I have a unique situation involving my Optorite DD0203 and media burning at 4x. When I tried to flash the drive to firmware 2.16 (from 2.09 as it was shipped in) within Win XP, it seemingly froze my computer after a couple of minutes. But after I turned the computer on and off, the drive appeared flashed. All the diagnosis programs recognize it as having the firmware 2.16. All the subsequent burns appear seemingly fine as well, with Memorex +R, Princo and Ritek -R all at 4x, and HP +RW at 2.4x and Memorex -RW at 2x. However, when I tried to burn on Verbatim +R discs at 4x, there always seemed to have some defects around the first 3-7 minutes of the videos with choppiness, pixilation, and many times interruption of the playback. When I looked at the back of the disc, there appeared to be a concentric ring gap off the light reflection very close to the inner center (3-5 mm in from the innermost dyed area). I started burning these discs at 2.4x, this gap disappeared and all the burns became perfect. I then examined all my other non-Verbatim disc burnt at 4x for this same defect, and found all of them had it, but not nearly as prominent as it was on the Verbatim ones. Someone told me, with CDs, this would be a drive problem. Has anyone heard of this before? What are my options? How safe is it to reflash the drive with the same firmware? Does anyone still have the 2.16 on the DOS format?
Hi geocean According to the Optorite support site - http://optorite.com/DD020xsupportlist.htm . The Verbatim +R 4x discs are not supported only the 2.4x. I own one of these drives and have found it to be picky on the media used for burning. Currently I use the Memorex 4x +R & Memorex 2.4x + RW media. I am still looking for a - R disc it would like that is cheaper than $2.00 Canadian per disc. I would update to the 2.30 firmware it has more media choices. That can be found at http://optorite.com/firmware.htm I hope this helps
Hi chthomson, I saw the medium list on Optorite's site; the Verbatim that's supported at 2.4x is listed as a 2.4x disc to begin with. So I am not quite sure whether they meant 4x discs. It may just not be included, nor are the Memorex discs, which both you and I have used with no problem. Although I do have to point out that the Memorex +R also have that ring gap in the dye if burnt at 4x, less noticeable, and presented me with playback problem in the same area (first 3 minutes or so) in only one of the many I burnt. Right now, I am suspecting that my firmware installation (2.16) might be less than ideal and if I switch to the newst one, it may solve the problem. I'd like to update to 2.30, but have been a little hesitant seeing all the posts recently about its rendering a bunch of drives useless. Did you flash it using DOS or Window?
Hi geocean How you flash is dependant on the OS that you are running. I run XP on a P4 machine so I flashed via windows. I suspect if running ME or 98 you need to flash with dos. I have updated the firmware 4 times now without a hitch. One needs to confirm the actual model number on top of the drive. From what I can read there are a couple of different versions of this drive floating around creating alot of misinformation on this drive. If you check the manufacturer code on the Memorex disc you would find this code RICOHJPNR01 -a Ricoh disc which is on their list. I tried a Longten -R (LONGTEN 001)bulk disc with no luck but it is on the list too. I am looking for samples of -R media that I can buy in bulk for less than $1.75 Canadian a disc that I can test and make work. For now I will stay with the Memorex. I compared the rings of a a disk burnt on the Optorite to my HP 100i and on a casual inspection they don't look a whole lot different. But neither disc has a problem playing
I got some sampler 4x DVD-R from Rima.com. So far both the Ritek and Princo worked fine. They should be around $1/piece. My system is a P4 running XP as well. I think I will try to flash it again with 2.16, this time via DOS. I am kind of betting on it that all my problems are from the initial flash. Hope the flash doesn't kill the drive.
i have the optorite 203. been using mainly the memorex +r have over 70 burns no problem. last few have had the ring thing going on only its at the far outer ring. the last few minutes of a show gets all screwed up,i have been watching the blanks first thinking this was a error in the disk but it was mark free before burning and a distinct line after. i thought about openning the drive (maybe something in it touching the disk?) but still under warrantee don't want to void it if it needs returned. using firmware 2.30 and all flashes went fine. xp pro , via windows not dos. if you find anything out about the rings repost i will also thanx
Hi actech, When you said "distinct line," did you mean a sharply demarcated line? Mine isn't; it's rather a fussy appearing ring (not even closed, since it spirals out for abour one circumference). All those discs have it in the inner portion (and that's where the video gets screwed up); however, when I looked at the discs more closely, there appeared to be some same rings in the middle portion as well (although much less obvious and not usually where the videos are screwed up). I emailed Optorite tech support and they are studying the situation. I will update the thread if I get anything meaningful.
Optorite tech support suggested 2.30 firmware upgrade. With much hesitance and prayers, I flashed my drive to 2.30 via DOS, thankfully with no problem as many people have reported having on this forum. However, burns at 4x still generate the same pattern of rings that are not present at 2.4x. Now I am totally out of tricks and thoughts. I am waiting for the Optorite people to come up with any ideas.
Does it really matter that much if some dvdr's burn at 2.4x & others at 4x, cos an extra 10\15mins on burn time is'nt going to kill anyone is it. I really dont know what all the fuss is about.
Well, apparently not everyone appreciates the value of time! Luckily, we have progressed from a 5.25 inch floppy to a DVD in slightly more than a decade thanks to those who do appreciate time and efficiency.
