Question about 2x and 4x burning

[SergeantD]

Hello, I have a A04 burner and CANNOT get a "true" 2x DVD-R to burn at 1/2 the time as a 1x. I have updated my burner to the 1.40 firmware. My friend has a A05 and he cannot get better results either, nor can he burn a 4x in 15 mins. Am I expecting too much or is anyone out there actually cutting the time in 1/2 or 1/4 when they burn at 2x or 4x? When I burn a FULL 4.37GB movie at 2x, it only saves me about 10 mins for a total burn time of :50. Could it be that the advertised 2x DVD-R is not actually "true" 2x media? Any info and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[disturbed1]

Sounds like a media problem.

For the 4x media I've luck with Accu4x, Prime4x, BeAll 4x, Optodisc 4x, Ritek 4x.

2x on my A03 is done with TDK, Apple, Maxell, Pioneer, Prime4x, Optodisc 4x, BeAll 4x, Verbatim 2x. 4x media will write at 2x if you have the latest firmware.

Try using branded 2x media, some of the "True 2x" media being sold is junk.

Official 2x media

Mitsubishi (Verbatim)
Mitsui
Maxell (99% all Apple, some TDK)
Pioneer (1% Apple hard to find)
TDK
Matsushita (A04/A05)
Taiyo Yuden (A04/A05)
CMC (A04 w/1.33)<-Pretty much junk.
Sony (A04 w/1.40)

[Inthacup]

I'm having the same problem with Princo 4x DVDs. I can burn a 3 GIG file in about 25 minutes. I was expecting it to be about 15 minutes. Is this common with Princo? It generally seems to be the cheapest to buy in bulk, but I figured I was just jumping the middle man(Verbatim, Memorex, etc.) and bought strait from the original manufacturer. Thanks.

[solarfox]

That would be true, if Verbatim and Memorex were buying their media from Princo. They're not.

I typically use TDK or Apple media... in fact, almost entirely TDK these days, now that I can buy spindle packs of 100 discs from Best Buy for $189.

(Also, it seems to me that my A04 takes the same amount of time to do the "lead-out and finalize" bit regardless of 1X or 2X media... anyone else noticed this, or is it just my imagination?)

[Vejita-sama]

I've got Princo 4x discs (from allmediaoutlet.com) and the Pioneer DVDR-A05 drive. I burn with DVD Decrypter (iso image files generated by IMGTools) at 4x all the time no problem.

Takes about 15min (for a full disc). I'm not sure what the problem is at your end but the media/drive should work. Maybe it's because I'm burning images, maybe it's the software (DVD Decrytper), maybe winXP switched to PIO mode?

[mrbass]

good luck....it's hit and miss with DVD-R as I found out the hard way $500 later.

[anosis]

I am using also Princo 4x not with the ISO methode though and it takes just under 15min including the lead in/out times in the current version of Nero and that is a movie of approx. 4GB in size (For example: Pluto Nash).

Speed could be slower if the HD and the Burner are on the same ATA bus. I got my CDRW, DVD-Rom and DVD-Burner on the ATA bus and the three HD's are on the Raid. Also the DVD-Burner is standalone, while the other to CD devices share a channel. That keeps all the traffic jam, if you so want, from the DVD-burner.

[nitram]

I use Bulkpaq Generation4 4x with my Pioneer 105. Always get 4x using DVD Dycrypter or RNM.

[ulrich]

Using my Pioneer 105 with Bulkpaq generation 4, 4x speed it takes about 12 minutes for a full 4.3g burn. Rip to burn in under an hour.

[Heffe2000]

Actually, Best Buy has the 100 pack TDK's right now for 129.00 (that's with a $60 instant rebate). Guess where I'm goin on payday .

[tralix]

Attention Best buy has the sell of 100 dvd for $129 no rebate, real price.

[poopyhead]

very weird....i've updated my pioneer a04's firmware to the 2x hack, and i was able to burn my cheapo 1X princo media at 2x, with no problems. (i.e. 30 min. vs 1 hr). however, that was just a test, and i've switched to burning at 1X because burning media faster than it's rated could cause problems down the line. however, i'm guessing if my older a04 can burn 1X cheapo media at 2X, then i'm sure the a05 should be able to burn a 2x rated media at 2X. maybe, there's another firmware out there?