Lite-on SOHW-812s Write Speed Issue

Discussion in 'DVD / Blu-ray drives' started by wahman143, Jan 21, 2005.

  1. wahman143

    wahman143 Member

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    Greetings! This is my first post on this forum, but I have browsed for a while now and love it! Anyway, I have a Lite-on SOHW-812s DVD-RW drive. I have been using it for a while to *ahem* back things up that require low speed. However, I was making a data backup the other day and noticed that it would not write at its listed max speed of 8x. This was with Nero Ultra 6.6.0.3, which I had recently aquired. That let me to wonder, so I tried the same task in the included Sonic RecordNow DX software...and got the same results! In Nero, I was getting a max of 2.5x and in Sonic I was getting a max of 4x. Now, granted, I am using 4x media...but shouldn't the max speed of the drive show up in the software regardless? Or am I just a knucklehead? I would appreciate any feedback on this matter, and I offer my gratitude in advance!
     
    wahman143, Jan 21, 2005
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  2. fasfrank

    fasfrank Active member

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    It works like this. The burner firmware checks discs that are inserted and compares them to see if they are supported. The disc is checked against a table in the firmware so it knows what laser power to use and the correct speed to burn at.

    During the burn, checks are made to insure that the the power level is correct. Adjustments are made as needed. This is called a running OPC, "Optimal Power Calibration".

    http://www.dvdplusvideo.com/dvdguide001.html

    Hope this helps. Actually it is a good thing that the firmware is set up to the DVD specification. The burner takes a look at every disc so the disc manufacturers have to make sure that the disc they label as 8X or 16x is actually capable of burning at that speed. Sometimes they miss or the burner firmware does not have that particular media listed. That's why it's a good idea to do your firmware updates.
    Cheers,
    Frank



     
    fasfrank, Jan 22, 2005
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  3. wahman143

    wahman143 Member

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    Frank,
    Thanks a bunch for the post and expaination! That makes absolute sense...I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy! Honestly, I don't even need 8x (except for when I back my pc up...it would be nice!). I just wanted to make sure I didn't get ripped off - I can be a little picky when it comes to my hardware!

    Thanks again, and have a great day,
    M.
     
    wahman143, Jan 23, 2005
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