nec 3550A burns slow

[stainedbeautie]

takes me 13-14mins to burn a 4.4ishGB dvd and only stays at 8x. on other brand blank I can get 12x. My drives are all in DMA mode. I am using 8x blanks both times. The burner is capable of burning at 16x. I also get really slow read speeds. What else should I be checking on? My hard dirve and burner are on the same IDE cable because I only have one setup on my motherboard.

[redwudz]

If you are trying to burn a 8X DVD at 16X, you will probably just increase your coaster production. Slow read speeds may be because the burner is read locked at 2X. Maybe a firmware upgrade, if you are really in a hurry.

You never said what brand and manufacturer code DVD media you are using for the burns. If the media won't burn at rated speeds, try different media. 16X burn speeds - get 16X media.

The IDE channel used should make no difference as the transfer speeds aren't high enough from a DVD drive to stress the speed limits of the channel.

[Krispy Kritter]

Different burn speeds on different brands of media are related to the firmware. The firmware controls what speeds to burn different media codes.

[stainedbeautie]

thanks. I will try a firmware update when I get my replacement. I used Fuji 8x, and JVC 8X. The fuji burns at 12x even thought it says 8x, but other brands that I've used haven't even touched 12x besides Fuji.

I actually went and ordered a replacement from newegg, because I got home from work and the thing just wouldn't read any dvds for me .

[Mudbug]

My 3550 burns consistently at 12x on 8x media with Liggy and Dee's 1Y5 firmware. 1Y6 came out today and I will update to it tomorrow.

[stainedbeautie]

My 3550 burns consistently at 12x on 8x media with Liggy and Dee's 1Y5 firmware. 1Y6 came out today and I will update to it tomorrow.

thanks. I'll use that one once I get my replacement back.

[blackcat_gemini]

I, too have speed problem with the NEC 3550A I just installed in Dell PC.. this is my 2nd NEC, loved the other 3540A in my other PC in which I've burned about 2000+ DVDs using DVD decrypter and Nero 7.

But the new 3550A with Dell's LG as the master took 45 min to write an 8X TDK +R that'd normally take 16 min in my 3540A or 18 min w/just the LG writer. I then burned another DVD using 3550A to read and LG to write..same thing, 45 min..

The Drive is brand new from newegg.com and still under 30 day warranty. Firmware upgrades are mentioned here... NEC supported right?? or is there a secret link I am unware of..thanks!!

[Krispy Kritter]

I, too have speed problem with the NEC 3550A I just installed in Dell PC.. this is my 2nd NEC, loved the other 3540A in my other PC in which I've burned about 2000+ DVDs using DVD decrypter and Nero 7.

But the new 3550A with Dell's LG as the master took 45 min to write an 8X TDK +R that'd normally take 16 min in my 3540A or 18 min w/just the LG writer. I then burned another DVD using 3550A to read and LG to write..same thing, 45 min..

The Drive is brand new from newegg.com and still under 30 day warranty. Firmware upgrades are mentioned here... NEC supported right?? or is there a secret link I am unware of..thanks!!

You should start your own thread. With that said, are the drives on the same cable? Also, the NEC drives aren't known for their read speeds. And even when burning from one drive to another, the data is buffered on the HD. So the problem could be many factors and not just the NEC drive.

[ROF]

@blackcat_gemini

sounds like your drive is in PIO mode?