Toast 8 write speeds

[GeorgeC]

I just upgraded from Toast 5 to 8. I am experiencing the same problem I have searched and read about but not sure what I should do....

 

I am selecting 16X and up to 16X is displayed but the reported write speed still stays around 7-8X maybe average 6X. I am running on a G4 1.25g dual core with a Pioneer 112D writer. Now I just installed this writer recently. It seemed to be working OK and was working OK in 5. I am using discs that are rated at 16X. I think it was writing 16X in 5. It seemed faster. I have not timed anything yet to see what is going on. Is it just reporting slower and really writing faster or is it not writing above 8X at all? I see others who had reported the same problem....

 

The download version says it is 8.0.3 when seems to be the latest update.

 

I have read that there can be some firmware upgrades. Where do I get these and is that a possible cause?

 

Thanks for any and all help...

[tsantee]

As for firmware updates for that drive, check the DVD F.A.Q at www.xlr8yourmac.com.

 

Many things affect burn speed. You probably know that all drives are variable speed in that they burn slower at the beginning (near the center of the disc) and speed up as they go to the outside of the the disc. There also are many different manufacturing codes of media and your drive may not be optimized for a specific brand or code. Insert a disc and choose Disc Info from the Recorder menu. You'll see a hotlink to a Web site where users report their success with specific media.

 

A year ago MacWorld reviewed several different brands of external optical drives. What interested me is the wide range of time it took to burn the same data using the same Mac and software on the same discs using different drives.

 

I don't know if Toast 5 reports the actual burn speed. Personally I don't care about the speed, I care that the disc is burned without errors.