Is there a good burner for double layer BD-Rs (50 GB)?

[dury]

[Sorry if I posted here, I wasn't allowed to create a new topic in the "Drives" section]

 

Hello everyone.

 

Could someone kindly recommend a burner that is particularly good at writing bd-r double layer (50 GB)?

 

Thank you very much.

[dbminter]

I would not recommend the LG WH16NS40.  I never burned any BD-R DL in it but BD-RE DL would fail 90% of the time.  The NS60 was slightly better at BD-RE DL, but it wasn't anywhere near acceptable.  Others also posted problems with DL media in the NS40 and 60.

 

I've an ASUS, but I've never burned any BD-RE DL in it, let alone any BD-R DL.  In fact, I've never burned any BD-R DL at all, so I have no experience with them.

 

However, it was like a decade ago I last had an NS40, so it's possible firmware updates might have fixed the problems from back then.

[dury]

11 hours ago, dbminter said:

I would not recommend the LG WH16NS40.  I never burned any BD-R DL in it but BD-RE DL would fail 90% of the time.  The NS60 was slightly better at BD-RE DL, but it wasn't anywhere near acceptable.  Others also posted problems with DL media in the NS40 and 60.

 

I've an ASUS, but I've never burned any BD-RE DL in it, let alone any BD-R DL.  In fact, I've never burned any BD-R DL at all, so I have no experience with them.

Thank you, then maybe I will try with some pioneer model (I don't see any other valid alternatives)  

[dbminter]

As far as I know, there are only 2 big names still in the Blu-Ray optical drive production business: ASUS and LG.  Just last week, Pioneer announced they were ceasing production of Blu-Ray optical drives.

 

I've avoided Pioneers for over a decade now.  While at one time they made the best DVD and BD drives out there, beginning over 10 years ago, Pioneer borked the firmware for 8x DVD+RW so they don't write correctly anymore.  Despite my REPEATED e-mails to tech support telling them what they needed to do, they IGNORED it until the 2213.  Now, the 2213 fixed that problem, BUT introduced NEW ones with the last 2213 firmware!  8x DVD+RW writes at 6x max.  8x DVD+R DL only writes at 2.4x max.

[dury]

12 hours ago, dbminter said:

I would not recommend the LG WH16NS40.  I never burned any BD-R DL in it but BD-RE DL would fail 90% of the time.  The NS60 was slightly better at BD-RE DL, but it wasn't anywhere near acceptable.  Others also posted problems with DL media in the NS40 and 60.

Arrgh, getting worse and worse, I'm ruined  

[ultramegaburningenthiseist]

On 5/13/2025 at 8:41 AM, dury said:

Arrgh, getting worse and worse, I'm ruined  

your best bet is to buy a used external pioneer off ebay for now if you want good dual layer burning quality.

[michaelreed]

This is a tough spot to be in right now honestly. The BD-R DL burning market has gotten really narrow. With Pioneer exiting optical drive production, you're essentially left with ASUS and LG and as dlsminter pointed out, neither has a perfect track record with double layer media specifically.
From experience, the ASUS BW-16D1HT is probably your best bet right now for BD-R DL 50GB burns. It handles dual layer media more consistently than the LG WH16NS40, especially with quality media like Verbatim or Panasonic BD-R DL discs. Media quality matters just as much as the burner here cheap no-name BD-R DL discs will fail regardless of which drive you use.
A few practical tips:

• Always burn at lower speed (2x or 4x) for dual layer pushing it to max speed increases failure rate significantly
• Keep firmware updated on whichever drive you choose
• Verify the burn after writing never assume a 50GB burn completed successfully without verification

The frustration with this market is real. It reminds me of what happens in other industries where quality options keep shrinking even in something like custom kitchen appliances in Baltimore, finding reliable long-term support for specialized equipment gets harder every year as manufacturers consolidate. Same principle applies here fewer players means fewer choices and you have to be more careful about what you invest in.
Stick with ASUS BW-16D1HT and Verbatim media that combination gives you the best odds right now.

[Stingray]

ASUS BW-16D1HT and WH16NS40  are the same drives with only different FW. Pioneer could be better.

The problem usually not with the Drive but with low quality of discs .

For example very good and stable quality QL SONY 128Gb  all drives: LG or Pioneer based writing these discs very well on 2x

Edited May 15 by Stingray

[dbminter]

Funny enough, tomorrow, I am getting my very first batch of BD-R DL's ever.  I'll be trying them in my WH16NS60 and the BW-16D1HT if the NS60 has issues.

[dbminter]

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.

[dbminter]

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.

[dbminter]

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

[dbminter]

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.

[dbminter]

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.

[dbminter]

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.

[dbminter]

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.

[dbminter]

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!?

[dbminter]

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.

[dbminter]

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

[dbminter]

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.

[dbminter]

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.

[dbminter]

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.

[michaelreed]

On 5/15/2026 at 12:03 PM, michaelreed said:

This is a tough spot to be in right now honestly. The BD-R DL burning market has gotten really narrow. With Pioneer exiting optical drive production, you're essentially left with ASUS and LG and as dlsminter pointed out, neither has a perfect track record with double layer media specifically.
From experience, the ASUS BW-16D1HT is probably your best bet right now for BD-R DL 50GB burns. It handles dual layer media more consistently than the LG WH16NS40, especially with quality media like Verbatim or Panasonic BD-R DL discs. Media quality matters just as much as the burner here cheap no-name BD-R DL discs will fail regardless of which drive you use.
A few practical tips:

• Always burn at lower speed (2x or 4x) for dual layer pushing it to max speed increases failure rate significantly
• Keep firmware updated on whichever drive you choose
• Verify the burn after writing never assume a 50GB burn completed successfully without verification

The frustration with this market is real. It reminds me of what happens in other industries where quality options keep shrinking even in something like custom kitchen appliances in Baltimore(https://msdcontractors.com/), finding reliable long-term support for specialized equipment gets harder every year as manufacturers consolidate. Same principle applies here fewer players means fewer choices and you have to be more careful about what you invest in.
Stick with ASUS BW-16D1HT and Verbatim media that combination gives you the best odds right now.

 

Edited Monday at 05:44 AM by michaelreed

[dbminter]

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.

[dury]

@dbminter

Thank you so much for your extensive testing, very helpful