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Super-Fast Dual-Layer DVD Writing

Posted by timothy on from the plain-white-wrapper dept.

An anonymous reader writes "If you've been putting off buying a dual layer DVD burner because they're so slow, check this out. The latest NEC drive burns dual-layer disks at 4x, writing over 8gb in 25 minutes. It also burns-single layer disks at 16x on both formats."

27 of 189 comments (clear)

  1. Super FASTER Dual-Layer DVD Writing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Toshiba just introduced the SD-R5372 with 5x dual layer writing.

    What I want to know is when more of these drives will start coming out with Serial ATA interfaces. Yes, they don't need the speed, but it would be nice to buy new drives in the format they're migrating to for other reasons.

    1. Re:Super FASTER Dual-Layer DVD Writing by pHatidic · · Score: 3, Funny

      Clearly you didn't see September 20th cover of Time Magazine.

    2. Re:Super FASTER Dual-Layer DVD Writing by mtnharo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Nope that's the real URL. Looks like Toshiba's web developer decided the best way to access everything on their web database using encoded parameters. Ugly, but an interesting tactic to force people to enter through the main portal of the site.

    3. Re:Super FASTER Dual-Layer DVD Writing by jnana · · Score: 5, Informative

      Better still in firefox: highlight the link, then right-click and select "view selection source". It will just show the source for what you've highlighted, so you don't have to search through a massive document.

  2. It's the media, not the drive. by explorer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    No, the drives have been cheap for awhile. It's the expensive media that makes it pointless right now. Last I checked, Ritek DVD+R dual-layer blanks were going for $9.50/each. Thanks but no thanks.

    1. Re:It's the media, not the drive. by AsnFkr · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Word on the street is after the holidays the prices of media will become reasonable. God I hope so. Cheap media is all I want for xmas.

      --


      adventure-today.com
    2. Re:It's the media, not the drive. by xtink · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree I have a big problem pay more for a 10 pacl of media then i paid for the drive

      --
      I've never noticed it before but my thinking cap does sort of resemble a hockey helmet
    3. Re:It's the media, not the drive. by ZorinLynx · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't really mind the taxes so much, because it legitimizes piracy in my eyes.

      Afterall, I'm giving the MPAA money whenever I buy a blank.. So I should get something in return, right?

      Netflix + DVD Decryptor here I come!

      Unfortunately the people who NEVER pirate movies end up getting screwed with no recourse other than to start pirating...

      Doesn't the MPAA realize this? }:)

      -Z

  3. When will the format wars end? by chrispyman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Do the "do every format" DVD writers like this just mean that there will be no single DVD format, or will one format eventually win out? Then again, with DVD writers becoming almost, if not as cheap as CD burners, is there really any point in waiting to get a DVD burner?

  4. All very nice but... by MartinG · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I wonder when the dual layer media is going to reach a sensible price.

    With the recent constant reductions in price the writers will be cheaper than the discs before long.

    --
    -- MartinG To mail me: echo kewyjlcxyzvjfxbqwh | tr bcefhjklqvwxyz .@adgimnoprstu
  5. Pioneer DVR-108 does the same by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The pioneer DVR-108 has a 4x DL and a 16x for both single layer formats. I bought one for $10 less than the 107 which doesn't do DL.

  6. I've got one by Buelldozer · · Score: 5, Informative

    This drive rocks! It's quiet, fast, and I've flashed the firmware to make it both region free AND faster than factory.

    Newegg for $77, what could be better?

    1. Re:I've got one by sqrt(2) · · Score: 3, Informative

      Anyone else interested in making your drive region free should go here

      --
      If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
  7. Quality of write? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Has anyone done any tests on the quality of the drive's writes? I have a Lite-On 8x DVD+/-R drive that everyone raves about, combined with 8x Taiyo Yuden media. I burn them at 4x, and I *still* have to let Nero verify the write every time, with 1 out of 8 or so being bad burns. I'm more concerned about my burned DVDs being readable in a few years than I am about speed. Maybe I just got a bad drive?

    1. Re:Quality of write? by markus_baertschi · · Score: 5, Informative

      The extensive DVD-writer & media tests in CT I've been reading show that almost all DVD-writers have quality problems when writing faster than 2x. Media quality is a big problem and you have to find which media your writer happens to like.

      I think this is an even greater problem then the DVD+/- controversy. Most writers write both these days, you know hat you get before you buy. But many media/writer combinations have quality problems and here you don't know if you'll get a usable result in advance.

      Markus

    2. Re:Quality of write? by darth_silliarse · · Score: 3, Informative

      Using tools such as DVD Decrypter which can verify the disc after burning will help there, I've been using it with much success for the past 9 months...

      --
      I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born - Ronald Reagan
  8. You are in violation of the DMCA!!! by leereyno · · Score: 3, Funny

    Report to the nearest disintegration facility for processing in accordance with WTO resolution 57 subsection C.

    --
    Muslim community leaders warn of backlash from tomorrow morning's terrorist attack.
  9. Sony to announce experimental 8 layer 200 GB ... by pentium69 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Here is an extract from this story http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/10540/

    Whilst we wait for dual layer media to tumble in price, we can satisfy our craving by contemplating this news release from PC World. According to this article, Sony has cast caution to the wind and developed an 8 layer 200 gigabyte Blu-ray disc. Although they have not decided whether to commercialize such a product, they are saying a 4 layer 100 gigabyte version is expected to hit the consumer market within the next 2 years.

    Do you think movies will be distributed on this media? DVDShrink compression ratio will be like 1% !!!

    --
    Mystika
  10. Re:I remember when CDRs were $10 each.. by Lord+Kano · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Back when I had a 1x writer. It was a deal and a half back then. Give the market some time, they'll come down to $1 a disc eventually..

    I got my first CD Burner in 1997. I paid $299 for an external SCSI from JVC when internals were going for the same price. The discs were outrageously expensive. I would need to do a good 15-20 minutes of prep work before I burned a disc just to make sure I wouldn't have a buffer underrun. They were WAY too expensive to waste.

    LK

    --
    "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  11. Prices for blank dual layers by StateOfTheUnion · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I heard a rumor that part of the reason blank Dual Layer DVD's are so expensive (besides the fact that the technology is new and that margins are probably high at the top of the performance curve) is that production yields of dual layer blank platters are currently very low . . . Has anyone heard anything similar? Or was this a groundless rumor?

    1. Re:Prices for blank dual layers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative
      Well according to this article: http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/129

      According to Philips the production of the media should not be much more complicated than the production of current dual layer DVD-ROM discs. Mrs. Harpe of Philips Consumer Electronics says: "It's too early to be specific about prices. However, we can say that the production process of dual layer DVD+R is similar to DVD9 production.


      So sounds groundless to me.
  12. Technology wanted: FMD-ROM 140GB by Wills · · Score: 4, Funny
    I am still waiting very patiently for the 140GB FMD-ROM (Fluorescent Multilayer Disk Read-Only Memory), "slated to be ready before the end of the year" (2000) , manufactured by that truly stellar company Constellation 3D Inc. with laboratories in Israel and Russia.

    As it happens, the most cost-effective high-capacity storage technology remains the hard-drive based on magnetic media.

    --
    Scroogle
  13. Write both layers at once? by Thai-Pan · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I can't help but wonder if it's possible to write to both layers at once.

  14. When will read/write optical media be enough? by kbahey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One of the big problems now are the high cost of decent tape backup systems. The drives are expensive, and the media is expensive, but it is about the only choice out there.

    Backup needs to be as large as, or close to, the size of disks. Backup media have to be cheap enough so multiple copies of the data can be made, and some of it stored offsite.

    With disks growing far more than any other media, tape is barely catching up, and optical media (Rewritable CDs, and rewritable DVDs) is way behind.

    What we need is to have a reasonably prices read/write medium as large as existing disks, so one can keep a daily backup (5 work days or 7 week days), and an offsite monthly backup.

    So, we need a standard format Rewritable DVD media that is 40 or 80 GB, and the technology to grow quickly to keep up with 120 and 250 GB disks.

    (Before you say USB 2.0 external hard drives, these are good and all, but you need many of those to have a daily backup and some of them offsite too).

    --
    2bits.com, Inc: Drupal, WordPress, and LAMP performance tuning.
  15. Re:Anyone use this in a G5? by hoytt · · Score: 5, Informative

    Toast 6.07 (a free update from Toast 6) added support for DVD-DL. Too bad I got a LG drive in my G5 and not a Pioneer 108.

  16. Great Product by Arjuna01 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I bought this DVD writer for my Dad for his birthday for $85.00 shipped from Newegg.com. Writes highly reliably at DVD-R 8X (Taiyo Yuden media). I bought mine a week later in a different color also from Newegg.com for $81.00 shipped. Newegg.com has great deals on OEM versions of this drive, and they ship Federal Express Saver which is cheap and fast. I highyl recommend this drive along with Taiyo Yuden media from rima.com. I have not seen 16X DVD-R media yet, nor have I found anyplace that sells dual-layer media for under like $14.00/disc. I'll not be doing dual-layer writes until the price comes to about $1.00/disc. We'll see it probably soon though.

    --
    "Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps." ~ Emo Phillips
  17. Give me cheap media over speed by __aamkky7574 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The problem with dual-layer burners at the moment isn't really the speed but the price of the blank media. I got an NEC 2510a for the ridiculously cheap price of 80, which burns dual-layer at 2.4x - more than acceptable in my book. However, while I can get good-quality single layer blanks for around 60c each, dual-layer blanks are around 6. So I'll be holding off on those for a while, I think....

    P.