DVDStyler Troubleshooting
Most DVDStyler problems are not mysterious: a menu button that was never linked, an audio setting the player does not like, a project whose aspect ratio fights the source footage, a blank disc the burner dislikes. This hub collects our troubleshooting guides by symptom. Each one explains what is actually happening, gives an ordered list of checks, and — where the real problem is a damaged or unusual source file — ends with a clean pre-conversion workflow. If the problem is that you are unsure how a step is supposed to work at all, start with the tutorials hub instead, and make sure you are running the stable build from the download page.
Menus & playback
Menu Buttons Not Working
The menu displays but pressing a button does nothing, in a hardware player or on the computer — unlinked buttons, highlight problems, and a known macOS Monterey issue.
Subtitles Not Showing
The disc should have subtitles but none appear — tracks that were never enabled, players that need the track selected by hand, and file encoding problems.
Audio & picture
No Audio After Burning
The disc plays in silence: wrong track selected, audio format issues, or a source file whose sound DVDStyler could not use.
Audio Out of Sync
Voices drift away from lips — variable-frame-rate phone footage is the usual culprit, and pre-converting the source is the reliable cure.
Video Stretched or Black Bars
People look too tall, too wide, or boxed in by black bars — project and source aspect ratios disagreeing, and player display settings.
Authoring & burning failures
DVDStyler Error Generating DVD
Generation stops before there is a disc at all: temporary space, output permissions, awkward file paths, and broken source files.
Burning Failed
The burn starts and dies, or produces a coaster: media quality, burn speed, the generate-ISO-first workflow, and aging drives.
Mac
Mac: “App Is Damaged” or Won’t Open
Gatekeeper blocking the DVDStyler Mac build, the right-click open method, and the Privacy & Security approval steps.
Still stuck after the guide for your symptom? Re-check the basics — stable version, a project tested as an ISO before burning, and a source file that plays cleanly on its own — then compare your situation with the FAQ.