Re: [ARSCLIST] CD writing speed

[Mike Richter <mrichter@xxxxxxx>]

David Seubert wrote:
> We've burned a lot of different brands of media on our systems at 
> different speeds in an unscientific test and run them through a Clover 
> to test for errors. Almost without exception burning at 12x resulted in 
> the fewest errors. Others I've talked to have anecdotally confirmed 
> this, but this is just one system, one drive, etc.

I hope I am not misusing my privilege to participate, but let me confirm 
the result David reports for my own system and for many others that are 
reported to me.

I find on my Plextor (CD) and Pioneer (DVD / CD) drives, 12x is optimal 
for writing CDs of all sorts. 16x is near enough for data and sometimes 
used for speed and convenience. That has proved to be true on all 
quality media. Writing at 8x is acceptable but distinctly inferior; 4x 
and below have grossly unacceptable error rates.

I have read reports that the Plexwriter 8x drives are considered the 
best made for home use. I have one and agree that it is excellent when 
fed the right media, but today's blanks are a bit happier at 12x, the 
Plexwriter I use routinely (the 1210s) offers buffer underrun protection 
not on the 8x drives, and is in practice a better choice for me.

One anecdote may be of interest on the matter of rated speed. When Kodak 
stopped producing media, I purchased quantities of their blanks in three 
forms. As I recall they were: spindles rated 20x, thin cases rated 24x, 
conventional cases rated 32x. Nothing I could do with any of those discs 
distinguished it from any other: the ATIPs were identical, none having a 
maximum speed set, and error rates matched both near optimum and at 
lower speeds. It appears that the claim of maximum speed was part of the 
justification for different pricing and not in any way related to the 
production of the disc.

Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/