Thanks

[canadateck]

Thanks

[solarfox]

More likely, those marks you're seeing are flaws in the disc itself.

[canadateck]

Thanks

[solarfox]

You'll have to describe the kind of "little marks" you're seeing in more detail, then...

It's also possible that if they're flaws in the dye layer, you might not see them until after the disc has been burned -- i.e. that those are areas where the dye failed to burn properly due to variations in chemical composition, layer thickness, etc.

[canadateck]

Thanks

[solarfox]

Ahh, OK -- I've seen a few of those. Yes, those are spots where the dye failed to burn (or more accurately, to phase-change).

I hate to tell you this, but -- it's a disc defect, not a burner problem. You've got a batch of defectives on your hands.

The cheap brands, like Princo, have somewhat spotty quality control. That's why I don't trust any important stuff to them. These days, I pretty much stick with TDK.

[canadateck]

Thanks

[canadateck]

also, do you think it is bad to burn 3 movies one right after the other?

[solarfox]

Testing? None that I know of, I'm afraid. The "simulate" or "test before burn" options that some burning software offers doesn't actually test the disc itself, unfortunately; it's more a test of your computer and the drive itself. (Basically, it goes through the entire burn process, without actually running up the laser power high enough to affect the dye layer, to make sure your CPU and hard drive can keep up with the burner, and that the laser optics can track the pregroove accurately.)

There really isn't any way for you to test the dye layer, short of actually burning the disc itself. This is why it pays, IMO, to stick with reputable brands. Sure, you might save a few dimes per disc up front when you buy them, but you'll just end up paying for it on the back end when you end up having to throw away a bunch of coasters. (And really, it's not like a good-quality DVD-R blank is gonna set you back $10 apiece anymore; these days, even the TDK's I use don't cost much more than a good VHS tape.)

If you insist on going the lowball route, though, I've had good results with Primedisc media -- which, IIRC, is made by Ritek -- and with the GQ brand sold at Fry's Electronics. (Not sure if they have those in Canada, though.)

And no, I don't think there's any problem with burning several discs in succession -- I've done it several times. The only concern I would have there is adequate drive cooling; if your system is a tightly-packed minitower without much air circulation, you might want to consider either migrating it to a larger mid-size or full-size tower, or adding a cooling fan next to the A04 itself. (If you have an open drive bay above or below the A04, you can get a fan unit that's designed to mount in a 5-1/4" bay for cooling hard drives. Mount it so the airflow is directed towards the A04.)

[canadateck]

Thanks

[solarfox]

TDK makes spindle-packs of unbranded media for duplication, but a quick check of the various online retailers shows them to be out of stock right now. I put printed, full-color labels on mine after burning anyway, so I've never really investigated unbranded media.

I don't know anything about the Riteks you mention, sorry. And I've never had to clean a DVD-R before burning it, so I can't advise you there either.