TiVo Community Forums Archives - 2x DVD-R for Apple Superdrive (Pioneer DVR-104)?

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2x DVD-R for Apple Superdrive (Pioneer DVR-104)?
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Posted by: ursine1

Anyone have any good experience with 2x media for the Pioneer DVR-104 drive? (I've got the latest firmware update.) I've only been able to get 2x burning from the Apple-branded disk that came with my iMac and some Maxell disks from Best Buy (which may or may not be the same thing it seems). Both are pretty expensive... but I haven't found an alternative that burns faster than 1x. Compatibility with players isn't an issue; I'm just using the disks for archiving data that will be read back into the iMac.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Posted by: doom1701

Nope, we've had the same problem. Ironically, the Maxells were in our price range because they were discontinued--bummer, since they worked so well.

I think the problem is that a lot of media is now 4x--the firmware update writes anything but 2x media out at 1x speed. You'll need to find something that is specifically 2x media.

Posted by: Animgif

Same problem here too...I only get 1x burn, even on 2x media, unless it's the Apple DVD's...Newest firmware here also =(

Posted by: ursine1

Hmmm... just checking the forums at Meritline and the reports are similar. Yikes... the Apple media is $3 a pop, but I can't seem to find an alternative.

Posted by: Animgif

The best reason I can tell is because the firmware that we get from Apple isn't the same retail firmware, which sucks..becuase we don't get firmware upgrades very often... =(

Posted by: Raj

I have a cendyne branded Pioneer drive, and I updated the firmware. I can now burn nearly every disc I buy at 2x.

Memorex gives me the best price/quality/compatibility.

Posted by: Raj

quote:
Originally posted by Animgif
Same problem here too...I only get 1x burn, even on 2x media, unless it's the Apple DVD's...Newest firmware here also =(

So in other words, apple is effectively forcing you to buy apple branded DVD-R?

Did you try TDK DVD-R? Before I updated my firmware I used TDK and it burned at 2x without problems.

Posted by: Avian

You can find firmware on the internet that makes your drive able to burn 2x on any media.. do a google search.

Posted by: Raj

quote:
Originally posted by Avian
You can find firmware on the internet that makes your drive able to burn 2x on any media.. do a google search.

This is hacked firmware, right?

Posted by: Animgif

I'm not real keen on using 'hacked' or non supported firmware on my burner...normally I would be, but I like to keep my stuff 'just working'...I guess I'll just have to put up with it!

Posted by: ursine1

Update: I bought a 10-pack of Verbatim "DataLifePlus" 2x DVD-R's at MicroCenter for $18.99 and have successfully burned 2 so far at 2x. At $1.89 they're a bit cheaper than the Apple brand at $3.00.

If anyone's interested, the "reorder" number on the back, just above the UPC, is 94077.

Posted by: Fofer

It's not necessarily hacked firmware. I've heard of folks who have thrown caution to the wind and used the standard Pioneer firmware updates on their Apple SuperDrive (which, technically, is a Pioneer device, supposedly with Apple ROMs inside.)
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/hs/pioneer.html

I guess my concern with that would be to maintain it's bootability, and future compatibility with iDVD.
There's nothing stopping Apple from requiring iDVD users to have an Apple branded SuperDrive with the Apple-sanctioned firmware (and hey, they done similar things in the past.)

Of course, Apple has released their own version of the firmware to coexist peacefully with 4x media: http://www.apple.com/hardware/superdrive/
(BTW, this link has been on their main page for months! I still wonder what would happen if someone screwed up their SuperDrive NOW using 4x media, if Apple would cover the replacement. I'm sure there are some folks out there who have no clue about this much-publicized update.)

So -- thanks for the update ursine1. It's good to know there's alternate media at cheaper prices, without having to jeopardize our "otherwise working" machines.

Posted by: IJustLikeTivo

Preface: I have an iMac but know very little about Apple hardware. ( I bought the machine to use for video editing).

Questions:

1. How do you update the firmware.

2. Where in iDvd do you set the burn speed? Or does it try the fastest and drop down. I've had lots of problems with making coaster and if 1X is more reliable, I will let it take longer. I don't use the machine while it is burning anyway, just to be safe.

3. Related note. How do I turn off the screen saver while burning. I get nervous abouting it kicking in while the burner is running.

Thanks

IJLT

Posted by: Animgif

quote:
Originally posted by Fofer
I guess my concern with that would be to maintain it's bootability, and future compatibility with iDVD.
There's nothing stopping Apple from requiring iDVD users to have an Apple branded SuperDrive with the Apple-sanctioned firmware (and hey, they done similar things in the past.)

This is my concern too...They are always very picky about having 'stock' systems, ESPECIALLY if you need support. I don't know that I have the balls to go ahead with an upgrade. I just wish Apple would release another firmaware upgrade to address these problems.

Posted by: Fofer

quote:
Originally posted by IJustLikeTivo
1. How do you update the firmware.

2. Where in iDvd do you set the burn speed? Or does it try the fastest and drop down. I've had lots of problems with making coaster and if 1X is more reliable, I will let it take longer. I don't use the machine while it is burning anyway, just to be safe.

3. Related note. How do I turn off the screen saver while burning. I get nervous abouting it kicking in while the burner is running.

1. Follow this link: http://www.apple.com/hardware/superdrive/

2. It's automatic in iDVD, I'm pretty sure. A bigger issue when creating DVD video, however is the MPEG-2 compression. Your caution is well-founded though... if you want to ensure the most compatibility across many players, it doesn't hurt to burn at 1x whenever possible.

The speed choices are presented in Toast, though.

3. In the "Screen Effects" system preference, set a hot corner with a "-" so that whenever you put the cursor in that corner, the screensaver will not kick in. You don't have anything to worry about though, the screensaver won't hurt the DVD burn process. However, I'd be more concerned about Energy Saver and sleep. For that, try this: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/mac/17893