Is it possible to record thousands of mp3 songs (files) onto a
recordable DVD disc for playback onto conventional DVD standalone
players?  I know it is possible to record onto CD-R's and get perhaps
150 songs on a 700 meg disc, but I am talking about recording them
onto DVD medium to get up to 10 times more songs onto 1 disc.  How
exactly can I do this (record and playback)?

Trancehits-ga,

The answer is "Yes. Occasionally"

You can record MP3 files onto a DVD-R in pretty much the same way that
you record them onto CD-R and certain DVD players can cope with that.
But not all players can.

Here are the relevant authorities on the issue:

VCDhelp.com's page on the DVD format :
http://www.vcdhelp.com/dvd

"... Other non standard special formats: ...
DVD-MP3
is MP3s burned on a DVDR/W but very few MP3 capable standalone DVD
Players supports it because most Players verify DVDR/W as DVD-Video
only. Check our DVD Players list for compatibility."

Their DVD compatibility list is available at :
http://www.vcdhelp.com/dvdplayers.php

and the list of DVD players that support the DVD-MP3 format are
available at :
http://www.vcdhelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDname=&DVDselect=&Search=Search&dvdmp3=1&Submit2=Search

Another opinion on the subject is available through the DVD
Demystified FAQ :
http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#2.4.12

"[2.4.12] Is MP3 compatible with DVD?
Not officially. MP3 is the MPEG Layer 3 audio compression format. (MP3
is not MPEG-3, which doesn't exist.) The DVD-Video spec allows only
Layer 2 for MPEG audio (MP2). However, MP3 can be played any computer
with a DVD-ROM drive, and many DVD players (particularly those
manufactured in Asia) can play MP3 CDs. However, oddly enough, most of
the players that can play MP3s from a CD can't play MP3s from a DVD."

As for exactly how you format the disc, nobody is talking about this -
so the best bet is to just follow the same approach you do for MP3
CDRs and put all of the files in the root folder.

Playback will depend on the DVD player. It is probably worth reading
through the reviews at vcdhelp.com of DVD players with DVD-MP3 support
and see how they cope with it. Some players insist on playing all MP3
files in the order in which they appear on the disc. Some players
offer a bit more control in terms of navigation.

So don't go rushing into the idea of burning MP3's onto DVD. It may be
possible to do this if you have the right DVD player - but the format
isn't exactly standard, so your mileage may vary.

Regards

calebu2-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by trancehits-ga on 09 Dec 2002 06:46 PST

The list that shows the DVD players that feature DVD-MP3 is suspect,
as I believe the reviewers may not fully know what they are saying. 
They may think that the player accepts DVD's and can play back MP3's,
but not necessarily play back MP3's ON DVD's.  I need to know for
certain that these players will work and that may be know by
testers/reviewers who have that need and have tested it specifically.

---

Clarification of Answer by calebu2-ga on 09 Dec 2002 15:52 PST

I understand your concern about the reports on the list -
unfortunately for a rarely used standard such as DVD-MP3, that list is
your best bet. If you were looking at buying a DVD player, I would ask
around and make sure on forum.vcdhelp.com before buying one.

The people on the forum tend to have their wits together a little more
and may be able to vouch for some of the product reviews.

Hope this helps

calebu2-ga