DVD Recorder speed and discs

[Sara123]

I've been told different things by almost everyone I've asked, so I'm going to try here again.

I have a DVD recorder that records only in 2x or 4x. Does this mean that the DVD-R's I buy should be 2x or 4x only? I was told by someone at Sharp (my recorder is a Sharp) that the speed of DVD-R I buy shouldn't matter. That the recorder will record 4x regardless of what the disc says and that because it's 4x it will simply take longer to burn to disc. I was going to buy Maxell discs today that are apparently 1x up to 8x, (50 for $18.99) but wasn't quite sure I should.

[garryheather]

You should be alright with any disc these days, in fact the slower discs can be picked up at absolute bargain prices now because almost no-one wants them. Before I upgraded my standalone to a model with a hard disc, I only ever fed that cheap and cheerful 4x discs (which were cutting edge not that long ago !) that now cost about 10p each or less if you buy in any form of bulk.

As with any writer, the writer in your recorder will have a list of "preferred" media codes which have been tested by the manufacturer and give good results. You can probably find this media list on Sharp's website, for example - or, if you know what drive is used, look there as I highly doubt it's a Sharp writer in there.

According to the lead in on a lot of the high speed discs, the minimum write speed is gradually creeping up - although I have not seen any yet that recommend a write speed any slower than 4x anyway. If you use newer discs than your drive's firmware supports it will probably be OK but use a default write strategy that might not be ideal for that particular disc.

Personally, I still stick with cheap and cheerful 4x discs from online retailers who quote the manufacturer's media code (NOT the brand, these are often two completely different things) to maintain a certain level of consistency. And at less than half the price of the more modern, high speed discs, they're still good for anyone who doesn't mind waiting a few minutes longer for their burn to complete. I usually use the time to do something else other than sit in front of the monitor chewing my finger nails !

PS - the discs you were looking at are likely to be as per this listing:

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia.php?selectmedia=2424#comments

Generally they review quite well, although I can't say I've ever used them being one of the few advocates of the Ritek G04...

[Sara123]

Thanks, garryheather.

[CrayonEater]

The only reason older (read: slower) discs may work better is if you have an old firmware in your Sharp machine. Most manufacturers provide firmware upgrades so their products can handle the latest media. Recorders made before 8x or 16x came out mayy not know how to properly handle such media. You can find this at the manufacturer's website along with a list of preferred media. If there IS NOT an updated firmware available (probably with a mid-2003 date or so), then you are probably outta luck. You might find one on rpc1.org.

[Oscar wallace]

Personally, I still stick with cheap and cheerful 4x discs from online retailers who quote the manufacturer's media code

Same here I have used some of the cheapest media put on Gods earth and I cant remember when I have had any problems with any of it,pheraps it will all fail to read properly in a few years time(who knows) some are 3 years old and no problems as yet. I buy a lot of 4X ,8X or 16X overprint stuff from SVP(UK) I tend to go on price rather then speed .

[garryheather]

Ah, all hail SVP...

[handyguy]

Find your dvd recorder in this section & find out what people are using with it:
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdrecorders

[cyflyer]

if someone is using an older computer with higher speed rated dvd-r's and Nero gives a minimum write speed of 8x or 6x , how can he reduce the burn speed speed to 4x ? Nero seems to give an option to reduce read speed but not write speed.

[redwudz]

I use Nero 6.6.0.13 and with a TY 16X DVD disc inserted, it gives me burn speed options of 16X, 12X, 8X, 4X, and 2.4X. I wasn't aware it had any settings for read speed.

But this thread is about DVD recorders and media, not DVD burners.

[Joe Ryan]

It's a bit amusing that Sharp should say speed does not matter. Their own Sharp DVD-RW340 and 350 models state in the manual in fine print that they won't work with DVD-R discs rated faster than 4X. This model, made by Funai, is a combination DVD-R/VHS recorder. Funai offers a firmware update for the identical machine sold by Wal-Mart as an Emerson 20E4 (even though the Emerson manual printed by Funai does not mention any speed restriction!) Sharp technical service denied that an update was possible, but I used the same Emerson/Funai update on the Sharp/Funai recorder, and it now records 8X discs at 1X. It will not record 16X discs.