Dual Layer DVD Question

[ttechf]

Hi,

I can burn dual layer dvds so I was wondering, does a computer need to have a dual layer optical drive in it just to read them and such. Like if one has an operating system on it?

I saw an article that it doesn't matter and even a 10 year old computer can play them and read them. That all it is, is bigger size. Not different technology.

Just would like to know if this is true.


Thank you.

 

[emeeks]

Hi,

I can burn dual layer dvds so I was wondering, does a computer need to have a dual layer optical drive in it just to read them and such. Like if one has an operating system on it?

I saw an article that it doesn't matter and even a 10 year old computer can play them and read them. That all it is, is bigger size. Not different technology.

Just would like to know if this is true.


Thank you.

Dual layer DVDs were part of the original DVD standard.

So yes, if you have a standard DVD drive, you should still be able to read it.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

So yes, if you have a standard DVD drive, you should still be able to read it.

That'll depend on which media you use. Some older drives (8-10+ years) do not play nice with burned dual layer discs. Factory pressed duals can be read by ALL DVD drives.

There might be firmware updates for the older drives that enhance readability. Be sure to check with the manufacturer.

 

[ttechf]

That'll depend on which media you use. Some older drives (8-10+ years) do not play nice with burned dual layer discs. Factory pressed duals can be read by ALL DVD drives.

There might be firmware updates for the older drives that enhance readability. Be sure to check with the manufacturer.

Could this be solved with driver updates?

 

[smitbret]

Are you actually having this problem or just asking for future reference?

I have burned many DL DVDs and as long as they were the proper standard they were able to be read by any drive or player that was used. By proper standard, they need to be the DVD+DL, not the DVD-DL. If you bought the wrong type, there can be issues.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Could this be solved with driver updates?

Potentially yes, they can be solved by firmware (not driver) updates. Not all manufacturers release firmware updates, so YMMV...

have burned many DL DVDs and as long as they were the proper standard they were able to be read by any drive or player that was used. By proper standard, they need to be the DVD+DL, not the DVD-DL. If you bought the wrong type, there can be issues.

Actually its the other way round. For maximum compatibility with stand alone DVD players, you should use -R. For data storage I recommend +R's as they have slightly better error correction. Most modern drives can handle both without issue.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Potentially yes, they can be solved by firmware (not driver) updates. Not all manufacturers release firmware updates, so YMMV...



Actually its the other way round. For maximum compatibility with stand alone DVD players, you should use -R. For data storage I recommend +R's as they have slightly better error correction. Most modern drives can handle both without issue.

Incorrect!

Only +R supports bitsetting (booktype setting) to DVD-ROM. Which is the surefire way to guarantee every DVD you burn will be compatible with stand alone DVD players. Check here http://forum.digital-digest.com/f57/faq-whats-all-about-bitsetting-booktype-46559.html

Put simply, this is a way to make DVD players think they are playing an actual DVD pressed from a master instead of one you burned.


First, a bit of background. When DVDs were developed, their specification was to read "DVD-ROM", not DVD+R or DVD-R. Many players happily play either or both of these "writable formats", and if they do, good luck to you - you can click now.

But many others are stubborn and adhere rigidly to the specification. When you insert a DVD into a player, it looks at the top nibble (bits 4 to 7) of byte 0 of the lead-in for the "book type field". These four bits of data tell the player what sort of media you have - if it is 0, it is DVD-ROM.

DVD+Rs are the most compatible media with DVD-ROM - they have the same reflectivity and can be read by the player - but a few players query these 4 bits and say "no dice".

How to fix this? This is where bitsetting comes in. The idea, as you will have guessed, is to set the bits back to 0, thereby setting the book type to DVD-ROM.

First, you need to figure out whether your drive supports this feature. Some burners can not change the book type. It just isn't built into them. To find out whether your burner can change the book type, see here. Enter your DVD writer in the "writer" box and look at the features. Under the "Connection, Buffer, Bit" it will say BitSetting if your burner supports this feature.

 

[bigboxes]

Incorrect!

Only +R supports bitsetting (booktype setting) to DVD-ROM. Which is the surefire way to guarantee every DVD you burn will be compatible with stand alone DVD players. Check here http://forum.digital-digest.com/f57/faq-whats-all-about-bitsetting-booktype-46559.html

Agreed.

 

[ttechf]

Thank you very much. When I buy some, I'll go with + : ]

 

[smitbret]

Incorrect!

Only +R supports bitsetting (booktype setting) to DVD-ROM. Which is the surefire way to guarantee every DVD you burn will be compatible with stand alone DVD players. Check here http://forum.digital-digest.com/f57/faq-whats-all-about-bitsetting-booktype-46559.html

Do all DVD burners allow bitsetting now? Back when I actively burned a lot of DVDs you had to make sure and get some specific makes and models that supported it. If your particular burner didn't, then you were better off burning to DVD-R because it had a better playback rate than non-booktype DVD+Rs in standalone DVD players.

DVD-R DL was always crappy.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Incorrect!

Only +R supports bitsetting (booktype setting) to DVD-ROM. Which is the surefire way to guarantee every DVD you burn will be compatible with stand alone DVD players. Check here http://forum.digital-digest.com/f57/faq-whats-all-about-bitsetting-booktype-46559.html

+R's support bitsetting, but only because the specification is handled by the DVD Alliance and NOT the DVD forum. Manufacturers also do not encourage doing this. Strictly speaking, +R is not an official DVD format (though they have made up)...

http://www.osta.org/technology/dvdqa/dvdqa5.htm

What is the "DVD disc category" and how can it affect playback compatibility?
Contained within the Lead-In Area of a DVD disc is information about its physical format including its “disc category” (also known as “book type”). This refers to the kind of disc it is as defined by one of the many DVD Forum specifications or “books”. Currently, there are four categories — prerecorded (pressed) DVD, DVD-RAM, DVD-R and DVD-RW. DVD Forum specifications do not govern DVD+R and DVD+RW therefore these discs use other categories.

Playback problems can arise (typically in some older devices) if the playing unit is programmed to ignore the category information or to accept only prerecorded discs or the four DVD Forum defined types. To potentially improve the playback compatibility of DVD+R and DVD+RW discs in such devices some DVD recorders are designed to write, or optionally write, these discs with the prerecorded (pressed) category code. Since DVD+RW discs are rewritable various routines (for consumer electronics recorders) or software (for computer recorders) are sometimes made available that can rewrite the disc category code in both its native DVD+RW and the prerecorded setting. Not all DVD+R/+RW compatible recorders support making these changes and, in general, manufacturers advise against changing a disc’s category setting unless this specific playback problem is encountered and others recommend against this practice entirely.

As for -R vs. +R, I recommend you read this article. There is actually a reason bit setting is not allowed for -R.

A famous example of such logical incompatibility is the “Book Type” field, which indicates the type of the disc. The first DVD-ROM specification only allowed 0 (i.e. read-only) to be written there, but later each recordable format defined its own value to identify itself ; unfortunately it turned out that some players simply refuse to read a disc with a non-zero value. To handle this problem, the latest DVD+R standard specifically authorizes to write a zero Book Type for compatibility reasons, and nowadays many drive manufacturers have made this bit programmable. But this cannot be done for DVD-R(W), as the Book Type (with several other information in the lead-in) are pre-embossed (i.e. pre-recorded) on blank media. Note however that although it reduces compatibility, this pre-recorded Book Type also improves copy-protection security, as it enables any player to easily identify a DVD-R(W) disc.

 

[smitbret]

So, it sounds like the rule of thumb still applies from a few years ago.

Single Layer - DVD-R
Dual Layer - DVD+R DL

 

[cmdrdredd]

So, it sounds like the rule of thumb still applies from a few years ago.

Single Layer - DVD-R
Dual Layer - DVD+R DL

Book type every DVD+r if you plan to use it in a stand alone player. Then it will always work.


It doesn't matter what manufacturers say or think. There is nothing negative about it. It works 100% of the time in every player. What is bad about that? It doesn't ruin your drive or the media in any way.

 

[Kerry56]

Not all drives, even today, have the ability to bitset +R discs. When I used Pioneer dvd burners, I would use the Buffalo firmware, since Buffalo used the same hardware, but allowed bitsetting in their firmwares.

I don't believe there is an option to bitset using the modern Pioneer blu ray burners, nor is the firmware hackable.

Double layer +R is automatically bitset however.

 

[smitbret]

This is probably a silly discussion anyway. Back in 04 and 05 I used Pioneer burners cuz they had the best quality burns and gave the fewest coasters. I used the DVD-R because even back then the playback rate was something like 94-96% vs 89% for DVD+R. Bitset DVD+R was 98%. There was no way I was gonna use a lesser burner for the ability to booktype my DVDs. Of the 3000-4000 DVDs that I put into circulation during that time I never had one come back because it couldn't read DVD-R. I can count on one hand the number of coasters I got with those Pioneer burners and Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R. Just get the best qualitu burner and don't worry about it.