Burning 8x vs 4x

ghoofie · Post by **ghoofie** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:18 pm

I've seen many suggestions here that you should burn your DVD's at 4x. I have only done about 6 projects so far. I burned my first 4x yesterday after reading so many suggestions. So I didn't notice any quality changes (didn't expect any) and it played just the same as when I burned at 8x. Of most people around me who I will give copies to, I have the oldest DVD player and the 8x's play as well as the 4x I did yesterday.

Will most newer DVD players handle the 8x as well as 4x. Or do you all still suggest burning at 4x ?

TDK1044 · Post by **TDK1044** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:35 pm

As a rule of thumb, the slower the burn the better the end result. However, if you have success burning at higher speeds then burn at higher speeds. Most newer stand alone DVD players will handle a disk burned at 8X, one or two of the high end machines might throw a tantrum.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:41 pm

This is just my opinion.... Why risk burning at higher speeds just to save a few minutes?

I may spend a week editing a 1 hour home movie.
The difference in time between burning at 4x and 8x is perhaps about 6 minutes. Now is it worth wasting a disc for the sake of 6 minutes when so much time has already been spent during the editing stage.

Or are you one of those point and shoot and get it onto DVD types that doesnt bother cutting all the excess crap out leaving you with a DVD that your friends and family find boring?

ghoofie · Post by **ghoofie** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:51 pm

sjj1805 wrote:This is just my opinion.... Why risk burning at higher speeds just to save a few minutes?

Or are you one of those point and shoot and get it onto DVD types that doesnt bother cutting all the excess crap out leaving you with a DVD that your friends and family find boring?

Good question !! At this point I'm merely capturing all the footage, and burning to DVD for saving. And from there...anything goes.. I will make some copies for family who want everything...then I have planned for others who will enjoy fancy editing and stuff.

I didn't realize there was only 6 minutes difference between burning 8x vs. 4x though. Seemed like it took much longer yesterday when I did my first ever 4x burn. But I agree....absolutely...a few minutes longer to burn is no big deal. I was just curious...still new at video capture.

Now ask me about playing bass !!! No rookie there !!

Post by **Ken Berry** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 11:55 pm

The main reason why we recommend you never burn a video DVD at any more than 4x, regardless of the rated speed of the disc and your burner, is because a slower burning speed allows the burning laser to embed the signal more firmly into the disc. This in turn will allow a wider range of stand-alone players to play the disc. As you may know, some players -- mostly more expensive, brand name ones -- are very finicky about what they will play, and you have to take this into account when producing your DVDs. This is particularly so if you intend to distribute your masterpieces widely among friends and family who will have a wide variety of players.

Other possible culprits which may make particular DVDs unplayable could be the brand of disc you use, the colour of the dye on it, or even the type of disc (some players prefer -R, others prefer +R, some don't like RW discs...)

So really in recommending a slower burning speed, we are just trying to lessen the odds of any or all of these factors making your disc unplayable or erratic.

ghoofie · Post by **ghoofie** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:05 am

Very good info from you all. Thanks.

Even though I have a few 16x discs, I'll be burning them at 4x also.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:07 am

I am currently using a spindle of 50 16x LG discs. For my videos, I still only burn them at 4x, though for data archiving, I use 16x!