hi all, i have searched every post about this here and this is the reason for my post as didnt find anything related to my issues. 1st of all if i was to update my firmware what benefits does it give me to my drive etc and would it maybe be the cause of the problem below. 2nd, reason i ask this is when i have been burning dvd's to disc when i playback in my dvd player i get pixelated sections. perfect playback on my pc tho. i always burn at the lowest speed of 4 but the problem is still there, i have used nero latest version, ashampoo studio latest version but it seems to happen on both programs. i have also tried cheap discs and the more expensive ones but it makes no difference. also note i usually close all running background tasks that i do not need and never use the pc/internet while converting - burning to try and stop errors from happening.. i have tried converting to different formats using winavi but problem persists. all your support is more than welcome as always if it help i am running win xp home 1.6gig ram all programs are latest versions regards mick
here is an explanation about firmware: Firmware is programming that is inserted into a programmable memory area of your drive, thus becoming a permanent part of a drive. This 'software' is called firmware and can be updated with a firmware flasher. A firmware upgrade can add new functionality to your drive. Also bug fixes and improvements are done by firmware upgrades. It also adds more media codes and write strategies to the drive to improve burning capabilities and disk recognition. Doing a firmware upgrade should only improve your drive .... not hinder the drive or hurt the drive, unless you did something wrong with the installation of the firmware or tried to upgrade to the wrong firmware for that drive! and next you should know what's good media and what's crappy media: the good stuff = MIJ (Made In Japan) disks! Taiyo Yuden is top dog here! You won't get pixelations, skipping, or freezing from these babies! Verbatim is the next best thing to Taiyo Yuden.... stay away from CMC MAGS (eq. Memosux!) why are these disks better than other disks....... they are made better with higher quality standards than other manufactured disks and most burner manufacturers have good write strategies for these disks in their firmware for their burners! They are more compatible to most players the crappy stuff= Made in India, some Taiwans, China, Hong Kong and other ones that are not MIJs or Verbatims (stay away from the Verbatims that are made in India!). here is a media guide to help you understand what's good and what's not so good. This guide is not the say all of Media but a good indication of what's out there and what's really good. I don't agree with their listing on TDK! but most of everything else is more than adequate: http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm now about your playback of your burned disks, rules to live by: 1. burning speeds: burn at 4x so there will be less writing errors (rule of thumb is to burn at half the rated speed of the disk--8X disk burn at 4x). 2. read manual for your stand alone player and use the disks that will play in your player. If your player is less than 2 yrs old then it should play the + or - R disks! I said SHOULD that's why you read the manual. 3. try booktyping your drive to DVd-ROM so it will make your +R disks more compatible to players. Read this: http://k-probe.com/bitsetting-booktype-faq.php 4. make sure that there are no finger prints or scratches on your disk that make it hard for the player to read the disk! 5. use good quality media (rule of thumb....buy the ones that are Made in Japan.) Verbatim is a top notch disk and is the only exception to this rule....some Verbatims are made in Taiwan and they are top notch! 6. and don't burn too close to the outer edge of the disk ..... which will make the disk unreadable! but using good media you will be able to burn close to the edge better than lesser quality media. Just in case I only burn no closer than 4400MB, so if you can set your programs to that, all the better! follow these little tips of the trade and you'll have better success! good luck. also read this: http://www.cdfreaks.com/reviews/Why-DVDRW-is-superior-to-DVD-RW/ why the +R media is better than the -R media welcome to afterdawn!
