Booktype DRU720 and a bit more.

[illan]

Hi,

I have an DVD player which can't read +R media and so I tried to booktype it to be DVD-ROM using Nero 6.

Regretly I got from nero error msg at the end in respect to the DVD-ROM option and I figure maybe the problem have to do with the DRU720 hardware itself.

Contacting Sony Support yield the following answer -
"If your dvd player will not read a DVD +R then you are going to have to use a different type of discs. The firmware will not change the discs to a
DVD-ROM disc. It will always stay as a +R disc."

However when reading the review of the DRU720 it mention :

"The DRU-720A also supports a feature called "bitsetting." While the drive
automatically sets the book type of DVD+R DL media to "DVD-ROM", you can manually do the same with single layer DVD+R and DVD+RW media using Nero, CD Speed or Lite-On's <http://www.liteonit.com.tw/ODD/Zip/BookType135.zip>BookType Utility. This feature comes in handy if you have an older DVD player that has problems playing recordable media. "

and so am a bit confued now as for wether I can or can;t booktype.

few more question which might help make me understand better are :

When you booktype a DVD does it change the format in which the information is written to the DVD as I would assume it does ? or does it just change a certain value in certain place in the DVD ?

Does booktype is Hardware or software or maybe need both meaning is software is enough or does a new firmware or what ever need also to be done so telling Nero to booktype by itself is not enough ?

The link in the review link to LiteOn booktype utility but since this is Sony does it mean LiteON and Sony are the same ?
Also this LitON Utility good for all Sony and in particuar the DRU720 ?

When using the LiteON utility does it modify the firmware or what ? and is there a risk the DRU will stop operating in a way that even if I try to put new firmware it will not work ?

Lastly How can I tell what firmware is now in use and can I backup it meaning is there a way to download ?

Thank's in advance

Illan

[dolphinius_rex]

Hi Illan,

Most Sony drives are manufactured by LiteON, and only the firmware is really modified by Sony at all, and with respect to bitsetting, I don't believe Sony has ever disabled it in the past. So using the LiteON booktype setting utility should work for you.

By the way, have you actually tried reading a DVD+R without booktype setting in your DVD Player? Have you tried playing a DVD-R?

[illan]

dolphinius_rex Hi,

I started by trying to just use Nero and wihtout any special thing burn a -R -RW and +R and try to read tham in my DVD Player (Panasonic).

the -R and I'm happy to add also the -RW both run perfectly ok even though the -R in max speed (Nero default) had a very bad picture (not stable and jump).

the +R the DVD reader keep try to figure what was the DVD inside and never finished just keep doing "noises" of trying to read the DVD and of course no picture or anything else.

Looking on Nero option I notice that just before the burn button on the bottom left there was option to change it to DVD-ROM and this what I did but the result was the same, meaning the DVD reader couldn;t read the Media.

Not sure if it matter but all the Media I used are Sony Brand where the +R is made in Japan while the -R and -RW I belive in Taiwan.

[code65536]

I don't believe Sony has ever disabled it in the past.

That is incorrect. Sony killed bitsetting support in VY05 for the DRU-700A. They got some bad press about it (made its way to C|Net), and so it was re-instated in future versions.

The bitsetting implementations in Sony firmwares do vary somewhat from their LiteOn counterparts. In the LiteOn 73S/93S firmwares, for example, the book type setting can be saved in the drive's non-volatile memory and be preserved after reboot. This is not possible with the 720A/800A firmwares. Also, the Sony firmwares (710A/720A/800A; 700A does not seem to be affected) have a "feature" that will clear the booktype setting every time the tray is ejected (although this "feature" can be "fixed" with a patch in OmniPatcher2). Sony has never been a fan of bitsetting. They can't remove it completely because of popular support for bitsetting, but they certainly have requested that LiteOn make bitsetting on the Sony firmwares as crippled as possible, and their tech support will not officially support it or acknowledge it.

It's really best to just use a LiteOn firmware (like JS0B) and use OmniPatcher to change the name to Sony so that you still have the same drive ID.

[dodecahedron]

hello, illan, and welcome to CDRLabs (a fellow Israeli ?)

check out this FAQ:
Bitsetting / Booktype
basically booktype is just a bit of info somewhere on the DVD. saying what kind of disc it is. a DVD+R should be DVD+R but a booktype utility can change it to DVD-ROM (lying, if you like).
you need a drive/firmware capable of doing this. not all drives can.
this is for DVD+R/W only (not DVD-R)

you can use Nero to find out what firmware the drive has in it now. click the Choose a Recorder button (or Control-R).
or Nero InfoTool from the Nero Toolkit in the Start -> Programs -> Nero.

you can usually download firmware for drives from manufacturer's websites. on some drives you can actually back up the firmware that is in your own drive. i think Lite-On/Sony drives can do this (= there are utilities for these drives that can do this).

[burninfool]

I will add that you can change the booktype of a DVD+RW after you have burned data on it,with DVD+R you must set booktype before burning.

[Ian]

That is incorrect. Sony killed bitsetting support in VY05 for the DRU-700A. They got some bad press about it (made its way to C|Net), and so it was re-instated in future versions.

I think I remember that. What exactly was the deal with it though?

[code65536]

I think I remember that. What exactly was the deal with it though?

I don't know exactly. The most popular theory goes like this: Some dept. at Sony (Sony Pictures? the PS2 group?) asked for the removal of bitsetting. So bitsetting, which was present in VY03, completely disappeared in VY05 (the code wasn't broken; it was removed all together) even though all the LiteOn firmwares being released at the time didn't lose bitsetting support. An article showed up at C|Net not long after talking about the new DL media and how compatibility-wise, it's useless without bitsetting and how the first-to-market 700A did not support bitsetting which was bad. And then after a while, VY06 showed up with bitsetting re-instated. There's no hard evidence to prove that it was intentional and there's no hard evidence to prove that it was reinstated because of popularity or press, but the evidence does suggest it, and it's fun to make theories.

The eject-reset of bitsetting introduced in BYX2 and newer might not be intentional either, but seeing as how this "feature" is not present in any LiteOn firmware or any of the other rebadged firmwares and how this "feature" has persisted all the way thru to KY03 seems to suggest that it's probably not accidental.

Sony...

[Ian]

I have a feeling that was Lite-On's doing. They've done the same thing to some of Memorex's firmware.

[code65536]

Ah, I didn't know that. I haven't used the Memorex firmwares. My understanding is that LiteOn customizes the firmware according to the requirements of the customer. LiteOn HP firmwares, for example, (either HP-branded for retail, or LiteOn-branded drives sold as a part of a HP computer system) have bitsetting always turned on (you can't turn it off) because HP requested it. Maybe Memorex asked for it? *shrug*

[Ian]

Maybe Memorex asked for it? *shrug*

No, they wanted it on and Lite-On had turned it off. After I pointed this out to them, they smacked Lite-On and got it fixed.

[code65536]

LOL. Okay, thanks for clearing that up.

[dolphinius_rex]

LOL. Okay, thanks for clearing that up.

Nice to see Memorex has enough influence on LiteON for that.... still, this whole thing is pretty confusing. Maybe LiteON wants to have an advantage with their own drives over their OEM customers?