Best combination of settings to create a burned DVD

[genojoe]

I am a relatively new user of ImgBurn and can use it successfully. I have two DVD burners and have purchased several different brands of Single Layer DVD's. When burning a DVD, my success seems to vary with the phases of the moon. I burn at 4X and do a verify. In most cases, I get a successful result but not always.

 

I am willing to do some testing of various combinations to get me the best burned DVD possible. My variables are DVD Drive (I have two), burn speed, and DVD brand. My constants are ImgBurn (I think). At first I thought that I could use DVDInfoPro for this task but after many hours of experimentation and finally checking out this site, I learned that DVDInfoPro does not work with either of my drives. I have an HP DVD Writer 640b E193 (ATA) and an DVDRW IDE 16X A188 (ATA).

 

Can someone suggest software that I can use to evaluate my experimental burns. I would like to determine which brand burns best and how fast I can do the burn before I begin to lose quality. I prefer freeware software if possible. A software package that I learned about is KProbe. (http://www.cdrlabs.com/kprobe/index.php) I have not done anything with it yet.

 

Any suggestions regarding technique or other evaluation software will be appreciated.

[Grain]

Unfortunately you do need a drive that can scan for PIE, PIF, jitter levels etc, irreguardless of the software. Some that do it well are BenQ, Liteon & Plextor. As for quality scanning software, DVDInfoPro and CDSpeed both do it well, and are free. I haven't used KProbe, but I know some who do, and it also works well. To make do with what you have, make sure your drives firmware are up to date, and use good media. FYI, some newer 16X media doesn't burn well at 4X, you may want to try 8X. Good media doesn't necessarilly mean expensive either, Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden are the best, and both can be had reasonably, even cheaply if you shop smartly.