Hi.. I bought a spindle of 4x DVD+R's that make bad copies when I burn at 4x. I want to know if it's possible to burn on them at 2x. Maybe slowing the burn speed down would give me better results?? When using Nero it only allows me to burn at 4x. My burner is a Sony DRU-710A. I can select write speed until I put a blank DVD+R in the drive then it automaticly goes to 4x. I used DVDInfo and got the following info on the DVD+R's i am trying to use. I have had great luck with other DVD+R's using my combo of nero and DVD shrink. Is there some software out there that will let me burn at 2x on these 4x DVD+R's?? Any help would be greatly appreciated.... Thanks.. Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO Media code/Manufacturer ID CMC MAG F01 Media Product Revision Number 00h Format Capacity Blank Disc Free Blocks 405405696 Free Capacity 4.38GB(4.70GB) Book Type DVD+R Media Type DVD+R Manufacturer Rated Speed 4.0x 5540KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 4.0x 5540KBps Data area starting sector 30000h Linear Density 0.267um/bit Track Density 0.74um/track Number of Layers 1 Complete Media Code 00000000 08 02 00 00 A1 0F 02 00 00 03 00 00 00 26 05 3F .............&.? 00000010 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 43 4D 43 20 4D 41 47 00 46 .......CMC MAG.F 00000020 30 31 00 38 23 54 37 10 02 48 71 02 8C 69 16 16 01.8#T7..Hq..i.. 00000030 0B 0B 0A 0A 01 1D 1E 0C 0C 12 12 01 00 00 00 00 ................
Hi Otherland, welcome to aD, The discs you purchased will continue to make bad copies at any speed. Your media is Mfg by CMC, a manufacturer of low quality DVD's at best. There is nothing you can do to make a sow's ear into a silk purse. Your discs are fine for Data backup OR Gif, and .Jpg storage but isn't any good for DVD Video. Keep using it, some of it will burn, some won't and your *storage time will suck. Needless to say, slowing down your burning may slow down your coaster production but burning is burning, it's the embedding of data onto a disc and the speed of the embedding will have nothing at all to do with video quality. *Storage time - This artical was writen about CD's but applies to DVD's also. FAIR WARNING. . . Using that "Cheap" media, your backups may not last all that long - One thing I haven't addressed is the life of a backup made on an "el cheapo" disc. We all know that data, music and video backups on CD's and DVD's will last forever, well, if not forever for at least 100 yrs or so - That's what we've read and that's why we backup our treasures to disc, so that they'll be safe. "BLAaaaT" (the bone chilling sound of an emergency air horn), Wrong, Dead Wrong ! Don't throw the originals away, you may very well need them. Your video camera tapes and family picture CD's and DVD's, may not be there the next time you want to look at them. "Point of fact," inferior discs have a tendency to "Break down]" in time. In a very short time, we're talking disc breakdown in less than a single year, in as little as 6 to 8 months. Important, please read - http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=513486 My personal observations on this subject - I have had about 40 backups that have refused to play after being stored for a year or more. I test all of my backups when they are burnt to be very sure that there are no problems. "In the Golden, Olden times," before I knew any better, the Memorex, Maxell and professional "Store Brand" discs (and any thing that was on sale) was what used before I switched to Ritek and Verbatim, it is the poor quality stuff that I have been experiencing my trouble with. I noticed that backup DVD's I had refused to play in my standalone player and on my PC. VOB files wouldn't play either and other discs that I backed up about the same time would "Freeze" part way through the movie. After switching to Verbatim and Ritek's, mostly the Ritek's because the price was right, I've not had 1 go "Flat" in almost 2 years. I still have some backups done on the cheap stuff and, as time wears on I lose a few more as I attempt to check them. I say to you, why did a backup play fine in "01"and "02" then "fail" in "03 ?? Some that were done in "01" never made it till "02" (it took me some time to learn, lol) and others done about the same time and "Failed" in "04"? All of my backups from about November of "02" were done on the "good Stuff" and they still work fine today - not a single failure ! Here's a little information to aid you in making wiser purchases next time - Let's take Memorex as an excellent example as DVD media goes, 90% of Memorex, made by CMC, is sub-standard as far as DVD backups are concerned, 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. Memorex made a name for itself with their magnetic tapes (VHS and audio cassettes) and have been living off it ever since. There are 4 different companies that manufacture Memorex DVD's BTW and product quality varies widely as you might imagine. Only 10% of the Memorex out there, those are discs manufactured by Mitsubishi in the 25 pack spindle , and they're the exception – they are the good ones. It's 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 by both burners and players :-( Besides "Freezing", "skips" 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. Orange Pack, Princo, Great AZO and 90% of Memorex plus many others are just not that good for DVD burning. Those same discs however, are quite good for your MP3 music, picture archives, Spread sheets and Data..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.” 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 OR Newegg.com have gotten Ritek G04 starting at about a $ .45 (USD) a disc – For DVD backups, purchasing inexpensive media or even average media is a gamble, some people win BUT the majority lose, they lose varying amounts true but, they still lose :-( Using good grade media can guarantee you one thing to an absolute certainty; it surely cannot hurt. 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 poor quality control used during manufacturing and the quality of the dye, dye application or composite type used. I'm not saying it won't burn - Some may burn, some may not. It's quality is inconsistent, meaning it's not dependable. To make matters worse, many times the discs that you do burn may play in your PC BUT your standalone player may not accept them – what good then is a backup DVD that cannot be watched on a DVD player ? 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 what you are purchasing now. We like to verify our information prior to recommending things. There are certain things we look at. For instance, when their dye and dye application are listed as unknown, this almost guarantees us they are using whatever they can get at a cheap price. Companies that use quality materials like to BRAG about it, naming names and staying with quality manufacturers who produce their media. Using DVD identifier and MediaMatch can help you find out a lot about what you're using. Purchasing your DVD media online can insure that you're getting quality merchandise at a good price. Shopping wisely will save you time, aggravation and money. As always, you have a choice - and lastly, here are some TIPS for getting you through your batch of crappy media - STOPGAP FIXES, NOT RECOMMENDED, for working through bad DVD's: 1. * There's a little sometimes fix, it's to compress your DVD to somewhere around 4.2GB even. For instance when using DVD Shrink, open it and click "Edit", then click "Preferences" on this page we're going to select "DVD Target Size" as custom and set the size as 4300MB By reducing the amount to be burned you can stay away from the edges where the dye tends to be uneven and the discs may be brittle. 2. You can reduce the numbers of errors while burning cheapo media by burning at a reduced speed. It takes longer but what the heck, you're saving money. Since you're compressing more it might be wise to burn just the movie, the less you burn the better the quality sooo, movie only, please. 3. Super Cleaning, is a "sometimes fix" which has been known to sneak a few extra disc into use especially when your PC refuses to recognize the disc. We divide it into 2 parts, the first is to literally clean the discs prior to use, even those fresh out of the pack. Using Isopropanol Alcohol and a soft cotton cloth and rubbing firmly from the center of the disc outward toward the edge. Continue until the entire disc has been cleaned. Commercial cleaners and solution are available at your local electronics store. Part 2 is to reboot your PC just prior to attempting to insert your disc into the drive "cleaning out" your clipboard and your RAM memory. Best of luck, Cheers, Pete "P"
Wow very informative thank you ScubaPete!!! I've only had my DVD burner a few weeks now so im stil a newb trying to learn a lot of things at one time. I was doing great until I bought this spindle of DVD's. I guess I got lucky when I purchased some TDK's right off the bat. I have not had ONE problem with those. I've always had great luck with Verbatim CD-R's that i buy at Sam's club. I noticed the other day they had a 100 DVD+R 8x Verbatim spindle for $59. Should I give these a try? Thanks for all the great info....
I'll give the Verbatims at Sams Club a big thumbs up. Good price, fine quality DVD. Use the other discs as "Clay's" on the Skeet range - Lol
