TDK 32*10*40

[devinemi83]

Has anyone used this drive. I am seriously thinking about buying it to replace my crappy 8432 creative blaster. How is its installation and reliability?

[Greg12]

Why settle at 32, they have 40x burners now

[devinemi83]

Thats the top my local store sells right now. And the 32 will be a little cheaper. 32 seems plenty fast for me. I want to buy from a local outfit since if the drive is bad I can just take it back instead of send it back.

[haymes]

If you are thinking of burning video files forget it. You are better off burning slowly in that case.

[devinemi83]

Why, what happens if you burn top speed. And the type of video files I burn are mostly divx files onto cd now.

[Conversion]

Although your burn is successfull, your avi will likely have "imperfections" in it, such as off color blockiness, or freeze etc. Safe speed for burning avi around 2x-12x(max). I tried 16X on 24X certified media and got bad output.

[ember]

Cd burners are getting to the point where doubling the speed is halving seconds rather than minutes from the time. There'll be a time when you will need to decide whether you pay $100 for some Y speed writer or $30 more for a 2Y speed writer which cuts the write time from .5 secs to .25 secs! Sheer nonsense. Personally I can wait 5 minutes. I can wait 10 minutes and have a coffee break. Those scales for times do not bother me.

[tom28]

Oh save enough money to get the DVD burner and CDRW combo, the HP DVD burner runs about $329 and 12X cdrw speed (slow enough for burning avi, lol).

[devinemi83]

The things I would use it for are, 1.Burning Divx movies onto cdr,2. Making music cds,3.Burning ghost images,4. burning data backups.

So if I burn at 32 for divx I may get a bad video in result? I wouldnt know that now since my drive is 8x. Okay even if I have to slow it down for that, what about music and data, do they turn out okay at high speeds?

[Vacant]

I've been using the TDK 24*10*40 for around 8 months and never a problem. I can definately recommend the 24x.

I burn my divx at 24x and it looks good to me, but I'm still a newbie.

Next time I'll try 2 burns, one at 24x and on at 2x and see if there is a difference

[Chips144]

There are several factors to consider:

First, the burn speed has nothing to do with the resultant quality of the video insofar as the actual cd-r is concerned. If you burn at 16X, make sure that the cd-r's you are using are certified for 16X burning. If you want to burn at 32X, they must be certified for 32X burning. As the burn speed increases, the laser has less time at each individual bit position to change the reflective coefficient at that point (in order to write a single 1 or 0). Also as the burn speed increases, edge effects (bit overlap due to the laser switching as the disk proceeds from one bit burn point to another) start to become more problematic. The end result is that although the laser burned the proper bits and the computer can accurately read those bits, your stand-alone dvd player might have a problem with the disk. This is where all the complaints originate relative to faster burning. If your stand-alone cna accurately read 32X burned disks, you will have no problem, if it can't you will have to burn at a slower speed. You will also find that this problem can be related to the disk itself. Some brands will burn at 32X and play, whereas some will not. Interestingly, I have found that with a TDK 16-10-40, using the cheapest disks available (16X certified, 15 cents each) and playing on an APEX 5131, I have never had a problem. Incidentially, I use NTI CD Maker Pro for burning SVCD's.

Second, you must also consider the cost of the blank disks. At this point in time, you will have to pay a premium for 32X certified over 16X certified.

The bottom line is, provided your stand-alone dvd player can handle 32X, you must weigh the cost per disk vs. time to burn.

[jeex]

chips,

excellent answer.. yours is the only one with real intelligence behind it.. all those other jackasses sound like the 1800's retards who live behind the theory that "the doctor tells me to take 1 dose to feel better, if i take 4 i will feel excellent".. but eventually they wind up being buried alive..

[mopar7]

I've heard slower burning gives a deeper burn, ex: music burned at 4x skipped like a scratched record, whereas one burned at 2x didn't. This was on an older burner. I have burned music at 12x and had no skipping. Is it possible the lazers for some newer writers it stronger? I have made alot of vcd's, mostly at 12x, my max. Have started burning them at 4x just to be safe and have seen no quality difference. Any thoughts?

[Chips144]

While the lasers have improved since the early introduction of cd burners, it is the media the has vastly improved. The newer media is capable of faster reflectivity change than the older media. The laser drivers have also improved. This improvement allows cleaner bit-burns (reduction of bit-overlap). The "deeper burn" that you speak of is simply a combination of the two. This results in the burned cd-r being able to be played back in more stand-alone players, weither they be music or video, with less apparent bit errors. These bit errors were much more prevalent on older burners/media. These errors result in various artifacts such as visual noise on video or "scratching" on music.

A rule of thumb would be to burn at the highest rate your writer and media support. Then try the disks on the equipment you normally use (dvd player, cd changer, car cd, etc.). If the results are good, stick with it, if they are not, drop down one level at a time in burn speed and try again.

One more thing to remember. While the disks may play perfect in YOUR equipment, it is no guarantee they will play perfect in someone elses. If you lend your disks to others to enjoy, you may have to reduce your burn speed once again to accomodate THEIR equipment.

CRITICALLY IMPORTANT>>>> If and when you purchase a new piece of stang-alone eqipment, take a sample of your burned disks to the store and try them in the new equipment before purchasing. You don't want your new equipment to fall into the catagory of "THEIR" equipment and not be able to play the disks you have already made.

[mopar7]

Thanks, and ya, I got 2 dvd players, I didn't buy them without first testing my homemade vcd.

[marsmayhem]

The 24x and 32x TDK doesn't burn 99 minute CDs.

The 16x does, however. I think they changed the internal drive when they brought out the 24x and higher - I believe the 16x was basically a Plextor drive repackaged for TDK.

I have the 16x, a friend of mine has the 24x. He spoke to TDK and they wouldn't discuss it because they claim it's out of spec, and they won't discuss something the drive isn't advertised to do.

Actually, the tech on the phone asked him if I'd chipped the firmware or something. I haven't. It's burned over 80mins in Nero without overburn enabled. I stick the CDR in the drive and it recognises the media without a problem. Same disc in my buddy's 24x drive isn't recognised.

Check out the burner comparison chart - it's on there.