No matter what type of media I use with my Pioneer BDR-205 I always get a thin line where it seems no data is burnt to the disc. (See Image)
Burning discs using ImgBurn with verify enabled didnt pick up errors which seems strange.
Has anyone encountered this issue before or any suggestions as to what this could be?
Any help would be most appreciated. 
Which media brands and types did you try?
Hi Chef,
Thanks for the response.
The media shown is a Maxell RITEK-BR2-000 Blu-ray but the line also occurs on Verbatim MCC-004-00 Single Layer and MKM-003-00 Dual Layer DVD’s.
I wonder if this could be a hair stuck in between the disc and the laser. It’s also always in the same location whatever media is used.
To me it looks more like a scratch . I think this drive is scratching your discs in the same place every burn.
You might try to just play a burned disc that was burned in a different drive & see if the scratch shows up.
Thanks for your response Cholla. It looks like a scratch in the picture until you turn the disc into the light the top surface is perfectly smooth. The line is the same colour as the area of the disc with un-burnt data. It’s as if the laser hits an obstruction and writes the data either side creating the line. I’ve ordered a blu-ray lense cleaner to see if that helps otherwise it looks like I might need a new drive.
I haven’t had a problem with a lens cleaner but some people have .Specially on certain drives . Sometimes people have posted this & sometimes not. This is assuming you mean a disc type cleaner. If it’s just a cleaning solution then probably no problem.
If you’re mechanically inclined you may need to take you drive apart enough to manually clean the lens . If you do that use a good quality lens cleaning cloth . A lot of people get by with cotton swabs but a microfiber cloth is less likely to scratch. If you use compressed air use a light touch or you might blow more dirt on then off & “sandblast” the lens in the process.
Don’t blow on it yourself either . If you don’t believe that blow on a clean glass or mirror & then take a look at it with a magnifying glass.
Since it’s near the hub and is a radial shadow, I’d suggest it’s something dangling from the hub clamp. If it were on the laser it would show as a circular shadow (if at all) because the disk is spinning during a burn.
Yes spot on, it must be a stationary object thats not connected to the laser arm to produce the line in that position. It’s probably a hair on the central column spinning the disc. I’ll post results after I’ve tried the disc cleaner. Hopefully the brushes will connect with the object aswell as the lense. Thanks for all the help.
Yeah, that would be the only possible explanation for this weird issue.
Just try and praise. 
Open the tray and blow it out maybe.
Hi thought I’d a give an update on the disc burning issue.
I purchased the CleanDR Laser Lens Cleaner for Blu-Ray to see if it would remove the object but unfortunately the line still remains after a clean cycle then a burn of a dual layer DVD. The brushes are very soft avoiding damage to the laser but most likely insufficient at removing the suspected hair.
It looks like I’ll be purchasing a new burner and was considering the Pioneer BDR-207EBK, let me know if this is a good or bad move? 
Any thoughts appreciated.
Once I get the replacement ill have a go at taking the Pioneer BDR-205 apart and trying to get to the bottom of the issue. Hopefully I’ll be able to use it in a future HTPC project especially as read performance seems unaffected.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Don’t buy a new drive just yet.
Opening up an optical drive is fairly easy. Just take it slow, make sure you keep track of all screws (you should only have to remove four to get the top of the drive off), be somewhat gentle when detaching the top of the case from the bottom of the drive, and do your best to avoid damaging or loosening any ribbons (getting at the spindle motor from the top shouldn’t require moving any ribbon cable, but it’s just a reminder).
Really, if you feel comfortable putting a computer together, you stand a good chance of feeling comfortable doing this.
Thank you Albert for the advice on the complexity of opening the drive and to others in the thread who also recommended this action. The great news is I found a long hair connected to the central clamp and motor section which was fairly easy to remove and clean. I’m happy to say everything is back together and no more hair lines on my burns!
Massive thanks again for everyone’s help.
Interesting stuff…a hair as disc killer.
