Drive locked at 6x write for 16x DVD-R

[dbminter]

My Pioneer is locked at 6x write cap for 16x DVD-R's.  The log says the write speed set is 16x:

 

 

I 20:31:23 Write Speed Successfully Set! - Effective: 22,160 KB/s (16x)
 

 

but the drive caps the write at 6x.  I tried another disc from the same spindle in my LG and it wrote at a higher speed beyond 6x.

 

 

My Pioneer is approaching 2 years old.  Time to replace it? 

 

 

I'd use my LG to write but LG's suck.  When I did the above write test in the LG, I couldn't Verify it in that drive.  The drive never got to actually loading the disc.  The drive light stayed on all the time.  I had to power off the drive and manually run a Verify.

 

 

What is the most current model of Pioneer Blu-Ray burner I should be looking for?  Is it the BDR-209DBK?  Seems the BDR-2209 is the latest XL one.

[dbminter]

Not that it will help but here's the rest of the burn log.

 

 

I 21:36:17 Operation Started!
I 21:36:17 Source File Sectors: 2,005,504 (MODE1/2048)
I 21:36:17 Source File Size: 4,107,272,192 bytes
I 21:36:17 Source File File System(s): ISO9660, UDF (1.02)
I 21:36:17 Destination Device: [0:0:0] PIONEER BD-RW   BDR-209M 1.31 (S:) (SATA)
I 21:36:17 Destination Media Type: DVD-R (Disc ID: MCC 03RG20)
I 21:36:17 Destination Media Supported Write Speeds: 4x, 6x, 8x, 12x, 16x
I 21:36:17 Destination Media Sectors: 2,298,496
I 21:36:17 Write Mode: DVD
I 21:36:17 Write Type: DAO
I 21:36:17 Write Speed: MAX
I 21:36:17 Link Size: Auto
I 21:36:17 Lock Volume: Yes
I 21:36:17 Test Mode: No
I 21:36:18 OPC: No
I 21:36:18 BURN-Proof: Enabled
I 21:36:18 Write Speed Successfully Set! - Effective: 22,160 KB/s (16x)
I 21:36:18 Advanced Settings - Optimal Writing Speed: No
I 21:36:18 Filling Buffer... (40 MiB)
I 21:36:18 Writing LeadIn...
I 21:36:42 Writing Session 1 of 1... (1 Track, LBA: 0 - 2005503)
I 21:36:42 Writing Track 1 of 1... (MODE1/2048, LBA: 0 - 2005503)
I 21:45:09 Synchronising Cache...
I 21:45:32 Exporting Graph Data...
I 21:45:32 Export Successfully Completed!
I 21:45:32 Operation Successfully Completed! - Duration: 00:09:14
I 21:45:32 Average Write Rate: 7,911 KiB/s (5.8x) - Maximum Write Rate: 8,182 KiB/s (6.0x)

[dbminter]

Hm, it's definitely the drive.  Now I'm randomly getting 8x DVD+RW's capped at 6x.  This disc just burned at 8x and then the next time it's capped at 6x, even though the log says effective write speed set at 8x.

[dbminter]

It's the fault of the MCC DVD-R's! 

 

 

I got a replacement Pioneer burner.  The box says 2209 but apparently the 209 is what is actually in the box, WHICH WAS THE SAME GODDAMN DRIVE I ALREADY HAD!    So, naturally, it didn't fix my problem.  Which means it's Verbatim's fault.  They switched the manufacturing process for these DVD-R's.  Where they had been writing at 16x before now these same discs only write at 6x.  Which means it's the fault of the media.

[Cynthia]

Where are those Verbatims made?

[dbminter]

Could be Taiwan.  I can't remember if this cake stack is the one that came with these discs or not.  Or if I just reuse the old stack.  I think it's reused as the current style has changed and doesn't stack as well as the old ones.

 

 

According to the image shown on the Amazon.com page http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A0CV9S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00 there is no listing on the label as to where these discs were made.  So, it leads me to believe even more my cake stack is an old one I've reused.

[dbminter]

Well, I've gotten through more than half of the cake stack and now I'm getting above 6x write rates again! 

 

 

I 21:12:40 Average Write Rate: 14,022 KiB/s (10.4x) - Maximum Write Rate: 20,820 KiB/s (15.4x)
 

 

So, it seems about half of the discs in this stack were capped at 6x.  I wonder why. 

[dbminter]

Actually, turns out even though I just got another copy of the Pioneer I already own, I really needed to swap out the LG Blu-Ray burner I was using as my primary reader.  LG's are pretty bad readers.  As far as writing goes, the Ritek 8x DVD+RW's I was using would die after less than 20 writes if written just once in the LG.  The Pioneer gets more writes out of it.  Lastly, my LG as a reader wasn't doing as well as it should be and was probably need of a replacement.  LG's need replacing after like a year and it's been like a year.  I was inserting discs for reading and the light would sometimes just stay on and not do anything.  Then there would be times I inserted a disc and the drive would lock up various accesses in the system, requiring a restart because the eject button and functions weren't working.

 

 

Plus, the Pioneer always was the faster reader versus my LG.