How Do I Clean My DVD?

Do you have trouble with your DVD playback? Does the movie you're watching skip or stop?

Unless your disc is seriously damaged, you could set the problem right by cleaning your DVD.

Never at any time touch the shiny surface f your DVD.

Hold your disc by inserting a finger into its center hold. Otherwise, hold it by its edges with all your fingers.


What Do I Use to Clean My DVD?
1) Use a lint-free microfiber lens cleaning cloth or photographic lens tissues.

2) Use deionized water or distilled water if possible. Normal tap water may have a high composition of salts which may leave white marks on the disc.

3) You can use diluted dish detergent or rubbing alcohol for stubborn impurities.

4) For sticky or greasy DVD surface add some baby shampoo to lukewarm water and rub the surface with cotton or soft cloth.

5) For fingerprint marks on your DVD surface, wet a soft cloth in Isopropyl Alcohol or Ethanol or Methanol and gently rub the surface.

6) Avoid using Acetone or other petroleum-based solvents to clean your DVD as you may run the risk of permanently damaging your disc surface.

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What is a DVD-ROM?

DVD-ROM stands for Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) – Read Only Memory (ROM). What this means is with a DVD-ROM you can only read (view) the data contained in the disc.

Simply explained, when you insert a DVD-ROM in your computer you can open the folders and view the files contained in it.

For instance, if there a Word file in the DVD-ROM, you can open and read it. However, if you decide to delete it or any of the files, you can’t do it like you can with a pen drive or other storage devices like memory cards or floppy disks.

A DVD-ROM looks very much like a CD-ROM, but it can store more data (4.7GB) compared to a CD-ROM which can only hold 650MB of data.

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What is a Hybrid DVD?

A hybrid DVD is a disc that not only contains a movie but also data that can be only be accessed by the DVD-ROM drive of a computer.

When you pop such a hybrid DVD into your computer’s DVD-ROM drive, you can click on items that will present you with graphics, pop-up text, and links to related web pages, screensavers and even audio or video clips.

More often than not, they come with games relating to the theme of the movie. These games could only be played with a computer. DVD movies that come as hybrid DVDs with games are Stuart Little, Independence Day and X-Files.

The Deluxe Edition of Stuart Little, for instance, comes with a game called Central Park.

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The Difference Between a DVD Burner and DVD Recorder

At first glance a DVD recorder resembles a DVD burner – they have a similar loading tray.

Both are concerned with the creation of DVDs through the means of a laser. They fill a blank DVD with data that is permanent.

That’s where the similarity ends.

A DVD burner or DVD writer would need a software program like Nero to record data on to a blank DVD.

The DVD recorder, on the other hand, would not need a software, but an input AV (audio/video) signal.

In short, the DVD recorder works much like a VCR (video cassette recorder). It would record from any audio/video source. All you have to do is plug in your AV source from a video camera, television or another DVD player.

AV signal is transferred to the DVD recorder through the use of RCA cables (yellow for video, red and white for audio, S-video cable or firewire cable).

A DVD burner can’t record from a direct AV source. A DVD burner will only record what a computer program instructs it to do.

A DVD burner can create a data DVD disc, a video disc or audio disc.

A DVD recorder can’t create a DVD data disk. It can’t also read a data disc.

It looks like there’s no compatibility between a computer and a DVD recorder.
This is not really so.

A DVD recorder could still be connected to the computer via a firewire cable (iLink or IEEE 1394) and record AV signal stored in the hard disk.

You computer must be equipped with a firewire port, however.

How do you transfer AV signal through a firewire cable to your DVD recorder?

It could be done through the use of a video editing software. Some video editing programs allow you to export your edited video through firewire to your digital camera or any other device with firewire input.

You would have to check the help section of your program or the program manual for more information on this.

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DVD Burning Mistakes: Things You Know But Don't Practice

One of the most frustrating problems you face when burning a DVD is getting the `burn error’ or `burning process failed’ message.

Here are some tips you could observe to prevent future DVD burning `misadventures’.


Use Good Quality Blank Media

Sometimes, budget constraints make us choose media that are cheap thinking we’ve got a bargain.

More often than not, we may save on purchase but later end up with unusable defective discs and frustration.

So, don’t scrimp on blank DVD media if you’re looking for a headache-free DVD burning experience.

Go for a good brand name even if they cost slightly extra. You’ll minimize on defective discs and save money in the long run.

Inspect Your Discs Closely
Before popping a blank DVD disc into the burner, examine it carefully.

Are there any scratches, cracks, or blotches or stains that would lead to a burning error?

Any such physical `defect’ on the disc photosensitive layer would, more often than not, result in a failed burning process or give rise to playback problems.

Observe Cleanliness
Keep your DVD Writer clean. Keep your DVD writer loading tray closed when not in use. Dust can get into it and affect the burning process. Keep your DVD writer clean by running your cleaning DVD at periodic intervals.

If you’re used to leaving blank discs lying around, make sure they are clean – free of dust or grime – before inserting them into your DVD burner.

A clean disc would minimize burn errors and playback problems.

Stop Multitasking When Burning
To ensure a successful burning process, don’t have other programs running in the background, especially those which tax on system resources.

Shut down all other programs and wait for the burning process to complete before launching other programs.

Burn at Lower Speeds
Modern DVD burners come with high burning speeds. You may save time if you burn at the maximum speed but most of the time you’re taking a risk.

Higher speeds just increase the likelihood of burn errors. If you’re burning movies or audio, it’s advisable to keep at the lowest speed you could tolerate.

Choose the Right Burning Software
Choose a software that is straightforward. If you choose one where you have to tinker with numerous settings, you may make a mistake with the settings and sabotage your DVD burning process.

Some software would set the default burning speed at maximum speed your DVD writer allows. This may lead to a failed burning process.

Choose a software that allows you to set your preferences easily.

Upgrade Your Software
Your burning software may have come with bugs and the software developer may have come up with a patch to iron them out. Check the software developer’s website to see if upgrades are available. Install whatever patch is provided so that your DVD burner works without a hitch.

Upgrade Your Firmware
Buying a DVD burner doesn’t mean you can go on using it forever without any upgrade. There’s such a thing as firmware upgrade. Go to the manufacturer’s site and install any firmware upgrade available for your DVD writer model.
Believe me, a firmware upgrade more often than not, irons out your DVD burning problems.

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Understand Region Codes For Blu-Ray and Standard DVD Before Making a Purchase

More and more folks are ordering DVDs through the Internet, especially in cases where such DVDs are unavailable in the neighbourhood video store.

Before making a purchase make sure you get your region code right. Otherwise, your purchased DVD may not play in your DVD player.


If you’re in the USA, you may not be able to to play DVDs purchased from UK, for instance. Those in Asia may not be able to play DVDs purchased in the USA.

Here’s the DVD region code for your reference.

Standard DVD
Region 1 – USA, Canada
Region 2 - Japan, Europe, South Africa and the Middle East
Region 3 - Southeast Asia and East Asia
Region 4 - Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Pacific Islands, South America, Central America and the Caribbean
Region 5 - Africa, North Korea, Indian subcontinent and Russia
Region 6 – China
Region 0 (Region-Free) - Works on any DVD player (Check to see if DVD is a legal copy)


If you’re purchasing Blu-Ray DVDs you could do well to refer to this guide:

Blu-Ray DVD Region Code
Region A: East Asia, (excluding Mainland China and Mongolia), Southeast Asia and the Americas.
Region B: Africa, Southwest Asia, Europe (excluding Russia), Oceania
Region C: Nepal, Mainland China, India, Russia, Central and South Asia

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How To Transfer Video from Your Digital Video Camera to Your DVD Recorder

Just shot some exciting video footage in your mini-Dv camera?

Would you like to share it with your friends and family through DVD?

Follow these steps for easy transfer of your video footage to your DVD recorder.


Step 1:
Make sure your DVD recorder is connected to your television set and turned on.

Now connect your video camera to your DVD recorder.

You do this by connecting the video out and audio out of the camera to the video in and audio in of the DVD recorder. You would normally use RCA cables to do this.

If your DVD recorder has a firewire input also called (i.LINK or IEEE 1394 port) then you can connect your camera to your DVD recorder via a firewire cable.

Step 2:
This is important. Make sure you use your AC adapter to power your camera on. You don’t want to run out of battery power half-way through the video footage transfer.

Step 3:
Assuming you already have a tape inserted in your camera, set your camera to playback mode.

Step 4:
Now you would have set your DVD recorder input signal. If you’re recording from a firewire, you would have to set your input signal to DV.

If you’re using analog inputs, then you would have to set it to AVI or AV2, depending on the location where you’ve plugged your cable in.

Refer to your DVD recorder manual if you’re unsure about this. You can easily change your input signal by using your remote control.

Step 5:
To also view the footage you would have to set the input signal of your television set to accept signal the A/V signal from the DVD recorder. Check to which AV input your DVD recorder AV out are connected. Refer to your television manual if you’re unsure. It’s usually AV2 if you already have a DVD player connected to your television.

Step 6
It’s time to test your connection now. Press Play on your video camera to make sure you’ve made the right connection. If you have your video footage from the mini-DV camera should play on your television with sound. If you don’t see any video or hear audio, you would have to check your connections again.

Step 7:
Assuming your connections are okay, rewind your DV tape to the position you wish to record from. Insert a DVD recordable disc (DVD+/-R or RW) into your DVD recorder. Select the recording mode or quality. The standard recording mode is SP, which allows you 2 hours of video on a disc.

Step 8
You’re now ready to begin recording. Press the Play button on your camcorder and at the same time press the Record button on the DVD recorder. You can do this easily by setting the DVD recorder on pause recording mode. When you press the PLAY button on the mini DV camera, you can release the Pause mode on the DVD recorder.

Step 9
When you have finished transferring video from your camera, press the STOP button on your DVD recorder. You can play back the video from the DVD by pressing the Play button on the DVD recorder. If you want the disc to play in your DVD player, you would have to finalize it. Refer to your DVD recorder manual for instructions.

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