A general write strategy question

vbimport
#1

Hi all,

After my experiences with Ritek G05 & R03 and with Princo (eg, finally getting great quality burns with each using different strategies), plus looking at the successes of other people in the thread on changing write strategies, I have a a couple of questions:

Do media companies provide Liteon with a suggested strategy and they simply impliment it?

or

Do liteon test the media and then provide what they belive would be the best option?

If the latter, how do Liteon get it so wrong at times?

Mick:confused:

#2

how do Liteon get it so wrong at times?

Excellent question, that we don’t have an answer to. We know they they do very little testing once a drive is released.

Best explanation is that the OPU’s are quite variable in relative terms, thus do not put out the prescribed amount of heat. So, good quality depends on having a very stable and predictable OPU, and/or a very responsive and accurate OPC system.
Now, throw into this mix some variable media and you start to see the problems.
Also keep in mind that the chipset has to hold the reins on all this activity, and also respond quickly and accurately.

We know that drives like the NEC and Pioneer do the job extremely well (frankly making LiteOn look silly), and the primary difference between them and the others is the chipset.

LiteOn seems to have taken the approach that the price of the drive is the driving force in what components they use and how much R&D they do… Damn shame too, cause a few dollars per drive could make a huge difference in the outcome.

#3

You make excellent points! My question now is: if LiteOn isn’t spending the money to make their drives as good as NEC, why do they now cost more than a similar NEC drive (2510A vs. 832S on NewEgg)? Granted, it’s only a couple bucks difference, but still, it sort of negates LiteOn’s “low cost/almost good enough quality” strategy, doesn’t it?

#4

Well, for starters, NEC makes the chipset and LiteOn has to buy them. The NEC drives we buy in the USA are OEM’s with no support, so at least one middle-man has been eliminated. Apart from those 2 things, I can’t say why LiteOn costs as much as NEC, but in both cases I’m sure the profit margin is very, very low.

#5

What is a write strategy? I have G04 and R03 discs that do NOT burn well. Are you saying there is something I can do?

Edit: OK, i downloaded omnipatcher and applied the recommended write strategies. When I went to burn a R03 ritek, Nero said there was a a non-critical error, but let me burn it anyway. Is that normal?