OK I just upgraded to the Sony dual format, dual layer burner 16x and I was wondering what speed to burn at in order for maximum quality and read reliability without punishing my laser. For my last Sony DVD burner which was 4x max, the magic speed for me was 2x. So I figure the magic number for this new one would be 8x or maybe 4x to start out with. I figure by now that the dvd-r technology is advanced enough that I should even be able to burn dvd's at 16x without being nervous but I was wondering what other people thought. Any help much appreciated. Oh yeah, its an external burner and I was wondering, does the positioning matter, whether horizontal or vertical? I was wondering the same thing about my PS2. In terms of longevity for the hardware is it better to place them vertically or horizontally is does it not matter. I've been using them horizontal in the past. Thanks.
Many experienced burners on this forum prefer to burn at 4x, and most wont burn above 8x. Generally, the higher the speed, the better your chances of producing a coaster...Wish I could say that that "16x" on the box meant something
VJbob, I would position the burner so it opens up and you can set the disk in w/o it failing out, so that means horizontal. As far as burn speed I would not go over 8X w/ that burner and agree w/ jpcm that you might want to start at 4X and if all goes well try 8X and see. My burner is a 16X but I mainly burn at 4X but I have burned at 8X and 12X successfully
Thanks. Also, what about media. If I plan to burn at 4x should I buy at least 8x media or will burning 4x media at speed 4x be fine. I have to buy new media soon anyway and I'd rather spend a few extra dollars on the 8x if it yield a better product when burning at 4x.
In my limited experience (as a newbie!) along with the advice I read around here, quality of media is key. 4x TY's burned at 4x (authentic TY's, that is) should yield a coaster-free burning experience. I dont think you get "better quality" burns with higher speed-rated media burned at 4x - it has more to do with who makes the disc than its speed rating...anyone tell me if Im off here.
Thats what I was hoping. I was about to buy TY01 4x anyway since my experience with those discs has been positive. However, I've seen 50 packs of Sony DVD-R 8x for $20 and those are supposed to be equal or better to TY I've heard. Not sure but I guess I'll find out.
The best way to judge quality of media is from the media ID, which you can get from some posts on AD. If the sonys are made in Japan, they are probably pretty good. Check here in the future for Media IDs- http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/155431 You can also get some good media advice in the "dvd-R media" thread of this forum. BTW, Most people agree that there is nothing "better" than Genuine TY's and Verbatims, but the Sonys might be just fine. I think you can get TYs (4x) cheaper than the sonys at www.supermediastore.com - 100 for around 35 bucks and 200 + paper sleeves for about 60 (with shipping). good luck!
It's been my experience that your burner will have media preferences too. I'm kind of a newbie to this stuff myself but I stumbled onto some TDK 8x DVD+R that were on sale at compusa and those work great, even in my standalone player that's not made for rewriteables. I tried some office depot brand 4X dvd +R and those won't work in my standalone player at all (is ok, I'll just use them for data backups). I've got a HP 640E external firewire burner, I've seen the verbatim but they weren't anywhere near as cheap. If you've got a circuit city near you check them out the one near me has good sales and a huge variety of brands and media.
I've checked supermediastore.com and they have some TY on sale of inkjet printable 8x DVD-R that look pretty tempting but also pretty expensive. Also they don't provide the disc code. I know some brands like Ritek have some media codes that are supposedly just crap. Are all TY discs top quality. I've ordered TY 4x silver discs from supermediastore.com before and they work great but they don't look very spectacular (very mass produced in appearance). Each sony disc has its own top label which appealed to me. The media code I checked referenced SONY as the manufacturer and not RICOHJAPAN. I hope these are still okay, so far so good.
