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Panasonic DVD+R, a load of bull?

Discussion in 'DVDR' started by Xithon, Apr 18, 2007.

  1. Xithon

    Xithon Member

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    Firstly I'd just like to say, I know what I'm doing with a PC and have a fair knowledge of how burning CD/DVDs works and I've burnt a fair few in the past. I also know my Samsung DVD drive is fully DVD+R compatible.

    I have had 2 possible problems arise today.

    My inital problem is with a 10 pack of jewel-cased DVD+R DVDs I recently bought from PCWorld. I just backed up my Animatrix DVD (which is fully working and genuine) to an ISO file using a registered copy of MagicISO. The backup appeared to go well and I made sure to close all uneeded apps before starting the copy. When I came to burn the ISO to one of the blank DVD+Rs using ImgBurn (version 2.3.2.0, the latest to date), the program didn't seen to like the DVD. The burn button was greyed out and it wasn't giving any reason why.

    So thinking it was the program not being able to cope, I went back to MagicISO to see if it would burn the image file. Another error turned up and I couldn't even start to burn to the disc. This program reported that the disc wasn't empty! Me being the type to accept a faulty product, opened another blank DVD to try. Still nothing from either of the programs. I even tried a 3rd disc to make sure: no such luck.

    Before you say it's a duff ISO copy, it can't be because MagicISO had the error message before I even went to load the ISO. Now, I know my DVD writing drive can write to DVD+Rs because I use them all the time, the last working brand (which worked very well actually) were Sony DVD+Rs in a similar 10 pack jewel-cased box. The two brands are identical in their specifications.

    Could this be down to my drive disliking Panasonic DVDs?

    My second problem, which may be more obvious, is that when trying to open the ISO in VLC Media Player, all I get is a blue screen, but I get the sound working fine. I'm guessing this is down to reigon/CSS protection so I've just downloaded a trial version of DVD Reigon/CSS Free to see if I can copy the DVD to an image file with that. Fingers crossed...

    So the first problem is more of a dagger in my side than the second (which hopefully I'll have sussed pretty soon...). If anyone has any suggestions experience with these Panasonic DVD+Rs, the details would be most helpful, I'm sure.

    Cheers!
     
  2. 300bowler

    300bowler Regular member

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    Yes, you might need a firmware update though and that might be the reason why you are having this problem,

    if you put the blank dvd in IMGburn or dvd decrypter, and post what the manufacturers ID is and post that info.
    or
    try dvd identifier to see what the MID code is
    DL identifier http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/dvd_tools/dvd_identifier.cfm

    also if you post your brand/model/firmware we can see if you need a firmware update, you can find this with all three of the programs i said above.

    Also if i am not mistaken VLC player will not play an ISO, you have to use something like daemon tool to mount a drive to be able to play it
     
  3. Xithon

    Xithon Member

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    Thanks for the reply, luckily I've sorted my problem with the ISO playing only a blue screen, it was the CSS protection after all (which DVD Reigon+CSS Free found out) and I was able to disable the protection and copy the DVD to an ISO again using MagicISO which worked a treat! VLC can play lots of different file formats, including DVD ISOs and probably a bunch of other image files, too. So yer, the ISO plays very nicely in VLC now! :)

    Ok, as for the DVD drive, here's the information ImgBurn is giving me:

    SAMSUNG DVD R/RW SH-W08A 1S30 (ATA)
    Current Profile: DVD+R

    Disc Information:
    Status: Complete
    Erasable: No
    Sessions: 1
    Supported Write Speeds: 2.4x, 4x, 8x

    Physical Format Information (ADIP):
    Disc ID: RICOHJPN-R03-04
    Book Type: DVD+R
    Part Version: 1
    Disc Size: 120mm
    Maximum Read Rate: Not Specified
    Number of Layers: 1
    Track Path: Parallel Track Path (PTP)
    Linear Density: 0.267 um/bit
    Track Density: 0.74 um/track
    First Physical Sector of Data Area: 196,608
    Last Physical Sector of Data Area: 2,491,711
    Last Physical Sector in Layer 0: 0

    Physical Format Information (Last Recorded):
    Disc ID: RICOHJPN-R03-04
    Book Type: DVD+R
    Part Version: 1
    Disc Size: 120mm
    Maximum Read Rate: Not Specified
    Number of Layers: 1
    Track Path: Parallel Track Path (PTP)
    Linear Density: 0.267 um/bit
    Track Density: 0.74 um/track
    First Physical Sector of Data Area: 196,608
    Last Physical Sector of Data Area: 2,491,711
    Last Physical Sector in Layer 0: 0


    Hopefully that will shed some light on the situation. To be perfectly honest, I don't understand some of those statistics but maybe you will. One thing I've noticed is the write speed reported: it's supposed to max a 16x DVD write speed (and I burnt to my previous Sony DVDs using 16x) but it's saying it doesn't go past 8x. The reason this has baring here is because there's a disclaimer notice on all these Panasonic disc covers mentioning that some drives don't support 16x and may not work with these discs... yet on the box, AND on the covers they clearly state write speeds between 1x and 16x are compatible. How strange.

    I've actually given the 'Update Firmware' option a test in ImgBurn and it's reported an update on my current FW. I've downloaded it, but I haven't touched it yet due to the flashing, so I'll wait and see what you think. The download is version 1S31 (my current being 1S30), just so you know.

    Well, hopefully this update will cure the problem; we shall see.
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2007
  4. 300bowler

    300bowler Regular member

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    You are right about the firmware, and that might help with the higher burning speeds for those panasonic disk which are actually made by one of the better manufacturers, Disc ID: RICOHJPN-R03-04

    however for burning speeds i would only recommend burning at half of what the top rated speed is of the blank media
     
  5. Xithon

    Xithon Member

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    That would make sense I suppose, not all drives can actually reach their peak stated write speed (especially not without FW updates).

    I've hit another snag though now; the update I downloaded came in the bin format, so I assume it's a cd image file, yet I couldn't mount it in either Daemon Tools (because bin isn't supported by it) or in the MagicISO plug-in virtual drives. It'll load it, but it tells me there's an error as if it isn't actually an image file.

    Do you know if it actually is an image? I haven't updated my drive FW before so this is new to me. I think I'm going to call it a night now so I'll probably be back here to check for replies tomorrow afternoon sometime.

    Thanks for your help so far bud :)
     
  6. DakotaFan

    DakotaFan Regular member

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    Actually, VLC can play ISO files. I play ISO files all the time with VLC.
     
  7. 300bowler

    300bowler Regular member

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    dakotafan,

    ok i was mistaken, i was thinking about another player, D'oh.
     

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