DVDR+RW needs formatting?

[lmcnlcy]

Hi,
I need some advice on how to decide if a DVD+RW is a write-off or if I just need to do something like re-format (erase) it to get it back working.
I have a Lite-On standalone DVD writer and use DVD+RW media to transfer TV Shows to my PC. I was using one DVD+RW repeatedly and successfully until this week.
It seemed to write fine (Lite-On is very cryptic) but on then on two successive occasions it failed to read properly (used DVD-Shrink and DVD decrypter). I repeated this with two different TV shows. Both failed. A new DVD+RW worked fine.
It seems to me that the first DVD+RW may have developed a small scratch/flaw (surface looks fine) but I thought that if I Erased the disk using Nero then any errors would be mapped (like a Hard drive). However it failed again at roughly the same place.
Is there anything else I can do to recover the disk. Disks are cheap and so I could just go out and buy some more (DVD+RWs) but I would like to not do this if there is a simple workaround.
Thanks,
LMCNLCY

[lordsmurf]

Throw it away. DVD+RW die quickly, I hate them. I lose most DVD+RW after 20 uses max, sometimes less. Once they start to give read errors, it only gets worse.

The phase change materials of DVD+RW just do not last.

Last month alone I pitched out another dozen +RW discs. I used to own about 175 DVD+RW, and now I have about 60. Sadly, my Memorex INFODISC seem to be the most reliable, more than SONY or MKM.

I only use them to transfer from the HDD recorder to the computer. I wait until the DVD+RW is emptied these days, before deleting off the recorder, because of the disc deaths.

PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL (RW discs) is -NOT- the same as dye (R discs). Just FYI. Do not confuse the two. Phase change is not the same as dye.

[jagabo]

I don't have a set-top DVD recorder but I have some DVD+RW discs I've been using on computers and set-top Divx/DVD players for several years. Some have been reused hundreds of times.

But if a disc is giving you problems why bother with it? Just throw it out.

[piano632]

The Japanese-made -RW discs seem to last quite a while, but it's hard to find Japanese discs any more. I've reused Japanese -RW discs countless times and no errors. Nowadays I use RAM discs which work flawlessly for me.

[lordsmurf]

I don't think Japanese DVD+RW ever existed.

[piano632]

I was speaking mostly of -RW for Japanese discs, but there did exist some Sony +RW made in Japan with S11 media code (I haven't rewritten them many times though, so I can't say if they are as good as -RW).

[supersonicl2]

lmcnlcy, I think I had the same DVD writer as you. All mine did was write once, then after I turned the recorder off then back on it would just attempt to erase the same disc that it wrote to not too long ago. But I've gotten rid of it since then and got me a philips dvd recorder to go with my upscaling Philips DVD/divx player.

[obs]

It's not as bad as LordSmurf says it is. I've used my crappy Memorex +RWs more than 20 times, although not on a LiteOn recording at 1x.

Try doing a full format. I found that helps when I used a LiteOn, but after five more recordings, it may start to fail again, and then another full format is required. However, eventually, even a full format won't rescue the disc.

[lordsmurf]

It's not as bad as LordSmurf says it is.

If it was not that bad, I would not have said it. I don't gloss over things. If you have DVD+RW that are lasting you, great. Then again, maybe you should check them sometime, you might be surprised. Unfortunately, many folks out there (a majority? half?) are seeing loss of DVD+RW in piles.

I think the realtime and 2.4x record speeds are the culprit. Too much laser time.

[donovan99]

Quick question - can a DVD recorder actually record a video from a VCR plugged into its input jacks??

Many thanks!

[lordsmurf]

Yes.

[otpw1]

IF it is a home made tape, definitely yes. Otherwise it gets much, much dicier with various copy protections out there.
Particularly that-which-will-not-be-named-unless-you-like-litigation.

[obs]

If it was not that bad, I would not have said it. I don't gloss over things. If you have DVD+RW that are lasting you, great.

And if they were that bad, I wouldn't have said what I said. If you have DVD+RWs that aren't lasting as long, too bad for you.


Then again, maybe you should check them sometime, you might be surprised.

I record to HDD, dump to +RW, then rip to computer (more convenient to edit on computer), so I know if they read or if they don't.


Unfortunately, many folks out there (a majority? half?) are seeing loss of DVD+RW in piles.

I'm sure they do, but people don't make noise about when their +RWs are reusable for a more reasonable amount of time. If it's 50%, what makes >20 uses "good fortune" but <20 "normal"?


I think the realtime and 2.4x record speeds are the culprit.

Which is what I suggested in my original post, and it's both something we agree on.

[StuR]

lordsmurf-

The phase change materials of DVD+RW just do not last.

does anyone know if -RW last longer (comparing best Q brands).
I believe Ram do, due to their HD-like character.
Thats got to make RW a less safe medium than R for archive?

[LCSHG]

lmcnlcy

Take the disk in question to a PC and using Nero] do a Full Erase
DO NOT FORMAT THE DISK or let Nero do so. [Doing so will cause the recorder to reject the disk as Invalid]
Take the erased disk to the recorder and let it prepare [format] the disk to its liking.
Using a program other than Nero may produce other results
I use quite a number of Verbatim +RW disks and every so often one does what you say.
Doing this has Always worked for me [Assuming the disk is not damaged]

As I see the problem the recorder will do a quick erase on the disk but than see some messed up files and format on the disk resulting in a Invalid Disk report
The +RW disks use phase change. This results in a difference in how the information on these disks and +/-R disks are arranged when burned

[SCDVD]

lmcnlcy

Take the disk in question to a PC and using Nero] do a Full Erase
DO NOT FORMAT THE DISK or let Nero do so. [Doing so will cause the recorder to reject the disk as Invalid]
Take the erased disk to the recorder and let it prepare [format] the disk to its liking.
Using a program other than Nero may produce other results
I use quite a number of Verbatim +RW disks and every so often one does what you say.
Doing this has Always worked for me [Assuming the disk is not damaged]

As I see the problem the recorder will do a quick erase on the disk but than see some messed up files and format on the disk resulting in a Invalid Disk report
The +RW disks use phase change. This results in a difference in how the information on these disks and +/-R disks are arranged when burned

I agree with your first comment. A full erase on a PC seems to help the reliability of RW media.

You're off base about your comment "The +RW disks use phase change. This results in a difference in how the information on these disks and +/-R disks are arranged when burned". "Phase change" has to do with the behavior of the phase change material. not "how the information is arranged". Temperature affects the crystalline structure of the phase change material. When an RW disc is erased, the laser heats the phase change material to a higher temperature which restores it to its original state by relaxing the crystalline structure of the material. When a phase change disc is written, the lower laser temperature causes the crystalline structure to change state so that it alters the amount of light that passes through it when the disc is read. The reduced light transmission in each written spot equates to a "pit" (versus "land") on a DVD-ROM disc.

[LCSHG]

SCVD quote
"I agree with your first comment. A full erase on a PC seems to help the reliability of RW media. "
----------------------------------------------------------
THANKS ---BUT
Seems to Help -- What do you mesn by reliabilty We could go in depth on this use of that word
Reliabilty of a +RW disk is not helped THe Liteon recorder [I have 7] and others do not always prorerly erase or format a +RW disk, hence my reply


----------------------------------------------------------

As to the other comments

Jeez -- I know the difference, in the +RW and +/- disks

I was giving an answer to - [lncmlcy] - original post. Not going into the argument of whats a good disk and everything else but the original question.
My use of the word arranged was only a catch all and was not ment to go in depth into the area of disk construction
It was only to indicate there was a difference in R and RW disks
It seemed to me that at this point [lncmlcy] juet wanted to know if the problem could could be solved and how.
I belive my post covered that

Can we stick to the original question