dbminter

I've got an idea. When you're in Write mode about to write to one of the DVD-R you were using, there's a pane of information on the right hand side of the application. Somewhere in there, there should be something that says Disc ID or Manufacturer ID. Copy and paste that to a reply. Or, better yet, just copy and paste all of that pane of info. I've got a feeling you're using CMC media, which the drive isn't liking. CMC media is the worst out there, responsible for over 50% of the problems seen on this board.

Some more tests I had a chance to perform: Disc image read of a bootable DVD written to Memorex Ritek 2x BD-RE: Passed. Bootable DVD image written to Memorex Ritek 2x BD-RE: Passed. Booting of bootable DVD image written to Memorex Ritek 2x BD-RE: Passed.

I am a tad bit concerned about the read speed of Memorex Ritek 2x BD-RE. I read in a bootable DVD image written to a BD-RE that was about 800 MB, but took 1 minute to read in at only 2.8x. I 16:17:51 Source Media Type: BD-RE (Disc ID: RITEK-BW1-001) I 16:17:51 Source Media Size: 801,112,064 bytes I 16:19:06 Average Read Rate: 11,176 KiB/s (2.5x) - Maximum Read Rate: 12,163 KiB/s (2.8x) Of course, this was a very small data set. A larger set might read faster.

More test results: Playback test of inkjet printable MKM Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO 8x DVD+R DL passed. CD Audio disc read to image test passed on the following media: Memorex CD-R Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO inkjet printable CD-R Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO branded surface CD-R Memorex 24x Ultra High Speed CD-RW

Had a few extra minutes to run some other tests. They weren't really necessary, but they were quick, so I ran them. CD Audio disc read to image test passed on the following media: Memorex CD-R Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO inkjet printable CD-R Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO branded surface CD-R Memorex 24x Ultra High Speed CD-RW

Playback test of inkjet printable MKM Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO 8x DVD+R DL passed.

WOW! Is ASUS UTTERLY clueless! Here's the last e-mail I sent them. Quote: Well, I've got news for you. Someone needs to get up to date! I just got one of these units from Amazon.com and ImgBurn lists the firmware as 3.11! Here's the log entry for the device on look up search: I 15:31:17 -> Drive 5 - Info: ASUS BW-16D1HT 3.11 (D:) You may have meant there is no firmware update package for 3.11 and 3.10 was the last firmware update package released into the wild by ASUS, but ASUS HAS developed a 3.11 firmware that appears only to be on models that ship directly from ASUS factories. Unquote Here's ASUS reply to that: "Thats good news let me know if the issue is resolved."

Playback test of branded 8x Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO DVD+R DL passed.

Playback test of branded 8x Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO DVD+R DL passed.

There is a 3.11 firmware available for this drive, however it is only available on units that ship directly from ASUS factories. There is no firmware update package for 3.11 and there won't be. ASUS informed me this drive has reached the end of its product support life. Which means it won't receive any more firmware updates. So, it will probably be unavailable at some point in the near future. Here's the precise quote from ASUS: "This unit is end of life, which means there will be no future updates for this device bios or firmware." Here are my test results under 3.11 firmware, in no particular order: MKM 8x DVD+R DL: Firmware 3.11 fixed the MKM Verify failure at the Layer change that made 3.10 a deal killer! Both branded and inkjet discs tested. A note on the write rate. The max was 8.1x but the average was 6.3x. This ASUS unit writes slightly less efficiently to 8x DVD+R DL. The LG WH16NS60 writes them first at 4x for 2 and a half minutes, then at 8x for most of the rest of the time, then 4x for the last 2 minutes. The ASUS writes at 4x for the first 2 and a half minutes, then at 6x for another 2 and a half minutes, then at 8x for most of the rest of the time, then drops to 6x for some of the end time, before dropping to 4x for the last 2 minutes. The drive does appear to have one problem. It ejects discs too forcibly. Meaning if the drive is on its side, this is a big issue because the discs fall out onto the floor! 2 out of 3 burns resulted in the disc on the floor, either before Verify or after it completed. Which means you must place this unit flat, so it can't be used in a PC case where the drives are placed on their side or if you're using a USB enclosure, you cannot put the drive on its side. It MUST be flat. Both types of 8x DVD+RW from Ritek, RICOH and the Imation ones, still are good in 3.11. 3.11 doesn't destroy the discs anymore. I also performed formatting tests on these 2 discs. Formats, writes, and Verifies passed for both discs. As did writing a 2nd time to each disc after the first formats and writes. Data write to BD-R passed. Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO inkjet 16x MCC DVD-R. Write test passed. Memorex Ritek 2x Data BD-RE write test passed. Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO 16x branded MC DVD-R write test passed. CD data read and image copy test passed. Audio CD disc read test passed. Memorex branded CD-R Audio CD write test passed. Inkjet Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO Audio CD CD-R write test passed. Branded Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO Audio CD CD-R write test passed. Memorex Mitsubishi 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW Audio CD write test passed. So, I'm fairly confident this drive is FINALLY read to become my new go to BD drive after 3.11 firmware was released. I still need to perform the playback tests on DVD Video and CD Audio discs to be sure, though. However, I don't generally encounter problems with those tests, but they have resulted in bad playback before. And there are a few other read tests I haven't tried yet, but they're so uncommon I don't know when I'll even come across the possibility of testing those.

I forgot a series of tests. They normally only apply to Pioneer drives, but I always perform them, just in case the Pioneer issues pop up on other drives. Unformatted Ritek and Ricoh Imation 8x DVD+RW write tests passed. Immediate 2nd writes to just formatted Ritek and Ricoh Imation 8x DVD+RW write tests passed.

Memorex Mitsubishi 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW Audio CD write test passed. So, I'm fairly confident this drive is FINALLY read to become my new go to BD drive after 3.11 firmware was released. I still need to perform the above mentioned playback tests to be sure, though. And there are a few other read tests I haven't tried yet, but they're so uncommon I don't know when I'll even come across the possibility of testing those. I'll update my initial review of the drive to reflect these new tests results. And once all of the playback tests are done, I'll post those results here and in the drive review I made.

Branded Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO Audio CD CD-R write test passed. Onto Memorex Mitsubishi 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW Audio CD write test. If this test passes, it will be the last test I should need to perform on this drive before declaring it ready for prime time. All that will be left will be the various DVD Video playback tests and Audio CD playback tests.

Inkjet Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO Audio CD CD-R write test passed. Onto branded Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO Audio CD CD-R write test.

Memorex branded CD-R Audio CD write test passed. Onto inkjet Verbatim DataLife Plus/AZO Audio CD CD-R write test.

Audio CD disc read test passed. Onto branded CD-R Audio CD write test.

Okay, CD data read and image copy test passed. Onto Audio CD disc read test.

16x branded MC DVD-R write test passed. Onto CD data read and image copy test.

Data BD-RE write test passed. Onto branded 16x MCC DVD-R write test.

Well, I forgot about the BD-RE and went to inkjet 16x MCC DVD-R. Write test passed. Just need to perform playback test. NOW onto BD-RE test.

Data write to BD-R passed. I don't have any Blu-Ray Video to test with. On to BD-RE data write test.

The inkjet MKM 8x DVD+R DL write test passed. Just got to perform a read test on it a few days, when I can get around to watching it.

I also need to perform playback tests on DVD Video for 8x DVD+R DL and the 2 8x DVD+RW. Then, after the CD-R and CD-RW write tests, I need to perform playback tests on CD Audio written to them. The 2 8x DVD+R DL that were written will be playback tested next after the current disc I am watching is done, which will take about 2 hours. Then, I can watch those as I specifically chose discs I haven't watched yet so I can playback test those.

I started the MKM inkjet test. The ASUS writes slightly less efficiently to 8x DVD+R DL. The LG WH16NS60 writes them first at 4x for 2 and a half minutes, then at 8x for most of the rest of the time, the 4x for the last 2 minutes. The ASUS writes at 4x for the first 2 and a half minutes, then at 6x for another 2 and a half minutes, then at 8x for most of the rest of the time, then drops to 6x for some of the end time, before dropping to 4x for the last 2 minutes.

Okay, both types of 8x DVD+RW from Ritek, RICOH and the Imation ones, still are good in 3.11. 3.11 doesn't destroy the discs anymore. Onto 2x Memorex RITEK BD-RE and inkjet 8x MKM DVD+R DL.