Burning Speeds... any difference???

[Dallas22]

Does burning a blank DVD at 2x speed look better, quality wise, when compared to burning a blank DVD at 4x speed??? If so, anyone notice a big difference?

I am backing-up my original DVDs so I am wondering when does the MOST important transfer (as far as quality is concerned, especially VIDEO) take place??? Is it when it is ENCODING the file, when it is burning the IMAGE to the HD or is it when it is BURNING the image from the HD to the blank DVD???

Thanks.

Dallas22

[Phil Thomas]

When Encoding ... no question.

Burn speed will not affect quality of video.

[bdf24]

Sometimes the burn speed can make a difference between a reliable copy and unreliable copy when burning games and such. I've run into this many times backing up copy protected games. But not sure if it is the case in DVD backing up. Just got into this the last few days. But I've been reading for weeks now.

[JasonK]

Yep, burning speed can affect whether the DVD is 100% playable or whether you are more likely to get a glitch where you might experience some pixelization/blockiness in the video and audio dropouts. That said, I burn at 4X.

[krazyd]

I burn @ 4x all the time. I have never experienced any problems.

[bcelmins]

I have a question about speed differences. I am running a Mac with the Pioneer 106 Superdrive. If I toss in the Apple 4x, it works like a charm, but I tried using some TDK DVD-R 2x and it made a coaster. The Pioneer couldn't even read the disc it burned. Is that because I burned the 2x DVD-R at 4x and it screwed up? Or is it just because the TDK's aren't compatible?

If I did burn the 2x's too fast, how do I slow the drive down to 2x. I'm burning an .img file using the Disk Copy utility that comes with the Mac.

Thanks

[bdf24]

Just about every copy software I've ever seen or used has an option to adjust the write speed. Look around in the settings menue and see if you can find something. I'm sure it's there somewhere.

[ukcat]

I have Plextor 708a that can burn 4x DVD+R at 8x speed. I have found it not a great idea doing this. Some backups are perfect some aren't so I have been sticking with burning 4x at 4x. I haven't tried any "TRUE" 8x media yet.

[Jayhawk]

My experience has been that burn speed is directly related to your machine, it’s configuration, and media. A 4X burner with good quality 4X media should produce an exact copy of the data (it’s that 1’s and 0’s thing). The laser doesn’t burn any stronger at 1X than it does at 4X. Having said that, there are a lot of variables that need to be considered that probably explain the wide range of experiences and opinions on the subject.

Probably the biggest culprit is media (as mentioned by many here). It’s pretty easy to stamp a 4X label on a disc but if you haven’t changed your manufacturing formulas, processes, and chemicals from 2X then you’re going to have problems. I tend to stay with the major name-brand manufacturers simply because they have the most to lose reputation-wise. I have always been able to burn at the rated speed with Verbatim, Memorex, Sony, and TDK. The consistency from batch to batch also seems to be better with the major brands. You do pay a price but it is getting less and less.

Some burners seem to be questionable also. The fact that firmware upgrades can make a difference to so many people tells me that drive mechanics, buffer management, and laser calibration all play a part. Once again, it’s easy to stamp 4X on last year’s 2X but if you haven’t done your homework it isn’t going to work (except at 2X).

Assuming realistically rated media and burners, you still have to feed the data stream at an appropriate rate although a good burn program should adjust for almost all but the severest problems. There are always little things you can do to help. I rip with a DVD-ROM on one channel to the hard drive on another, encode (if needed) to a hard drive back to other channel, and burn to the DVD-Burner back on the other. A separate controller card can solve a lot of problems. I have a lot of memory and processor speed that helps with decoding/encoding but that shouldn’t be that much of a factor on burn speed. I have friends burning successfully on Pentium II’s with 128meg.

I believe the wide-range of experiences on the subject can be explained by one or more of the factors mentioned above. Most can be solved by experimentation or by comparing your media and configuration to others the forum. There is absolutely no reason why a 4X burner using 4X media should burn perfect backups. If you can’t, then something isn’t really 4X, or you have a serious configuration problem.

ukcat: I also have the Plextor and have burned a number of discs at 8X using 4X Verbatim. No coasters yet but I agree with you that you burn at the rated speed of the media. Faster is always a risk. I haven't found any 8X media either but when I do, I will burn at 8X.

[Magua]

I have been burning all my 4x rated Arita (Ritek) discs at 8x with my plextor 708A. About 60 sucessfull backups with no coasters.

[ukcat]

Hey Magua what programs you using to Rip and then burn the Arita Disks at 8x speed? Those are the Disks I use and been having some problems like 15-20 mintues into Movie when I tried doing 8x speed.

Thanks