NEC 16X ND-3500A writing only at 4X?

[gangrene]

i just got my NEC 16X ND-3500A from newegg and burned my first dvd using Nero 6 (fresh install). I used Platinum Series 1-8X dvd+r from Microcenter, they didn't have any 16X dvd+rs. when i tried to burn a dvd, the only writing speed option available in Nero was 4X.

shouldn't i be able to write at 8X?
the dvd writer was an OEM, is there any way i can test the write speeds for certain?

thx

[jyn999]

i just got my NEC 16X ND-3500A from newegg and burned my first dvd using Nero 6 (fresh install). I used Platinum Series 1-8X dvd+r from Microcenter, they didn't have any 16X dvd+rs. when i tried to burn a dvd, the only writing speed option available in Nero was 4X.

shouldn't i be able to write at 8X?
the dvd writer was an OEM, is there any way i can test the write speeds for certain?

thx

Check the NEC website for firmware upgrades for your burner.

[chas0039]

i just got my NEC 16X ND-3500A from newegg and burned my first dvd using Nero 6 (fresh install). I used Platinum Series 1-8X dvd+r from Microcenter, they didn't have any 16X dvd+rs. when i tried to burn a dvd, the only writing speed option available in Nero was 4X.

shouldn't i be able to write at 8X?
the dvd writer was an OEM, is there any way i can test the write speeds for certain?

thx

Check the NEC website for firmware upgrades for your burner.

That is not the problem. NEC has no firmware updates for the US market ever and there are none in EU either.

Please post the media code of your disc. There are some discs that NEC and others feel are not good enough to burn at 8X so they slow them down to 4X. Hacked firmware can get around this but it is not worth it as usually there is a real lack of quality. Ritek's R03 code is one I know of well. Also, FYI, -R is a slightly better choice for this burner.

[gangrene]

how do i find the media code?
there is no codes on the disc or the spindle

[Bob W]

My 3500a burns TY 8X DVD+R at 16x, and TDK 4X DVD+R at around 6x.

[gangrene]

i don't mind the slow media dvd+r

what's important that i'm uncertain about is maybe whether or not the burner might be defective.

[chas0039]

how do i find the media code?
there is no codes on the disc or the spindle

Download CDSpeed or any other of the software applications that read media codes. Put the disc in the burner and start the program. From the "Extra" drop down menu check the "Disc Info" application. This will give you what you need.

[tlegion]

Here is the output from DVDInfoPro (there is no media code/mfg ID) for a Platinum 1-4x DVD-R:


Complete Media Code
00000000 00 42 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 52 00 02 F7 0E 0B .B...@....R.....
00000010 77 88 70 00 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 00 00 w.p.............
00000020 00 00 00 00 05 AA A2 22 22 20 01 00 06 0B 0F 12 ......."" ......

My NEC-1300A's will only write to these blanks at 2x and I have to read every single bit from a burned disc to see if it worked.