I've been using a program (U-Lead Movie Factory) that formats .mpeg files and writes DVD-R's. A question arose from someone to whom I'd given some DVD-R's that I'd made. He seemed to think that the chapter stops I'd put in were causing some lock-ups on playback.

Now, this doesn't involve any sort of joined files. I'm guessing that the chapter stops are simply pointers to certain times and are not incorporated into the disk image, and thus ought to be harmless to normal playback.

Can anyone explain? I'd forgo the chapter stops if they're a potential problem, but they are convenient, so any insight is appreciated.

Sorry for such a late reply, have you managed to to replicate the problem your friend had? Worth checking it wasn't his player that was the issue first.

I'm becoming convinced that a DVD-R (or DVD+R) won't play the same on any two players -- there are a lot of factors involved, and it seems more art than science, so much for replication. My intent was rather a general question, as to whether video chapter stops actually impact the video file as burned to the disc, or are totally non-intrusive, i.e., harmless.