Just got my Optorite DD0203 from accupc.com

by **Esquire** on Fri Jun 13, 2003 3:59 pm

welcome, glad to meet you

ok Prime Peripherals cd-rs on go on hd-burn or audio cd's
sony cd-r's no go hd-burn

pny cd-rs good to go

tell them to lose b's recording software, stank

nero ok

by **noypi2000** on Fri Jun 13, 2003 4:29 pm

I posted this problem I had at anandtech hotdeals forum and will post it her in case someone had the same problem. Hope someone can help me out.

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I just received my drive yesterday and began burning some dvds today. I successfully burnt a compusa dvd-r made by lead data. I also burnt an iso image to an optodisc dvd-r but is unreadable in my dvd player. I got errors when running scandisc in cdspeed.
HD-Burn is a problem for me. I always get a 'invalid parameter in list' using Nero. It doesn't even want to start the burning process. Does anyone have the same error as mine? My drive is in a firewire enclosure. I am using Memorex cdrs. Maybe this is the problem since others have failed using this brand of cdr. I'll buy some of the brands that others had successfully burnt an HD-Burn disc.
I'll try and burn some more dvds tomorrow. I will try Verbatim datalifeplus dvd-r that I bought from Office Depot and the dvd+r that came with the drive.

by **Esquire** on Fri Jun 13, 2003 4:59 pm

my disc i got with the drive was bonk (bad)

that eror is a new one to me

i used maxell dvd+r fine

by **Esquire** on Fri Jun 13, 2003 6:13 pm

p.s. tell them it only has 4 mb of cache not 8 ok

thanks optorite

by **Conundrum** on Fri Jun 13, 2003 6:45 pm

I read that this Drive does not allow change of booktype, is that a hardware limitation or firmware?

Thank you.

by **Conundrum** on Sat Jun 14, 2003 1:49 am

Okay, here's the reply I got from Optorite's sales department, I email them yesterday, and got a reply today, so not too bad.

I asked if 8MB is a mistake on the website, and if booktype is hardware limitation(like I asked above).

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Hi,

There are 8MB of buffer on the hardware, but the current firmware is
using only 4MB. That is why software reports 4MB. Future firmware release will address this issue and take full advantage of 8MB.

I am not sure of your second question. I will pass your question to
our engineer and get back to you on that.

Best regards,
OptoRite Sales

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by **overfiend** on Sun Jun 15, 2003 2:30 am

confirmed the Fuji cdrs work w/ hdburn. Burned 3 in a row at max capacity. Even though 24x was selected, nero realtime mode shows 17.8x from start to end. no problem, i prefer quality over quantity anyday.

hehe, now if future firmwares will enable 'booktype' change to dvdrom, and enable full 8meg cache, and support more media for HDburn, then this will be the hottest dual burner in the market.

by **noypi2000** on Sun Jun 15, 2003 5:13 am

Update on the error that I am getting. It seems like this drive will not do HD-Burn if it is placed in a firewire enclosure. I installed the drive internally on another computer and HD-Burn was fine. I used Maxell cdr made by Ritek. Does anyone here have done HD-Burn and their drive is in a firewire or usb enclosure? Please let me know. Thanks.

by **UALOneKPlus** on Sun Jun 15, 2003 12:13 pm

Welcome to Optorite folks!!

I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the Optorite drive so far.

I burned some really old 12X mediocre Imation media at 20X, and some really really cheap unknown CD-R media at 48X, and they turned out okay!

Also, the Optorite DVD writer can do "CDSpeed Scandisk" check!!!! This was something that the Optorite 48X16X48X CDRW was not able to do.

Other than the 4MB buffer firmware issue, I'm very very pleased with this drive

by **UALOneKPlus** on Sun Jun 15, 2003 12:20 pm

New(?) review about "1GB CD-RW Drives"

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,110926,00.asp

Basically it says:

"1GB CD-RW Drives: Take a Pass

Capacity boosted by new technologies, but speed and compatibility issues abound.

Jon L. Jacobi
From the July 2003 issue of PC World magazine
Posted Thursday, June 05, 2003

Do you like the idea of squeezing a gigabyte of data or more onto cheap CD-R discs that usually hold only 700MB? I did, but my enthusiasm waned quickly after I tried drives incorporating a pair of new CD-recordable technologies developed by Plextor and Sanyo.

Plextor's GigaRec technology, found in the company's latest 52X/32X/52X Premium drive, increases the capacity of CD-Rs while also trying to maintain compatibility with other drives that can read CD-R discs.

GigaRec audio and data discs played fine in firmware-updated 40X and 48X Plextor CD-RW drives, but worked with only modest levels of success in non-Plextor drives and home CD/DVD players. Unfortunately, GigaRec disables buffer-underrun protection, too, and writes at a painfully slow 4X, or 30 minutes per disc.

Sanyo's HD-Burn is another CD-writing technology, but it debuts on the OptoRite DD0203 drive, which supports DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW. HD-Burn technology can pack data so tightly that only DVD or DVD/CD laser assemblies can read or write it--after a firmware upgrade. Its lack of compatibility with the vast installed base of CD equipment aside, my tests showed that HD-Burn doubled the capacity of normal 700MB CDs to 1.4GB and wrote far faster than the GigaRec drive did--24X on the OptoRite unit with buffer underrun protection."

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Also, Ateck.com now has the Optorite DVD writer for $193.00 plus $6 fedex saver shipping.

If you live in California this is a good deal because there is no sales tax.

http://www.ateck.com/viewItem.asp?idProduct=453055402

As always, do a check on www.resellerratings.com before you buy.

by **OptoRite** on Mon Jun 16, 2003 6:20 pm

We chose to bundle BHA B's Recorder Gold 5 because it was the only software that worked 100% (both DVD+ and - format) at the time we started shipping. Nero still has some bugs and yet to pass our tests in the lab, so there may still be some minor glitches when you use Nero.

There are 8MB of hardware buffer memory, but with the current firmware version, it is using 4MB. That is why all the software reported only 4MB instead of 8MB. In the future firmware release, it will be modified and take full advantage of the 8MB buffer.

by **Esquire** on Mon Jun 16, 2003 6:24 pm

ok, i got sony to burn cd audio & prime P to

but only pny can do hd-burn

b's is stank just for the record, thanks for chiming in

by **conehead433** on Mon Jun 16, 2003 10:14 pm

Well I had my first coaster using this drive, but it was entirely my fault and not the drive's. That was during an HD BURN and I was doing a little surfing. Have not had a failure on a DVD. I have been using Verbatim 4x +R, Ricoh discs according to DVDInfo and also burned one 2x Memorex (CMC) disc with no problems. I have had mixed results in regard to the DVD players that they would play on, but I don't in any way consider that to be a problem with the burner. I have been having good results with using Fuji Taiyo Yuden discs for HD BURN and was impressed when I was able to rip a DVD with this drive that I was unable to with my Lite-On 166. Thankfully Nero supports HD BURN as the included software, B's Gold is pretty much worthless. It didn't even have the HD BURN feature enabled and there was definitely nothing at their website about adding it's functionability. It also conflicts with any software on your system that uses ASPI. Hopefully others will report what media they were able to successfully use with this drive. I think I had seen where someone was reporting problems using Princo, but it would be nice if someone could report some success with some type of cheap media. All in all this is a great multi-format drive and with HD BURN makes it definitely the best buy in the multi-format category and probably for DVD butners period.

by **Esquire** on Mon Jun 16, 2003 10:17 pm

Thankfully Nero supports HD BURN as the included software, B's Gold is pretty much worthless. It didn't even have the HD BURN feature enabled and there was definitely nothing at their website about adding it's functionability. It also conflicts with any software on your system that uses ASPI.

amen

by **griffindoor** on Mon Jun 16, 2003 10:56 pm

Ok, I successfully hd-burned using Fujifilm 48x from bestbuy...Now, does anyone know if we can use MODE 2 in hd-burn? Currently, all I can do with Nero is burn a 1.4gb disc using MODE 1. It would be very nice to have an extra 200mb onto the cd.

by **griffindoor** on Tue Jun 17, 2003 6:04 pm

The following hd-burned successfully:

Maxell 100PK CDR Media 40X 700MB 80MIN

CDspeed info:

Manufacturer : Ritek
Code : 97m15s17f
Disc Type : CD-R
Usage : General
Recording Layer : Dye Type 7: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Recording Speed : n/a
Capacity : 79:59.70
703 MB
Additional Capacity : n/a
Overburn Capacity : not tested

by **overfiend** on Wed Jun 18, 2003 4:18 am

the maxell (riteks) are better than the fuji (taiyo yudens).

both selected at 24x max burnproof enabled and finalized:
fuji's 48x burned at realtime 17.8x
maxells 40x burned at realtime 23.8x

both nero file verified and cdspeed verified

good, i personally hate bestbuy fuji rebates (multi at times). I'll stock up w/ maxell now. Will get some riteks soon to see if it's on par w/ maxell since they're riteks....and they're a hell of a lot cheaper.

by **griffindoor** on Wed Jun 18, 2003 3:14 pm

Yes, hd-burn is nice to play with, especially since it is a new technology. I am hoping that Optorite comes out with new firmware that expands on the media you are able to use with hd-burn, in particular, cd-r's manufactured by CMC Magnetics. I have too many of those lying around and it doesn't do them justice by allowing only 700mb on them. Now, does quality of the cd-r matter for hd-burning to be successful? I mean, all you need is a firmware change for drive to take advantage of any level of quality cd-r? Typically, almost any brand of cd-r (utilizing only 700mb) could be done under Mode2, so I am just wondering.

by **Esquire** on Wed Jun 18, 2003 3:22 pm

hey optorite were on b's site is the hd-burn patch?

by **richwolf** on Wed Jun 18, 2003 4:29 pm

Anyone try Prime 4x DVD-R's? They're really cheap right now and I want to know if they'll work before I buy 100 of them! If no one has, I'll buy the sampler pack to test different brands. Thanks!

Techbargains.com posted the following:

Meritline coupons, Jun 18

NEW! High-Speed DVD-R 4X SamplerT for 4.7GB DVD-R General (10 Pack DVD-R in Jewel Case) for only $19.99 Comes with 5 different brands of DVD-R 4X for customers to test.

Prime 4.7GB 4X DVD-R Blank Media General Purpose DVDR Disc in Cake Box 100 Pack for $129.00, Please use Coupon code "af-pmdc10off" for $10.00 discount. emailit

by **conehead433** on Wed Jun 18, 2003 7:26 pm

Saw this on Ben's Bargain's. Apparently Meritline.com has DVDPro discs cheap and was wondering if they work OK in the Optorite. They are probably only 1x, but the price is right.

"DVDPro (Grade A) 4.7GB DVD-R Media 100 Pack = $83"

by **RDwarf** on Fri Jun 20, 2003 9:27 pm

You guys have a really active thread going, and I'll add my 2 cents. I've had my 0203 for a week and have had little success with it. The only software I have that will "see" it as a burner is it's B's Recorder Gold (Not real happy about that.). I've burned one CDRW,(crashed upon finishing, now won't read it, but DVDROM will.) one DVD-RW,(crashed upon finishing, now crashes trying to read it, DVDROM will read it.) one DVD-R, (Didn't crash, but won't read it now, and locks up upon trying to read and only way to open it is with the push button on it's face, DVDROM will read it).
E-mailed tech. support twice this week and have had no reply, from the sounds of this thread and the posts of thier tech. man, they are plenty busy. I think they may have rushed this product out a little too early.
I tried to go to the H-D burn website listed on the disc, and got -page not found, not a good sign. Thier firmware update didn't help, thou it is recent, at least it shows they know they have a problem and are trying to fix it.
Let's hope they can get things straighted out, the specs show a lot of promise.

by **conehead433** on Fri Jun 20, 2003 10:27 pm

RDwarf- First thing to do is uninstall B's Gold software. I am sorry, but it is worthless. Even companies like Sony include that garbage with their drives to save money instead of including decent software like Nero. After uninstalling B's Gold head over to Nero's website and download the latest version of Nero which is 5.5.10.35. Even if you don't have a previous version to upgrade from you can use it as a demo. Then try whatever burning you want. As a general rule it is best not to be surfing the net or running other applications when burning anything, and it is also a good idea no programs start automatically during the process either.
Hopefully you will have better results with Nero, but there could always be some problem besides the burner itself that is causing you to have bad results. I always like to optimize my computer's memory before beginning any burning project. This drive has been perfect for me after resolving an issue with HD BURN that was a simple matter of using a suitable media, in my case Fuji Taiyo Yuden's. Good luck and maybe you can report back with better results. So here's a link to Nero's website.
http://nero.com/en/index.html#root

by **griffindoor** on Sat Jun 21, 2003 11:56 pm

I've noticed that when viewing xvid/divx/etc. movie clips from a cd-r recorded by hd-burn, that it plays a lot more smoothly with less skipping or lagging than a disc burned with the usual 700mb. Has anyone noticed that?

by **overfiend** on Mon Jun 23, 2003 5:36 am

new firmware out 2.07

**edit**
flashed....both times now flashing this drive does weird things to my pc. Dunno about anyone else.

still 4 meg buffer
still no 'booktype' change

Just got my Optorite DD0203 from accupc.com

to answer your questions....

Prime 4x DVD-R Compatability?

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