My Ridata experience

[onewaypockets]

I posted this a few minutes ago deep inside another Ridata thread. I feel this might be of bigger interest since it seems to be a burning software/compatibility problem, so I wanted to create a thread so I might get more replies....

About a month ago I too ordered some of these "Ridata" discs from Newegg...mostly based on the extremely positive feedback from users on the Newegg page.

I tried to burn one with my Sony DRU-510a (1.1a firmware), using BurnAtOnce burning software. Not a single one would burn....zero. I got a "OPC Failed" indicator. I thought to myself, "big bummer, waste of money, should have stuck with TDK". I continued to use the TDK -R discs I picked up at Costco for $1.20 each and set aside the Ridata discs. The TDK discs would burn with exactly the same setup 100% of the time. The only problems I had with the TDK discs was they would occasionally break up a bit with two Panasonic players, one that belonged to me, another at a friend house. No biggie since the Panasonic unit is in the kids room.

Then I got a free trial of another burning program called "Nero 6.0" and fooled around with it. It too burned the TDK discs great. Then one day I saw the Ridata discs sitting there and thought "I wonder" and gave one of them a try. To my surprise it burned one perfectly!!! No way! I tried burning another, but the second one had a quite a bit of breakup toward the end of the DVD. The third burn of a Ridata only had slight breakup, the fourth played perfectly. I still did not think much of Ridata media at that point.

But the other day I remember another program that came bundled with my computer. I had used this program a couple of times to burn data CD's, but I recalled it also burns DVD's. It is called "NTI DVD Maker Platinum". I opened it up and tryed burning a Ridata -R with it. It came out perfectly! I ended up burning five.....ALL PERFECT!!! They play perfectly even on both of the Panasonic machines. No break up and play strong on every stand alone machine I can throw at it (Toshiba, Pioneer, Onkyo, Panasonic)

OK people....could it be that the big difference with all the media problems folks are having here is really BURNING SOFTWARE problems????? I am just a rookie here (100 burns). I am sure many of the more knowledgeable users here can shed some light on this!

[TerminalVeloCD]

Burning a DVD involves several different variables.

1. The Drive.
2. The Media.
3. The Computer.
4. The Software.

It has been well known for some time that different drives produce different results with different media with different computer configurations with different software (if that makes any sense!).

Regards,
TerminalVeloCD

[stiltman]

[ TerminalVeloCD ]

JLMS XJ-HD165H (CH12, RPC-1, Readhacked)
LiteON LTR-32123S (XS0X)
LiteON LTR-52327S (QS0D)
LiteON LDW-451S@851S (GS0F, RPC-1, OmniPatched)
NEC ND-2500A@2510A (2.15, RPC-1)
Pioneer DVR-107D (1.16, RPC-1)

Lot of optical drives in that computer 8)

[onewaypockets]

Burning a DVD involves several different variables.

1. The Drive.
2. The Media.
3. The Computer.
4. The Software.

It has been well known for some time that different drives produce different results with different media with different computer configurations with different software (if that makes any sense!).

Regards,
TerminalVeloCD

Thanks for the reply...I've just never seen anyone around here talk about the differences in the chain about the actual burning software and different outcomes within the same computer and same drive.

Usually people just say something like "Ridata blows" or "Ridata Rocks with my Pioneer drive" and thats about it.

[lordsmurf]

Burning a DVD involves several different variables.

1. The Drive.
2. The Media.
3. The Computer.
4. The Software.

It has been well known for some time that different drives produce different results with different media with different computer configurations with different software (if that makes any sense!).

Regards,
TerminalVeloCD

True ... BUT! ...
different errors can mean different things.

Most errors I see on this site are directly related to bad media.

[tkamin]

it could also be that you simply had a few bad ones on the top... i always try a couple of discs from the middle of the pack before jumping to conclusions... and yes - different software = very different results :
when i burned a Memorex (ProdiscS03) with nero it played great on all standalones i could find but when i burned with dvd decrypter it worked in my player but not at a friend's house...

but as our Lord said - it's mostly about the media...

[OneCardShort]

I got a batch of Ridata that failed on the lead in about every other burn on both a pioneer 105 and toshiba sdr5112. When I burned the Ridata at 2x though there was no problems at all for the rest of the batch. Wish I had tried that sooner, would of saved a bunch of disks.

[godbeer]

I've been using Ritek's (G04's, red ridata wrapper - ordered from Newegg) almost exclusively since I started burning dvd's about 6 months ago. I use them with a Panasonice E-100 standalone, a NEC nd-300a pc drive and a LG 4082b pc drive. I burned through 300 discs without a single coaster - all burned perfectly and played back without any errors on every player I tried. However, with the last batch of discs I received (about a month ago), I started getting a lot of coasters (about 1 in 5).

At first I thought that the rumors about the drop in quality of Ritek discs must be true. Then, just as I was ready to return the discs, I noticed a pattern - all the coasters were coming from the LG Drive. I deleted/re-installed the drive, and problem solved - no more coasters.

So, I guess I'm just agreeing with everyone else - coasters don't necessarily mean that the media is bad - they could be caused by any number of variables.

Roy

[tkamin]

got a batch of Ridata that failed on the lead in about every other burn on both a pioneer 105 and toshiba sdr5112. When I burned the Ridata at 2x though there was no problems at all for the rest of the batch. Wish I had tried that sooner, would of saved a bunch of disks.

i had a similar problem with Memorex ProdiscS03 which failed on leadin on almost all of them - they seemed to burn with less problems when i burned at X4 instead of X2... so yes - weird problems do happen - just try a few different options before deciding to rampage against your media...

[rgtaa]

I go online and Read what works for others that have the same equipment I do and use the software they use. That is what the TABS are on the side are for. Other people let me know what MEDIA works for my Equipment. And when the majority have no Problems ... I jump onBoard!

I have not had problems with Media yet following that plan. When I first got my Burner and was a Newbie and I burned 20 disks and then put it in PLAYER ... and it didn't work. So I too thought BAD Media!

Then I came here and looked up my Burner and saw that the Media I was useing worked 100 percent according to others here.

Then I went to another site that had my player and the answer came! I had to check a BOX in NERO to get it to work in my Player! Checked BOX and NO MEDIA PROBLEMS! This is an example of Troubleshooting. Do research on everything , firmware, software, burner, player and media... before claiming it is the Media.

Also, I should ADD that since I'm doing alot of stuff on my computer as I'm burning I burn at 2x speed (30 minutes a burn). If I'm not doing anything on my computer then I jump to 4x speed.

I LISTENED to the Guru's on this Site! They told me to PLACE the TASK MANAGER ICON so I can see how much system resourses I use ... and to my surprise I see some of my programs spike at times and use 90 percent resources. Once I saw that ... then I understood some of my BAD Burns were because of DOING TOO MUCH on my Computer.

So I cool it when I'm burning to doing just a few things that shows I'm not useing ALOT of System Resoures! VERY IMPORTANT info you guys gave me. Thanks.

[tkamin]

I go online and Read what works for others that have the same equipment I do and use the software they use. That is what the TABS are on the side are for. Other people let me know what MEDIA works for my Equipment. And when the majority have no Problems ... I jump onBoard!

I have not had problems with Media yet following that plan. When I first got my Burner and was a Newbie and I burned 20 disks and then put it in PLAYER ... and it didn't work. So I too thought BAD Media!

Then I came here and looked up my Burner and saw that the Media I was useing worked 100 percent according to others here.

Then I went to another site that had my player and the answer came! I had to check a BOX in NERO to get it to work in my Player! Checked BOX and NO MEDIA PROBLEMS! This is an example of Troubleshooting. Do research on everything , firmware, software, burner, player and media... before claiming it is the Media.

Also, I should ADD that since I'm doing alot of stuff on my computer as I'm burning I burn at 2x speed (30 minutes a burn). If I'm not doing anything on my computer then I jump to 4x speed.

I LISTENED to the Guru's on this Site! They told me to PLACE the TASK MANAGER ICON so I can see how much system resourses I use ... and to my surprise I see some of my programs spike at times and use 90 percent resources. Once I saw that ... then I understood some of my BAD Burns were because of DOING TOO MUCH on my Computer.

So I cool it when I'm burning to doing just a few things that shows I'm not useing ALOT of System Resoures! VERY IMPORTANT info you guys gave me. Thanks.

great post - everything i wanted to say .

[TBoneit]

I go online and Read what works for others that have the same equipment I do and use the software they use. That is what the TABS are on the side are for. Other people let me know what MEDIA works for my Equipment. And when the majority have no Problems ... I jump onBoard!

I have not had problems with Media yet following that plan. When I first got my Burner and was a Newbie and I burned 20 disks and then put it in PLAYER ... and it didn't work. So I too thought BAD Media!

Then I came here and looked up my Burner and saw that the Media I was useing worked 100 percent according to others here.

Then I went to another site that had my player and the answer came! I had to check a BOX in NERO to get it to work in my Player! Checked BOX and NO MEDIA PROBLEMS! This is an example of Troubleshooting. Do research on everything , firmware, software, burner, player and media... before claiming it is the Media.

Also, I should ADD that since I'm doing alot of stuff on my computer as I'm burning I burn at 2x speed (30 minutes a burn). If I'm not doing anything on my computer then I jump to 4x speed.

I LISTENED to the Guru's on this Site! They told me to PLACE the TASK MANAGER ICON so I can see how much system resourses I use ... and to my surprise I see some of my programs spike at times and use 90 percent resources. Once I saw that ... then I understood some of my BAD Burns were because of DOING TOO MUCH on my Computer.

So I cool it when I'm burning to doing just a few things that shows I'm not useing ALOT of System Resoures! VERY IMPORTANT info you guys gave me. Thanks.

Not to disgree with you however, but I surf, Download (driver updates for work) read NG's and forums, I even encode, CPU at 100%, whilest burning at 4X on a sony DRU 500a. The only thing that causes the burner buffer to drop is when I also copy a large file to/from the source drive. However the disks all play fine.

Cheers

[rgtaa]

I have a pioneer A06 and for my Burner ...there was alot of discussion on "problems" people had with it with other programs running in the background.
I guess I was giving some of the Trouble-shooting that I did ... and realize that others may not have that same problem since they are useing Different Software,Computer,ect.
The Point was Trouble-shoot before deciding it's the Media. It could be the Media... but first Research to rule out other factors.

[smearbrick1]

While I totally agree that it is possible to burn dvds whilst in the middle of browsing the web, or creating new desktop wallpaper, or playing minesweeper... it's not really a great idea. If you have the system resources... sure. Also, I've noticed alot of people try to burn everything as fast as possible. I was once like this. I used to use 4x media at 8x and was ultimately disappointed when I noticed the quality in my burns. Sometimes you just need to let it go. Cut the burn speed down and keep your hands off the PC.

[OneCardShort]

@tkamin

just try a few different options before deciding to rampage against your media...

I'm not saying that Ridata/Ritek is bad media, it's good and I use it a lot. I was just saying that it seemed as if I got a batch of disks that would not burn at 4x. I have bought several 50 packs since then of Riteks and they burn fine at 4x.