Hello everyone,
@coopervid, @kufo and @tectpro tested how to achieve the best burning results on BD-R DL / TL for people that still burn their data/movies to BD-R discs. Especially regarding the avoidance of layer break issues.
First, a little introduction, so everyone knows what is happening.
What is this long-lost feature, and why is it lost?
Well, it is not lost; it is an often-deactivated feature as people typically want to burn as fast as possible. The feature we are talking about is called Hardware Defect Management.
What is this Hardware Defect Management?
Outtake from the Multi-Media Command Set Description for Write-once Blu-ray Disc (BD-R):
“The Defect Management system of BD-R provides methods by which a defective Cluster in the
User Data Area may be replaced by a Cluster from a spare area.”
“Defective clusters are replaced from the allocated spares.
The defect management and recording management information needs to be updated many times during use.”
What does that mean?
A special area on the BD-R is or has to be created. When burning the BD-R, a few things will happen.
1. The burning process will slow down, usually by 50%, meaning 2x becomes 1x. Sometimes it might be less.
2. During the burning process, the data written is verified, which is why it slows down the burning speed.
3. If the drive detects a defect, the sector will be written into the spare area that has been created.
Won’t that affect the playability of the media?
No. Hardware Defect Management has been specifically created for this purpose.
Enough with the technical mumbo jumbo; let’s get to the testing process.
Test equipment:
Hardware:
Pioneer: XD06U, S07U, S06 and S12U
LG: WH16NS60, WH16NS58, BU40N
Buffalo: BRUHD-PU3
TTSTCorp: TSST SN506BB
Software:
IMGBurn (to burn the files)
Test scenarios 50 GB and 100 GB BD-R DL/TL.
Media:
50GB: Verbatim M-Disc, Verbatim blue, yellow, Victor, Memorex
100GB: Verbatim M-Disc
ATTENTION! The tested media is mainly imported from Japan. However, when you buy imported media, ensure that it is manufactured in Japan as there is now media manufactured in other countries, for example, Taiwan.
How we checked the burning results.
LG WH16NS58 and VPTools (this tool only works with this specific drive)
Recommended for Hardware Defect Management
1.IMGBurn
2. Quality media (we have tested some brands and show the results below)
3. A burner capable of burning BD-R 50GB/100GB.
While this should work with every burner capable of burning BD-R 50GB/100GB, we found during the tests that a Pioneer burner achieves the best burning results in combination with quality media.
IMGBURN setting:
Special drive settings:
1. PIONEER
These settings are only for Pioneer Drive Tools and do not affect other drives as they explicitly only work with Pioneer drives.
When using a Pioneer burner, you need the Pioneer tools on the Pioneer webpage. Settings will be provided in screenshots. Please note that there is often one tool for a specific Pioneer drive; if you have more than one Pioneer drive, you may need more than one tool. Example: XD06U, S07U, S06 and S12U all need a different tool!
Tools can be found here:
Settings for Pioneer drives (please see below screenshots)
Always select the save setting to the drive for the settings to take effect and before burning a media. These settings only need to be applied once and will be saved in the internal drive memory.
NOTE: Not all Pioneer drives have special features, as seen in screenshots for the XS07U and XD06U. However, it is always good to check.
@coopervid, @kufo and @tectpro tested how to achieve the best burning results on BD-R DL / TL for people that still burn their data/movies to BD-R discs. Especially regarding the avoidance of layer break issues.
First, a little introduction, so everyone knows what is happening.
What is this long-lost feature, and why is it lost?
Well, it is not lost; it is an often-deactivated feature as people typically want to burn as fast as possible. The feature we are talking about is called Hardware Defect Management.
What is this Hardware Defect Management?
Outtake from the Multi-Media Command Set Description for Write-once Blu-ray Disc (BD-R):
“The Defect Management system of BD-R provides methods by which a defective Cluster in the
User Data Area may be replaced by a Cluster from a spare area.”
“Defective clusters are replaced from the allocated spares.
The defect management and recording management information needs to be updated many times during use.”
What does that mean?
A special area on the BD-R is or has to be created. When burning the BD-R, a few things will happen.
1. The burning process will slow down, usually by 50%, meaning 2x becomes 1x. Sometimes it might be less.
2. During the burning process, the data written is verified, which is why it slows down the burning speed.
3. If the drive detects a defect, the sector will be written into the spare area that has been created.
Won’t that affect the playability of the media?
No. Hardware Defect Management has been specifically created for this purpose.
Enough with the technical mumbo jumbo; let’s get to the testing process.
Test equipment:
Hardware:
Pioneer: XD06U, S07U, S06 and S12U
LG: WH16NS60, WH16NS58, BU40N
Buffalo: BRUHD-PU3
TTSTCorp: TSST SN506BB
Software:
IMGBurn (to burn the files)
Test scenarios 50 GB and 100 GB BD-R DL/TL.
Media:
50GB: Verbatim M-Disc, Verbatim blue, yellow, Victor, Memorex
100GB: Verbatim M-Disc
ATTENTION! The tested media is mainly imported from Japan. However, when you buy imported media, ensure that it is manufactured in Japan as there is now media manufactured in other countries, for example, Taiwan.
How we checked the burning results.
LG WH16NS58 and VPTools (this tool only works with this specific drive)
Recommended for Hardware Defect Management
1.IMGBurn
2. Quality media (we have tested some brands and show the results below)
3. A burner capable of burning BD-R 50GB/100GB.
While this should work with every burner capable of burning BD-R 50GB/100GB, we found during the tests that a Pioneer burner achieves the best burning results in combination with quality media.
IMGBURN setting:
Special drive settings:
1. PIONEER
These settings are only for Pioneer Drive Tools and do not affect other drives as they explicitly only work with Pioneer drives.
When using a Pioneer burner, you need the Pioneer tools on the Pioneer webpage. Settings will be provided in screenshots. Please note that there is often one tool for a specific Pioneer drive; if you have more than one Pioneer drive, you may need more than one tool. Example: XD06U, S07U, S06 and S12U all need a different tool!
Tools can be found here:
Code:
https://pioneer.jp/device_e/product-e/ibs/device_e/dev00001r_e.html
Settings for Pioneer drives (please see below screenshots)
Always select the save setting to the drive for the settings to take effect and before burning a media. These settings only need to be applied once and will be saved in the internal drive memory.
NOTE: Not all Pioneer drives have special features, as seen in screenshots for the XS07U and XD06U. However, it is always good to check.