Often it is seen that a player's specifications include the need for a finalized disc in order for that disc to be playable on that device. Just what does "finalized disc" mean?
- A disc where there is no free space and therefore no more data can be written to it?
- Or, a disc where there is existing free space, but, in the burn to disc, a lead out has been written for the last session?
A LG BH12 Blu-ray DVD burner on Windows 7 Professional 64 bit was used in the studies to follow. If that drive was right clicked to bring up Properties/Recording Tab and its Global Settings, the following options could be seen
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| BD-RE Drive And Properties/Recording Global Settings (Windows 7 Professional SP1 64 bit). |
And, in spite of those Global Settings for "closed disc", Premiere Elements AVCHD on DVD and Blu-ray disc format on Blu-ray disc will present with free space on the disc, and ImgBurn Read of those discs will show "Empty" for Status and "Incomplete" for State of Last Session for AVCHD DVD and "Incomplete" for Status and "Incomplete" for State of Last Session for Blu-ray disc format on BD-R disc.
ISSUE
What do the disc's properties for Used Spaced, Free Space, and Capacity look like for Premiere Elements burn to DVD-VIDEO on DVD-R disc, AVCHD on DVD-R disc, and Blu-ray disc format on BD-R disc when the same project and Timeline content are used in the comparison?
And, what is a possible how to for "finalizing" a disc so that the end disc properties present with 0 free space and give a "Complete" in the ImgBurn Read of the disc for Status and State of Last Session?
ISSUE EVALUATION
Comparison of Disc's properties of Used Spaced, Free Space, and Capacity
Premiere Elements 12, Same Project, Same Timeline Content Used In Comparison
The Blank DVD-R disc properties
Used Space = 0 bytes
Free Space = 4.38 GB
Capacity = 4.38 GB
The Blank DVD-R disc properties
Used Space = 0 bytes
Free Space = 4.38 GB
Capacity = 4.38 GB
Premiere Elements DVD-VIDEO Widescreen on DVD-R Disc
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Disc
DVD, disc with preset = NTSC_Widescreen_Dolby DVD
Burn Dialog: Space Required = 128.00 MB and Bitrate = 8.00 Mbps
The disc properties result was the same whether burn to was done with or without a check mark next to "Fit Contents to Available Space" in the burn dialog.
Used Space = 93.1 MB
Free Space = 0 bytes
Capacity = 93.1 MB
If the disc was read with ImgBurn
Status = Complete
State of Last Session = Complete
And, if an attempt was made to use this end product disc in another Premiere Elements burn to, the result in the Burn dialog was Status = Incompatible Disc.
There were no problems getting playback of the Premiere Elements DVD-VIDEO on DVD disc using computer players or TV DVD players.
Premiere Elements AVCHD on DVD-R Disc
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Disc
AVCHD, disc with preset = H.264 1920 x 1080i NTSC Dolby
Burn Dialog: Space Required = 202.00 MB and Bitrate 15.74 Mbps
The disc properties result was the same whether burn to was done with or without a check mark next to "Fit Content to Available Space" in the burn dialog, with the minor exception Used Space = 254 MB when the burn to did not include "Fit Content to Available Space".
Used Space = 255 MB
Free Space = 4.13 GB
Capacity = 4.38 GB
If the disc was read with ImgBurn
Status =Incomplete
State of Last Session =Empty
And, if an attempt was made to use this end product disc in another Premiere Elements burn to, the result in the Burn dialog was Status = Disc is not blank and the Burn button would be grayed out.
There was no problems getting playback of the Premiere Elements AVCHD DVD on the computer using CyberLink PowerDVD 9 as the player.
Premiere Elements Blu-Ray Disc Format on BD-R Disc
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Disc
Blu-ray, with preset = H.264 1920 x 1080i NTSC Dolby
Burn Dialog: Space Required = 308.00 MB and Bitrate 20.19 Mbps
The disc properties result was the same whether burn to was done with or without a check mark next to "Fit Content to Available Space" in the burn dialog. As reported in an earlier blog post, if the Space Required is 23 GB or less and "Fit Content to Available Space" is checked, an Adobe Media Encoder Error "Property Data Invalid" message is likely to pop up before hitting the Burn button in the Burn dialog.
Used Space = 0 bytes
Free Space = 22.4 GB
Capacity = 22.4 GB
If the disc was read with ImgBurn
Status = Incomplete
State of Last Session = Incomplete
And, if an attempt was made to use this end product disc in another Premiere Elements burn to BD-R, the result in the Burn dialog was Status = Disc is not blank and the Burn button would be grayed out.
There was no problems getting playback of the Premiere Elements Blu-ray disc format on BD-R disc on the computer uisng CyberLink PowerDVD 9 as the player.
SOLUTION
If free space on a disc after burn is used as the criteria for a non finalized versus finalized disc, the above would suggest that Premiere Elements finalizes its DVD-VIDEO on DVD disc, but not its AVCHD on DVD disc or Blu-ray disc format on BD-R disc. If that is really the case (no judgment being made on that at this time), the following might be a solution for finalizing these discs in ImgBurn after the burn to in Premiere Elements. To do this, the Premiere Elements AVCHD DVD is copied in ImgBurn to produce a disc image which is then written to a DVD-R in ImgBurn to produce a AVCHD DVD with no free space on the disc as per the properties read.
Taking the example of the Premiere Elements AVCHD on DVD disc detailed above
1. The AVCHD on DVD disc is copied in ImgBurn using "Create Image File from Disc"
http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=6379
2. Then the Image File generated in the copy process is written to a DVD-R disc using "Write image file to disc"
http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61
Before Premiere Elements AVCHD DVD
Used Space = 255 MB
Free Space = 4.13 GB
Capacity = 4.38 GB
After AVCHD DVD
Used Space = 199 MB
Free Space = 0 bytes
Capacity = 199 MB
Interestingly the CyberLink Power Producer software that came with the LG burner produces an AVCHD DVD which like, Premiere Elements's AVCHD DVD, presents with free space in the disc properties.
COMMENTARY
The above generates more questions than answers. Do we put the disc creations through the ImgBurn drill or the like for those disc creations being given to relatives to preempt a disc return? Many more details to explore, so definitely a work in progress.
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ATR
