NEC dvd/rw 3500AG burning speed

[jryocum]

I can't get a DVD to burn any faster than 4x. I am using a NEC DVD/RW ND-3500AG 16x drive. I have preferences set for max burn speed. Any ideas? Running Video Studio plus 10, and have the SP1 update patch installed. This is an internal optical drive.

[BrianCee]

What you haven't told us is what blank DVD's you are using - maximum burn speed is set by the blank disc - have you checked the write speed of your blanks ??

[Black Lab]

It has been the experience of many of this forum's members that you should actually burn your DVDs at the slowest possible speed (most use 4x) to ensure a good quality burn.

[Ken Berry]

First, what brand and type (+/- R or RW) of disc are you using? Many will not be rated to burn at speeds as high as 16x or the burner has difficulty with them. I Have five DVD burners (Sony, Pioneer, LG, Asus and Lite-On) and each of the five seems to show different ranges of burning speeds, including maximum speeds for the same brand, type and speed of disc. Two of them, for instance, show certain 16x blanks only have a maximum rated speed of 12x, yet I know those burners are themselves rated to play at up to 16x.

If its an RW disc, it is unlikely to burn at higher than 4x anyway. In fact, though, I confess I don't know if there are any RW discs out there that will burn at higher speeds. Maybe there are. I only have 1x, 2x and 4x RW.

Finally, it is no bad thing to burn at 4x. Coincidentally, that is the speed which many of us old timers on this Board recommend regardless of the speed rating of the disc you are using. I have 16x blanks but still burn *video* DVDs using only 4x (for archive DVDs I will use a higher speed). This is because many DVD players out there are finicky about home made DVDs. Discs burned at high speed will sometimes skip or not play at all in some stand-alone players, particularly higher end, expensive brand name players. Burning at a lower speed means that the burning laser has a longer time to burn a firmer signal into the disc, and thus improve its chance of being able to be read by a wider variety of DVD players.

Paradoxically, with higher speed rated discs these days, there are some burners which no longer show they can burn at speeds as low as 4x. If that is the case, choose its lowest rated speed, e.g. 6x.

[jryocum]

Thank all of you who replied so quickly. I am using multiple manufacturers DVD +R rated at 1 - 8X. From your comments it appears I should probably stay at 4X for my final projects. But would like to figure out how to burn at 8X or higher. I am on the way to buy more discs , any suggested manufacturers?

[Black Lab]

I have used Maxell in the past and now use Verbatim printables, both of which I've had little to no problems with.

[Ken Berry]

I personally use a lot of Ritek full face printables, also with no problems on any of my burners.

[jryocum]

Thanks again for the information. I have been a little afraid to buy printable DVD's. But will try them.

[Ken Berry]

I have burned quite literally hundreds of printable DVDs. IMHO it's the only way to go if you want to have professional-looking and multi-coloured labels (and of course have a printer capable of printing to disc!)

[Black Lab]

Numerous times there have been discussions regarding sticky labels vs. printable disks. I always used labels without problem, but decided to upgrade to the printables for a more pizzaz. Ken is right, it is the way to go for a professional look. (BTW, I use an Epson Photo R800 for the printing.)