how multiple is multi-burner ?

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mouse@cheese.storage · #1 Post by **mouse@cheese.storage** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 7:53 am

Dear all,

Concerning the multi-burner on IBM T-series, it is not really clear from any of the docson how multi it is, it kind of refers to burning CDs and DVDs, questions is whether all type DVDs are supported, as well - as +. It have the impression they only burn the - ones, is that correct ?

Thanks,

stgreek · #2 Post by **stgreek** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 8:26 am

mouse@cheese.storage wrote:Dear all,

Concerning the multi-burner on IBM T-series, it is not really clear from any of the docson how multi it is, it kind of refers to burning CDs and DVDs, questions is whether all type DVDs are supported, as well - as +. It have the impression they only burn the - ones, is that correct ?

Thanks,

AFAIK, the multi-burner will burn DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM. It will not burn +R or +RW, although it can read them.

n3il · #3 Post by **n3il** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 8:30 am

Questions answered here:

http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.ws ... MIGR-55186

HTH

ian · #4 Post by **ian** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 11:01 am

Ok, that's great - now will someone kindly explain (preferably in words on of one sylable) what the difference is bewteen -R and +R

Thank you

awolfe63 · #5 Post by **awolfe63** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 1:25 pm

One has a +
One has a -

Seriously - that is about it. They do have different burning processes and some DVD players read one better than the other - but mostly they are just different, incompatible technologies.

I think that the way it works is that DVD-R needs a second pass to burn - but is somewhat more compatible with older DVD players.

The IBM drive also supports DVD-RAM which is faster to burn than either of the others - especially incrementally - but not compatible with DVD players.

dd · #6 Post by dd » Wed Aug 11, 2004 1:30 pm

DVD- works in about 5% more standalone players than the + variety.

Additionally, the dvd- media is cheaper
t

dd · #7 Post by dd » Wed Aug 11, 2004 1:31 pm

DVD- works in about 5% more standalone players than the + variety.

Additionally, the dvd- media is cheaper

Buy media with Ritek G04 dye................

Leon · #8 Post by **Leon** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 3:30 pm

I get cheap ones on a spindle that smell bad for only .70 apiece from Microcenter......

dd · #9 Post by dd » Wed Aug 11, 2004 3:54 pm

Leon

Ritek media with G04 dyeis usually a little more expensive............

but is it worth risking your data?

ian · #10 Post by **ian** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 4:00 pm

Who chooses media by smell?

"Ah, excuse me, would it be possible to taste those CDRW over there. Thank you - yummy - ok, I'll buy some"

I don't know what some of you guys are smoking - but can I have some?

Leon · #11 Post by **Leon** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 4:12 pm

i couldn't help it

...but when I did open Spindle Pak, there WAS a chemical smell......

does anyone know of a cheap source for the Ritek media with G04 dye?

awolfe63 · #12 Post by **awolfe63** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 5:26 pm

http://www.allmediaoutlet.com

has Ritek cheap - don't know about the dye.

Leon · #13 Post by **Leon** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 6:25 pm

this site:

http://ritekmedia.com/

has .68/disk with free shipping

ian · #14 Post by **ian** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 11:07 pm

You certainly know how to "sniff out" a good deal...sorry, couldn't resist that

ian · #15 Post by **ian** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 11:10 pm

PS. Thank you to awolfe63 for the explication - as I don't have a DVD burner, this is all rather acedemic, but one likes to keep up with what's going on !!

Pssst - some great smelling CD's over here...

MadeInJapan · #16 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 12:02 am

Sorry, but I had to chime in.
In regards to "-" vs "+" DVD media...the prices are about equal these days. The smell is a sure sign of chemicals. One of the most common media makers is even called "Mitsubishi Chemical Manuf." ie: MCM....you'll find this to be the true maker of many...like many Maxell, most Memorex and all of the ones made for Target stores. Really good DVD media has non-synthetic, vegetable dyes in them, however. Sounds weird, but true. Another weird thing is that some of the same labelled blank discs are made by different companies. For instance, I was really into using TDK and Maxell 4X media because they would burn at 8X on my burner....I could buy a 25pack of Maxell and they would burn at 8x (made by Ricoh), but when I bought a 100pack of the exact same looking media (label the same....ect.) they would only burn at 4X. I did a scan of the media and found them to be MCM. No big deal...just takes 15 minutes instead of 7.5 to 8 mins to burn.

In regards to - and + formats....the structure of the + is burned in a more linear fashion and thus a disc labeled "+" takes slightly less time to burn. This format seems to be the more prefered format these days. The main reason for this preference is due to the machines which have been made in the past 2 years have indicated more "+" compatibility than "-" compatible. It's really a fight against the two main components manufacturers that came out with these formats...Sony and Phillips. (those who have take sides are Panasonic "+", Pioneer "-"...but even these guys are switching to true "multi-burners- "+" and "-" these days.

Personally, I buy Target DVD+R 4X media which burns all of its 4.7gigs(actually a little less then 4.5gigs on disc) in about 15 minutes. These discs are superb...not one coaster, and are bought in packs of 10 and 25. If you buy them in a pack of 25, they work out to be about $1.20 each. I burn the "+" media, but my burner (liteon) allows me to "bit set" the media so it burns as a DVD-rom (neither "+" nor "-", but the store-bought, pre-recorded movie type...like you would get if you actually bought or rented a movie) which I find will play in any machine I've ever played these discs in.

So, now for the real reason I chimed in....Does anyone know who actually makes the DVD multi-burners in the Thinkpads? If I knew what the model number is, it would truly help me in making a decision about which Thinkpad to buy. Some can be modified to be region free for instance...and some can be modified to burn different types of discs...but hearing that they burn in the "-" format is dissapointing, as only "bit-setting" can be done to "+" format discs, the reason, I don't know.
Would some of you who are into the DVD stuff on Thinkpads list which DVD is in your thinkpad? You can find the info in Device Manager. Just double click on your DVD player or burners and it will tell you what the model number is and firmware as well. Just list it below and I'll tell you what can be done with it, or if you want to check out the firmware page I listed below, you can probably find it yoursef. But still, I'd like to know what's in these thinkpads, so list away!

If anyone is really interested in this stuff, you can read a whole lot about it at www.cdfreaks.com and http://forum.rpc1.org/portal.php (the latter a "firmware" page with every known CD/DVD burner and their firmwares and their firmware capabilities.) It's amazing some of the stuff that can be done now a days).

hapzunglam · #17 Post by **hapzunglam** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 12:50 am

I'm also curious to learn more details about the DVD burner in the T42s... I'm trying to decide between models with the DVD burner and ones with the CD-burners...

If I'm reading the specs right and there are no typos, the DVD burner only burns 16x to CDs while the CD-burner burns at 24x?

And since the DVD burn speed is only 2x, I doubt I'll be burning many DVDs so if the CD-R speed is slower too, then maybe it makes more sense just to get the CD burner? Cheaper to boot.

mouse@cheese.storage · #18 Post by **mouse@cheese.storage** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 5:30 am

It would indeed be interesting to know which HW is actually used and whethe IBM tends to upgrade their burner to the + format too. Otherwise it is probably better to get the combo drive, and then by a decent burner in a USB enclosure. As after all if you can't do with it what you want, then what's the use in spending money on it

Ye formate differences, they are annoying, now I see why some stick to the -, as tha tis the official one, but compatibility is another issue, and concerning media prices, one type is definitely more expensive than the other.

stgreek · #19 Post by **stgreek** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 5:51 am

mouse@cheese.storage wrote:It would indeed be interesting to know which HW is actually used and whethe IBM tends to upgrade their burner to the + format too. Otherwise it is probably better to get the combo drive, and then by a decent burner in a USB enclosure. As after all if you can't do with it what you want, then what's the use in spending money on it

Ye formate differences, they are annoying, now I see why some stick to the -, as tha tis the official one, but compatibility is another issue, and concerning media prices, one type is definitely more expensive than the other.

Mine is the Panasonic UJ-812. Decent drive, but I don't think it can be firmware upgraded to +R or 4x.

n3il · #20 Post by **n3il** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 5:51 am

Burner is the Panasonic UJ-812:

http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/com ... UJ-812.pdf

HTH

mouse@cheese.storage · #21 Post by **mouse@cheese.storage** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 12:00 pm

That's interesting, now it seems like they have a later model, the UJ-830, which seems to be not only faster, but also supports the + standard, wonder whether IBM is going to start putting that one in its T-series at some point ?

tselling · #22 Post by **tselling** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 1:22 pm

mouse@cheese.storage wrote:That's interesting, now it seems like they have a later model, the UJ-830, which seems to be not only faster, but also supports the + standard, wonder whether IBM is going to start putting that one in its T-series at some point ?

That drive is too tall 12.7mm vs 9.5mm to fit in the T4x series.

Leon · #23 Post by **Leon** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 7:29 pm

MadeInJapan- The drive is the Panasonic UJ-812. Checked the site you mentioned... they list firmware for it, but don't say what it does, and don't list it for an IBM. Any ideas?

MadeInJapan · #24 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 12:23 am

I noticed that too....and only this DVDburner in another laptop, not the IBM... I'd stay away from that firmware upgrade if I were you. The only suggestion I can give you is to look around in the forums connected to the sites I mentioned and see it the drive is mentioned and what other people have found out. The reason that IBM is not mentioned in the file section is because IBM doesn't make any of their own CD or DVD drives. As for what can be done with the Panasonic (or M a t s u s h i t a)...unfortunately my experience with panasonic hasn't been that great. They are a good burner but not very flexible in terms of upgrading. Toshiba who IBM also uses is much more flexible...both tend to only make burners however (in the DVD realm) that burn "-" discs and not "+" discs. BTW, IBM also has been using a Korean manufacture HG, or maybe it's LG who makes Goldstar in the U.S....big manufacturer of VCR's and other components....stuff you used to find cheap at Kmart

Leon · #25 Post by **Leon** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 7:58 am

MadeInJapan, you are amazingly informed on this topic. Again, thank you for your great information. Welcome to the forum, we all look forward to having you as a long time member.

MadeInJapan · #26 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 10:12 am

Leon, I just bought a T30 with all the goodies...has a multiburner in it too....very curious as to which one. Most likely a Panasonic, so I'll be searching out what can be done with it, which should help you too, as I'll post my findings as I discover! Will be sometime next week when the Thinkpad is delivered! Can't wait!

how multiple is multi-burner ?

how multiple is multi-burner ?

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