Burning Speeds

[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

[zworg2]

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

all three are important.

if you want to be sure;

Use quality media
Use media recommended by the drives manufacturer
&
Ensure there are no other programs running

Zworg2

[galactica]

quality of video has nothing to do with burning. instead its quality of prodcut. Low quality product can lead to dvd player problems making you think its the video thats bad.

think about it like this, whatever quality your video is before you burn is a good as it gets and is as worse as it gets

take the advice, get really good solid media, and ensure that you have nothing running in background and your 4x burns will be excellent

key is media brands - crappy brands burned at fast speeds will give you problems, but burn teh same crappy brand at low speed and it may be ok.

my general rule is if i really care about what im burning, ill use 2x. I only do 4x when i know the disks media is reliable at 4x

[zworg2]

whatever quality your video is before you burn is a good as it gets and is as worse as it gets

sorry i have to disagree with part of what galactica wrote.

of course you cannot improve the quality of the source file.

but it is only too easy to reduce the quality, by using too low a bitrate.

Zworg2

[Dallas22]

Ok, so when you say the Media you are using, you mean the SOFTWARE (DVD Shrink & DVD Decryptor???) and/or the blank DVDs???

I use the 2 above mentioned software programs to encode, backup on the HD and burn to the blank DVD. I use the Memorex 50-pack spindle, 4x speed max write speed, 4.7 GB, 120 min video. So far, it has worked great - in every DVD player that I used (5 different DVDs in 5 different DVD players in less than 1 day). The quality is very good if not great, but of course, there are scenes that I can noticed that pixelize a little... not a big deal, someone who doesnt pay much attention or know about DVD quality won't even come close to noticing... but since I know the difference, I can tell. My friend who has a DVD-Burner as well, has used TDK, Sony, Imation & Memorex and ALL have worked equally well.

Let me know if this is what you mean by media (encoding & burning programs as well as the blank media DVDs). Thanks

Dallas22

[Will Hay]

......Let me know...........what you mean by media

Media = blank disks.
Will

[Dallas22]

So is Memorex a good brand for blank DVDs... what do you all think???

Dallas22

[zworg2]

Hi,

Media = Discs

Certain drives refuse to recognise certains brands of disc
Most drive manufacturers recommend certains types of discs

With the discs, you get what you pay for,the cheap ones work, but you get significantly more problems with them.

There are differences in the software, which with a few exceptions are simply down to user choice.

[Will Hay]

So is Memorex a good brand for blank DVDs... what do you all think???

Dallas22

Ritek media all the way, and RecordNowMax (software) to burn (copy).
Will

[zworg2]

I highly recommend, that to minimise problems that you check what brands are recommended for your drive.

I use Verbatim and have not had any problems, (i have a plextor 504a)

Many people recommend Ritek tho...

Zworg2

[Dallas22]

Humm, havent heard of Ritek... I guess I need to look around a bit more. How do you know which blank DVDs/media are good??? Going by price???

Memorex were and are on sale in the Central Florida area recently, at Best Buy and Comp USA. They usually run 50 discs for $100, but on sale they were 50 for $50, so I picked up 2 packs. So far so good, and I havent noticed ANY problems at all with playback, except for the ocational compression pixelation.

My HP DVD-Burner suggests to use HP blank DVD+R's of course)... but for now, I will stick with the Memorex DVD+R's They just seem to work very well for me.

Dallas22

[Will Hay]

The trick, if you intend to output camcorder footage to family as I do, is to find a brand that works perfectly on everyones standalone player.
Simple premise for me...
...don't skimp on price (but of course search for the most competitive price) and always buy branded.
Works for me.
Will Hay

[rcb]

Dallas -

If you're interested in stats, go over to the "DVD Media" section in the l/h column and do a brand/type listing by 'most popular', etc..

Yuo can also find similar info on DVD writers and DVD players in their respective areas in the l/h column.

[sacajaweeda]

I usually grab the 50pc spindles of Verbatim Datalife DVD-Rs for 60 bucks whenever I go to Sam's Club. I've never had a problem with them.

[ashsharma]

Certain drives refuse to recognise certains brands of disc
Most drive manufacturers recommend certains types of discs

How do you determine which type of disk is recommended with your writer?

[zworg2]

How do you determine which type of disk is recommended with your writer?

It gonna vary, but i would expect to find it either in the instructions that came with the drive, or on the manufacturers website.

They often gonna recommended their own brand!

Or have at look at DVD Media

Hope that helps

Zworg2

[ashsharma]

Thanks for that. My drive came pre-installed on the machine and I don't think I've got any documentation for it.
I'm using ritek datasafe media which I think is quite reliable.

[zworg2]

pre-installed on the machine and I don't think I've got any documentation

do you know what make the drive is? you should be able to find out.

however

I'm using ritek datasafe

although i have never used tehm myself, i have reason to believe that Ritek will be ok as many people on here mention them as the media to use

Zworg2

[ashsharma]

do you know what make the drive is? you should be able to find out.
Zworg2

Its a Teac DV-W58E, I heard somewhere that drives can be changed from + to - by using firmware upgrades, is this true?