Make a skip-free DVD master

Here's the burning question, how do you ensure the disc you made will not skip or freeze on playback? While there are no guarantees that a duplicated DVD-R will play on EVERY DVD player, here are a few pointers to ensure the highest percentage of compatibility:

1. Keep maximum bit rate under 7. Some older DVD players have troubles playing back DVDs with bit rates that are too high (>8). The average of 6 to 7 is optimal.

2. Do not use uncompressed audio files. Use compression format such as Dolby Digital Audio (AC3).

3. Burn your master at the lowest speed possible. Some DVD authoring program such as DVD Studio Pro does not allow lowering burn speeds. In that case build your project to a video TS folder, and burn it with Toast. The latest version of Toast 6 allows burning of video TS folder to DVD.

4. Use high quality DVD-R media. Taiyo Yuden, Ritek, Mitsui etc. Keep it well protected.

5. Do not use paper labels. If they are not applied properly it causes unbalance while spinning in the DVD player. The heat that is generated from playback might also melt the label, causing problem in the DVD player as well.

Final - most important step

All and all, if you have followed the above steps to create a master DVD, the most important step is to watch it, from start to finish. You will not believe how many clients of mine have missed this step. Do not depend on your replicator or duplicator to do the quality checking for you. After all, you are the creator of the project and no one knows the details better than you. The checks that are performed before duplicating or replicating is for unreadable sectors, incomplete data and physical damage of the disc. It has nothing to do with the quality of the video, audio levels and menu navigation. That is an important concept to keep in mind.