I own a NEC DVD±RW ND-4551A burner, which I have used sucessfully in many burning situations. It burns DVDs at up to 16x, but I currently need to burn at 2,4x or 2x for specific reasons (not important). The problem is that when I insert a TDK DVD+R blank, it (any burning software) wont let me burn it below 4x, even tho it reads 1-16x on the TDK disks. I've tried a different brand (Sony) and it works fine at both 2x and 2,4x. Please don't say "well just use Sony". Because even though this will be my solution for the future, I am currently stuck with a certain amount of TDK blanks and would like to see them put to good use rather than being put in the trash. Thank you for your help!
If the firmware won't let you burn a certain brand of disk below a certain speed, you just can't do it unless you patch the firmware. Some dye formulations don't work so well at slow speeds, and the firmware is made to recognise that. It's a myth that slow speed burns are "better". These days the best results are obtained when the disk is burned at the certified speed. You could try Googling for Omnipatcher to see if your drive is covered, but you will be seriously on your own if you kill the drive...
