Question Regarding Nero CD Speed Disc Info

[taxman150]

I'm just curious if the Recording Speed field on the Disc Info screen is supposed to exhibit the maximum recording speed of whatever medium I have loaded into the selected drive. I thought this did this when I first loaded Nero, but every time I go into the screen now I just get an "n/a" in this field. I've heard that others have experienced the same thing, but I'm wondering if its supposed to work this way. I'm using Nero 5.5.10 and CD Speed 1.02

I know the maximum write speed for the media that is loaded should be displayed in Nero Burning Rom anyway (and this does work correctly), I am just curious about this field on CD Speed.

Thanks,

[KCK]

I have just upgraded to Nero 5.5.10.7b, which comes with Nero CD Speed 1.02.

As in your case, CD Speed: Disc Info shows Recording Speed: n/a. Yet another twist is Capacity: 159:59.74 / 1406 MB for a TDK d-view 700MB 48x disc!

This is for a Lite-On LTR48125W VS08 on my XP Pro SP1 box.

[taxman150]

I have just upgraded to Nero 5.5.10.7b, which comes with Nero CD Speed 1.02.

As in your case, CD Speed: Disc Info shows Recording Speed: n/a.

Since my original posting, I've learned that the recording speed field only displays recording speed data for blank cd-rw's and I think dvd-rw's or +rw's.

[KCK]

You migh have answered your own question to share your newly-gained information with other users.

On the other hand, I have just got Recording Speed: n/a for three blank CD-RW disc from different manufacturers. Maybe this is due to my VS08 firmware, but did you test this feature with your burner?

[taxman150]

You migh have answered your own question to share your newly-gained information with other users.

My apologies, but I just found this out and hadn't had time to post the info yet. Plus, I ended up finding it in the Nero CD Speed manual that can be downloaded off the CDSpeed2000 website so I was kicking myself for posting a question here before exhausting all other resources.

Here is how it is shown in the manual. I don't have any blank cd-rw's at the moment so I haven't tested it yet myself. I believe I got the DVD-RW, DVD+RW comment from the descriptions to one of the updates to CD Speed (since the manual is for 1.00), but I don't recall right now:

Manufacturer
Company name of the disc manufacturer. This is not the brand name.

Code
Each company has a different code.

Disc Type
CD-R or CD-RW.

Usage
General or Audio. Only Audio CD-R(W)'s can be used in stand-alone cd recorders.

Recording Layer
Type of recording layer.

Recording Speed
Minimum and maximum speed at which the disc can be written. This information is only available with CD-RW's.

Capacity
Blank capacity in MSF (Minutes:Seconds.Frames) and MB (MegaByte).

Additional Capacity
This field shows whether the disc has a capacity higher than 80 minutes.
This information is not available with all high capacity discs.

Overburn Capacity
Shows the maximum available capacity. This information is retrieved from the database of the Overburning Test.

[dodecahedron]

Since my original posting, I've learned that the recording speed field only displays recording speed data for blank cd-rw's and I think dvd-rw's or +rw's.

the manual, as you quoted yourself, doesn't say anything about blank media, just says "This information is only available with CD-RW's."
right now a CDRW disc is sitting in my drive. it is a Verbatim 4x CDRW.
CDSpeed Disc Info still says "Recording Speed: n/a"
note: this is not a new disc, but one that has been used and fully erased (not that it should make any difference, but erased with PlexTools)
i'm using a Plextor PX-W4012A drive, latest 1.04 firmware.

so CDSpeed Disc Info is still not properly working.

strangely, Nero InfoTool, Disc tab, says "Medium Info: Mitsubishi, 4 X CD-RW, 79:59.74" !!!

[taxman150]

Since my original posting, I've learned that the recording speed field only displays recording speed data for blank cd-rw's and I think dvd-rw's or +rw's.

the manual, as you quoted yourself, doesn't say anything about blank media, just says "This information is only available with CD-RW's."
right now a CDRW disc is sitting in my drive. it is a Verbatim 4x CDRW.
CDSpeed Disc Info still says "Recording Speed: n/a"
note: this is not a new disc, but one that has been used and fully erased (not that it should make any difference, but erased with PlexTools)
i'm using a Plextor PX-W4012A drive, latest 1.04 firmware.

so CDSpeed Disc Info is still not properly working.

strangely, Nero InfoTool, Disc tab, says "Medium Info: Mitsubishi, 4 X CD-RW, 79:59.74" !!!

I agree with you that CD Speed is not clear on whether the recording speed is for blank or burned cd-rw's. I made an assumption that it was for blank media, but this may not be correct. I would also think that this function should be able to work for cd-r's because if you go to the CD Speed website and look at the November 21, 2002 announcement for the new CD Speed 1.02 it indicates that the Disc Info function is now able to display the recording speed of both DVD-+R's and DVD-+RW's and displays a screen shot of the Disc Info screen with the recording speed displayed for both a DVD-+R and a DVD-+RW. I will need to try this with my Pioneer 104 to see if it works. I'd put the screen shot in that they show on the website, but I can't do this.

So if it can display the recording speed of DVD-+R's (if this function actually works), why not CD-R's?

I have also heard from others who say that they've never seen this field populated with any sort of media, so it doesn't surprise me that it doesn't work for you with a CD-RW. I've given up on using this as a tool and instead use the Smartburn utility for my Lite-On that cdfitz was kind enough to notify me about and Plextools for my Plextor.

Thanks,

[dodecahedron]

I'd put the screen shot in that they show on the website, but I can't do this.

why not ???





i too think it should work with all media, including CR-R and CD-RW.
especially considering that Nero InfoTool, from the same author, seems to be working in this respect!

[KCK]

I get "Recording Speed: n/a" for InCD formatted discs as well, so in my case this feature fails for both blank and non-blank CD-RW discs.

But for CD-RW discs, CD Speed: Disc Info shows correct Capacity (e.g., 79:59.74 for 80min/700MB discs, both blank and InCD ones), whereas as I wrote before, it reports "doubled" capacity for blank CD-Rs in my case. Could you test the Capacity feature on your boxes?

[dodecahedron]

checked all the media i've got:

CDRW

Verbatim DataLifePlus CD-RW, 2x-4x, blank (fully erased)

CDR Identifier:
ATIP: 97m 34s 22f
Disc Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Chemicals Corp.
Reflective layer: Phase change
Media type: CD-ReWritable
Recording Speeds: min. unknown - max. 4X
nominal Capacity: 702.83MB (79m 59s 74f / LBA: 359849)

CDSpeed Disc Info:
Manufacturer : Mitsubishi
Code : 97m34s22f
Disc Type : CD-RW
Usage : General
Recording Layer : Phase Change
Recording Speed : n/a
Capacity : 79:59.74
703 MB
Additional Capacity : n/a
Overburn Capacity : not tested



Verbatim DataLifePlus High-Speed CD-RW, 4x-10x, blank (fully erased)

CDR Identifier:
ATIP: 97m 34s 23f
Disc Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Chemicals Corp.
Reflective layer: Phase change
Media type: CD-ReWritable
Recording Speeds: min. 4X - max. 8X
nominal Capacity: 656.40MB (74m 43s 00f / LBA: 336075)

CDSpeed Disc Info:
Manufacturer : Mitsubishi
Code : 97m34s23f
Disc Type : HighSpeed CD-RW
Usage : General
Recording Layer : Phase Change
Recording Speed : n/a
Capacity : 74:43.00
656 MB
Additional Capacity : n/a
Overburn Capacity : not tested



Verbatim DataLifePlus High-Speed CD-RW, 4x-10x, blank (new)

identical to the bland (fully erased) dics


CDR

Verbatim DataLifePlus CD-R, 1x-24x super AZO, blank (new)
Verbatim Colour Disc DataLifePlus CD-R, 1x-16x super AZO, blank (new)
Sony CD-R, 1x-24x, blank (new)
Kodak CD-R Ultima 80, 1x-24x, blank (new)
TDK Reflex ULTRA CD-R74, 1x-24x, blank (new)
Phillips Silver CD-R80, 1x-16x, blank (new)
Plextor CD-R

(for brevity i omitted the detailed info)
all of them have the capacity reported correctly by CDSpeed Disc Info, and:
Recording Speed : n/a

[KCK]

dodecahedron:

Thanks a lot for your extensive tests. Your CD-RW results confirm the standing hypothesis: Recording Speed is always "n/a", but Capacity is reported correctly.

As for your CD-R results, I take it that Recording Speed is always "n/a".

Spurned by your results, I have tested quite a lot of CD-Rs. For all of them, I get "Recording Speed: n/a" and correct Capacity, with a single exception mentioned before. Namely, for TDK d-view 700MB 48x discs

http://www.tdk-europe.com/products/uk/r ... D-R_d-view

(both blank and recorded ones), Nero CD Speed: Disc Info reports

Manufacturer : TDK
Code : 97m15s05f
Disc Type : CD-R
Usage : General
Recording Layer : Dye Type 5: Short Strategy (Phthalocyanine)
Recording Speed : n/a
Capacity : 159:59.74
1406 MB
Additional Capacity : n/a
Overburn Capacity : not tested

whereas SmartBurn 2.1 says

This Disc is designed for CD-RW/COMBO Drive Only.
Disc Type, Material = CD-R, Phthalocyanine
ATIP Lead-in = 97m 15s 05f
Norminal Capacity = 702.83MB (79m 59s 74f)
Disc Manufacturer maybe = TDK M-dye
SMART-BURN Speed Limit = 48X

Since identical SmartBurn results are reported for a different TDK brand (Speed-X instead of d-view) in

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic. ... 1631#51631

I am wondering whether these TDK discs have incorrect ATIPs (in which case neither CD Speed nor my LTR48125W need be fully responsible for the "doubled" Capacity).

[dodecahedron]

off topic:
i've never understood why the SmartBurn utility many times (always?) says "This Disc is designed for CD-RW/COMBO Drive Only".
what's up with that?
is it true? that some media is designed for a combo drive only? doesn't make sense.
what does this mean?

[KCK]

Yes, SmartBurn always tells me "This Disc is designed for CD-RW/COMBO Drive Only". I guess this includes standard CD-RW drives, as well as combo drives (CD-RW + DVD-ROM). Maybe the message changes for audio discs (those used in stand-alone recorders); I can't check because I have never bought such discs.

[ErikDeppe]

There are two known issues with the Disc Info function of Nero CD Speed.
The capacity may be reported incorrectly with TDK discs and the recording speed is not shown with CD-RW discs.
These issues will be fixed in the next release

The reason why Nero CD Speed doesn't show the recording speed with CD-R discs is that most recorders always report the maximum speed.

[KCK]

If only we could get more such answers from other software developers!

Thank you very much for joining our forum. Nero CD Speed and InfoTool are indispensable for me and many other users. I just hope that our requests for clarifications and/or improvements won't scare you away!