burning DVDs on T60p -- general questions

[npish]

I just got off the phone with Lenovo support after requesting a replacement for my DVD super-multi burner, as I've had a variety of problems with this drive from day one. I have the Matshita DVD-RAM UJ-842 drive, which I purchased particularly for the dual layer burning functionality; after getting the first blue screen I've ever had on this machine, while trying to burn a DL data disc-- with Verbatim media no less-- I decided to call and demand a replacement.

So I'm wondering: given that Lenovo must use various manufacturer's drives for the "Super Multi-Burner" is there a recognized hierarchy with respect to quality among these drives (as with LG and Samsung with LCDs, for example) ? I feel like this Matshita drive is pretty junky, and *highly* selective when it comes to the brand of media with which it will "cooperate".

I'm also wondering, for those who commonly burn DVDs and DVD-DLs, is there a specific brand of media that you've found works well with these drives?

I've heard users on this forum state that for lots of burning, one should just get an external drive-- and quite frankly, I don't buy this logic; given the price I paid for this machine-- and for the Super Multi-Burner upgrade-- it better d**n well reliably burn all the types of discs for which it's advertised.

Thanks for any feedback/suggestions.

[Superego]

I actually think the Matshita drive is great. I have the same model and haven't had any major issues. However, I have not tried burning a DL disc yet. The few problems I've had have been the following:

- CD-Rs not always burning properly, particularly when working with ISOs. I think this may have more to do with my choice of media, as when I pop in a Verbatim (after creating a few Memorex coasters) my burn usually goes fine. I have no empirical evidence of this, just my opinion.

- DVD+RWs. This one actually happened last night. I burned a DVD-RW of WALL-E and had some skipping in the last 20 minutes. I popped in a new disc, forced the burn to 2.4x, and it went fine.

Regarding media, I try to used Verbatim for all of my CDs (-R, +R, -RW, +RW), unless I'm trying to use of some of my older discs for less important jobs.

I've had really good success with Memorex DVD+RWs. I've been using the same 4 or 5 discs now for burning TV shows and Movies and last night was the first time I had any problem (pretty good considering they get wiped and burned at least once a week).

I should mention that all of this has been in Linux using K3b (I can't remember the last time I burned something in Windows ) Could your choice of burning software be the cause of the blue screens, especially with the DL burning (which seems pretty touchy to me).

The other reason why I don' really consider the Matshita drive junky is because it's held up well to the stress I subject it to. I usually have a second hard drive in the Ultrabay and the DVD drive is in my docking station. When I do need it I carry loose it in my bag (where I'm sure it takes a beating) and I haven't had any problems yet.

Sorry to hear about your issues.

[Marin85]

I burn quite a lot and the only problems I have ever experienced with my Hitachi-LG drive were in my XP era when I used the preloaded Sonic software! Just a guess, maybe your issue is software-related. What burning software do you use?

Marin


EDIT: Verbatim media have been always excellent in my experience.

[npish]

thanks for the responses guys; I'm on Vista using Nero primarily for burning; I've had the most consistent success with Sony brand CDs and DVDs, both -R and +R for the latter.

I'm curious to hear from someone with experience burning DL discs, and with what brands (if any) they've had the most success. I'm actually wondering if these Verbatim discs I bought are flawed in some way, as my desktop machine at work had some issues with them as well.

It seems like it'd be helpful to compile a list of media/brands for each of the available burners that provide the most consistent results, and post a sticky (?) as I said, Sony has worked well for me, so my plan at this point is to track down some Sony DL discs and try those-- I'll report back with results.

[rkawakami]

While it may not be comparable to your setup, I've used a couple of UJ-840 drives to burn Memorex DVD+R DL disks. The first drive had occasional problems near or at the layer change (~48-49% through the burn) so I switched over to another 840 drive. This second drive has had a 100% success rate over a dozen or so disks. Both drives were purchased off of eBay a couple of months back for less than $20 each and a set of Ultrabay 2000 rails installed. According to the DVDInfoPro utility, the Memorex disks are Ritek S04. Burns are performed on a T23 using a DVD program and not any dedicated burner such as Nero or Sonic. I have not tried any other DL disk as the Memorex 25-packs can usually be found around here for $25 (or less when on sale) at Frys.

Additionally, I use both Memorex and GQ (Frys house brand) DVD+RW disks on various UJ-820 and UJ-840 drives and don't have any problems.