This is just a record of problems i have encountered. I write them down here just so that some people may find them useful. Maybe some people can provide a better answer. The hard-learned rule is: [bold]Do not fix it if it ain't broken.[/bold] Unless you are trying to fix a specific problem, do not upgrade your software, firmware, or change your settings or change your brand of media. Stick to what you have until it breaks. (I paid $11 and 12 hours to find this out) The second rule is: [bold]Buy a DVDRW media and practice on the RW first.[/bold] The third: [bold]Always write to a hard drive first, then burn on a DVDR. Do not do one-step copy and burn. [/bold] If you have $$$ to burn, by all means, burn them. [bold]1. This disc is dirty - on Sony DVD Player - C:13:70[/bold] Typically, this is because the DVD+/-Rs are not burn properly. Try to reduce your burning speed. [bold]2. Unable to read the DVD+/-Rs on some players or DVDROM[/bold] Confirm your players or DVDROMs support your media format. Use DVDinfo to check your DVDROM [bold]3. Nero buffer level goes out of whack and changes all the time. Burning speed decreases significantly.[/bold] Use Nero's Nero InfoTool to verifiy your DVD-RW's DMA is turned ON. Do not believe what you see under Control Panel, System, Hardware, Device Manager, IDE Controller. a. turn on the DMA and reboot, or b. reinstall Nero, or c. uninstall the channel(s) and reboot d. Check the DMA before you burn or you will be wasting another $1. [bold]4. Focus or tracking error[/bold] This can be: a. hardware issue b. your DVD-RW does not like this particular media Try a different brand or type, and try to drop the burn speed. Try a different burning tool like RecordNow. [bold]5. Unsuccessful burn with Nero[/bold] a. Try a lower burn speed b. Try a different type of media or brand
Media problems are in fact a huge problem when dealing with backing up DVD’s. Some things you might want to know – Memorex is a good example as media goes, figures as high as 50% coasters have been reported (One member bought a stack of 50 and got 23 good burns.), not what I would call an impressive record. 4 different companies manufacture Memorex BTW and the quality varies widely as you might imagine. Easy to see now why the quality of a big-named company can’t be trusted - “Who’s making your Memorex tonight ?” 1. * Cheap media freezes, skips, stutters, pixelats, partially jams, may be rejected and lest we forget, our old standby, giving you the old just, refuses to be recognized routine :-( Besides "Freezing", "skips" and pixelations, many times you’ll get a “Cyclic Redundancy error” or an "I/O error". This message can mean that your discs are scratched or dirty, it can also mean that your burner won’t accept your “cheap” media :-( Another problem which “pops up” is a “*Power Calibration Error”. This can stop you right in your tracks and most often is caused by, Yep, you guessed it, inexpensive media. *A “Power Calibration Error” can also be attributed to the Optical Components of a DVD Writer, though this isn’t usually the case. Trying to shut down your software and ejecting your DVD then restarting your program and re-inserting the same media recently cleaned has been known to help. Inexpensive media or even average media is great for text, Data, Spreadsheets, .Jpg and .Gif pictures and is good even for MP3 music BUT for DVD backups - BLAaaaaaT! It SUCKTH in an extremely Big-th way ! 2. A good grade media is needed for DVD reproduction ! “Branded” Ritek G04's or Branded Verbatim are what we’re looking for OR any media boasting “Advanced AZO Metal Dye”, this indicates a superior dye application, while they are sometimes a bit “pricey” they are acceptable. Prices online from Meritline.com have gotten Ritek G04 down below a dollar a disc - Question - If you make coasters out of 3 cheap or even average discs and good copies from 3 Branded Verbatim discs or 3 “Branded” Ritek G04 discs - which ones then will you say are too expensive ? The 3 “Cheapo’s with no movie backup OR, the 3 recommended discs with a perfect backup on each disc ? Bear in mind, Memorex, Fuji, Sony, TDK, Orange Pack and others are quite good for your MP3 music, picture archives, Spread sheets, Data and your text backups and archives, they just don’t work well for DVD backups. Even DataSafe G04’s made by Ritek have been reported as inferior quality and are evoking that “Oh no, I shouldn’t have gotten those.” Remember, for DVD backups, purchasing inexpensive media or even average media is a gamble, some people win, the majority of people lose, varying amounts but, they still lose :-( Let's try the right media for the job - just buy a 5 pack of what we recommend that will settle it once and for all - Don’t cheat though, buy the EXACT media we recommended - Using good grade media can guarantee you one thing to an absolute certainty; it surely cannot hurt. cheers, BTW, In an effort to clear the air, when I speak of "Cheap" or "Inexpensive" media, I'm not referring to the price you pay at the counter - I'm referring to the way the manufacturer’s cut the corners during the manufacture of the discs. And when I say “Branded” that means that when you pick up a disc in your hand, it says “Ritek” or “Verbatim” on the disc itself. Lastly, one thing I haven't addressed is the life of a backup made on an "el cheapo" disc. Point of fact, inferior discs have a tendency to "Break down" in time. Important, please read - http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=513486 I have had 25 to 30 backups that have refused to play after being stored for a year or more. I test all of my backups when they are burnt to be totally sure that there are no problems. "In olden times," before I knew any better, the Maxell and TDK discs (and any thing that was on sale) was what I used to use before I switched to Ritek and Verbatim, it is the cheap stuff that I have been experiencing trouble with. I noticed that backup DVD's I had been using refused to play in my standalone player and on my PC. VOB files wouldn't play either and other discs that I backed up about the same time would "Jam" part way through the movie. After switching to Verbatim and Ritek s, mostly the Ritek's because the price was right, I've not had 1 go "Flat" in almost 2 years. I still have some backups done on the cheap stuff and as time wears on I lose a few more as I attempt to check them. I say to you, why did a backup play fine in "01"and "02" then "fail" in "03 ?? Some that were done in "01" never made it till "02" and others done about the same time and "Failed" in "04"? All of the backups from "02" and "03", done on the "good Stuff" work fine today - not a single failure ! As always, you have a choice - Cheers, Pete Sea Yaaaaaaaaaaa )
I have never had any issue with Memorex +Rs, not one bad burn. But I do have some issue with their -Rs. I had to burn at 2x speed and can only burn with a particular version of Nero. Weird.
. Duuuuhhh - Hang about a bit longer and the +R's will catch up although if you purchase them in the small retail packs at your local electronics store, you're in pretty good shape - Keep purchasing +R's in bulk and the lousy ones will surface and bite you in the butt - right around the wallet area - (lol) - Cheers, Pete
