DVD-R Compatibility
   The issue of DVD player compatibility with the DVD-R format is a challenging issue. Every video production company WORD-WIDE is faced with this issue as well as the consumer.
   When DVD-R was introduced several years ago, film and video producers, mainly from the motion picture industry, used the format primarily to view their productions in the DVD medium before committing to broad-market delivery of DVD Video. Writing to, or burning to a disc, as it is commonly called, creates a DVD-R (R as in recordable). That’s a different kind of disc than DVD Video – which is the format we get every time we purchase a major motion picture on a DVD. The DVD-R’s produced at that time were created and viewed with expensive technology in the hand of Hollywood producers.
   Unlike Hollywood titles you buy on DVDs in stores, DVDs that are created via computer are not 100% compatible across all DVD players. This is due in part because electronics companies have NOT agreed on an industry-wide standard (DVD-R vs. DVD+R), and is further complicated because there is no universally-followed set of standards when companies manufacture these DVDs. Depending on the brand of DVD used the finished product could have anywhere up to an appalling 25% incompatibility across the hundreds of different models and brands of DVD players on the market.
DVDs produced in large quantities are mechanically pressed from a "Glass Master". This is the end result of a very carefully controlled (and expensive) process. The information held on the DVD in the form of minute bumps on a spiral track can be read by the laser on any DVD player - there can still be the odd problem with some machines not liking certain DVDs but this is fairly rare.
DVDs produced in small quantities are "burnt" directly by laser onto a blank disc. The resulting bumps are not so efficient at reflecting the laser light and some DVD players cannot reliably read the information. It is estimated that about 70% of machines will play these "burnt" DVDs, with newer players faring rather better.

   Each time a Producer recorded DVD-R it had to produce discriminating expectations. Once refined a DLT tape was made of the production, shipped to a replicator who then used the tape to create a glass master. The glass master was then used as a sort of die to press DVD Videos in the number required satisfying the demand. This process continues today.
As the years passed, the cost to produce a DVD-R came within easy reach of a much larger market. Smaller producers of video now began to use more affordable compression, authoring, and writing technologies. . As a result, the number of DVD-R’s, almost always produced in short runs, were being delivered to a growing consumer market. However, from the beginning, the manufacturers of DVD players had only to build their products to the spec required to play the DVD Video format. They had little or no reason to build their players to play other formats like DVD-R.
As consumer demand for DVD-R compatibility grew, so too did the percentage of player manufacturers of DVD accommodating the DVD-R format. In 1999, less than 25% of the players sold could play DVD-R. In 2000, that number increased to over 50% and in 2001, to over 75%. Eventually, economics will drive all manufacturers of DVD players to accommodate DVD-R. Why? Because U.S. consumers will soon replace the 200 million VCR’s in their homes with DVD players and the popularity of the DVD-R format will cause those same consumers to demand compatibility. Today, every DVD player manufacturer recognizes this trend and is making the necessary changes to bring all DVD players into compliance.
                About DVD Video and DVD-R Manufacturing Technology…
   Not all DVD Players are capable of playing or reading a DVD-R format recordable DVD disc. And, those that can play at least one kind or brand of DVD-R may not be able to play other brands, regardless of quality. As you may know, the store-bought DVD Movies and Games you have were pressed mechanically, like old-fashioned vinyl LP records. By contrast, your recordable DVD-R discs are "burned" with a laser, and have a slightly different format than the retail DVDs you buy or rent. Playing your burned DVD-Rs requires an extra feature or two that MOST but not all players have.
Little Differences Matter...
   There are subtle differences between the dye formulas and top reflectors used among DVD-R manufacturers, as each company struggles to find a "middle ground" that straddles the wide variations in laser types and logic circuitry used by DVD players and burners. Even though two general purpose type DVD-Rs may be well made, they may have been made to slightly different standards by their makers; each deciding to be more or less compatible with certain brands of players and burners.
While the DVD Movie and Game discs you buy or rent in the stores appear to be "silver" or "gold", they are usually made from aluminum coatings, over a clear layer that has been mechanically pressed with pits or holes to encode the data that the lasers in the DVD players decode into music and video signals. DVD Video discs that are made this way do not require the light sensitive dye layer used in DVD-R discs, and so they appear clear on the bottom, or nearly so. They never have to be "burned". By contrast, the recordable DVD-R discs use a dark dye layer to absorb the higher powered laser in DVD burners to create the tiny pits or holes that encode the disc's data. This dye layer causes problems for some cheaper and older DVD players, but it is none-the-less required to "burn" the DVD-R. Most of today's DVD players now are able to read both the clear-bottomed DVD movie and game discs, and also the colored dye bottomed      DVD-R discs.
   So, what do you do if your DVD player does not accommodate DVD-R?
If this is your situation - you do have options:

RETURN YOUR PLAYER - If you purchased your player recently, take it back and see if the vendor will exchange it for a player fully compliant with all DVD formats. (Unfortunately in these rare cases, they don't always disclose the fact that a particular unit may not be fully compliant.)
BUY A NEW PLAYER - This sounds drastic - though you can now purchase fully compliant units under $100! Just like VCR's, many homes will soon have more than one unit, so the other can remain in service for you.
CHANGE DISC TYPE - While a crazy option in our opinion (due to the low cost of compliant players on the market), there are two methods we can mention just for the record. We can have the data files pulled off your DVD disc and
1) put on a smaller size DVD-R disc (same format - slightly older & much more expensive disc capacity) that often, but not always, has better playing characteristics on players that are not fully compliant with DVD-R media - charge applies whether it works or not - $75;
2) put on a "glass master" - with stamped discs created from that master - 500 (over $1000 for Glass master) disc minimum! - but will play on ALL players as is a STAMPED format at that point.
SAVE THE DISC AND USE A VIDEOTAPE COPY FOR NOW - By reproducing your images on DVD, you have taken important steps to protect and duplicate your images from the inevitable self-erasure of many media, including videotape. Enjoy your programming now on a free VHS copy - until you change or upgrade players to a fully complaint unit.

   To map a strategy, let’s look at the facts:
* DVD-R discs have an estimated lifespan of at least 100 years (DVD Video discs, because of the different technology used to manufacture them, are estimated to last hundreds of years)
* All DVD players will play DVD-R discs eventually (probably by 2004)
* The quality of video on a DVD is significantly better than that of VHS
Given those facts, you ought not let the matter of your existing DVD player’s DVD-R incompatibility stand in the way of your enjoying DVD-R’s to the fullest extent possible while at the same time protecting them for future generations. So we would recommend that you consider buying a compatible player.
Remember....you get what you pay for! Don't buy a $39-$79 DVD player! Also buy a name you can trust. Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer,.....not KLH, or Ampex or some, what I call, 3rd rate DVD player.
Ask yourself. Why are those DVD players $150-$200......because they will play more formats! and...How do those companies produce a DVD player that is so inexpensive?....Because they use less expensive parts. They are in business to make money...not guarantee your DVD player plays back every DVD!
On another note...I recently purchased a Hollywood movie that would not play in my DVD player. Now, this was a pressed, wide release Movie. Just goes to show you this format is still shaky.
If a company tells you they can guarantee your production will work flawlessly on all DVD players, I've got some great land I'd like to sell you....cheap too!