Need advice with new Memorx DVD recorder and media

[sknox]

I'll try to keep this short:

I have a G4 that has the Pioneer DVR-104 revsion A227
Since 1-2X speed media is is hard to find anymore i purchased the Memorex external 16X speed.
I like it because it has 2 firewire and a USB connections and will accept single and dual layer DVD's.
Got it from office max for $89!!
Being a regular user of this site (witch can be quite overwhellming)

Here's the problem, after much trial and error and a lot
of coasters,
i could not use any media that was able to write any faster
than 1-2X speed
The only ones that produced 2-5 coasters was CompUsa
branded disks and yes i know that they are princo disks but they worked like a charm.

I have about 250 DVD's on this media, latley they
started to develop didgital artifacts more so at the last
10-15 mins of the movie to the point tje DVD would
lock up the player, i have not cheked all of them i think
it's going to happen to all of them, but they still play
fine on the computer.

Now im trying to find which media is reliable
So far ive tryed Sony, TDK Maxwell and 1 or 2 others all
rated 16X....i would never burn anything at that speed.

Using the latest version of Toast your choices
that are available are 6X, 8X, 12X and 16X ,
so far i have not been able to burn a succsesful DVD,
even at the lowest burn speed (6X) i get artifacts.

Within the last week i've have tried Maxwell 8X whtch
then allows me to be able to burn at 4X so i have only burned 4 or 5 disks and with no probs.

I heed to hear from as many people regarding rheir
experience and knowlage before i embark transfering all my DVD's

A interesting note: when i come accros a dvd that become
unviewable if i transfer the bad disk back to the hard drive
and burn it again the disk plays fine

Thank all in advance
sknoxx

[mandog]

Hi

Just my own experiance with home players is this. The cheeper players like an Apex will play suspect disc with no problems the higher end ones will lock up. All seem to play fine on my computer. My pioneer 110D will not let me burn less then 4X but the Matshita in my power book will let me burn at 2X with the same media. the tdk media is rated at 16 X Some say the slower burn is bes,t my experiance is the same seems like I have fewer problems with slower burns and cheeper home players. I could be all washed up with me thinking but that is the way it has worked for me. The home player is at fault most of the time.

Good luck

[Stu Jordan]

Hi. I use an Flat Panel iMac G4 800MHz. I use an external DVD burner (Pioneer 109) via firewire, and have had no problems with write speeds. How is your DVD burner connected to your G4? Firewire or USB. Does your G4 support USB2?
Stu.

[terryj]

First, sknox, you should STF for "CompUSA".
I've reported SEVERAL times on what you experience as
being commonplace...CompUSA burned DVDs have really,
really sh!tty die in their manufacturing process, and they
break down after a certain period, making your burns
unreliable. Yes, when they start to break down, you can go
back and re-rip them, and if they aren't past the point
of unreadable, you can then re-burn them again to
better media. STAY AWAY from COMPUSA BRAND DISCS!!

Second, I'm sorry you bought a Memorex External...
You could've bought an NEC or a new PIONEER and put it
into either a TDK enclosure or ADS enclosure for what you
paid for the Memorex and all the Coasters you've created.

This would have given you a much more reliable DVD drive
to burn with, one more compatible with higher speed
(on the shelf) media. I have access to a Pioneer DVR-108,
-109, and -110, and they can burn on Sony, Maxell,
Taiyo Uden and TDk 16x branded media at 6x ( -108),
8x or 12x (-109) and 8x (-110) without any flaws.

I can even push the -109 to a full 16x
because of updated/hacked Firmware,
but choose not to, following my own
personal "1 under" rule.

Last, mandog is correct...Cheaper players will mask artifacts.
In my own tests with the four players I own, 2 RCA 5240ps,
an Samsung DWV-7200 and a Kidstuff Batman DVd-Player,
the Samsung ALWAYS masks problems and "toughs it out"
in bad burns, playing to the end. The Btaman and RCA's
are less forgiving, coming to a complete stop on bad discs.

Slow DVD-R burns do offer the widest compatiblity with
playback on all DVD-Players, but also the QUALITY of media
plays a hand in it as well. a Slow burn on a Sony, Taiyo Uden,
or TDk will play better than a slow burn on MEMOREX,
CompUSA, OPTOdisc, NexxTech, or JVC branded discs.

As for media that is specifically rated for 1-2x burns,
your best bet would probably be at this point, if you
still have to have it, is to buy select rated 1-4x rated
media, such as Taiyo Uden, TDK, or Ritek from Meritline.com,
or supermediastore.com.

But your first thought, of upgrading to a newer ext.
DVD Burner, overall, is the best choice.

[sknox]

Hi. I use an Flat Panel iMac G4 800MHz. I use an external DVD burner (Pioneer 109) via firewire, and have had no problems with write speeds. How is your DVD burner connected to your G4? Firewire or USB. Does your G4 support USB2?
Stu.

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

Hi Stu thanks for the advise, I have A G4 dual 1.25gig and i bought a 2.0 usb pci card.
I'm still looking for the right media to use with it, Living in Hawaii there's not a lot of stores out here no one place that carry's a decent selection of DVD media with 16x speed disks, the slowest i can burn is 6X in trying to find the best media i have made test burns on TDK, SONY, and Memorex. I want to try 8X media so i can burn at 4X, so far so good using TDK but if i burn at 6X my 6 year old panasonic won't even load the disks.

And by the way i bought the Memorex drive at officemax for $79 because they messed up on there pricing.

If you need any more info that can help you help me just let me know.

Thanks
sknoxx

[sknox]

First, sknox, you should STF for "CompUSA".
I've reported SEVERAL times on what you experience as
being commonplace...CompUSA burned DVDs have really,
really sh!tty die in their manufacturing process, and they
break down after a certain period, making your burns
unreliable. Yes, when they start to break down, you can go
back and re-rip them, and if they aren't past the point
of unreadable, you can then re-burn them again to
better media. STAY AWAY from COMPUSA BRAND DISCS!!

Second, I'm sorry you bought a Memorex External...
You could've bought an NEC or a new PIONEER and put it
into either a TDK enclosure or ADS enclosure for what you
paid for the Memorex and all the Coasters you've created.

This would have given you a much more reliable DVD drive
to burn with, one more compatible with higher speed
(on the shelf) media. I have access to a Pioneer DVR-108,
-109, and -110, and they can burn on Sony, Maxell,
Taiyo Uden and TDk 16x branded media at 6x ( -108),
8x or 12x (-109) and 8x (-110) without any flaws.

I can even push the -109 to a full 16x
because of updated/hacked Firmware,
but choose not to, following my own
personal "1 under" rule.

Last, mandog is correct...Cheaper players will mask artifacts.
In my own tests with the four players I own, 2 RCA 5240ps,
an Samsung DWV-7200 and a Kidstuff Batman DVd-Player,
the Samsung ALWAYS masks problems and "toughs it out"
in bad burns, playing to the end. The Btaman and RCA's
are less forgiving, coming to a complete stop on bad discs.

Slow DVD-R burns do offer the widest compatiblity with
playback on all DVD-Players, but also the QUALITY of media
plays a hand in it as well. a Slow burn on a Sony, Taiyo Uden,
or TDk will play better than a slow burn on MEMOREX,
CompUSA, OPTOdisc, NexxTech, or JVC branded discs.

As for media that is specifically rated for 1-2x burns,
your best bet would probably be at this point, if you
still have to have it, is to buy select rated 1-4x rated
media, such as Taiyo Uden, TDK, or Ritek from Meritline.com,
or supermediastore.com.

But your first thought, of upgrading to a newer ext.
DVD Burner, overall, is the best choice.

Terry see my comments to Stu's and mandog's posts.

sknoxx

[sknox]

Hi

Just my own experiance with home players is this. The cheeper players like an Apex will play suspect disc with no problems the higher end ones will lock up. All seem to play fine on my computer. My pioneer 110D will not let me burn less then 4X but the Matshita in my power book will let me burn at 2X with the same media. the tdk media is rated at 16 X Some say the slower burn is bes,t my experiance is the same seems like I have fewer problems with slower burns and cheeper home players. I could be all washed up with me thinking but that is the way it has worked for me. The home player is at fault most of the time.

Good luck

Thanks mandog I have a 6 year old Panasonic RV-65 so there are a lot of variables that im dealing with.
Look at my responce to stu and Terry.

Thanks
sknoxx

[milatchi]

My advice would be to stay away from anything bearing the name Memorex. This applies especially if you value your data and your time.

[Stu Jordan]

Have you had any better results using the firewire connection?
I don't think that Memorex actually make the drive, it is just branded as such. What make of drive does Toast report is connected? NEC, LiteOn, Rioch, Pioneer?
As for DVD media I use Taiyo Yuden 16x DVD-R. & Verbatium 6x DVD-RW.

[terryj]

sknoxx,
Since your sitch is that they don't have good media
in Hawaii, take to the internet friend, and do like the rest
of us:
go buy from meritiline.com and SupermediaStore.com.
Reputable brands are TDK, Taiyo Uden, Sony and Verbatim,
and they sell them in 4x, 8x, and 16x.

Your Panosonic needs to be replaced, period.
It is older, and will only be happy with 1x burns.
I got lucky when I bought my RCAs, they were my first,
and seem to have no problem with 8x burns.
Newer (good) players can be had for as little as $49..
STF "DVD Players" on the left...lots of good reviews
by brand, worth checking out.

If you have up to date players, up to date burners,
everything will be in sysnc, and less headaches overall.