VideoHelp Forum
+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 8 of 8
Thread
  1. I haven't burned a DVD in many years. The last time I did it, the program used to verify the quality of the burns was Nero CD-DVD Speed. I see that that program has since been renamed as Nero DiscSpeed, and then as Opti Drive Control.

    Anyway, regardless of the renaming, it seems that development of that program has ceased.

    So, I'm wondering what reputable program is used these days to check the quality of burned DVDs.
    Quote Quote  
  2. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    canada
    Search Comp PM
    There's no program to check the quality of a disc after it's burned since there can be mismatched info that can pass disc speed testers,imgburn wil do a verify of a burn by doing a bit to bit scan and can also verify a disc with an image it has burned or matches the burned disc.
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
    Quote Quote  
  3. Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    West Texas
    Search PM
    Nero CD-DVD Speed still works well for this. Opti Drive Control is also good, and recommended if you ever want to test Blu-ray, though ODC is not freeware.

    You'll need a scanning drive. Most of the Lite-on drives do a good job.

    I've always thought that quality scanning is overrated when using consumer grade drives however, acceptable only as a rough guide for testing and then retesting your discs over time. People get too caught up in the PIE and PIO error numbers. I might run a quality scan or TRT scan on a disc or two from a new cakebox, but that's about it. And I only burn a handful of discs each month these days.
    Quote Quote  
  4. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    canada
    Search Comp PM
    The problem with those programs is that they do not test for mismatched errors which can make a disc unwatchable or have install errors.Only way to make sure a disc works is to either watch all that's on it or install any programs burned on it.
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
    Quote Quote  
  5. I'm afraid that's so; the only way to be sure is to play the disc right through.

    I used to follow the scanning threads at cdfreaks (now MyCE). I had DVDinfoPro and Nero CD-DVD Speed and put a lot of unnecessary wear on my drives fooling around with scanning. I can't help but think it was at best a harmless hobby, though I'm little the wiser for it.

    I've had two Ritek BDRs "go bad"so far out of a couple hundred. I burn with ImgBurn and verify each and every time. Now I know Lord Smurf will say discs don't "go bad" (if properly stored) and the burn was "bad" to begin with, but there you are. (And apologies if I've over-simplified his views). Anyway, I only discovered those glitchy discs by playing them. So I'm not at all sure you can rely on disc verification either.

    I still use OptiDriveControl on a disc or two from a new cake box of BDRs. I'll burn one at rated speed and do a transfer rate test. If the transfer rate is not fairly smooth, I'll try another at slower speed.

    I too don't burn many discs any more, not movies anyway. I've replaced all my DVD movies with Blu-Rays (except for those not re-issued on BD). Besides, just playing ripped BDs from hard drive is more convenient. It may be I'll stop burning backups to BDR altogether.

    FWIW.
    Pull! Bang! Darn!
    Quote Quote  
  6. Originally Posted by johns0 View Post
    There's no program to check the quality of a disc after it's burned since there can be mismatched info that can pass disc speed testers,imgburn wil do a verify of a burn by doing a bit to bit scan and can also verify a disc with an image it has burned or matches the burned disc.
    Oh I always verify after burning a disc. That's a must-do in my book. My question was more focused on how to check whether the physical burned DVD is "good" or not.

    A few years ago, I burned on some Ritek DVD+DL discs that I didn't know were actually really crappy. When I checked the burn using Nero CD-DVD Speed, I got a line graph of a nice smooth half circle -- except at the layer break, where the line suddenly dropped to the x-axis. As it turns out, Ritek DVD+DL discs were notorious for bad layer breaks, so I tossed those discs and learned to avoid them.

    ...That's the kind of info I'm hoping to get by checking the quality of the DVDs.

    Originally Posted by Kerry56 View Post
    Nero CD-DVD Speed still works well for this. Opti Drive Control is also good, and recommended if you ever want to test Blu-ray, though ODC is not freeware.

    You'll need a scanning drive. Most of the Lite-on drives do a good job.

    I've always thought that quality scanning is overrated when using consumer grade drives however, acceptable only as a rough guide for testing and then retesting your discs over time. People get too caught up in the PIE and PIO error numbers. I might run a quality scan or TRT scan on a disc or two from a new cakebox, but that's about it. And I only burn a handful of discs each month these days.
    Wow, after all these years, Nero CD-DVD Speed is still being used? I would have thought that some newer software would have come out by now. I'm amused to hear this.

    I see that Opti Drive Control is made by the same person who made Nero CD-DVD Speed. Is there any advantage to buying that program over using the free Nero program? I don't burn any Blu-rays (yet), so if that's the only benefit, I guess I don't need it right now.

    What's a "scanning drive"? Am I not able to use these programs with my normal drive?

    I recognize the limitations of these tests. I'm not some crazy person who is looking for the perfect disc and who will test and retest every disc. I'm just hoping to avoid situations like my Ritek DVD+DL story.

    Originally Posted by fritzi93 View Post
    I had DVDinfoPro and Nero CD-DVD Speed and put a lot of unnecessary wear on my drives fooling around with scanning. I can't help but think it was at best a harmless hobby, though I'm little the wiser for it.
    I've never used DVDinfoPro before. Does it do the same thing Nero does? Or is it meant to be used in addition to Nero?
    Quote Quote  
  7. Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    West Texas
    Search PM
    A scanning drive is one that can be used by these programs for Quality Scans. Not all of them will do this particular test. For example, the vast majority of LG drives using Renesas chipsets won't run the quality scans at all. Some Pioneer and Samsung drives will do so, but not all, and not all of them are very good at it. So most people use Lite-on drives with Mediatek chipsets, or older Plextor or BenQ drives which are no longer on the market. My primary scanning drive is an old IDE interface BenQ 1620.

    Virtually any drive can run a TRT scan, and I find it to be a good indicator of playability. It reads the data on the burned disc and any slowdowns in reading speed indicate some issues in the burn (assuming the disc is clean and not scratched). I've never had a bad or failing disc that didn't display abrupt downturns in the reading speed graph.

    I don't use Opti Drive Control enough to advise you on its advantages, other than the fact that it is the primary tool for Blu-ray scans. Since I am an admin over at MyCE, I was given a free serial number for it, but it was mostly wasted on me. Talk to the folks over at the MyCE optical drive forums if you want more information on that program.
    Last edited by Kerry56; 15th Feb 2014 at 14:11.
    Quote Quote  
  8. Thanks, Kerry56. Good explanation. I will check out MyCE in my free time.

    The TRT test you described sounds like what I used to discover my faulty Ritek DL discs. I'll go read more about Lite-On drives at MyCE, but it's good to hear that most drives can do this test anyway. I have a hp DVD A DS8A8SH (this is some HP rebranded thing) and a Matshita DVD-RAM UJ-831S.
    Quote Quote  



Similar Threads

Visit our sponsor! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!