I bought an X-TREME 16X DVD+/-R/RW/CD-RW which is made by Pacific Digital corportation. I also bought a pack of 25 pieces of Fujifilms. I happily burned first few DVD+R, then I encouter two pieces of DVD media that have problem. First the DVD writer took a long time to recognize the media, then I tried to format the DVD media, but it did not get right. I thought that maybe the writer got too hot, then I turned it off. The next morning, I turn it on and put a new piece of DVD media in and successfully burned it. Today I intetionally turned the writer on for a few hours, then I tried to write,but it can not access the media. I put in another new piece, again, it can not access the media. I wonder which one get problem, the dvd writter or just the media? If the writer is not good, then I should return it ( I bought it from Fry's Electronics). The DVD media is Fujifilm 8X DVD+R made in Taiwan, it take about half an hour to write one DVD. I have read the guide on this forum which suggest one do not buy the Fujifilm media made in Taiwan, but I already bought. Now what I experienced is that 4 out of 10 is bad, can it be this bad? Can anyone give me some suggestion?
I found that it is the problem of the dvd writer. This time I did not format the disc when it has problem. Then after I turned the dvd writer off for some time to let it cool down, I was able to use the same disc. Certainly, the dvd writer has very poor thermal design.
I recommend going with a popular name brand dvdrw eg. benq, lite-on, NEC, sony, etc. because of accessability to updated firmware and more ppl are familiar with these drives in case you have problems.
Hello Mort81, I am currently using a NEC-3450a (Dell OEM). Father in law also has one, and wanted to purchase a second burner. He bought the NEC-3520a. After using both drives for a while, I would definitly purchase an other NEC drive without hesitation. I think NEC has excellent products... I have an old LG-4040B that still runs solid. I was going to buy the LG-4163B in the past, but now, I would look at the NEC-4550 (I think is the latest model that supports every format).
Hi cougar_ii, I've heard good things about the NEC's but have never owned one. I would probably go with a benq again only because they are bitset/booktype ready and don't require being flashed with modified f/w to be bitset/booktype capable. I prefer dvd+r media booktyped dvd-rom. I like my litey too but it is a little more finicky about media. Mort
Hi Mort81, You have a good point that I have forgotten. I use DVD-R with those NEC Drive. And they DO NOT support bitset/booktype (Original Firmware). Maybe with hacked firmware we could.
Thanks very much for the replies, I will go to return the problematic writer and buy a new one, Beng is a good consideration. I will further look into it.
