Does my burner not like my media? (teac=1673@1693)

Zzooommm 2006-05-25 16:22:28 UTC #1

Hello

I have a TEAC's DV-W516GB burner which is OEM 1673S. I've upgraded it to 1693C's KC4B quality patched firmware and I'm happy with the results (I found it here on this forum).
I have this drive in an external case, it's connected to my computer via Firewire.

Right now my media is TDK's TTH02 DVD-R.
So the thing is that I'm not really getting good speeds. I can't seem to be able to burn a DVD under 10 minutes. The burn will usually start at around 5.5x and go up to 9x then at some point hit a slight pause (not a buffer underrun) and after than it will burn at 6.0x until the end of the burn process.
Also I would like to know if it's normal that the drive spends 1 minute before the actual data writing begins... it just spins up and down about 5 times before it starts writing.
I'm thinking that maybe the unit does not like my media. Perhaps there are other media that you guys could recommend. I've heard that liteons prefer DVD+R discs is this true?

I've seen on the forum that you often post images of nero's dvd speed. I don't really know what exactly it all means, but if it should help here is a screenshot from a DVD that I've recently burned.

Disc quality 16x

Disc quality 12x

Disc quality 8x

Thanks for your advice,
Zzooommm

chok0 2006-05-25 17:28:19 UTC #2

you should scan @4x, it's the forum standard for comparison.
the media shouldn't be a problem, although older liteons like the 1693s burn +r media better.

Zzooommm 2006-05-25 18:15:42 UTC #3

I see. I didn't know that. OK here is the screenshot.

So in general is it normal at all for it to take 10 mins to burn a disc? I've assumed that if the recorder supports 16x and the DVD says up to16x, then there would be something to it.... not an average 6x or 7x...... if that makes any sense.

Zzooommm 2006-05-25 20:22:51 UTC #4

Hmmz...

I burned a disc at 8x (the above one was burned at 16x but was throttled down a lot so speed was pathetic) and did a scan... I know it's only 2/3s full but it seems a lot better than the one above!
Now I'd like TDK to explain why then even bother making 16x discs if u can't burn them properly at those speeds :a I mean it's not like you buy new tyres for your car with a certificate which says certified up to 240kph and then they all explode when you hit 150.

chok0 2006-05-26 03:30:08 UTC #5

please do a burst rate test with cd-dvd speed.

C0deKing 2006-05-26 04:38:41 UTC #6

chok0, the very first scan shows a good 16x CAV curve, so the burst rate must be okay.

Zzooommm, I have some TDK TTH02 and even the latest LiteOn 165P6S and BenQ 1650 can't burn it well at 16x. It's absolute rubbish and I'm disappointed that TDK has the audacity to put their name on it. You'll just have to burn it slower if you want reasonable quality. Try 12x and see how it goes. Also you could try KS0B FBDX at 12x, which is much faster at burning. Perhaps a strong letter to TDK, might get you some better replacements as well.

Zzooommm 2006-05-26 06:54:38 UTC #7

Well... I did some tests and I got some strange results

First if I do the DVD quality test speeds seem fine:

Then the benchmark has problems when it hits 9.5x:

Burst speed:

Any thoughts on this?

Zzooommm 2006-05-26 08:59:41 UTC #8

Well, here's something new...

I was surprised at the weird results so I did a little digging... Took me a while just to figure out which external enclosure I had.
Anyway it has 2 controllers... ALi M5621 for USB 2.0 and Oxford 911 for FW.
I found a firmware upgrade for oxford and I applied it.

Check it out. NO SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT AT ALL, WHOOEY! :bigsmile:

Then I decided to hook my drive to USB 2.0. Now this is better!

Maybe now I'll be able to burn at 12x.

ps.
Even the benchmark graph looks better now, it can it 14x before it reaches the limit.

Zzooommm 2006-05-26 10:27:43 UTC #9

My first sucessfull 12x burn. It took me 7,5 minutes. Yay

Do you think these values are acceptable if I want my DVDs to last?

Zzooommm 2006-06-01 04:30:14 UTC #10

BTW....
I picked up a set of Sonys 16x today. Burned one at 12x. It took 30 seconds less to burn than a TDK (same amount of data! :eek: ).

This was at 12x. It looks much better than the TDK burned at 12x shown in the post above. Plus these sonys are about 2â‚¬ cheaper per 25 discs.