DVD Copying Problems

[Movie_Junkie]

First, I want to thank the people here who responded with their suggestions.

Now I want to tell all of you what I have found out. I hope that this information is valid and hopefully, it will fix my problem (as well as yours, skyspirit).

I spoke to the head of tech support at Verbatim a few days ago. I explained the problem and here is what he told me. (Btw, he told me he does a lot of DVD burning.)

The manufacturers of DVD burners, such as Sony, test various brands of media on their drives. One of the things they get from this testing is how strong the laser has to be to get a good burn on that brand of media. The information on the tested media is stored in the firmware. The strength of the laser is adjusted for the blank media you put in the drive. If you use a DVD that has not been tested, the writer will burn using the default setting.

In the case of the RiTek DVD-R discs, since they are not on the Sony list of recommended media for the DRU-710A, (http://sony.storagesupport.com/dvdrw...all040820.html), the burner is using the default setting. While this setting is burning the disc correctly, it apparently is not strong enough for the disc and that is causing the freezes while it is being read.

While some brands of media, while untested, may work OK, in the case of RiTek media it appears that it will not.

If Sony ever does test RITEK DVD-R discs, it will be put into a firmware upgrade along with other discs that they test. The firmware upgrade(s) will also address other burning issues that may show up on the drive.

I will be trying Verbatim discs to see if the problem resolves itself and I will report back and let people here know the results.

Just for you information the tech also told me that he always sets the burn speed to 2X and the read speed to 4X no matter if the DVD media is certified for faster burns. He also suggests, you always read twice as fast as you burn.

Skyspirit, since the TDK DVD-R media is on Sony’s list of compatible media that is probably why you have not had a problem with the burn you did using that brand. Please let me know when you watch the rest of the movie if there was a problem.

Now I want to get on my soapbox and congratulate Verbatim.

I told the first tech I spoke with and the head of the department that I was not using Verbatim discs. Even after telling them that, he spent over 1/2 hour with me giving me all of the information. Even after all the help he gave me, he did not suggest I try his company's discs. He simply said that I should use one of the brands on Sony's list. That is what I call going beyond normal tech support. This is why I will be trying Verbatim.

[cynthia]

I like Verbatim - never had a coaster with that brand.

[skyspirit]

First, thanks for your answer Movie_Junkie.

Your post did send some light on me on why and how the firmware upgrades change the result on some Medias. Your post make me wonder, wouldn't be a blast to manual change the strength of the laser. Some sort of software that allow us to customize that setting in order to get the better results for our DVD readers..

Anyway, day b4 yesterday i have found that Sony just released a firmware update for our burner, version BY02 , download it, install it and test it. And im back on 100% success regarding burning RITEK Medias. Well, not quite exactly as i used to burn, DVD shrink cause me some problems with Nero 6.6.0.1, therefore im using Clone DVD to burn.

But before doing the firmware upgrade, i can confirm you that TDK disks were performing very good, problem was only with ritek disks.

Coincidently, i am using verbatim right now. Same price as Ritek and sony recommendation are very strong arguments to change.
I burn 2 Verbatim disks today, watched both and they were perfect. I remember you i am using firmware version BY02, if you didnt perform firmware upgrade do it now.

Thanks for all your help!


regards,
SkySpirit

[Movie_Junkie]

Cynthia:

I agree with you. Verbatim makes a very good product.

I have been given an RMA to return the RiTek discs and will be purchasing Verbatim.

[Movie_Junkie]

SkySpirit:

"Your post make me wonder, wouldn't be a blast to manual change the strength of the laser. Some sort of software that allow us to customize that setting in order to get the better results for our DVD readers.."

The one problem I see with doing that is we would probably be making a lot of coasters until we go the best results for each brand of media we tried. If high laser strength would work with all of the discs then there would be no need to change the strength for different manufacturers. One of the factors that would determine the strength of the burn is the chemical composition of the media. I know of at least 5 or 6 different compositions.

"But before doing the firmware upgrade, i can confirm you that TDK disks were performing very good, problem was only with ritek disks."

I am glad that the upgrade seems to have solved the problem. I have downloaded the upgrade but I will not try it yet. I am going to wait until I get the Verbatim discs and see if I have a problem with them. If I do not experience any problems with the Verbatim discs I will be satisfied and will not do the upgrade.

I have always been hesitant to flash firmware when an upgrade first comes out. I would rather wait awhile and see if that upgrade causes any other problems. I also will not flash firmware if the device is not causing a problem for me.

[nwg]

I have never had the desire or the need to upgrade firmware. MY LG 4040 is still using the bery first firmware that came out.

I don't buy any discs now other than Ritek which have been coaster free until last night. The -R had a imperfection in the middle of the disc which caused failure at 50%. Until then, I have had not a single coaster in all my 18 months of having a DVD burner and it was the fault of the actual disc.

I also like Verbatim but some batches were made by CMC and to a lesser quality. I don't know if this is still carrying on.

As everyone is finding out. Having a good disc is only part of the solution to successful burns. Some burners like certain brands/makes over other ones. The same applies to the DVD players being used as well. I have used many different brands and never had a single problem.

Some burners do seem to like continous firmware upgrades to work sucessfully with certain brands/speed of disc. These tend to be NEC and Liteon burners. This is something I don't really like and puts me off buying their drives.

[Movie_Junkie]

SkySpirit:

I have just finished speaking with Sony tech support. I called them to find out exactly what problems the BY02 update corrected.

I hate to tell you this but I was told they had removed the update because some people were finding out it was causing problems with their DRU-710A drives.

I told the person I was speaking to about you updating your firmware with the new version. He told me that if the update caused your unit to have any problems you should e-mail Sony tech support and let them know you are having problems caused by the update. They would e-mail you back a file that would put your firmware back to the original BY01 version.

[Movie_Junkie]

nwg:

As I mentioned before I will not apply a firmware update unless it is to fix a problem that is affecting me and there is no other work-around for the problem (i.e. change the brand of media being used).

I did find out from Sony that one of the things they were trying to correct with the update was increased burning strength for unrecognized media. Since I can use media that has been Sony certified I would not have updated my firmware even if there had been no problems with the update.

RiTek is a very good disc. It is unfortunate that it does not seem to be fully compatible with the DRU-710A drive.

[skyspirit]

your post made me worry about the upgrade, however i have burn around 4 disks after the upgrade and all were problems free.
So far the upgrade is working well. If i find any trouble i will email sony reporting the problems as you said.

let me know if you dont have any problem with verbatim disks.

thanks.

[skyspirit]

"I hate to tell you this but I was told they had removed the update because some people were finding out it was causing problems with their DRU-710A drives."

i have found that the upgrade is still there!?

[Movie_Junkie]

"i have found that the upgrade is still there!?"

I just went there and found the same thing. It makes no sense to me.

The only thing I can think of is either they thought I was talking about a different model than the DRU-710A or they have already fixed, and put back up for download, a repaired version.

I will give them a call on Friday to try and find out what the facts are.

[sfheath]

Originally posted by Movie_Junkie
The only thing I can think of is either they thought I was talking about a different model than the DRU-710A or they have already fixed, and put back up for download, a repaired version.

If repaired I sincerely hope Sony have incremented the version number to reflect that.

[Movie_Junkie]

Originally posted by sfheath
If repaired I sincerely hope Sony have incremented the version number to reflect that.

I would hope so. Something like BY02a or BY02.1

If I can get the information from their tech support tomorrow, I will post it here.

[Movie_Junkie]

Originally posted by skyspirit
"i have found that the upgrade is still there!?"

I spoke to Sony tech support a few moments ago.

They told me the update was removed from their website at http://sony.storagesupport.com/dvdrw/dru710adwn.htm which is in the USA (where I am). They told me they have nothing to do with Sony Europe where the download is still available.

I hope this helps.

[skyspirit]

well, since i found no problems with this firmware, in fact it solved my previous issues ill keep it.

anyway, since you havent perform the firmware update, how are you doing with verbatim? no more after you stop using ritek?