CDRLabs.com

Hello,

My (OEM may 2003) LiteOn 52327S (upgraded to official firmware QS09) seems to be incompatible with Memorex (16x-)24x UltraSpeed CDRW's...

Everytime I burn data on them with Nero 6.0.0.11 (demo) one of the following three options will happen at data verification:
1) the drive cannot even mount the disc once the tray closes
2) the drive mounts the disc, starts reading and Nero hangs at some point
3) the drive mounts the disc, finishes reading but at a very low speed (verification takes [far more] longer than burning the disc)

I inspected the discs with KProbe and am not very happy with the results:
One Memorex disc with

3119/3226768/792.428 C2 errors (max/total/average)

and one with

2664/61545/2367.115

The Verbatim UltraSpeed 24x delivered with the drive performs much better:

4/190/0.055

My old HighSpeed discs also perform better:

Platinum (4x-12x):

1/9/0.002

Nashua:

396/10363/2.196

Now, I wonder: are the media crapp? Or is my drive bad?
If it's the media, which others should I try?

Thank you for your time,
XIII

BTW: Memorex CDRW-info:

Disc Type = ULTRA SPEED CD-RW 24X
Lead In = 97:25:31
Lead Out = 79:59:74
Nominal = 702.83MB (79m 59s 74f/LBA:359849)
Manufacturer = Infodisc Technology Co., Ltd.
Cur. Speed = Wrt(24X),Rd(40X)

just about any drive is incompatible with Memorex/Infodisc CDRWs.
if you search a bit in the forums, you'll find plenty of posts discussing this.
this media is absolutely @#%@!%@$%! stay away from it.

here's one (there are more):
http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=9290

dodecahedron wrote:just about any drive is incompatible with Memorex/Infodisc CDRWs.

You took the words right out of my mouth!

cfitz

Browsing the web I (indeed) found more reports about the Memorex to be crapp. I also discovered that LiteOn's SmartBurn application cannot determine the manufacturer of the disc.

Are they just incompatible or really bad?

Thank you for your time,
XIII

Really bad. Don't waste your time and money with them.

cfitz

OK. I think I will ditch them.

Which ones should I buy? I have read good reviews about the Verbatim 650Mb. But I prefer to buy 700Mb discs. My local store offers Verbatim 700Mb for which I have not found any test/reviews yet. Is it safe to buy these?

Or is there a better alternative?

Thank you for your time,
XIII

I had the Memorex High Speed that were just as bad as everybody else's.

cfitz sent me to buy.com and amazon.com for the Verbatim Ultra Speed (650MB). They have the best deal, about $1 per (at that time).

CowboySlim wrote:I had the Memorex High Speed that were just as bad as everybody else's.

cfitz sent me to buy.com and amazon.com for the Verbatim Ultra Speed (650MB). They have the best deal, about $1 per (at that time).

They're $16.98 for a 10 pack but free shipping:http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10332676

Slim and burninfool have pretty much covered it. Unfortunately the Verbatim have gone up in price by over 60% since Slim got his on my advice. I wish I had taken my own advice at the time...

By the way, rdgrimes reports that the Imation 24x Ultra Speed CD-RW are also usually made by Mitsubisihi Chemicals (the manufacturer of the Verbatim discs). That gives you another source to look for if you can't find the Verbatim. However, they seem to be just as expensive...

cfitz