Burning Speeds

[adamstillwell]

Hi,


Can anyone explain to me the differences to the burning speeds eg. 4x, 8x.

Is it better to use low or higher burning speeds? does it effect the quality?

Thanks a lot for the help.

[guns1inger]

It is, theoretically, a multiplier on the standard playback speed of a disc. Discs play back at 1x. So 2x is twice as fast, 4x is twice as fast again etc. It isn't quite that simple, as discs spin at different speed depending on the laser position, so the speed actually varies during a burn, so the rated speed is the highest the burner should reach during a burn. DVD video burns (and plays) from the inner edge to the outer edge (and back again if it is a dual layer disc), with the fastest speed being reached as the laser approaches the outer edge.

There are two schools of thought on burn speed. One says burn slower to get better burns. The other says burn at the rated speed of the disc, or fastest speed on your burner, whichever is the lower of the two. I subscribe to the latter, on the proviso that good quality media is being used. If you buy poor quality media (and a lot of it is poor quality) then you may get better burns from taking it slow. Personally, I don't believe anything you do will make bad media work well enough to justify the small savings involved.