DVDs burnt in SHM 165P6S unreadable by other drives

Problem drive - SHM 165P6S
Problem - DVD data back up discs not readable in other drives
Media - All tested: Prodisc, CMC, Taiyo Yuden, and Japan-made TDK
Drives that can't read media burnt on SHM 165P6S - LG/Hitachi GCC-4320B,
Matshita UJ-820D, Toshiba SD-R2512
Drive that can read media burnt on SHM 165P6S - Plextor PX-712A USB
OS - Win XP Pro SP2

I just built a new system based on an Asus A8S-VM CSM motherboard
The SHM 165P6S was more or less an impulse buy (that black bezel
matches my first black case) because I have a USB Plextor PX-712A.

I was busily burning data off an external USB hard drive, mostly FLAC
and MP3 files from music CD back ups.

When my son came to play one of these DVDs in his notebook (SD-R2512 drive),
it wouldn't recognize the disc. The same is true
for any disc burnt
in the SHM 165P6S that we try to play in three other drives (see above).

Funnily enough, the Plextor can read the discs both when plugged into the the source
system and when plugged into my other desktop system.

By way of a test, I burnt the same compilation in Nero (7.0.1.4) on both the SHM 165P6S
and the PX-712A, all I did was change drives using the drop down menu.

None of the discs burnt on the Lite-On are readable, except by the Plextor, but all made
in the PX-712A work in all drives.

I've tried googling the problem, but after trawling through pages and pages of hits -- it's
hard to refine searches beyond "DVD" "disc" "unreadable" -- I am no closer to understanding
the nature of the problem.

Oh yes! After becoming aware of the problem, I upgraded the firmware.
it had no effect on other-drive readability.

This could be a simple setting that I missing somewhere, or it could be more serious than
that. At the moment, I can't trust back ups made with the SHM 165P6S.

I am hoping that someone with more experience and knowledge than me can help to
zero in what's wrong.

Regards from Japan

---

Last edited by BeHapi2; 03-02-2006 at 08:34.

Hi,

just to let you know, I bought LiteOn SHM 165P6S three weeks ago ( upgraded from Liteon 8302S or something like that) and I ended up having lots of DVD+RWs OPTODOSC OP4 unusable. The writer does not recognise the disc. I tried everything, firmware, updating, email to liteon...but no luck...... also I HAD THE LIST OF DVD+RWs EXTRACTED FROM THE FIRMWARE, my disc came up on the list, but i can not burn on it..says "Illegal disc."

I bought it @ dabs.com.....and I'll send it back next week....and so should you.
Regards

Rado

You could be having the same issue as me:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=164904

I'm about ready to RMA the drive even though it burns +R discs fine. If I don't hear of some fixed firmware in the next couple of weeks I'll be doing so.

Same old mistake LiteOn has made on at least three models in the past. Someone there can't get -R Lead In correct and won't/can't learn from past mistakes. Pioneer did this as well on the 109. Hammer them with emails and they might get the message and fix it again. Looks like both the 5S and 6S firmwares have this problem.

Thank you visceralpsyche and worker for your responses.

The thread was illuminating.

I have taken worker's advice to e-mail Lite-On.
All the time it takes to troubleshoot these problems and to fill out reports on Lite-On sites... Sheesh! If the time was billable I could have bought several Plextors! Not to mention the cost of a dozen or more semi-useless DVDs.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Lite-On can provide satisfaction.

Regards from Japan

BeHapi2

Well... it took them a week to reply and I'm not sure if I am being given the runaround (both mail items posted in below)

Basically they want me to spend several more hours and
the cost of new coasters troubleshooting their problem for them.

I don't have much option...

CDRinfo recently did a review of this drive. They didn't report on putting
burnt discs in any other drives but a Plextor

[Reply from Lite-On]

Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for contacting us!
Given your situation,would you please double confirm us if the burnt discs could be properly read by the burner(SHM-165P6S)first?
Then make sure you have installed the latest firmware(MS0F) for the drive from ur web site: http://www.liteonit.com/ODD/English/...e_dvd%20rw.asp
Then please try to uninstall all the existing burning softwares both through the Control Panel, and by going into the C: directory and deleting the folders, defrag your PC. then reinstall the bundled Nero 6 only.Furthermore,try to update Nero: http://www.nero.com/nero6/en/update_nero6.php?pak=1
Furthermore,please use IDE standard driver to instead of nvidia IDE driver into the device manager. Before burning procession starts,make sure to enable DMA,and close all the other applications, in order to ensure best performance.
If no help, will you please install the drive in another PC/OS for further diagnose?
Would any further information, please kindly visit LiteON IT Corp official web site -
www.liteonit.com
If you reply do please include all previous emails.thank you very much! Best regards,

=======================================
Customer Service Division
Lite-On IT Corp. www.liteonit.com
Email : ODD_SUPPORT@LITEONIT.COM =======================================

------------------------------------------------------------------------
■ Issue From :E-Mail Service ■
■ Issue DateTime is :2006/2/4 上午 11:34:50 ■

[Original mail]

Dear Support Person,

I have a problem with a Lite-On drive

Problem drive - SHM 165P6S
Problem - DVD data back up discs not readable in other drives Media - All tested DVD-Rs: Prodisc, CMC, Taiyo Yuden, and Japan-made TDK Drives that can`t read media burnt on SHM 165P6S - LG/Hitachi GCC-4320B, Matshita UJ-820D, Toshiba SD-R2512. Drive that can read media burnt on SHM 165P6S - Plextor PX-712A USB OS - Win XP Pro SP2

I just built a new system based on an Asus A8S-VM CSM motherboard (NVIDIA GeForce 6150 + nForce 430). The SHM 165P6S was more or less an impulse buy because I have a USB Plextor PX-712A. I had heard that the new Lite-On writers were pretty good and wanted to try them out.

I was busily burning data off an external USB hard drive, mostly FLAC and MP3 files from music CD back ups.

When my son came to play one of these DVDs in his notebook (SD-R2512 drive), it wouldn`t recognize the disc. The same is true for any disc burnt in the SHM 165P6S that we try to play in three other drives (see above). They make quite a lot of noise, seemingly trying to seek the start of the disc but eventually give up.

Funnily enough, the Plextor can read the discs both when plugged into the the source system and when plugged into my other desktop system.

By way of a test, I burnt the same compilation in Nero (7.0.1.4) on both the SHM 165P6S and the PX-712A, all I did was change drives using the drop down menu.

Oh yes! After becoming aware of the problem, I upgraded the firmware. It had no effect on other-drive readability.

None of the discs burnt on the Lite-On are readable, except by the Plextor, but all made in the PX-712A work in all drives.

I`ve tried googling the problem, but after trawling through pages and pages of hits -- it`s hard to refine searches beyond ”DVD” ”disc” ”unreadable” -- I finally found a suggestion that future firmware may be able provide a solution to the drive putting too large a physical gap at the beginning of the disc. I am not technician, but it sounds plausible.

At the moment, I can`t trust back ups made with the SHM 165P6S.

I am thinking about returning the drive, but if you could let me know the odds on firmware being able to cure the problem, and a timeframe for the release of the fix, I may hold off because I am sure that it is a good drive except for this tiny, but highly significant flaw.

Regards

I have sent them another message explaining this situation to them and reminding them that they have previously made this mistake. I will also discuss this with a freind that has internal contacts. This needs to be resolved.

It definitely does need to be resolved. I am a little busy with translation deadlines (the way I earn a crust) to move the drive to another case.
I am fairly sure that it is the drive and not any software problem.

After reading the other thread concerning a "physical gap," I inspected the player-fussy discs and found a distinctive concentric banding around the inner ring.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but connection of my SCSI scanner in the aftermath of a major hardware upgrade is another project on the back burner.

Briefly, there is a light band in the dye about 3 mm wide -- this is in common with normally readable discs. Then there is less than 1 mm darker band and outside of that there is another approx 2 mm wide band.

I am not sure what this means, other than that the discs are abnormal.

Thanks for helping to prod the company into action.

Regards

BeHapi2

Well, the latest reply from LiteOn ODD "support" has arrived.

They certainly need to train their support staff to do other than
create disgruntled customers who will badmouth the brand whenever
the opportunity arises...

[Reply from Lite-On]
> Since the discs burnt by SHM-165P6S could be properly read by the
> mentioned two drives, that seems the drive work properly.
>
> Anyhow,we would still suggest you try the firmware update for the
> drive, and try the burning in another PC,check if it would do you some
> help.

[Meat of sent mail]
> I am sorry that it was not clear in my original message... Yes the
> DVD-R discs burned in the SHM 165P6S are readable in the SHM165P6S
> and in the Plextor PX-712A. They are not readable in any of the other
> DVD drives in the house (three models previously mentioned)

I am replying as follows:

If I cannot supply discs to other people with confidence that they can be read, or indeed read them in three other drives that I have in the house, then I would not say that the drive that wrote them is working properly.

I already mentioned that I upgraded the firmware,
I just visited the link that you supplied and did not find a newer firmware to the one that I already flashed.

From what I can gather from searching the Web, Lite-On occasionally releases drives that leave too large a physical gap before writing at the beginning of the disc. Of course, the offending drive can read the disc, as can Plextors, which can read anything. However, if discs burnt on the drive cannot be read by other drives in general, the drive is not fit for the purpose for which it is sold.

---

How can you hammer the ocean?

I solved this issue (until a true solution is provided by LO) by using only +R blank media. Everything burned since then works in all drives tried.

I've never used +R media...

I still rely on the trusty Plextor for back-ups.

I view my LiteOn purchase as a ! BIG ! MISTAKE!

If the problem was acknowledged by customer service then I
would feel that all my wasted time and discs at least had some
role in solving a problem

To be told that there is no problem makes me feel like a patsy.

BeHapi2

interesting. i have always used +R discs. is there anything wrong with simply using +R discs? what is the advantage of -R? not being argumentative here, i am fairly new to all of this and am curious.

Hi,
I am intending to buy a new DVD drive. I have a 1693S which within 5 months of low usage is not reading or writing DVDs anymore. Only works with CDs. In the country were I live there is no Liteon representative. I'm trying to get a new one from the vendor.

Last week I bought a Sony DW-Q30A (= 1635S). But I'm not happy with it's quality.

I'm intending to buy a new DVD drive and was thinking of the 165P6S. But after reading all that -R writing stuff, I will change to a BenQ.

There's no real advantage to -R over +R if your burner can booktype bitset (if the burner cannot bitset then -R is often more compatabile with home players). But say BeHap has another burner that only handles -R then he's going to want to buy that type of media and may not like the idea of having to stock-up on two different types. In any case if you buy a dual format burner (+R/-R) then you expect it to work with both and it's going to p!ss you off if it doesn't.

I finally tried your tip about using DVD+R after I found a pack of ten plus a DVD+RW (Ricoh in thick jewel cases) on very special offer in a bin sale.

Thanks!

The recent bitsetting utility came in handy...
The burns were good and worked everywhere.

I am still waiting on the official fw upgrade to cure the -R gap problem.

I too am having problems with dvd-r being read in other drives. It really isn't good enough and needs fixing ASAP.

This issue is already being adressed:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=168558

Well Karr and Wind are, it seems, doing their best to please all the disgruntled.

It is taking a long time and some of the scan results suggest that shifting the start point to the right place has affected burn quality.

Today I went into the shop where I bought my SHM-165P6S.
The price of new drives was slashed: JPY 6,480 cut to JPY 4,680.
I asked the assistant why and he said that the DVD-Rs burned
on the drives aren't readable by all other drives and that there
may be a firmware fix but nothing is has so far been made available.

I'm sure that the management of the chain of computer stores
has let their sales reps have it in the ear...

It's hard to believe that a company can let so many models of drive
ship with this kind of problem. They definitely need some kind of design quality assurance manual.