Is the verification stage necessary?

[joshycorn 0]

Just wondering if this verification stage seems totally necessary? It seems to just take that much extra time. Also..i've had a couple burns that quit during verification due to an error (unreadable file)..yet!...the dvd came out just fine!

 

Just wondering what you guys thought about this?

 

And, perhaps this should be a different post..but, anyways..i'm using a mac mini osx (tiger)...and, yes, the burner in this machine is way slow. Just got a great deal on an external plextor 16x +/- R (etc) at Best Buy. If you're looking for a nice burner that hooks up & is ready to go right away..this will definitely fit the bill! ANYWAYS...noticing posts about regardless of the speed of the burner or the speed of the disk..that burns may still go alot slower than they should. Ex...I'm using Memorex 16x. I set popcorn to record at that speed..yet...doesn't seem that much faster than before. Just upgraded to Popcorn 2...and tomorrow am planning on installing a 1gb memory stick..which i hope will help. But..so what do you guys think about media? Any particular brands that actually DO BURN AT 16X?...

 

 

Well..this is my first post. Thanks much in advance for any suggestions!!

 

josh

Edited June 16, 2006 by joshycorn

[tsantee 231]

I'd be concerned that a DVD which didn't pass verification would freeze or stall at some point during play back. I often don't bother with the verfication if the disc isn't that critical to me (and I have the original saved as a disc image on the hard drive for easy replacement). But if I used Memorex media I'd want to verify every disc I burned. Memorex makes flawed media.

 

You purchased a good drive. Check with Plextor's site about which media they recommend for their drives. Also, periodically check for firmware updates which enable support for more media.

 

I'm having good results with Verbatim media, but I typically choose to burn it at 4X or 8X on my 16X LaCie drive. I just don't trust fast burning with CDs or DVDs. Also you'll notice that the recording speed changes as the disc is written. All drives write slower at the start because that is near the center of the disc where there are fewer sectors per revolution.

[joshycorn 0]

Thanks tsantee!

 

Ahh..i do digress about verification. Was having no problems when burning memorex with my slow factory installed mac drive. But now**...when trying to use my Plextor (with memorex disks)...have had a few veification problems that resulted in some problems with the final burnt copy...and a few other errors during the burn process (aside from the verification stage) as well.

 

So...i should probably check the plextor site for recommended media?....and just let popcorn burn at "best" speed (rather than setting it to 16x)? You think that's a step in the right direction?

 

Hopefully there's no other bugs with simply running popcorn on my mac through an external? The plextor IS working on my mac mini..playing disks fine...and "kind of" working with popcorn. You don't think there's anything else i'm missing (aside from checking for more appropriate media & the other things i mentioned)? I'm downloading the popcorn patch (again) for my newly downloaded version of popcorn 2. Also i downloaded the "MAC PATCH" to ensure that everything w. the Plextor is 100%. Yet..i did have some start up problems after the Mac Patch required a restart. I hope i didn't do anything wrong there? If you ever downloaded the Mac Patch..did you find any problems with that?

 

Well..obviously i'm totally new to the Mac platform...and new to popcorn...AND...formatting everything properly for an external burner. If you might have any other recommendations / suggestions i'm all ears!!!

 

Oh..one more thing (which again should maybe be in a new post..or a "mac" post): Do you know of any specifications or requirements i may need for ensuring my external burner is running at top speed? I heard that i needed an 80-WIRE IDE CABLE to ensure fastest times...but...then i heard those are only used with internal drives. Other stuff: Should a high speed usb 2.0 cord work just fine..or does fire wire work faster......and.....lastly......I've seen all sorts of recommendations that Toast Lite is needed for properly running my mac w. an external burner. But again, the plextor works. I mean is it that i just need "any" software (like Popcorn, obviously)..or should i also check into Toast as well?

 

Sorry for the information overload. Just with this new mac mini i've had quite a few problems...and am really needing all the help i can get.

 

Should you decide to reply to some of this excessively long inquiry you're awesome. If not i'll just keep checking all the different forums on here & mac.

 

THANKS AGAIN TSANTEE!!!!!!!!!

 

josh

[tsantee 231]

Thanks tsantee!

 

Ahh..i do digress about verification. Was having no problems when burning memorex with my slow factory installed mac drive. But now**...when trying to use my Plextor (with memorex disks)...have had a few veification problems that resulted in some problems with the final burnt copy...and a few other errors during the burn process (aside from the verification stage) as well.

 

So...i should probably check the plextor site for recommended media?....and just let popcorn burn at "best" speed (rather than setting it to 16x)? You think that's a step in the right direction?

 

Hopefully there's no other bugs with simply running popcorn on my mac through an external? The plextor IS working on my mac mini..playing disks fine...and "kind of" working with popcorn. You don't think there's anything else i'm missing (aside from checking for more appropriate media & the other things i mentioned)? I'm downloading the popcorn patch (again) for my newly downloaded version of popcorn 2. Also i downloaded the "MAC PATCH" to ensure that everything w. the Plextor is 100%. Yet..i did have some start up problems after the Mac Patch required a restart. I hope i didn't do anything wrong there? If you ever downloaded the Mac Patch..did you find any problems with that?

 

Well..obviously i'm totally new to the Mac platform...and new to popcorn...AND...formatting everything properly for an external burner. If you might have any other recommendations / suggestions i'm all ears!!!

 

Oh..one more thing (which again should maybe be in a new post..or a "mac" post): Do you know of any specifications or requirements i may need for ensuring my external burner is running at top speed? I heard that i needed an 80-WIRE IDE CABLE to ensure fastest times...but...then i heard those are only used with internal drives. Other stuff: Should a high speed usb 2.0 cord work just fine..or does fire wire work faster......and.....lastly......I've seen all sorts of recommendations that Toast Lite is needed for properly running my mac w. an external burner. But again, the plextor works. I mean is it that i just need "any" software (like Popcorn, obviously)..or should i also check into Toast as well?

 

Sorry for the information overload. Just with this new mac mini i've had quite a few problems...and am really needing all the help i can get.

 

Should you decide to reply to some of this excessively long inquiry you're awesome. If not i'll just keep checking all the different forums on here & mac.

 

THANKS AGAIN TSANTEE!!!!!!!!!

 

josh

Can't resist the temptation to be awesome. It sounds like you've got everything well in hand. Memorex does cause problems for lots of users and the newer faster discs of most brands is worse than the older slower media. It seems the drives have had problems with 16X speeds and media. If you ever get to burning dual-layer discs I definitely suggest staying with Verbatim DVD+R DL for compatibility with most drives.

 

When you select Best with Popcorn the disc will be burned as fast as the drive and the media will allow. It may be very slow or very fast. Some brands of media rated at the same speed may burn faster than other brands.

 

One thing to be aware of is the Save as Disc Image feature in the Popcorn File menu. Sometimes it can be better to save the disc image file and then burn that to DVD using the Image File setting. Do this if you ever run into problems.

 

As for needing Toast, that depends on the drive. Apple has native support for many but not all drives. Even if the drive is natively supported for burning from iTunes, iPhoto, iDVD and the Finder you may want Toast 7 any way for its features and ease of use.

 

I prefer connecting my drive via Firewire rather than USB 2. You can try it both ways to see which one works best for you.

 

Enjoy!