Pioneer DVR-109 compatibility

[idea-thinker]

Does anyone have a suggestion on the compatibility of the Pioneer DVR-109 DVD writer?

My situation is as follows;

I have been burning DVD's without problems using an HP 300i but it has now failed.

I then purchased a new Pioneer DVR-108. It burns DVD+r just fine but a number (6 out of 10) of other computers can not read the disk for playback or to make a copy of a copy.

I have since purchased a new Pioneer DVR-109 and it has the same outcome as the Pioneer DVR-108. Meaning that other computers still have the reading problem of disks created with the Pioneer DVD writer.

I am using Windows XP pro, Nero version 6.3.03.
I have used the following brands of DVD's
Sonic
Matrix
Dynex
Memorex

I tried using DVDdecrypter to rip a copied my dvd but it returns a message that it can not read to TOC.

Any suggestions would be most helpful.

Thanks for taking the time to read my message.

[theReal]

Things you could try are:
-slower burning speeds
-different media
-update Nero

The last may seem weird, but I've had a lot of weird bugs with Nero and my Pioneer DVR A06 lately. At first, version 6.6.0 wouldn't burn +R anymore, so I downgraded to 6.3. Then it wouldn't burn CDRs correctly anymore. I updated to .6.0.12 and now it's burning CDRs again, but it is again producing apparently "empty" DVD+R (-R are fine).

Media are also very important. We were suddenly having a lot of problems at work with DVD media (even with good ones like Verbatim) when 8x media were introduced. Problems were with 8x as well as 4x burners. A friend of mine has two relatively new burners, one Matshita and one Pioneer and he hasn't yet found DVD-R media that burn well on both... :(

[Rail-Runner]

I have found most problems with reading, or copy of copys is due to the media when useing both my DVR-108 & 109, and also sometimes writeing at higher speeds can also create problems, I now use only Taiyo Yuden -R, & Kodak -R that have never thrown me a coaster yet, and seem to reread without problems and play in any DVD player, also I think some of the other PC`s you have tried may have trouble recogniseing the type of media you are useing, I previously had a Sony writer & Rom that were limited to the brands of media it could read, a firmware upgrade may help this problem also.

[brett]

I just burned a movie on my Pioneer 109 and had no problem re-ripping the DVD-R. DVD Decrypter started ripping at 6X and ended at 12.4X.

That's very strange that your old HP was working fine with cheap media but your new Pioneer 109 isn't. You really should be using better media, though. Memorex is the only name-brand media you listed, and it isn't very good. The very best Taiyo Yuden media can be had for $0.50 each, so there's no excuse for using cheap media. Still, I just can't see that being the actual problem if your old HP worked fine.

It may be some kind of compatability issue with Nero. Nero really isn't a good choice for burning DVD Video. It may also be firmware. Make sure you have your 109 updated to firmware 1.50. You should really flash it to the A09 firmware for faster rips, too:

http://pioneer109.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=146

I have a Pioneer 109, and I've found the burns with it are more compatible than any others, even in ancient 1997 DVD players and 1st generation PS2s. I only use Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-R media, and I burn them at 6X. That's probably not necessary, but I just don't like the idea of it stopping/starting to change speeds several times during a burn when you use any speed higher than 6X. In general, good 8X media, even when burned at 12X, actually has higher burn quality than 16X media burned at 16X.

If you look at some reviews, you'll see that Memorex (even though it's made by CMC which is generally good) is pretty bad media, at least burned on the Pioneer 109. It's significantly worse than Maxell and Ritek, and can't come close to Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim. Notice that Memorex 8X DVD-R media gets 35 times as many PIF errors as Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-R.

http://www.cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=260&page=Performance

Rima.com had Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-R 100-packs for $41 + $7.20 shipping last time I ordered. It's a very reputable place, and doesn't screw around with you like SuperMediaStore.

[JuanC]

Some DVD players and recorders won't read discs with "DVD+R" book type.

Pioneer DVD burners don't support bitsetting the book type of DVD+R /+RW /+RDL discs as "DVD-ROM" (required to be read on many players/ recorders) using the stock firmware. There could be hacked firmwares for your drive that support that. You can google about bitsetting & Pioneer burners. Also, take a look at the Pioneer burner forum at cd freaks (http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=87)

Any way, Pioneers are known for burning DVD-R discs very well. My advice: keep using DVD-R discs with your drive.

[brett]

Some DVD players and recorders won't read discs with "DVD+R" book type.

Pioneer DVD burners don't support bitsetting the book type of DVD+R /+RW /+RDL discs as "DVD-ROM" (required to be read on many players/ recorders) using the stock firmware. There could be hacked firmwares for your drive that support that. You can google about bitsetting & Pioneer burners. Also, take a look at the Pioneer burner forum at cd freaks (http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=87)

Any way, Pioneers are known for burning DVD-R discs very well. My advice: keep using DVD-R discs with your drive.

There is a bitsetting firmware for the Pioneer 109.

Why did you even bother to post that if you admit at the end that you're better off using -R? Are you trying to confuse him? Obviously his problem isn't lack of bitsetting when everything was working fine with his old HP burner.

Most talk about bitsetting is totally misleading. Some people need it, but most people have just been mislead and think they need to use bitsetting for maximum compatibility. The fact is that there are almost no players that require bitsetting, and the ones that do are very old ... and old players in general are more compatible with DVD-R, so that makes the list of players extremely short which are new enough to read +R but old enough to require bitsetting. Every original 1997-98 player from Toshiba, Panasonic and Sony that I've ever seen plays -R fine (if it's quality media), and the ones I've seen that have trouble with -R will totally fail to recoghize +R.

[JuanC]

I don't get your point.

What do you find confusing about bitsetting? It is very simple and very important to change the book type to “DVD-ROM” when recording your + discs so that they will be readable on every player / recorder.

[brett]

I don't get your point.

What do you find confusing about bitsetting? It is very simple and very important to change the book type to “DVD-ROM” when recording your + discs so that they will be readable on every player / recorder.

No, it's not.

It's not exactly trivially simple because it generally requires flashing a hacked firmware and using specific software.

It's certainly not important because it just isn't necessary. How many DVD players need bitsetting? A couple Daewoos made in 1999? The fact is that almost everything will play DVD-R and DVD+R with or without bitsetting, but if you're talking about old players, regular DVD-R will work on many players that can't read +R with or without bitsetting.

Anyway, read my post again if you don't understand it. I didn't say bitsetting was confusing. I said your post was confusing. If you use bitsetting because you actually have a player that requires it, there's certainly nothing wrong with that. You, however, are randomly suggesting that someone start using bitsetting when he was doing fine without it -- and then you turn around and say that he should probably continue using -R because it gets better quality with the 109. So, what's the point in your post?

[JuanC]

... So, what's the point in your post?OK, look, some months ago I had problems with my first DVD+R discs, very similar problems to the ones he described in his first post. I was using DVD+R discs without bitsetting them to “DVD-ROM” book type. Those discs wouldn’t play on my old PC’s pioneer DVD-114 dvd-rom unit or on my daughter’s xbox. That’s why I learnt about bitsetting. Since then I am able to play every other +R media on my old PC and the xbox.

To enable his 109 burner so that it can change the book type he would need to use a hacked firmware. That could be risky, so I recommended him to use DVD–R discs: no need for bitsetting. Still confused?