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I decided to compile all of my test results into one recap post. Further tests will be added here as they are performed. 1.) LG WH16NS60 is NOT a good burner for writing BD-R DL's! It's an utter failure. On the first two discs right off the bat when attempting to write: I 13:13:52 Writing LeadIn... W 13:14:02 Failed to Write Sectors 0 - 31 - Reason: Write Error W 13:14:02 Retrying (1 of 20)... I 13:14:07 Writing LeadIn... This resulted in a complete and utter Verify failure right at the start, like I predicted the moment I saw the above. I normally perform 3 tests in a row before declaring an error, but this one is too obvious. I 13:11:00 Verifying Layer 0... (LBA: 0 - 12219391) E 13:12:09 Miscompare at LBA: 16, Offset: 1 E 13:12:09 Device: 0x00 (Empty Sector!) E 13:12:09 Image File: 0x42 E 13:12:09 Total Errors in Sector: 6 E 13:12:09 Failed to Verify Sectors! E 13:12:12 Operation Failed! - Duration: 00:01:09 I 13:12:12 Average Verify Rate: 0 KiB/s (0.0x) - Maximum Verify Rate: 0 KiB/s (0.0x) Also, the drive does not properly Synchronize Cache when completing writing these discs. I 13:09:33 Synchronising Cache... W 13:09:45 Potential 'WaitImmediateIO' Deferred Error - (0/3) - Session Fixation Error W 13:09:45 Synchronise Cache Failed! - Reason: Session Fixation Error W 13:09:45 Retrying (1 of 3)... I 13:09:46 Closing Track... It's not like I stressed the drive! My first test was a just under 26 GB test. 2.) ASUS passed the Writing LeadIn test that NS60 failed miserably on. The ASUS also seems to write at 8x max to 6x max rated Verbatim DataLife Plus BD-R DL discs. Verifies appear to be pretty slow in the ASUS on these BD-R DL. They're starting at under 4.0x. Verify passed. So the ASUS BW-16D1HT appears to write BD-R DL correctly. 3.) I tried a 49.2 GB test in the ASUS and it failed to Verify shortly after the layer change. I 15:01:59 Verifying Layer 1... (LBA: 12219392 - 24019327) W 15:02:31 Failed to Read Sectors 12323360 - 12323391 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:02:49 Failed to Read Sectors 12333248 - 12333279 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:03:18 Failed to Read Sectors 12346688 - 12346719 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:03:33 Failed to Read Sectors 12349440 - 12349471 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:03:48 Failed to Read Sectors 12352032 - 12352063 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:03:56 Failed to Read Sectors 12354784 - 12354815 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:04:09 Failed to Read Sectors 12357216 - 12357247 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:04:19 Failed to Read Sectors 12361088 - 12361119 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:04:26 Failed to Read Sector 12361088 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error So, the ASUS BW-16D1HT apparently doesn't write properly to BD-R DL either. 4.) The NS60 is definitely NOT capable of writing BD-R DL's consistently. I got 1 successful burn out of about 10 in the NS60 and that was only a test between 25 GB and 26 GB. All other tests failed. The NS60 in a VanTec Gen 1 enclosure, a different NS60 in a VanTec Gen 2 enclosure, and that same NS60 in an OWC enclosure all failed either Write or Verify stages at different points for different reasons. That last test even failed to complete writing Layer 0! The Gen 2 ALMOST worked, crapping out by disconnecting the drive for semaphore timeout error at 96% into the Verify! The only combination that worked consistently thus far is the ASUS in an OWC enclosure. All tests I've written in that passed. 5.) After 3 successful BD-R DL burns in the ASUS in an OWC enclosure, including 2 nearly full BD-R's, I got a failure writing just 29 GB! Failure to Verify at the Layer change, of course. 6.) I burned 3 more BD-R DL's in the ASUS in the OWC enclosure without issue. 7.) ANOTHER BD-R DL failure! This time failure to start Verifying Layer 1. 8.) Tried changing from 8x to 6x. Got 1 good burn at 6x then a failure Writing at the layer change. BD-R DL is too unreliable a technology. It is not ready for prime time. 9.) The NS60 is a verifiable bad drive for writing BD-R DL. 1 BD-R in the package tried in my NS60 with the good red laser, the live one I use, in an OWC enclosure. It has the same issue as the VanTec Gen 1 enclosure. 1 Write Retry at Writing LeadIn, which results in immediately crapping out at the start of the Verify. The NS60 also doesn't support 1x for writing BD-R DL. 2x is the lowest writing speed allowed. 10.) A friend of mine has the same ASUS in a VanTec Gen 1 enclosure. She's burned 3 BD-R DL's at 2x without incident. I've yet to try my same ASUS in the VanTec Gen 1 enclosure at 2x. 2x may be the sweet spot. It definitely isn't in the NS60 in the OWC enclosure. 2x in the VanTec Gen 2 enclosure MIGHT work as I ALMOST got 1 successful burn with the NS60 in the Gen 2. 11.) Well, it seems 2x is a no go as well. A friend of mine using an ASUS in a VanTec Gen 1 enclosure got 4 good burns in a row at 2x and then a failure. So, this means my 2x tests will also not bear fruit because one of the circumstances I will test is ASUS BD-R DL's in a VanTec Gen 1 enclosure at 2x. I know the NS60 won't write properly in the VanTec Gen 1 and OWC enclosures. The closest I got to success with the NS60 was 1 burn in the VanTec Gen 2 enclosure which crapped out at 96% into the Verify after no errors thrown back by ImgBurn during the Write process. It failed for a semaphore timeout error. The drive lost communication with ImgBurn, which is generally indicative of: 1.) an incompatibility between the USB bridge in the enclosure and the USB controller on the motherboard 2.) a read error, which would be indicative of a Write error. What I need to test around the 15th are: 1.) ASUS burns at 2x in the VanTec Gen 1 enclosure 2.) ASUS burns at 2x in the VanTec Gen 2 enclosure 3.) ASUS burns at 2x in the OWC enclosure 4.) 3 more tests in the NS60 in the VanTec Gen 2 enclosure. The closest I got to any success in the NS60 was on the VanTec Gen 2 which had no errors in burns but failed the Verify process at 96% when a semaphore timeout caused the drive to lose communication with ImgBurn. This is generally indicative of a read failure, which is generally indicative of a write failure.

Well, it seems 2x is a no go as well. A friend of mine using an ASUS in a VanTec Gen 1 enclosure got 4 good burns in a row at 2x and then a failure. So, this means my 2x tests will also not bear fruit because one of the circumstances I will test is ASUS BD-R DL's in a VanTec Gen 1 enclosure at 2x. I know the NS60 won't write properly in the VanTec Gen 1 and OWC enclosures. The closest I got to success with the NS60 was 1 burn in the VanTec Gen 2 enclosure which crapped out at 96% into the Verify after no errors thrown back by ImgBurn during the Write process. It failed for a semaphore timeout error. The drive lost communication with ImgBurn, which is generally indicative of: 1.) an incompatibility between the USB bridge in the enclosure and the USB controller on the motherboard 2.) a read error, which would be indicative of a Write error.

Actually, I WANT these BD-R DL's to work. I've got many many more BD-50's that I need to archive. I want a consistent pattern that works for my own benefit. These "tests" were actually for my own purposes. I was testing at the same time I was trying to make my own archives. I definitely wouldn't waste $95 just for tests for other people.

You have already done far too much, don't waste any more BD-R's

A friend of mine has the same ASUS in a VanTec Gen 1 enclosure. She's burned 3 BD-R DL's at 2x without incident. I've yet to try my same ASUS in the VanTec Gen 1 enclosure at 2x. 2x may be the sweet spot. It definitely isn't in the NS60 in the OWC enclosure. 2x in the VanTec Gen 2 enclosure MIGHT work as I ALMOST got 1 successful burn with the NS60 in the Gen 2. Now, my tests may not necessarily be as valid as they seem. There was SOME issue with my ASUS which was why I "retired" it. I forget what it was. I THINK it was 8x DVD+RW that weren't being written correctly, but it could have been BD-R's that weren't, which was why I retired it. IF it was the BD-R's, then that means the blue laser might be the one that is bad and not the red laser like I thought. IF that's the case, it could explain my random failure behavior in my ASUS. Around June 13th, I'll be able to order another batch of BD-R DL's, which means 25 further tests can be performed. If I get consistent failures at this point, I'll get 1 more batch IF I can get one of the ASUS USB models of BW-16 to test with. IF I get consistent failures at 2x with that, then I'll know the technology just isn't ready for prime time. At which point I'll just compress all of my future BD-50's to BD-25's. BD-R SL has proven itself to be consistently reliable technology.

@dbminter Thank you so much for your extensive testing, very helpful

Actually, that makes sense if I had though it through. DVD-RAM is designed to be dynamic.

DVD-RAM is an exception. It is a sectored disk. Actually i just managed to format it as FAT32 with DVDForm. But still i dont know how to format it with other filesystem. Maybe it would be easier on linux because it should just appear as a block device.

I don't think it's possible to format any optical disc to FAT32/exFAT. I believe the limitation of the hardware format means you have to use ISO/UDF. FAT32/exFAT are generally partition type formats and there are no partitions on optical discs.

Hello guys im back with another question. This time I have a Verbatim DVD-RAM non-cartridge 4.7GB disk. I would like to format it to FAT32/exFAT. However in windows format window there is only UDF selectable. ImgBurn says this about the disk: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH22NS50 TN03 (SATA) Current Profile: DVD-RAM Disc Information: Status: Others State of Last Session: Complete Erasable: Yes Sessions: 1 Sectors: 2 295 072 Size: 4 700 307 456 bytes Time: 510:02:72 (MM:SS:FF) MID: Matsushita Electric Industrial CO.,LTD. M01J3002 Supported Write Speeds: 3x TOC Information: Session 1... (LBA: 0) -> Track 01 (Mode 1, LBA: 0 - 2295071) -> LeadOut (LBA: 2295072) Physical Format Information (Last Recorded): Disc ID: Matsushita Electric Industrial CO.,LTD. M01J3002 Book Type: DVD-RAM Part Version: 6 Disc Size: 120 mm Maximum Read Rate: Not Specified Number of Layers: 1 Track Path: Parallel Track Path (PTP) Linear Density: 0.280 to 0.291 um/bit Track Density: 0.615 um/track First Physical Sector of Data Area: 200 704 Last Physical Sector of Data Area: 2 514 783 Last Physical Sector in Layer 0: 0 Format Capacities: DT: 0x02 - NB: 2295072 (0x00230520) - TDP: 2048 FT: 0x00 - NB: 2236704 (0x00222120) - TDP: 2048 FT: 0x00 - NB: 2295072 (0x00230520) - TDP: 2048 FT: 0x01 - NB: 2285344 (0x0022DF20) - TDP: 2048 FT: 0x01 - NB: 2275616 (0x0022B920) - TDP: 2048 FT: 0x01 - NB: 2265888 (0x00229320) - TDP: 2048 FT: 0x01 - NB: 2256160 (0x00226D20) - TDP: 2048 FT: 0x01 - NB: 2246432 (0x00224720) - TDP: 2048 FT: 0x01 - NB: 2236704 (0x00222120) - TDP: 2048 FT: 0x01 - NB: 2226976 (0x0021FB20) - TDP: 2048 FT: 0x01 - NB: 2217248 (0x0021D520) - TDP: 2048 Performance (Write Speed): Descriptor 1... -> B0: 0x02; B1: 0x00; B2: 0x00; B3: 0x00 -> EL: 2295071 (0x0023051F) -> RS: 6 925 KB/s (5x) - WS: 4 155 KB/s (3x) Is the limitation maybe my disk drive? Im not sure. Thanks.

The NS60 is a verifiable bad drive for writing BD-R DL. I discovered I had 1 BD-R left in the package and tried my NS60 with the good red laser, the live one I use, in an OWC enclosure. It has the same issue as the VanTec Gen 1 enclosure. 1 Write Retry at Writing LeadIn, which results in immediately crapping out at the start of the Verify. The NS60 also doesn't support 1x for writing BD-R DL. 2x is the lowest writing speed allowed.

IF I had to make a recommendation of what to use with BD-R DL, I've only got the one option: the ASUS in an OWC enclosure. DEFINITELY NOT the NS60 in ANY VanTec Gen 1 or 2 or OWC enclosures. And expect about every 4th or 5th burn to fail.

Okay, 4x is not a good solution either. The last disc I had to test with I burned at 4x. Failed during the Write of Layer 0, before it even reached the end of the layer. I will get ONE more order of BD-R DL to test with at 2.4x, 2x, and 1x, but I can see the writing on the wall. BD-R DL are just not ready for prime time. NO drive is good for writing BD-R DL.

Out of a 25 disc cake stack of Verbatim DataLife Plus BD-R DL's in 3 different burners and 2 different enclosures combinations that I've burned thus far: 11 failures 12 successes So, only marginally better than 50% success rate. Tried changing from 8x to 6x. Got 1 good burn at 6x then a failure Writing at the layer change. Going to try 4x, but I can see where this is going. BD-R DL is too unreliable a technology. It is not ready for prime time. 2 4x burns and Verifies were okay. Going to see if 4x might be a sweet spot, if I get no more errors.

ANOTHER BD-R DL failure! This time failure to start Verifying Layer 1.

I burned 3 more BD-R DL's in the ASUS in the OWC enclosure without issue. The ASUS drive is known to have random failures for no readily discernible reason. They happen rarely, but do happen; I've seen this. That failure above may be one of those.

Hm, interesting. After 3 successful BD-R DL burns in the ASUS in an OWC enclosure, including 2 nearly full BD-R's, I got a failure writing just 29 GB! Failure to Verify at the Layer change, of course. So, who damn well knows if ANY drive is capable of properly writing to BD-R DL's!?

Okay, the NS60 is definitely NOT capable of writing BD-R DL's consistently. I got 1 successful burn out of about 10 in the NS60 and that was only a test between 25 GB and 26 GB. All other tests failed. The NS60 in a VanTec Gen 1 enclosure, a different NS60 in a VanTec Gen 2 enclosure, and that same NS60 in an OWC enclosure all failed either Write or Verify stages at different points for different reasons. That last test even failed to complete writing Layer 0! The Gen 2 ALMOST worked, crapping out by disconnecting the drive for semaphore timeout error at 96% into the Verify! The only combination that worked consistently thus far is the ASUS in an OWC enclosure. All tests I've written in that passed.

Hold up! These failure MAY be an enclosure issue. I was getting relatively the same, but different sources, of errors at roughly the same parts each time. So, just to rule out an enclosure issue, which I had one of these same enclosures die on me a few weeks ago, I swapped out the ASUS into an OWC enclosure from the VanTec Gen 1 enclosure it was in, and reran the 49.2 GB test. It did NOT fail in the Write portion and got past the Layer change in Verify. Verify has NOT failed thus far at the same points Writes were failing at before and there's just about 1 minute left to go on the Verify. So, it could be: 1.) another VanTec Gen 1 enclosure that has died on me 2.) an incompatibility between NS60's and the ASUS and BD-R DL's and the VanTec Gen 1 enclosure. It is not unheard of for incompatibilities. For instance, you cannot update the firmware of NS60's in the VanTec Gen 2 enclosures. Gen 1 and OWC enclosures work, but not Gen 2. Firmware update packages do not detect the NS60 is connect when in a VanTec Gen 2 enclosure. I have a VanTec Gen 2 enclosure with another NS60 with a bad red laser in it I can test. And I can test my good NS60 with the good red laser in the OWC enclousre as well as the VanTec Gen 2 enclosure. And, the Write and Verify of BD-R DL in the ASUS in the OWC enclosure PASSED! So, let me gather some more tests together and report back.

I tried a 49.2 GB test and it failed to Verify shortly after the layer change. I 15:01:59 Verifying Layer 1... (LBA: 12219392 - 24019327) W 15:02:31 Failed to Read Sectors 12323360 - 12323391 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:02:49 Failed to Read Sectors 12333248 - 12333279 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:03:18 Failed to Read Sectors 12346688 - 12346719 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:03:33 Failed to Read Sectors 12349440 - 12349471 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:03:48 Failed to Read Sectors 12352032 - 12352063 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:03:56 Failed to Read Sectors 12354784 - 12354815 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:04:09 Failed to Read Sectors 12357216 - 12357247 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:04:19 Failed to Read Sectors 12361088 - 12361119 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error W 15:04:26 Failed to Read Sector 12361088 - Reason: L-EC Uncorrectable Error It apparently only passed before because less than 1 GB of data was written to Layer 1 in my less than 26 GB test. In this case, lots of data was written to Layer 1. In the first case, it was more than 25 GB but less than 26. So, the ASUS BW-16D1HT apparently doesn't write properly to BD-R DL either. Someone I know got 1 success writing them in this ASUS and I got 1 success on less than 26 GB. But, for any sustained size of BD-R DL data, it doesn't work properly. Now, this isn't a 100% totally reliable test. My ASUS DOES have a problem with its red laser, so who's to say it doesn't have a problem with its blue one as well? I'll try the 49.2 GB test 2 more times, but 3 repeated results in a verifiable failure.

Verify passed. So the ASUS BW-16D1HT appears to write BD-R DL correctly. I still need to run a contents comparison test, though, to be 99.99% certain. Plus, this was only a just under 26 GB test. I still need to write nearly more full BD-50 contents to see if those are okay near the outer edge of the disc.

Verifies appear to be pretty slow in the ASUS on these BD-R DL. They're starting at under 4.0x.

The ASUS passed the Writing LeadIn test that NS60 failed miserably on. The ASUS also seems to write at 8x max to 6x max rated Verbatim DataLife Plus BD-R DL discs. I have a good feeling on the ASUS thus far for this test. I just need to make sure it passes the layer change write, the Synchronizing Cache step, and then fully Verifying both layers. After that, a test of the disc's contents.

I can tell you the LG WH16NS60 is NOT a good burner for writing BD-R DL's! It's an utter failure. On the first two discs right off the bat when attempting to write: I 13:13:52 Writing LeadIn... W 13:14:02 Failed to Write Sectors 0 - 31 - Reason: Write Error W 13:14:02 Retrying (1 of 20)... I 13:14:07 Writing LeadIn... This resulted in a complete and utter Verify failure right at the start, like I predicted the moment I saw the above. I normally perform 3 tests in a row before declaring an error, but this one is too obvious. I 13:11:00 Verifying Layer 0... (LBA: 0 - 12219391) E 13:12:09 Miscompare at LBA: 16, Offset: 1 E 13:12:09 Device: 0x00 (Empty Sector!) E 13:12:09 Image File: 0x42 E 13:12:09 Total Errors in Sector: 6 E 13:12:09 Failed to Verify Sectors! E 13:12:12 Operation Failed! - Duration: 00:01:09 I 13:12:12 Average Verify Rate: 0 KiB/s (0.0x) - Maximum Verify Rate: 0 KiB/s (0.0x) Also, the drive does not properly Synchronize Cache when completing writing these discs. I 13:09:33 Synchronising Cache... W 13:09:45 Potential 'WaitImmediateIO' Deferred Error - (0/3) - Session Fixation Error W 13:09:45 Synchronise Cache Failed! - Reason: Session Fixation Error W 13:09:45 Retrying (1 of 3)... I 13:09:46 Closing Track... So, I'm going to try the ASUS BW-16D1HT and see if I have any better luck. And, it's not like I stressed the drive! My first test was a just under 26 GB test.