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is it my burner?

Discussion in 'DVDR' started by dakota316, Sep 19, 2004.

  1. dakota316

    dakota316 Member

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    Ok I have a BENQ DVD burner which I bought a few weeks ago. I've burnt about 20 dvd's on it so far and they all play on my computer and on my one dvd player. I've used Memeorex DVD-R's. They will however not play on another DVD player I have but the thing is, I have other burnt DVD (MEMOREX as well) which play fine on it. I've tried using different programs but the only thing I can think of is that my burner does something to the DVD so that it won't play in the DVD player. My one friend burnt a movie in NERO (same program I used) and it was a MEMOREX-R (same as I use) and his will play in my dvd player but if I burn the same movie using the same software it wont play. Am I wront here to assume it's my burner? I don't know very much about this stuff as I just got the burner recently.
     
  2. herbsman

    herbsman Moderator Staff Member

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    Memorex are not very trustworthy media IMHO. I've had a BenQ [Pioneer 104] for about 4-5 yrs now & it still works as good as the day I bought it ... too many ppl are quick to blame the burner when in fact it is nothing of the sort.

    Of course on the very odd occassion a dud unit may be sold , but if bought from a reputable dealer then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
     
  3. ScubaPete

    ScubaPete Senior member

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    dakota316,

    As you're dealing with Memorex, all I can say is that you're doing something right to have that many burns without more coasters - (Lol)

    Here's my thoughts on the matter - Memorex is an excellent example as media goes, figures as high as 50% coasters have been reported (One member bought a stack of 50 and got 23 good burns.), not what I would call an impressive record. There are 4 different companies that manufacture Memorex BTW and product quality varies widely as you might imagine. Easy to see now why the quality of a big-named company can't be trusted - " Who's making your Memorex tonight ?"

    Is it just Memorex ? No ! I just used Memorex as an example., Princo, Orange Pack, Great AZO and most "store" discs aren't all that suitable as a DVD backup media - that's why we are specific in the type of media we are recommending.

    1. * Cheap media freezes, skips, pixelats and may refuse to be recognized :-(
    Besides "Freezing", "skips" and pixelations, many times you'll get a "Cyclic Redundancy error" or an "I/O error". This message can mean that your discs are scratched or dirty, it can also mean that your burner won't accept your "cheap" media :-(
    Another problem which "pops up" is a "*Power Calibration Error". This can stop you right in your tracks and most often is caused by, Yep, you guessed it, inexpensive media. *A "Power Calibration Error" can also be attributed to the Optical Components of a DVD Writer, though this isn't usually the case. Trying to shut down your software and ejecting your DVD then restarting your program and re-inserting the same media recently cleaned has been known to help.

    Inexpensive media or even average media is great for text, Data, Spreadsheets, .Jpg and .Gif pictures and is good even for MP3 music BUT for DVD backups - BLAaaaaaT! It SUCKTH in an extremely Big-th way !

    What we are suggesting is to download this DVD Identifier to find out who manufactured your DVD and if it's a decent quality.

    http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com/

    Once you have your disc identified, click the "More information" icon and see what information you're given. if you're not sure of the quality, come on back and we'll check it out for you -

    2. A good grade, Hi-quality media is needed for DVD reproduction !
    RiData, Sony, TDK, "Branded" Ritek G04's or "Branded" Verbatim Data Life, Verbatim DataLife plus, Taiyo Yuden's and generally, almost any discs manufactured by Mitsubishi are excellent bets. Among the better discs we're looking for, any media boasting "Advanced Metal AZO" - BUT it must say "METAL" AZO !, this indicates a superior dye and dye application on a good composite disc, while they are sometimes a bit "pricey" they are just the type of media we're looking for to do our DVD backups, Prices online from Meritline.com have gotten Ritek G04 starting at about a $ .45 (USD) a disc -
    Question - If you make coasters out of 3 cheap or even average discs and good copies from 3 RiData, Ritek, TDK, Sony or Verbatim discs - which ones then will you say are too expensive ? The 3 "Cheapo's with no movie backup OR, the 3 recommended discs with a perfect backup on each disc ?

    Bear in mind, Memorex, Orange Pack, Princo, Fuji, Great AZO and others are quite good for your MP3 music, picture archives, Spread sheets, Data and your text backups and archives, they just don't work well for DVD backups. Even DataSafe G04's made by Ritek have been reported as an inferior quality media and are evoking that "Oh no, I shouldn't have gotten those."
    Remember, for DVD backups, purchasing inexpensive media or even average media is a gamble, some people win, the majority of people lose, varying amounts varying amounts, true but, they still lose :-(

    Using good grade media can guarantee you one thing to an absolute certainty; it surely cannot hurt.

    BTW, In an effort to clear the air, when I speak of "Cheap" or "Inexpensive" media, I'm not referring to the price you pay at the counter - I'm referring to the type of composite some manufactures use, their method of dye application and the lack of OR the poor quality control used during manufacturing. when I say "Branded" that means that when you pick up a disc in your hand, it says "Ritek" or "RiData" on the disc itself. The monetary cost of the media we recommend many times is cheaper than that you are buying now.

    Cheers,

    Pete
     
  4. dakota316

    dakota316 Member

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    Thanks for the replies. I tried different brands (cheap ones and good ones) but still no luck. I've also tried several different programs. Next thing I guess I'll have to try is dvd + r's although the Memorex -R's that my friend burnt on his worked in my dvd player. I have no clue why the ones I burn work in one DVD player but not the other. Thanks for the replies just the same
     
  5. Nephilim

    Nephilim Moderator Staff Member

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    One thing to consider is that firmware has a huge impact on the resulting burn quality for any given burner and there isn't an industry standard for firmwares - they're all proprietory - so the fact that the Memorex you burn don't play but the Memorex your friend burns do play isn't as odd as it may seem. Couple that with the fact that some standalone players can be picky about what they play and it becomes even less odd. The difference in write quality between your and your friend's burners may be one explanation. Are you running the latest firmware for your drive?

    Another consideration is that the low quality media that Memorex tends to use use can vary in quality quite a bit from lot to lot. Are you and your buddy using media from the package or tub?
     
  6. dakota316

    dakota316 Member

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    My friend used memorex (not from my tub) and he tried some other cheaper future shop brand dvd's too and they worked as well. How do I check for the latest firmware for my burner. I just got it a few weeks ago so shouldnt everything be up to date?
     
  7. Nephilim

    Nephilim Moderator Staff Member

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  8. dakota316

    dakota316 Member

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    BenQ EW822U. So if my firmware is older this could cause problems with it not playing in one of my dvd players?
     
  9. Nephilim

    Nephilim Moderator Staff Member

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  10. dakota316

    dakota316 Member

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    Thanks for the help. I'll try it out and let you know how it works
     
  11. asafespot

    asafespot Member

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    Hello ladies and gentlemen
    I have a similar situation to dakota316, here is a little back ground
    2 high end computers, i have a benq 822 dvd burner(latest firmware) the other has a lg (i don't known the model number)
    Same movie converted in each pc, using dvd shrink and nero to burn, Ridata -r media from the same spindle, burned @ 2x. Identical JVC home dvd players, the movie back up in the lg pc plays fine in both jvc dvd players, the movie backed up with my benq doesn't work in either Jvc. I reburned 2 more -r disks and they didn't work either, however all 3 i made do work in other various dvd players including a PS2, Reburn the movie files to a smartbuy +r media and the movies plays in both jvc dvd players.
    From the above, you could assume that it isn't the media, it isn't the jvc dvd players simply because they play the -r from the lg, which leaves the benq as the possible problem, or is there a trick to burning -r media on the 822 benq that the lg does automatically?
    Hell, maybe i got a lemon?
    Any help offered would truly be appreciated.
     
  12. Nephilim

    Nephilim Moderator Staff Member

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    Different burners have different firmwares that handle different media differently :)

    The manufacturers write their own proprietory firmwares and it's very possible that LG has optimized their firmware for Riteks better than Benq has.

    It'd be a good thing to contact Benq tech support and let them know the issues you're having with the RiDATA. The more people that contact them having trouble with a certain media the more likely they'll realize they need to do some tweaking.
     
  13. crazymf77

    crazymf77 Guest

    i have a benq also. use fuji 4x dvd+r.20 burns no coasters give it a shot.
     
  14. ScubaPete

    ScubaPete Senior member

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    crazymf77,

    We like to verify our information prior to recommending things. Prodisc and Memorex are known lousy media. - Another clue is that their dye and dye application is listed as unknown, this almost guarantees that they are using whatever they can get at a cheap price. When companies use quality materials they BRAG about it, naming names.

    We never said it wouldn't burn, we said that you have a good chance of making coasters out of it. Also, there is the matter of memory. Studies have been done on CDs and the same applies to any media. The quality stuff maintains it's memory while "el Crappo" media quietly loses it's "flakey" little mind -

    Let's do our research before telling pple what's good and what's not. We don't tell you something that will cost you money, don't tell others something that's not factual and make them spend their hard-earned$$$ unwisely.

    General data:
    Offerer:
    Fuji
    Designation:
    DVD r
    Print:
    Fuji
    Packing:
    Jewel Case 5 pieces
    EAN code:
    4902520234780
    UPC code:
    without
    Detail:
    Manufacturer's code:
    ProdiscS03
    Manufacturer:
    Prodisc Technology Inc..
    Dye type:
    Unknown

    Version:
    Data capacity:
    4.70 GB
    Video capacity:
    120 minutes (standard Play)

    I then ran a "Manufacturer" search

    Search result manufacturer: Prodisc Technology Inc..
    Left: [ Prodisc Taiwan ]
    10 entries in the data base of this manufacturer.
    Fuji
    DVD r general Use
    4.7 GB/single Sided
    Jewel Case 5 pieces
    4902520234780
    without
    Fuji
    DVD r general Use
    4.7 GB/single Sided
    Jewel Case
    4902520234773
    without
    Prodisc
    DVD r general Use
    4.7 GB/single Sided
    Spindle 50 pieces
    without
    without
    SPEER DATA
    DVD r general Use
    4.7 GB/single Sided
    Slimline 5 pieces
    4035441210677
    without
    Memorex
    DVD RW
    4.7 GB/single Sided
    Jewel Case 10 pieces
    5024460001181
    without
    Memorex
    DVD RW
    4.7 GB/single Sided
    Jewel Case 5 pieces
    5024460001174
    without
    Memorex
    DVD RW
    4.7 GB/single Sided
    Jewel Case
    5024460546101
    without


    As a rule, when we say something, we've checked it out closely. 20 burns doesn't say allot. Large groups of pple, burning thousands of discs do.

    Take a look at your quick post saying "Give it a shot" (No coasters) and the length of my post to educate you and to show you that your recommendation wasn't a good one.

    I say this only to teach you, not to "put you down" or embarrass you. The more you learn, the more comfortable you'll feel about dispensing information to others. I have made the same mistakes as you and have learned from them, don't feel afraid to join in a topic. All the information is here in aD. Search it out and then post, you'll be "guy with the answers" in no time (Lol).

    Cheers,

    Pete
     

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