PX-716A Firmware Version 1.04

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showpost.ph...&postcount=154

Does anyone have an idea why the Plex shifted from 16x to 12x with PR *disabled* ???
Can maybe Autostrategy cause such a downshift ?
I've never seen this behavior on my PX-716 or 2x 712's.....

Because of Nero, PR stays *ON*. You can verify this by checking with Plextools during the burn.

I'd also bet that was the first burn on that media, and that subsequent burns with PR will drop the speed even further at the end, down to maybe 8x or 4x, in which case it will straight-line the PIE chart to less than 10 all the way across.

On mine, the only way to be sure of reaching 16x (everytime) is to use PlexTools "Write Transfer" with PR off. If the particular disk is really good, you may straight-line it all the way to 16x even with PR on, with either Nero or PlexTools.

pat357/Tom:
Actually NeroCD Speed only overides Buffer Underrun Proof/Protection. PowerRec will stay disabled if Plextools set it to disable. That is a typical scan with PR ON on 8x media @16x. So my best guess, either the burn was with PR ON, or the system is not up to the speed.

Good point Tom. But some people would like to see how does this drive performs a true 16x burn, either with PR off or on. I have tested half of my media (6 MIDs so far). There is only one MIDs that burns bad with PR OFF @16x. Other 16x capable media can be burn very good result @16x with PR OFF (of course PR ON is also very good to excellent). That's for testing purpose. In real life, I would strongly suggest to keep PR/AS ON as Tom and others said.

I would agree with you Zevia, except I saw it happen on one of my "Create Data Disk F9" burns with Nero CD/DVD Speed. I un-checked PoweRec before the burn, but upon running the Nero burn, went to the PlexTools Status Check (right click on the PX-716A in upper left hand corner, drag down to "Status"), and it reports PoweRec="ON".

One point of agreement, it *ALSO* overrides the Buffer Underrun Proof/Protection for +R media (but not -R) only. My $0.02

I'm in total agreement. For comparison purposes though, I would find it hard to argue against the LG at 16x, which seems to make "Hall of Fame" burns at 16x (using 16x media), versus the PX-716A which makes good burns at 16x with PR off, and "Hall of Fame" burns on 8x media with PR on.

The point being, since people DO want to see the burn quality at 16x, the LG might seem to have the upper hand at 16x, but then again, we are doing it with 8x rated media on the Plextor, which the LG won't burn at 16x. So direct comparisons aren't entirely possible, nor in my opinion are they entirely necessary.

In other words, I don't think anybody's mind will be changed by these indirect comparisons anyway. There's compelling reasons to support either one. We make value judgments, sometimes for not so obvious reasons. For example, weighing heavily in my decison, was the fact that I could try it out for 30 days from BB, and if I didn't like it, return it or exchange it. I did that once, going from TLA0001 to TLA0101, and could still do it again to get to TLA0203. But the unforseen reality, is that I'm perfectly content with this particular TLA0101 which I'm going to keep, rather than tempt fate again that I might get something worse.

Most of anecdotal evidence and opinion supporting one choice over another can be summed up as follows:

"I bought the blank".

Hmm.. never experience that.

Maybe you check/uncheck PR in Plextools *while* Nero CD/DVD Speed was up (but not burning)? I always set plextools first (PR On/Off), *then* double click Nero CD/DVD Speed and F9.

One thing that I can't get with my drive and system (P4 2Ghz): can't reach 16x with PR ON on TYT02, TYG02 and MCC004.

So that there is no confusion, I will try this again.

1.) Set PlexTools PR OFF
2.) *Then* double click Nero CD/DVD Speed and F9

...results shortly

i'm going to try the 716 again. What 8x media burns at 12x or 16x on it though? Could i get the brand name, i dont understand those identification numbers.

Great, thanks!

Before I start...

Yes, I was able to reach 16x with PR ON with TYT02 on the very first burn after updating to FW V1.04.

All subsequent burns with PR ON have had the speed drop-off at the end.

I was interpreting that to mean the first disk was being used by V1.04 to establish a baseline, but that's just a guess.

But I can relate the observation that I've seen the behavior before with previous FW versions, that the 1st disk after a FW update with PR ON burns to 16x all the way to the end with no drop-off.

- Fuji/TDK/Sony 8x DVD+R (*must* made in Japan), Media ID: YUDEN000T02, can be burn at 8x/12x/16x
- Fuji/TDK 8x DVD-R (*must* made in Japan), MID: TYG02, can be burn at 8x/12x/16x

Stoneburner, the quickest way is if you get a spindle of Fuji 8x DVD+R "Made in Japan" (only) from your local Best Buy. You can use Plextools or Nero CD/DVD speed to do a media ID check to confirm for Taiyo Yuden or YUDEN000T02, etc.

Otherwise, you can purchase the Taiyo Yuden under its own brand name over the internet, RIMA, Amazon or whoever.

thanks

zevia is right as usual!

You are right. My TS-H552B and SOHW-1613S can burn good stuff very well and so I guess they are as good as DW1620 and GSA-4163. MCC and TY media work very well with them. I have six of those great burners, nearly as good PX-716A though much cheaper, but only one 4163 and only one DW1620.

Never saw real 16x media tested in PX-716A?

If shortcomings are not important, I guess all drives are perfect. CDFreaks reviews should reward every drive their editor's choice award.

Not according to the Plextor ad. PX-716A should be one minute faster than Pioneer.

Tom, you uncheck the booktype settings in Plextools? Or maybe your Nero CDSpeed - Option - User Interface - Disk Info (DVD) is not set to Book Type.

OC-Freak
Thanks for your quick response.

Yet another question
I am not concerned with 16x speed so much as I am concerned about the ability to read these DVD's years from now. That is my number 1 priority and any loss of speed to support long term readibility is a willing sacrifice. That being the case, giving the writing characteristics of the Plextor 716 and the BenQ 1620 would there be any long term difference in the readability of the Plextor 716 disc versus the BenQ 1620 disc, assuming identical media?

Thanks (again)

Greetings,

Any news on the possibility of 6X DVD-RW with this drive...?

-Thanks

Zevia, NO I did NOT uncheck the book-type. I just noticed what you are saying, it reads DVD+R. Absolutely, I have it checked in Plextools.

Also note, when I started PlexTools, PR is on. I unchecked it in preparation for the Nero Burn, and verified it was off on the Status drop box. Upon starting the Nero CD/DVD program, the checkbox on the Advanced Tab remained unchecked, but another check of the Status drop box indicated that PR was on again. So once again, I re-checked, and then un-checked PR before running the Nero F9 create disk. Once Nero started the burn, the checkbox on the Advanced tab remained unchecked, but when I went to the status drop box, it was again showing PR on. When Nero F9 create disk was completed, the Status drop box again said PR off, and there was no speed drop during the test, so I believe it was actually off.

One other observation, I am unable to run the Nero Disk quality test after the burn. A pop-up box appears and says "Unable to initialize." I checked all my settings under Options, but no luck.

I believe what's indicated here, is some communications reluctance possibly due to fact that my drive is USB2.0, but I'm only speculating.

Edit: I just verified the disk burned with Nero CD/DVD Speed, and the booktype is DVD-ROM. See image below.

Also posted is screen capture of Nero error message when trying to run Nero Disk quality check.

Nero CD-DVD Speed Disc Quality test doesn't work with Plextor drives. Is that what's going on the the pic?

Then that's the answer. Thanks Two!

yup, Nero CD/DVD Speed disc quality check does not work with Plextor drives. the only thing you can possibly see from the disc quality check with a plextor drive is if you have "save test info" checked in prefs when creating a data disc, it'll show the drive, firmware version and write graph.

edit: actually, i think my assumption above is wrong though im not sure. i know that other non-error-checking-capable drives (i.e. my Samsung DVD-ROM) will show the drive, FW and write graph so i assumed the Plex's would too.

Tom Roper et all. I just burn another MCC004 with PR ON, after system reboot/restart. It almost reached 16x (was 15.95 something) and dropped to 12x at very near the end.

I now believe that with PR ON, we can actually reach 16x. My 716a is installed in a P4 2Ghz. Hmm... I wonder if it can reach 16x if I put it in my other system (P4 3Ghz).

eagerly awaiting the scans, zevia