video from VHS to AVI, DVD or MPG

Recently we talked about the birthday of audio cassette tapes, and how some of you might have an old collection you might want to consider digitizing. Well, the same can be done with video cassettes too. If you want to digitize old VHS tapes Golden Videos VHS to DVD Converter is here to help with the digital video transformation.

In addition to Golden Videos, you will need a video capture device to connect your VCR to your PC, with your VCR connected and Golden Videos installed the hard part is done. Golden Videos will guide you step by step through converting VHS tapes. The only other things you need are a little patience while the video is being processed and about 80GB of disc space for each 2hr movie you are converting.

The ambitious can go a step further to enhance the newly digitized video files by taking them to other video programs. With either the easy VideoPad video editor or PhotoStage slideshow creator you can easily edit movies and combine video with other media to make video montages of life's golden memories and significant events, saving them into fun and shareable videos for this digital age.

Easy CD/DVD Copying and Burning

As new features and operating systems come out, some things start to go away. You probably don't miss floppy drives much, but one thing that is getting harder on a Mac is an easy way to burn things like your home movies to DVD. If you have videos, music, or even data you want to burn to CD, DVD, or Blu-ray, take a look at this preview of how easy it is to create and copy disc with Express Burn.

Disketch Best Disc Label Software

Recently Software Review Boffin reviewed our Disketch CD/DVD Label Software noting that "it can create professional CD and DVD labels in a blink of an eye." If you are making your own mixed CDs or home Video DVDs for the holidays this can be the perfect finishing touch.

"With Disketch Disc Label Software users can create a vast range of CD or DVD labels quickly and effortlessly. Additionally, [we] were able to create labels and covers with an ease and smoothness that made the exercise a pleasant experience. Letting you put your own personal touch on your CD and DVDs."
  – Software Review Boffin

You can read the complete review on Software Review Boffin, or head over to nchsoftware.com to download Disketch Label Maker Software to get started creating your own unique CD and DVD covers and labels.

Do More with Video - Blog Carnival November 5, 2012

To continue in the footsteps of the Do More with Audio blog carnival that we have been hosting for the last two years we have decided to add a Do More with Video blog carnival giving people the chance to share any video filming, recording, editing, production, projects, tips and more. To get things started I did some online to find some interesting posts to share in this first edition, and we hope you will submit your own video posts for the next edition.

So with our further ado here is the first edition of Do More with Video:

Teaching Video Storytelling. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what must a video be worth? Read about one professor's formula for video storytelling.

2012 CamcorderInfo Best of Year Awards. If you are looking for equipment here is what the professionals at camcorderinfo.com would recommend to family, friends and you.

Can I Edit Video from a DVD? An interesting post about the possible compression problems that can arise from extracting video from DVD and then compressing it again.

How to Create 3D Videos. A post about both converting 2D videos into 3D and filming with 3D in mind for better results.

10 Most Popular Types of Viral Videos. If you are hoping to make your own viral video it might help to know what the top are viral video categories.

Music and Video in Windows 8: a work in progress. Promising first steps, but latest offerings don't always play well with others.

What Filmmakers Need To Know About Video on Demand. Traditional theatrical and DVD film distribution models are being replaced by video on demand platforms which will forever alter the ways movies are seen and sold.

Optimizing Videos Embedded on Your Site for Search Engines. When you are putting a video online you want people to find it, and that is where SEO comes in to play to help make sure your video is found and viewed.

You might also be interested in:

• Video editing to the third dimension
• Bring a comic to life with video story telling
• A Movie Making Solution for the New Windows
• Video-sharing from software to site
• Record video from anywhere
• HD for the home
• Video editing is easier than you think
• Give a gift of video memories
• Don't just record video, use it!
• Video Software for your Webcam
• Flying high with first person video

That concludes the first edition of Do More with Video. If you have a video story to share from home movies to video production submit your video blog posts for the next edition.

5 Star Burning Software for Mac

There are a lot of choices when it comes to burning software these days, which is just one of the reasons that it is wonderful to see strong reviews like this one from BurnWorld.com, calling NCH's Express Burn "a great application, working fast, featuring the most important processes a user would want." Better yet that, while these experts clearly recognize and point out that "the interface is very easy to use," this review was from a previous release, before we made modifications to the interface to make the creation of DVDs and audio or MP3 CDs even easier. Along with other additions, including better DVD authoring with several included menu templates, and the ability to burn not only data to Blu-ray discs, but to burn your high-definition Blu-ray movies too.

You can read the complete review of Express Burn, and we encourage Mac and PC users alike to try all the burning features and see how easy burning software can be.

What About My HD Home Videos?

I like to think of myself as a fairly multimedia-friendly parent. After all, my wife and I are pretty good about sharing our digital photos via email, Facebook, and an assortment of other avenues for getting pics out to family and friends, you know?

...But then, what about all those digital videos we've recorded? We have one of those great "Flip"-style cameras that takes HD video, and even phones that take high-def video, so we have some great videos to share!

Unfortunately, the options sharing for HD video aren't as simple as for pictures. Video files can be huge, especially in HD, precluding email for all but the shortest clips. Social media sites like Facebook or YouTube have length and size restrictions, and the time it takes to upload/download can be daunting, even on higher-speed internet connections.

So, what can I do with my HD videos? Internet, email, and social-media sites are limited, so I've started looking into physical media, and burning videos to disc. DVD is fairly ubiquitous nowadays, but because it's an older standard-definition format, I would end up losing quite a bit of the high-definition detail in my videos. I've also thought about sending data-discs with my video files, but that won't work for people who don't have computers, and I won't know if they even have the right software installed to play the files. What's the next option? Well, most of my family and friends who have high-def TVs have Blu-ray players, but is there something out there that will let me put my HD videos on a *playable* Blu-ray to share with friends and family?

...Fortunately, the answer is yes! Earlier this year NCH Software released a new version of their Express Burn disc-authoring/burning software, and it now supports Blu-ray video playable in any Blu-ray player. It works fine with my Blu-ray burner drive, and it's very simple to use; I just pick my HD videos (Blu-ray dics hold hours of them), re-order them as desired, and hit "Burn Blu-ray Video". Express Burn does the rest - it handles all the conversion to Blu-ray format, and burns it all to the disc. Re-encoding those HD videos can take a little time, but I can go make dinner while it's running, and the result is a Blu-ray that even my Dad can just pop in the Blu-ray player and watch.

Wedding Slideshow Creation with PhotoStage

One of the the truly wonderful things about PhotoStage slideshow software is that it can be used for so many different things. We've had stories in our blog about making stop-motion videos, digital storytelling, making a music video and more. PhotoStage is ideal for preserving memories of all kinds of events, and one of the big events that more and more users are beginning to use PhotoStage for is making a wedding slideshow to share with friends, family, guests and more.

The Daily Wedding Blog recently wrote about creating wedding slideshows with PhotoStage as a digital addition to the traditional framed photo and photo album that couple keeps. Just one of the great things about putting together a slideshow is how easy they are to share, whether you post the finished slideshow to Facebook or burn them to a DVD and send them out with your thank yous. The possibilities are endless and there is no reason to limit yourself. You may only get one wedding album, but there is no reason you can't make multiple wedding slideshows, maybe one for the bridesmaids that also includes pictures from the bachelorette party and another version for the groomsmen. If you're getting married we hope you will use PhotoStage for making wedding slideshows, and for more inspiration and tips on planning a wedding without breaking the bank visit the Daily Wedding Blog.

Burn and Label CD and DVDs on Windows or Mac

NCH Software provides a wide range of multimedia software allowing you to record, edit, convert and combine digital photos, audio and video files. And what comes after your digital remastering? You can take advantage of the Upload to YouTube feature built into many of our software programs, but another great option is to burn your projects to CD or DVD. With Express Burn Disc Burning Software you can burn audio, video and data to CDs, DVDs and even Blue-Ray discs in a variety of file formats. Simply drag, drop and burn and in minutes you have a finished disc. You could stop there, or maybe scribble something on the disc with a sharpie, but if you want to really make your burned discs stand out you can create customized CD and DVD labels and cases with Disketch Disc Label Software for that finishing touch and to help keep your discs organized.

Disketch Labeling Software was recently released for the Mac for the first time, making it easy for anyone to create personalized labels and cases by adding text, color and images.

Express Burn Improvements, More to Come

New versions of Express Burn disc burner for both Windows and Mac were released in the last week. These latest releases feature greatly improved performance over past versions, bringing you a disc burning program that burns quicker, more reliably, and more easily than ever before. Not simply a disc copier, you can use Express Burn to burn any music, data or video files on CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs for easy archiving, sharing, or file management.

More developments, including DVD menu creation, are in the works for Express Burn in the coming months, so this is definitely a program you want to keep your eye on. Try it out now and see why Express Burn is one of our top products.

Blu-Ray Disc Burning Now Available for Express Burn Mac

Blu-Ray discs provide significantly more storage space than a CD or DVD disc. When it comes to video, that extra storage space on Blu-Ray is used to store movies in high definition for larger, sharper, higher quality videos in what is currently the highest standard--1080p high definition video.

If you have a Blu-Ray burning drive for your computer you can take advantage of this high capacity for backing up your hard drive, archiving old files, or recording and saving your own hi-definition videos. Express Burn Disc Burning Software has supported Blu-Ray burning on windows machines for some time now, and the most recent release of Express Burn for Mac now supports Blu-Ray burning too, so users can burn audio and data CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs. And no matter what type of disc you are creating, Express Burn burning software couldn't be easier. Simply drag, drop and burn.

Preserve Your Own Olympic Moments With Golden Videos and Golden Records

How many of us will ever step up on an Olympic podium, bow our heads down as a gold medal is slipped over our head, gracefully accept a wreath of laurels, and stand tall while our national anthem is being played in front of an audience the size of millions?

A very, very small percentage.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have moments of our own. We each have our achievements, large and small, and often those achievements have been commemorated with plaques, trophies, certificates, or simple pats on the back. We can remember feeling proud or accomplished, the hard work it took to earn recognition, and the smiling faces of those sharing our victories with us.

Maybe your big moment was winning the big football game, track meet, or marching band competition. Maybe your big moment was watching your child succeed. Or was it a speech you gave for a cause you believe in, or an experience you don’t have every day: your wedding, your trip to Ireland, your surprise 40th birthday party.

Whatever the moment, it’s important to have access to these memories. The sensations we experienced at the time never completely go away, but too often we stash the home movies and the memory-inducing music in the dusty attic, a flood-prone basement, or in a cramped closet. How devastating would it be to lose them, and to not be able to recall the smaller details? We deserve to have a little bit of our own Olympic moments injected into our lives more often. Those memories deserve to be on hand.

During this Olympic season, bring a little gold back into your life and revisit your old memories. Converting your old home videos is easier than you think with Golden Videos VHS to DVD converter software, a USB capture device, and your old VHS player. And for those vinyl records and audio cassettes that bring those memories flooding back (for me it’s The Joker by the Steve Miller Band), use Golden Records Analog to MP3/CD converter software.

Enjoy watching your country in the Olympics this month, and remember to delight in your own golden achievements.

Major New Release of VideoPad Video Editing Software

Back in June (A video Editing Masterpiece) we told you that VideoPad video editor software was undergoing an extreme makeover, making VideoPad faster, smarter and more powerful. Well the wait is over.

Today we released the new version of VideoPad. As promised it is full of new features you'll have to see for yourself.

New additions include a project control panel and a clip control panel. The clip control panel allows you to edit the in/out points of a video and save as a clip; perfect for cutting up long blocks of video footage. Plus, with the improved timeline control you can easily zoom, scroll and select the right spot in their footage quickly. Apply video transitions faster than ever by selecting transition points in the timeline. And record narration while watching your movie.

What really makes this video editor so special is that it delivers all the power and features you need without all the clutter. With VideoPad anyone can create professional looking movies in minutes.

Visit www.nchsoftware.com/videopad to download this amazing movie making software today!

A Video Editing Masterpiece!

Here's another update from development land - our super fast video editing program VideoPad is currently undergoing major redevelopment. Our 'extreme makeover' team of programmers are (at this very moment) focused on making VideoPad faster, smarter and more powerful.

Haven't heard much about VideoPad? Then listen up. This video editing software is already the perfect solution for getting your movies from your DV Camcorder to your computer for editing. Just connect your camera to your computer, open VideoPad's Capture window and press record. Its that easy. Your video files are saved to your computer and added to your VideoPad project ready for editing.

But what we think makes VideoPad so special is that it delivers all the power and features you need without all the clutter. And best of all, it's completely free.

So, if you are a current user of VideoPad, keep an eye out for the next release. We promise you'll love it even more. And if you haven't tried VideoPad before, go to our website now and download it. It's completely free and will download in just seconds. Check it out at www.nchsoftware.com/videopad.

Report from Development Land

Here is an exciting update from NCH that our talented bunch of programmers are currently working on improving the well established CD Label software Disketch.

Upcoming features include the ability to easily drag and drop text and images onto your CD template and arrange together to make your label masterpiece! You will be able to change your font type, size and color, and automatically fetch file information from your disc (to list on your labels).

Designed for people who want to print directly onto their disc, or for those who print onto sticky labels, the new Disketch is soon to be the most intuitive label maker found on the web. And best of all, it will still be completely free!