[Debburn-devel] Low traffic?

[Thomas Schmitt]

Hi,

Olivier Cailloux wrote:
> Is there some other place where I could ask some questions about DVD 
> writing, iso files, and such things?

If you are ready to ignore subsequent
off-topic turbulences:
  cdwrite at other.debian.org

You will get accused of using the wrong
software but if you are endurant you might
get some hint.

I myself am not a cdrkit programmer but
have my own DVD burning software. Video is
not my topic, nor is Windows.


> The DVD-Video I burn on my Debian box are not readable on Windows. The
> DVD appears empty, and no software I could try are able to play the DVD
> (they just seem to consider the DVD as empty). The very same DVD plays
> well in Linux (xine) and the files it contains are displayed in Nautilus.

It would be interesting to learn which
program with what options you used for
burning the DVD and what type it was
(DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, ...).
What kinds of drives are involved ?
Is the Windows drive capable of DVD
burning ?

Is the original DVD readable with Windows ?


Some theoretical background:

DVD types are very different. Some have their
own variations of write modes which yield
different results when it comes to read-only
DVD drives or non-computer DVD drives.
So it matters to know what program was
used with what option on what media type.
Also the kind of reader drive matters.


> In my opinion, the fact that the md5 hashes match proves that
> the iso file is identical to the original DVD, so burning it on a DVD
> should make it identical to the original... Isn't it?

If the original plays on Windows and if
the recording of the copy was done right,
there still could be copy protection.
The operating system could decide to demand
some special info from the DVD which is
recorded outside the DVD data payload.
The MMC standard defines several such
mechanisms which are in part located in
the drive. (See
 http://www.t10.org/ftp/t10/drafts/mmc5/mmc5r03c.pdf
 4.10 Content Protection)

Typically, videos for non-computer DVD players
are not recorded in ISO 9660 filesystems but
rather in UDF filesystems.
Well, that should really not be an issue. You
copied the image with all its internal formatting.

For curiosity: What do you get from
  /sbin/blkid ...path.to.your.file.on.disk...


Have a nice day :)

Thomas