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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Burning problems: discs not readable later with different optical drive
RobinS - Jul 14, 2006 - 10:34 am
Is this a common problem? Using latest OS X with Toast Titanium 7. They worked fine before. Now I'm using a different DVD burner and only some of the files can be read. I try to burn at a slow speed (4x). Should I burn at 1x?
Also, when the disc can't be read, sometimes the whole system locks up and the only way to restart it is to power it down by unplugging the AC power. (I never tried that power switch as I use a power bar and its faster.) Is this common? OS X or my Mini seems to get majorly befuddled when it can't deal with an uncooperative optical disc.
Also, when the disc can't be read, sometimes the whole system locks up and the only way to restart it is to power it down by unplugging the AC power. (I never tried that power switch as I use a power bar and its faster.) Is this common? OS X or my Mini seems to get majorly befuddled when it can't deal with an uncooperative optical disc.
RobinS - Jul 14, 2006 - 10:45 am
These are video .avi files.
I seem to be able to play some of them fine though. But not all. The first ones always play fine - first alphabetically. Usually by the middle, they don't play. The burner does this clicking sound. Then the system sometimes locks up. Or sometimes not. Bizarre.
I seem to be able to play some of them fine though. But not all. The first ones always play fine - first alphabetically. Usually by the middle, they don't play. The burner does this clicking sound. Then the system sometimes locks up. Or sometimes not. Bizarre.
RobinS - Jul 14, 2006 - 10:48 am
From System Profiler:
_NEC DVD_RW ND-3540A:
Firmware Revision: 1.01
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Unsupported)
Profile Path: None
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW, +R DL
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No
I'm using DVD-R discs. Granted, they are NOT brand name.
_NEC DVD_RW ND-3540A:
Firmware Revision: 1.01
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Unsupported)
Profile Path: None
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW, +R DL
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No
I'm using DVD-R discs. Granted, they are NOT brand name.
ishan - Jul 14, 2006 - 8:37 pm
Are you using Patchburn? Have you tried any of the DVD-R disks sold by Apple?
RobinS - Jul 15, 2006 - 12:08 am
Yes - I'm using Patchburn.
Apple disks? Are they made of gold? Do they cost $10 each? I get my DVD discs for about 20 cents each. And they used to work great. It might be the discs but I'd like to make sure its not something else before I start buying lots of different kinds of discs. Also, I'm using a NEC burner. Probably not recommended by Apple. Whatever that means. Do they recommend Lite-on and Plextor? Those are highly sought after in the PC world and are supposed to be top quality. Especially the Plextor.
Apple disks? Are they made of gold? Do they cost $10 each? I get my DVD discs for about 20 cents each. And they used to work great. It might be the discs but I'd like to make sure its not something else before I start buying lots of different kinds of discs. Also, I'm using a NEC burner. Probably not recommended by Apple. Whatever that means. Do they recommend Lite-on and Plextor? Those are highly sought after in the PC world and are supposed to be top quality. Especially the Plextor.
ishan - Jul 15, 2006 - 5:02 am
The blank DVD-R disks can be bought anywhere; they are just the ones available through the Apple Store and (presumably) work best with Apple-approved burners. They probably do cost more than those at Walmart, but you won't have easy access to Walmart in the tropics after your move.
Almost always, this kind of problem is due to the media you're using. Sometimes, you do get what you pay for.
The publicly available info on DVD-R quality is unhelpful since a wide variety of burners are being used. However, most mass DVD duplicators recommend a specific disk brand for their units and often, that is the one that Apple also recommends. Unfortunately, that kind of information is proprietary. I would buy a few varieties of name-brand disks and try them out.
BTW, the disks aren't made of gold, but some brands have a surface coating of a gold alloy. If you have followed gold prices, you can see why some might cost more than 20 cents.
Almost always, this kind of problem is due to the media you're using. Sometimes, you do get what you pay for.
The publicly available info on DVD-R quality is unhelpful since a wide variety of burners are being used. However, most mass DVD duplicators recommend a specific disk brand for their units and often, that is the one that Apple also recommends. Unfortunately, that kind of information is proprietary. I would buy a few varieties of name-brand disks and try them out.
BTW, the disks aren't made of gold, but some brands have a surface coating of a gold alloy. If you have followed gold prices, you can see why some might cost more than 20 cents.
RobinS - Jul 16, 2006 - 1:10 pm
Lol.....your dry humour comes out well there....
> The blank DVD-R disks can be bought anywhere; they are just the ones available through the Apple Store and (presumably) work best with Apple-approved burners. They probably do cost more than those at Walmart, but you won't have easy access to Walmart in the tropics after your move.
Actually there IS a Walmart where I'm going....what irony. But I realize Walmart and "discernment of quality" are not close companions.
What you are saying about the DVD discs makes a lot of sense and rings true. This probably is a compability issue since the problem discs were burnt on a different burner. But what is one to do when I need to back up videos, and don't know what burner I'm going to buy next? Maybe it will work, maybe not. Its disconcerting. And what makes a DVD disc "better" or more compatible than others? Are there specifications one can be aware of? I would love to know about this but I never hear anyone talking about DVD specifications. And are DVD's generally more problematic than CD's because they are trying to pack more stuff in there? Some material I might be able to back up on a CDRW instead of a DVDRW if that would mean an increase in compatiblity/reliability. And does the same apply for DVDRW discs as DVD-R's and DVD+R's? And should I stick with -R or go with +R? (Most DVD burner's I end up in the future will be +R compatible.)
Whew...with all these questions I realize this is one area I know nothing about.
> The blank DVD-R disks can be bought anywhere; they are just the ones available through the Apple Store and (presumably) work best with Apple-approved burners. They probably do cost more than those at Walmart, but you won't have easy access to Walmart in the tropics after your move.
Actually there IS a Walmart where I'm going....what irony. But I realize Walmart and "discernment of quality" are not close companions.
What you are saying about the DVD discs makes a lot of sense and rings true. This probably is a compability issue since the problem discs were burnt on a different burner. But what is one to do when I need to back up videos, and don't know what burner I'm going to buy next? Maybe it will work, maybe not. Its disconcerting. And what makes a DVD disc "better" or more compatible than others? Are there specifications one can be aware of? I would love to know about this but I never hear anyone talking about DVD specifications. And are DVD's generally more problematic than CD's because they are trying to pack more stuff in there? Some material I might be able to back up on a CDRW instead of a DVDRW if that would mean an increase in compatiblity/reliability. And does the same apply for DVDRW discs as DVD-R's and DVD+R's? And should I stick with -R or go with +R? (Most DVD burner's I end up in the future will be +R compatible.)
Whew...with all these questions I realize this is one area I know nothing about.
ishan - Jul 16, 2006 - 4:05 pm
Manufacturing a DVD blank is inherently more difficult for the reason you noted-more bits have to be able to be written in less space. I totally agree that the whole process of choosing a specific "brand" of DVDs should not be a crapshoot-especially when the same manufacturer makes discs sold under different brand names. Also, the problem with DVD players reading burned DVDs should not exist-but it does. Some DVD player brands are known to be more "generous" about variations in the quality of the DVDs that are inserted. I would love to find out what DVD brands are used by the movie studios when they do a million plus run of a particular movie. However, their mass DVD duplication systems are also far more sophisticated than what we buy for as low as $40. I think you're stuck with trial and error. You might want to ask in the Apple discussion groups on externals on Apple's site for some recommendations.
I've moved away from burning my own DVDs and just send the video files to commercial outfits. For whatever reason, the DVDs they send back work in all our DVD players, whether standalone or those in PCs. It ain't cheap, but the time spent burning DVDs is not trivial and I know that I'll have usable DVDs at the end.
I've moved away from burning my own DVDs and just send the video files to commercial outfits. For whatever reason, the DVDs they send back work in all our DVD players, whether standalone or those in PCs. It ain't cheap, but the time spent burning DVDs is not trivial and I know that I'll have usable DVDs at the end.
RobinS - Jul 16, 2006 - 5:37 pm
Never discount the value of your time......good point.
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
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