Slow CD/DVD burner speeds? My blank DVD tests.

[Kevinator]

Greetings. This is my first post. I had to register if for no other reason than to share my research, but also this place looks like it could be very helpful.

Like several others that posted here, I was all happy about trying out my new DVD burner, but it seemed to run at about half the advertised speed. I searched here and other places for answers, tried the fixes, but nothing worked. I tried downloading the newest firmware for my burner, but none existed on the HP website. I guess my burner is too new to have updates. I went into the system and made sure my drives were set to DMA (I think that's the right acronym). They were, so that was not the problem.

I stumbled across something that said not all disks burn at advertised speeds, so I started testing disks. Well guess what? That was the problem. With my shiney new DVD burner I also bought a hundred pack of shiney new FujiFilm disks. They were not the cheapest, but also not the most expensive. They advertise 16x, but look at the test results below.

I hope this helps someone.

DVD WRITER: HP DVD Writer 840i
GB TESTED: 4.38 (single layer), 7.96 (double layer)
TESTING SOFTWARE: Nero CD-DVD Speed 4.05

- TDK 16x +R
Disc Type: : DVD+R
Book Type : DVD-ROM
Manufacturer: : CMC
MID : CMC MAG M01 (000)
Write speeds: : 4 X - 8 X - 12 X - 16 X
Blank Capacity : 4.38 GB
: 4482 MB
: 4700375040 bytes
Duration: 5:40
Start: 6.76
Average: 11.81
End: 15.76
Graph Notes: Steady rise throughout duration except speed maxed out at about 4.1GB

- FujiFilm 16x +R
Disc Type: : DVD+R
Book Type : DVD+R
Manufacturer: : unknown
MID : PRODISC R05 (001)
Write speeds: : 4 X
Blank Capacity : 4.38 GB
: 4482 MB
: 4700375040 bytes
Duration: 14:54
Start: 4.03
Average: 4.01
End: 4.03
Graph Notes: Steady throughout duration at 4.03 speed

- Verbatum LightScribe compatible 8x +R
Disc Type: : DVD+R
Book Type : DVD+R
Manufacturer: : Verbatim
MID : MCC 003 (000)
Write speeds: : 4 X - 8 X
Blank Capacity : 4.38 GB
: 4482 MB
: 4700375040 bytes
Duration: 9:04
Start: 4.03
Average: 7.43
End: 8.06
Graph Notes: Steady at 4.03 speed for 1st 0.6GB, then steady at 8.06 for remainder

- Sony 16x +R
Disc Type: : DVD+R
Book Type : DVD+R
Manufacturer: : unknown
MID : SONY D21 (000)
Write speeds: : 4 X - 8 X - 12 X - 16 X
Blank Capacity : 4.38 GB
: 4482 MB
: 4700375040 bytes
Duration: 5:43
Start: 6.71
Average: 11.94
End: 16.09
Graph Notes: Steady rise throughout duration, speed still climbing at 4.38GB

- Memorex Double Layer 2.4x +R
Disc Type: : DVD+R DL
Book Type : DVD+R DL
Manufacturer: : Ritek
MID : RITEK D01 (001)
Write speeds: : 2.4 X
Blank Capacity : 7.96 GB
: 8152 MB
: 8547993600 bytes
Duration: 44:38
Start: 2.42
Average: 2.38
End: 2.42
Graph Notes: Steady throughout, 2nd layer virtually mirror image of 1st

General Notes:
- All testing showed significant, but quick dips in speed at about every 1GB, for the 1st half of the layer, and increasing in frequency toward the end of the layer. (Just the opposite for the second layer if any.)
- Notice FujiFilm claims their disks will write and 16x, but when using Nero, Disc Info says it only is capable of 4x, and my HP burner would only burn at 4x.
- I don't know what it means, but I find it interesting that 2 of the disks returned an unknown for the manufacture. The one that came closest to the advertised speed (Sony), and the one that came the least close (FujiFilm).
- What's that MID?

From the Philips web site:
Successful recording of DVD discs at higher recording speeds and of dual layer versions mandates a very accurate matching between disc and recorder.
Today the media ID (MID) recognition, as inherited from CD-R, is a popular way of achieving the disc-drive match for recording. However, this procedure only works for known discs.
Known discs: (1) discs that have been tested by the drive manufacturer for write strategy AND (2) drive firmware contains best write strategy in the media table.
For new discs or changed discs these two essential conditions are not met. The result is that the media ID (MID) recognition does not work properly. (1) The drive does not recognize MID Code - no satisfactory default write strategy; or (2) The drive recognizes MID Code but no reliable write strategy data is available - the drive applies an unreliable default strategy for the new disc yielding inaccurate recording and data read-back problems.
The Extended Information Blocks as contained in the ADIP of DVD+R/RW provides all write strategy information the drive needs for an accurate recording. All disc manufacturers and drive makers are strongly advised to fully use this functionality as offered by the DVD+R/RW format. Its the most adequate solution possible to the increasing demands on media and drives. It also solves all the problems related to the fast growing supply base.
With this advised procedure, all drive manufacturers still can use the Manufacturer/Type ID look-up table in their product. This guarantees the optimum recording condition for the specific drive and disc combination. This is only true for those discs that were physically tested by the drive maker. For all other instances the MID Code recognition (like a 'generic' MID Code) does not give satisfactory results, especially for the higher recording speed conditions.
The Write Strategy for a drive based on ADIP, optionally extended with media ID (MID) recognition, is considered to be the most reliable and solid solution for disc manufacturers and drive makers. This has been fully described in the DVD+R/RW standard specifications (Annex "How to use the physical format in ADIP"). In attached document every licensed disc manufacturercan apply for his disc and process specific ADIP and MID Code information.

[RayH]

Your drive may not support all disks at the top speed. There are tremendous compatibility issues between drives and disk blanks. First, who actually made the HP drive? Next, who is the actual manufacturer and what is the manufacturing lot of the disk blanks used? Brands don't mean too much, especially with disks, because of so much subcontracting.

The fact is that your drive supported the TDK, Sony, and Memorex disks at maximum declared rated speed. You may have a hint as to which disks to buy.

I have a 16X LiteOn. I primarily use 16x rated +R Ridata disks. I'm only able to get 12x burns. But I'm satisfied because the burns are reliable. I've not made any coasters. I've used other brands of disks. Some have worked just fine at 16x and some have made plenty coasters. At this stage, I can live with 12x and reliable.

[Kevinator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayH

The fact is that your drive supported the TDK, Sony, and Memorex disks at maximum declared rated speed. You may have a hint as to which disks to buy.

Maybe, on the Memorex, maybe not. From what I understand they have over 10 (I think) different manufactures. Maybe I just got lucky this time. Who knows about next time. I think I'll stick with TDK or Sony, but can't seem to find their dual layer disks in stores.

[herschbach3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayH

Your drive may not support all disks at the top speed. There are tremendous compatibility issues between drives and disk blanks. First, who actually made the HP drive? Next, who is the actual manufacturer and what is the manufacturing lot of the disk blanks used? Brands don't mean too much, especially with disks, because of so much subcontracting.

sorry if this is off topic but could this compatibility issue also cause a disc to be unreadable in a drive? i have a hp dvd burner 740b/i (it said i on the box but b in the hardware manager) and i have been able to burn dvd+r dl discs in the past but i am unable to burn to some verbatim dvd+r dl i just bought. in the online support pages at hp it says that the drive supports this format which i expected since i have done it before but still no luck even reading that there is a blank disc in the drive. could it be just the brand? last time i used hp brand dvd+r dl discs and they worked. is my drive biased? any helpful suggestions would be most welcome!