Quote:Laptop: Gateweay m6882-h (pretty solid laptop)
Burner: Optiarc DVD RW AD-7563A (8x)
Media: Nexxtech dvd-r 16x (i know, i know)
Program: Ashampoo burning studio 8 (set to burn at 8x)
Okay, now for the problem: there is a bottleneck somewhere that's making me burn at 4x... My best guess is that ashampoo is making me burn at 4x because it doesn't know the brand of media. (Would it do that?) If that's what it is, can i override it?
Log sample:
Quote:2:08:51 PM: Preparation started
2:08:51 PM: Starting track analysis
2:08:51 PM: Track analysis completed successfully
2:08:51 PM: Preparation completed successfully
2:08:53 PM: Recording at 8x in track at once mode. The recorded DVD will not be finalized.
2:08:53 PM: Pre-buffering data...
2:08:56 PM: Prebuffering completed.
2:08:56 PM: Recording DVD
2:08:56 PM: Writing track 1 Length: 3,842 MB
2:21:30 PM: Writing lead-out 2:22:32 PM: Average write-speed: 5252 KB/s or 3.8x.
2:22:33 PM: DVD recording completed
2:35:28 PM: Preparation started
2:35:28 PM: Starting track analysis
2:35:28 PM: Track analysis completed successfully
2:35:28 PM: Preparation completed successfully
2:35:29 PM: Recording at 8x in track at once mode. The recorded DVD will not be finalized.
2:35:29 PM: Pre-buffering data...
2:35:31 PM: Prebuffering completed.
2:35:31 PM: Recording DVD
2:35:31 PM: Writing track 1 Length: 3,900 MB
2:48:13 PM: Writing lead-out
2:49:15 PM: Average write-speed: 5281 KB/s or 3.8x.
2:49:15 PM: DVD recording completed
After some more digging it seems like Optiarc is a combined effort between Sony and NEC. Nec is supposedly infamous for low write speeds and the suggestion is to use alternative firmware:
Quote:Q: Why does my NEC drive burn media slower than its rated speed?
A: NEC has decided that some medias cannot be burned at their rated speed because of quality issues. NEC tends to play it safe, in that, they deem write quality is more important than speed. Another reason why your media may not be burned at its rated speed is, the media might be very new and not yet supported fully in the firmware version you have. In this case you should check your firmware version and check if a newer firmware is available, which might support the media at a faster burn speed.
In all cases your burning application will allow you to select the fastest burn speed for any particular media. The maximum write speed is set in the drives firmware, be it CDR, CDRW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL or DVD-R DL.
- http://liggydee.cdfreaks.com/page/en/FAQ/
That said, I'll probably just suffer through the slow burn times for now and next time buy a brand of media with a bigger market share so the stupid burner burns at the right speed. I posted what I found incase other people need it.
