i have just bought a new pioneer 109 to replace my old pioneer 109 and didn`t update my firmware straight away. The problem was when i was burning films they worked on my downstairs dvd player no problem but sometimes they would work on my upstairs dvd player sometimes not i was scratching my head couldn`t understand, why was it a media problem but i have been using this media for 6 months no problems at all, then i thought i would check what version of firmware i was running and it was 1.40 so i updated to 1.57 now everyone seems to work fine does this sound right or have i just been lucky with the films i have burned since my firmware update. thanks in advance for any comments.
firmware update ALWAYS helps with detecting and properly burning the newer medias out there, i have the same drive as you and i've had nothing but success with the 1.57 firmware...i only had it for a little while with about 50 burns using it before i cross-flashed it to the buffalo firmware that allows bitsetting mind you, i don't SUGGEST you cross-flash your dvr-109 as it definitely voids your warranty and if you do not know how to properly do it, you could trash your burner... but, to answer your initial question, updated firmware ALWAYS helps with media, but, to say that firmware is the SOLE REASON why your dvd players now play everything is not accurate. may i ask what kind of media have you been using thus far? the pioneer is a VERY GOOD quality burner, i've had it since it's initial introduction on the market, paid $100 for it at the time...burned hundreds of backups using the stock 1.40 firmware with no problems (on good media of course)...TY and Verbatims, flawless on my pioneer dvr-109~ hope that clarifies a little bit, i know i'm babbling now..so, i'll stop here.
the media i have been using is 8x Ridisc Branded DVD-R in 50 Tub and haven`t had any problem until recently i did wonder if they changed to a different supplier. i have no experience of cross flashing so will read up on it i also really like the pioneer 109 i have had a 107,108 and this is my second 109
well, if you could run your media through a media ID checking utility such as dvdinfopro @ www.dvdinfopro.com, i could help you with your 109...i've noticed my 109 is picky about SOME certain medias...and i would recommend only HIGH QUALITY media for this burner if you want the confidence of knowing your burns will last for years to come... i don't have any Ridisc branded ones, never tried them before, so, it would be interesting to know who the manufacturer is on the ones you currently have...let me know~
this is the information give about the discs i use Media Information Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO Media code/Manufacturer ID CMC MAG. AE1 Format Capacity Blank Disc Free Blocks 412352512 Free Capacity 4.38GB(4.71GB) Book Type DVD-R Media Type DVD-R Manufacturer Rated Speed 8.0x 11080KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 12.0x 16620KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 8.0x 11080KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 6.0x 8310KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 4.0x 5540KBps Write Strategy Speed 4.0x 5540KBps 2x Speed OPC beta 09 2x Speed OPC power 0D 2x Write Strategy field 1 11 87 78 90 2x Write Strategy field 2 88 80 00 00 00 00 4x Speed OPC beta 05 4x Speed OPC power 15 4x Write Strategy field 1 0D 0F 0A 09 4x Write Strategy field 2 97 07 0F 0B 4x Write Strategy field 3 80 00 00 00 4x Speed OPC beta multi-pulse 05 4x Speed OPC power multi-pulse 1B 4x Write Strategy field 4 13 A8 89 65 4x Write Strategy field 5 B6 89 88 80 00 00 4x Write Strategy field 6 00 00 D0 00 00 Data area starting sector 30000h Linear Density 0.267um/bit Track Density 0.74um/track Number of Layers 1 Complete Media Code 00000000 00 6C 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 52 00 02 55 0D 0E .l...@....R..U.. 00000010 88 9A 80 00 03 43 4D 43 20 4D 41 00 04 47 2E 20 .....CMC MA..G. 00000020 41 45 31 00 05 88 80 00 00 00 02 00 06 09 0D 11 AE1.............
OUCH~!! BAD DISCS i'm afraid...CMC MAG are one of THE WORST manufacturers on the market...i would HIGHLY suggest you NOT buy any more of those...better now than later~ may i suggest some Taiyo Yudens or some Verbatims...they work MUCH better on that drive... if you are in the U.S....reputable dealers online are: www.supermediastore.com www.meritline.com www.rima.com www.newegg.com or you can go to local stores and get some Verbatims (made in taiwan) or go with FUJI or SONY dvd+r 8x MADE IN JAPAN, those are Taiyo Yuden made... good luck...im sorry to say that even the backups you have done THUS FAR on those CMC MAG crap, MIGHT not be playable in a few months time...they degrade much quicker than the HIGH QUALITY media i mentioned above.
thanks for your advice looks like i have been lucky or ridisc have changed supplier have noticed a real change in the last month or so
is that media ID from your "new" discs or the older ones you have used in the past? i'm just trying to steer you clear from "crappy media" and save you some headache and wasted $$ for the future.
just found this on ridscs web site seems like it explains my problem Tell us a little bit about why RiDisc opted for CMC Magnetics to make their 8X DVD-R With all the problems that were happening in the market that basically went against everything that RiDisc stood for, an internal decision was taken to continue RiDisc 4X with our partner Ritek Taiwan but to swap the production of the new RiDisc 8X DVD-R to CMC Magnetics, the world’s largest OEM manufacturer of media. This new alliance with CMC Magnetics dawned a new era for the RiDisc brand. With their unlimited support, CMC brought to RiDisc a promise of quality with no compromises whatsoever. The sales figures of RiDisc 8x DVD-R spiralled upwards giving us absolute vindication for our decision to partner with CMC during Riteks troubled times.
this is from one of the older discs Media Information Disc Regions are 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Media code/Manufacturer ID MCC 02RG20 Format Capacity 4.36GB(4.68GB) Book Type DVD-R Media Type DVD-R Manufacturer Rated Speed 8.0x 11080KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 8.0x 11080KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 6.0x 8310KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 4.0x 5540KBps Write Strategy Speed 4.0x 5540KBps 2x Speed OPC beta 09 2x Speed OPC power 0D 2x Write Strategy field 1 13 87 78 80 2x Write Strategy field 2 88 80 00 00 00 00 4x Speed OPC beta 05 4x Speed OPC power 15 4x Write Strategy field 1 0D 10 0B 0A 4x Write Strategy field 2 98 08 0F 0B 4x Write Strategy field 3 80 00 00 00 4x Speed OPC beta multi-pulse 07 4x Speed OPC power multi-pulse 19 4x Write Strategy field 4 15 A7 88 75 4x Write Strategy field 5 99 BC AA A2 20 22 4x Write Strategy field 6 00 00 D0 00 00 Data area starting sector 30000h Data area end sector 22E24Fh Linear Density 0.267um/bit Track Density 0.74um/track Number of Layers 1 Complete Media Code 00000000 00 6C 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 52 00 02 85 0D 10 .l...@....R..... 00000010 88 9A 80 00 03 4D 43 43 20 30 32 00 04 52 47 32 .....MCC 02..RG2 00000020 30 20 20 00 05 88 80 00 00 00 02 00 06 09 0D 13 0 .............
wow, IN MY OPINION, Ridisc did themselves a DISFAVOR by going w/ CMC MAGNETICS (not profit wise, but QUALITY WISE) i would have stuck it out with Ritek PERSONALLY, they are on a MUCH higher quality level than CMC MAG...this is just MY opinion, but, "marketing" is a wonderful thing i guess... naturally, CMC MAG offered Ridisc a "lower price" than Ritek, so they went for them...which in turn, means MORE PROFIT for Ridisc...as to the quality, that is VERY debateable~ CMC MAG quality does NOT = that of Riteks' Ritek is MUCH higher, CMC MAGNETICS might be the world's largest manufacturer, but that does NOT equate them to the best, that is FAR from the truth. sometimes bigger is NOT better~
MCC coded on an older disc...i would take those ANYDAY over the CMC MAG ones...seriously, Ridisc company has some serious issues in covering their tracks... going with CMC MAG for their newer media is such a LET DOWN for the consumer...they are the only ones suffering...while in the meantime Ridisc is PROFITING and probably laughing their way to the bank~ MCC coded Mitsubishi Chemicals Corp. media is FAR GREATER quality than CMC MAG media EVER will be~ i personally use MCC media myself with this drive and have nothing but FLAWLESS results...i prefer the 8x dvd+r format with the coding MCC003, but, that's personal preference...easily found in the Verbatim brand...made in taiwan~
and this is from another of the same discs Media Information Disc Regions are 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Media code/Manufacturer ID RITEKG05 Format Capacity 4.37GB(4.69GB) Book Type DVD-R Media Type DVD-R Manufacturer Rated Speed 8.0x 11080KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 12.0x 16620KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 8.0x 11080KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 6.0x 8310KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 4.0x 5540KBps Write Strategy Speed 4.0x 5540KBps 2x Speed OPC beta 08 2x Speed OPC power 12 2x Write Strategy field 1 11 98 9A 80 2x Write Strategy field 2 88 80 00 00 00 00 4x Speed OPC beta 06 4x Speed OPC power 18 4x Write Strategy field 1 0D 10 07 07 4x Write Strategy field 2 97 06 0C 0B 4x Write Strategy field 3 80 00 00 00 4x Speed OPC beta multi-pulse 04 4x Speed OPC power multi-pulse 1D 4x Write Strategy field 4 17 B8 88 75 4x Write Strategy field 5 89 AC 98 81 00 10 4x Write Strategy field 6 00 00 D0 00 00 Data area starting sector 30000h Data area end sector 22ECF3h Linear Density 0.267um/bit Track Density 0.74um/track Number of Layers 1 Complete Media Code 00000000 00 6C 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 52 00 02 86 0E 11 .l...@....R..... 00000010 98 9A 80 00 03 52 49 54 45 4B 47 00 04 30 35 00 .....RITEKG..05. 00000020 00 00 00 00 05 88 80 00 00 00 02 00 06 08 12 11 ................
i REALLY like those RitekG05s as well~ LOL...many members have had problems with them, but they have been flawless for me~!! from 2 years ago...they STILL play back JUST FINE~ the 2 older disc manufacturers are MUCH BETTER than the newer one being CMC MAG that you posted up... so which ones work better for you? the newer CMC MAG ones??? that is very strange indeed....
the cmc mag are shit nothing but problems i just e-mailed ridisc telling them they won`t be getting my custom any more i`ll stick with those mitsubishi and ritek 05
very GOOD decision...another disgruntle customer that despises CMC MAG crap as much as i do~ stick with the MCC and the RitekG05s, seriously, i have NO problems with either of those 2 manufacturers...it's the CMC MAG that i wish i could shove up their a$$~
i just can`t believe they would do this i have been using there brand for so long and now they do this twats i just wished i would have thought it was media before i gave myself so much headache
im sorry you had to learn the "hard way"... manufacturers for companies often times do change at a moments' notice...that's when the CUSTOMERS get screwed when a particular brand decides to go with the CMC MAG crap~! it's a shame it happened to you...but, we all live and learn~ good luck in the future buddy, hope i shed some light on the subject of this matter for you~
"media" issues are what i deal with 90% of the time here on AD. the simple fact of using GOOD quality media vs. crap media (as is such the case w/ CMC MAG) will make a WORLD of difference...people don't realize this and are willing to go out of the way to buy a new computer, get a new burner, invest in new software, everything else to resolve the issue when the PROBLEM is staring at them right in the face...MEDIA is VERY important to a good quality backup, regardless of what ANYONE else might tell you.
just went and bought 100 verbatims this is what the info on them is Media Information Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO Media code/Manufacturer ID MCC 02RG20 Format Capacity Blank Disc Free Blocks 412352512 Free Capacity 4.38GB(4.71GB) Book Type DVD-R Media Type DVD-R Manufacturer Rated Speed 8.0x 11080KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 8.0x 11080KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 6.0x 8310KBps Available Write Descriptor CLV 4.0x 5540KBps Write Strategy Speed 4.0x 5540KBps 2x Speed OPC beta 09 2x Speed OPC power 0D 2x Write Strategy field 1 13 87 78 80 2x Write Strategy field 2 88 80 00 00 00 00 4x Speed OPC beta 05 4x Speed OPC power 15 4x Write Strategy field 1 0D 10 0B 0A 4x Write Strategy field 2 98 08 0F 0B 4x Write Strategy field 3 80 00 00 00 4x Speed OPC beta multi-pulse 07 4x Speed OPC power multi-pulse 19 4x Write Strategy field 4 15 A7 88 75 4x Write Strategy field 5 99 BC AA A2 20 22 4x Write Strategy field 6 00 00 D0 00 00 Data area starting sector 30000h Linear Density 0.267um/bit Track Density 0.74um/track Number of Layers 1 Complete Media Code 00000000 00 6C 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 52 00 02 85 0D 10 .l...@....R..... 00000010 88 9A 80 00 03 4D 43 43 20 30 32 00 04 52 47 32 .....MCC 02..RG2 00000020 30 20 20 00 05 88 80 00 00 00 02 00 06 09 0D 13 0 .............
