Someone has a dual layer burner with media

[Vanderlow]

Nic from DVDInfoPro has a posting saying he has a Lite-on dual layer burner with limited media for testing. He says it uses a different chipset then the 812.

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/forum/viewtopic ... 099#879099

[Ian]

Good old Nic.. bragging about his toys again.

[Kennyshin]

Nic from DVDInfoPro has a posting saying he has a Lite-on dual layer burner with limited media for testing. He says it uses a different chipset then the 812.

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/forum/viewtopic ... 099#879099

How limited I wonder. Maybe two or three?

[Vanderlow]

He's posted more info - its a SOHW-832 and Lite-on told him it had a different mediatek chipset in it then the 812. He's also done a media dump and said something about $50 a blank .... wow

Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Manufacturer ID MKM 001
Format Capacity Not Formatted
Free Blocks 4253024256
Free Capacity 7.96GB(8.55GB)
Book Type DVD+R9 DL
Media Type DVD+R9 DL
Media Id Code Speed 2.4x 3324KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 2.4x 3324KBps
Data area starting sector 30000h
Layer 0 end sector 22D7FFh
Linear Density 0.293um/bit
Track Density 0.74um/track
Number of Layers 2
Layer Track Path direction (OTP) Opposite track path

[dolphinius_rex]

wow, I got shivers just looking at the media descriptor....

[aviationwiz]

Now, why don't I believe that?

The drive may well be an upcoming drive, but $50 US a blank, he's nuts. For that kind of money, your better off paying a few thousand dollars more for a blu-ray drive. The media would be the same cost...

[Ian]

said something about $50 a blank

Heh.. maybe $50 Canadian. That would be like what? $10 US?

[aviationwiz]

said something about $50 a blank

Heh.. maybe $50 Canadian. That would be like what? $10 US?

Not even close, try 37 USD.

[code65536]

50 USD is the estimate that rdgrimes first gave over at CD Freaks. It's because

1) it requires a new production line (existing ones can't be used)
2) there's little competition (basically, it's just Mitsubishi and Philips)
3) supplies will be VERY short at the outset, mostly because most of the production is going to be eaten up by shipments to drive-makers for bundling

Prices will probably drop considerably in due time, but for the moment, I guess we'll be looking at ridiculously priced discs.

Also, for screenshots of Nero InfoTool looking at the drive (and also the new KProbe version under development using the drive for DL scanning), there's some stuff over at CD Freaks.

[code65536]

They (832S/812S) have the same chipset, despite what LiteOn claims (Nic opened it up and peeked). Different motor part numbers.

rdgrimes at CD Freaks says that there have already been cases of 812S and 832S flashing back and forth.

[VEFF]

Nobody in his or her right mind would pay $50 a pop for ONE DL disc, even initially.
Two SL discs cost a couple of bucks (or less if purchased in quantity), and will be my alternative until prices come down.
I will use my 1600A (when it comes out and I get it of course) with SL media until DL media becomes affordable.

[Vanderlow]

Well I think Nic opened it up after you made your post (code) and if I read his post correctly they contain different chipsets. I'll cut and paste what Nic posted at CDFreaks ..... just in case it gets accidentally deleted. You can take the info and guess whether the 812 will be upgradeable to DL. I remember how they got burnt on one hacked firmware upgrade and doubt it will happen again.

>>> copied and pasted:

Chipsets:

MT1816E 0405-BUS-Y51290 832s
MT1816E 0347-BUS-Z35132-SE2 812s

MT1818E 0402-ARS-HG2R8 832s
MT1818E 0339-ARS-HFSK9 812s

Memories:
all identical

Spindle motor:
Sony DRW-2S
Part # 310177BDC 832s

Sony DVW-2S
Part # 301201ADC 812s

Laser Block:
BQ3549-2P
DB10SL0-E 832s

AQ9994-DR
DB10SLO-D 812s

More as I find more:
Cheers
NicW

[code65536]

MT1818E and MT1816E are the chipsets. My understanding is that the stuff following that is just the serial number. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.

[code65536]

Nobody in his or her right mind would pay $50 a pop for ONE DL disc, even initially.
Two SL discs cost a couple of bucks (or less if purchased in quantity), and will be my alternative until prices come down.
I will use my 1600A (when it comes out and I get it of course) with SL media until DL media becomes affordable.

I thought that the NEC DL was going to be named 2510A?

Methinks his $50 is AUD. But yes, even so, it's still a shitload of money. But then again, when the first DVD-R and DVD-RW discs came out, they were very expensive, too. In due time...

[Vanderlow]

If someone that's knowledgeable about the innards of a burner and chipsets would like to comment please do so (about the part numbers).

Yeah it's the ND-2510A

http://www.span.com/catalog/product_inf ... ts_id=3853

[code65536]

Same (or even similar) chipset == cross-flashing is possible. Which is good. We can be pretty sure that we can load a 832 FW on the 812 and vice-versa... BUT...

Different spindle motor part numbers makes me worry because it means that the hardware may be different between the two. The reason why 451/851 can't be upped to 812 even though they could exchange firmware is that the 812 hardware is subtly different such that the 812S FW can't properly control the 451/851 hardware when you tell it to do a 8x -R burn (this is why the 812S FW can't do 8x -R on 451/851 without some major work done to the FW (read: disassembly and reprogramming parts of the FW). This may very well be the case here, too, if there are subtle hardware changes, or it might not be the case. We'll never know until someone actually tries.

[Kennyshin]

I think the $50 is the correct quote. It's Mitsubishi. It's sample. It's hot, very hot. It will be more like $5 for Ritek DL DVD+R. As high as $10 maybe. All in US dollars.

[Kennyshin]

MT1818E and MT1816E are the chipsets. My understanding is that the stuff following that is just the serial number. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.

I thought 812s and 832s use same chipsets.

Personally, I think SOHW-832s will cost the same what SOHW-812s cost now. It's just weeks ahead.

[Wesociety]

I thought 812s and 832s use same chipsets.

That's what everyone thought... until Nic received an 832 with news from LiteOn that it had a different chipset.

Nic then pulled apart the drive and checked the chipset numerics (see above) to confirm that it is indeed a different Mediatek chip.

[code65536]

I thought 812s and 832s use same chipsets.

That's what everyone thought... until Nic received an 832 with news from LiteOn that it had a different chipset.

Nic then pulled apart the drive and checked the chipset numerics (see above) to confirm that it is indeed a different Mediatek chip.

Huh? Um. The chipset's the same for 812/832.

Each drive has 2 chips... MT1818E and MT1816E... one is the analog signal processor and the other is the controller. Can't remember which is which. But both the 812S and the 832S have one MT1818E chip and one MT1816E chip.

Also, see this post...
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php ... post574905

[MediumRare]

Nobody in his or her right mind would pay $50 a pop for ONE DL disc, even initially.
Two SL discs cost a couple of bucks (or less if purchased in quantity), and will be my alternative until prices come down.
I will use my 1600A (when it comes out and I get it of course) with SL media until DL media becomes affordable.

I thought that the NEC DL was going to be named 2510A?

VEFF was refering to the BenQ drive (he just got a DW822A-OC2)

G

[VEFF]

Nobody in his or her right mind would pay $50 a pop for ONE DL disc, even initially.
Two SL discs cost a couple of bucks (or less if purchased in quantity), and will be my alternative until prices come down.
I will use my 1600A (when it comes out and I get it of course) with SL media until DL media becomes affordable.

I thought that the NEC DL was going to be named 2510A?

VEFF was refering to the BenQ drive (he just got a DW822A-OC2)

G

Thanks MediumRare.

Yes, the Benq DW1600A is due out around June.

[MadBurner]

So I guess it looks like DL media won't be affordable or practical till sometime in 2005

MadBurner

[VEFF]

So I guess it looks like DL media won't be affordable or practical till sometime in 2005

MadBurner

Sort of.
It all depends on your definition of affordable.
For some people $2 - $3 is not bad.
For others $2 - $3 is high compared to 80 cents or so for SL media.

I personally burn a fair amount of discs, so the difference translates into a relatively large difference in a relatively short period of time.

[MadBurner]

I would pay $2 - $3 for DL media but only for certain applications but how likely is the price going to be that low this year? I mean most places are still selling 8x DVD+R media for $2 - $3. I think it is going to be quite some time before it hits the sub $3 price level.

Hopefully I am wrong

MadBurner