hl-dt-st dvdram gma-4080n

hi, i have the hl-dt-st dvdram gma-4080n drive in my laptop, and i have recently just started using 8x dvd+r media. however the drive says it is burning 8x but it actually burns slower than 4x. i have tried different types of burning software with no success and have also reinstalled xp, and just put burning software on without anything else (eg games / applications)i'm at a lost at what to do and would be really grateful for any help.

 

Have you defragged your hard drive? Have you checked for a firmware update? Are you using good quality media? Are your burns good ones? You'll only get the higher speed at the end of the process. The average speed will not be 8X but more like 6X. Many of us only burn at 4X anyway to get quality burns.

Laptop burning is often slower and that laptop burner is not a very good one imho.

The best laptop burner imo is a desktop internal like a BenQ 1640 or NEC 3550 mounted in an external USB2 or Firewire box.

 

thanks for the reply. i have defraged the drive and also installed a new firmware update. and tried different versions of nero and other software. the burns seem to look good and have burnt three kids films which have been watched over the last 2 days (xmas tv and all that) they seemed to play fine which is good being as my standalone is very moody. on my laptop burning at 8x is only about 1min faster than burning at 4x. i am using datawrite titanium 8x. is there any settings i'm missing. would you just suggest i burn at 4x from now on? does it effect you burns if your media is 8x but burnt at 4x? sorry for all the questions.

 

A good rule of thumb is to burn at half the rated speed of the media. In your case if you're not getting max speed anyway, just burn at 4X. Some of the newer 16X media doesn't burn as well at 4X as 8X. I burn most of the time at 4X-8X depending on the rated media burn speed. I use a laptop and an externally-mounted burner.

Most Datawrite is not quality media. Some of the Datawrite media is lower quality like that made by CMC Mag and Princo.

If you want to download dvdidentifier (see my signature for the link), you can get the media code for the blanks and then check it against the database at http://www.videohelp.com. Or repost the code here and we'll be able to tell you whether you have quality media or not. Good quality are Verbatim Datalife Plus, Taiyo Yuden, and Made in Japan labeled Fuji, Maxell, and Sony media.

Most laptop burners are not nearly as good or fast as desktop burners so just factor that into your expectations.

 

@Creaky: Glad to take some of the load off your shoulders, Creaky!

In fairness, some of the Datawrite is made by MCC and TDK and is high quality. A lot is made by Princo, CMC Mag, Infosmart, and Prodisc. Ritek is no longer on my approved list either and they make a lot of the Datawrite. I have no idea who makes the Titanium version so I suggested the extraction of the media code from the disk to ID its manufacturer.

 

i hope this is correct;


** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below
** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded
** INFO : Format 0Eh - Pre-Recorded Information In Lead-In
0000 : 01 40 c1 fd 9e d8 52 00 02 55 0d 0e 88 9a 80 00 .@....R..U......
0010 : 03 43 4d 43 20 4d 41 00 04 47 2e 20 41 45 31 00 .CMC MA..G. AE1.
0020 : 05 88 80 00 00 00 02 00 06 09 0d 11 87 78 90 00 .............x..
0030 : 07 88 80 00 00 00 00 00 08 05 15 0d 0f 0a 09 00 ................
0040 : 09 97 07 0f 0b 7c 88 00 0a 80 00 00 00 00 10 00 .....|..........
0050 : 0b 05 1b 13 a8 89 65 00 0c b6 89 88 80 00 00 00 ......e.........
0060 : 0d 00 00 d0 00 00 00 00 ........

** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Control Data Zone'-Block Listed Below
** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'CDZ'-Block Discarded
** INFO : Format 10h - Physical Format Information Of Control Data Zone
0000 : 25 0f 02 00 00 03 00 00 00 26 12 7f 00 00 00 00 %........&......




** INFO : Drive = HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GMA-4080N [FW 0S35]
** INFO : Write Capabilities = DVD+R DVD+R-DL DVD+RW
** INFO : Write Capabilities = DVD-R DVD-RW DVD-RAM
** INFO : Disc = [DVD-R:CMC MAG. AE1]
** INFO : Reference Speed : 1x DVD = 1385 kBps
** INFO : An Writeable Disc Is Recommended For Accurate Results
** INFO : Write Speeds (Supported By This Drive On This Disc) Listed Below

** INFO : GET PERFORMANCE Write Speed Descriptor(s)
Descriptor #1 = 11080 kBps ( 8.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #2 = 5540 kBps ( 4.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #3 = 2770 kBps ( 2.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]

** INFO : MODE SENSE Write Speed Descriptor(s) [Legacy Command]
** WARNING : MODE SENSE Is Obsolete And Not Always Properly Supported
Descriptor #1 = 11080 kBps ( 8.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #2 = 5540 kBps ( 4.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]
Descriptor #3 = 2770 kBps ( 2.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV]

 

Unfortunately, gazmanpr8, your disks are made by CMC Mag which is not a high quality supplier of media. I'm not sure that switching will help you out speed wise but who even knows whether the media will be playable a year from now. Some manufacturers use lesser quality dyes and glues to reduce their costs which can lead to disk failures during burning or at any time subsequent. Try another quality brand. You can't go wrong with Verbatim Data Life Plus which can be had for 30 cents U.S. on sale most of the time. Like I mentioned before, the Made in Japan-labeled Sony, Fuji, and Maxell are good media as well as Taiyo Yuden. If you go into a store just look to see where the disks were manufactured. If it says made in Japan, they'll be good quality as a general rule.

 

thanks for the feedback, bit of a blow just bought a load of them disks, but what the hell you live and learn. just thought i would ask, is there anyway of checking that when burning a film onto disk that it is a succesfull burn without actually watching the whole film. just like to say thanks again for the help.

 

You can use the verify option that most burning programs have. Another approach is to place the backup in the standalone player and put on fast forward. If it doesn't hangup during replay it'll probably be good. You can also use Nero Info Tool and actually measure the burn quality. I like ffing with the standalone player myself. It's a real world test and is quick.