Nearly 95% of the burning issues could be caused by one or several of following factors:
Inferior media: The quality of the blank media is poor;
High burning speed: The set burning speed is too fast;
Too much source: The data to be burnt is too big in size which may be too close or even beyond the capacity of the blank media;
PIO mode: The writer is in PIO status;
Firmware outdate: The firmware of the DVD writer needs to be updated;
Aged writer: The writer in use is too old;
Power failure: The output power of DVD writer's laser has fallen off with age or is otherwise too low.
Wrong booktype: The booktype is not set to DVD-ROM when it comes to DVD+R disc;
Outdated software: The application in use is not the latest version.
Solutions to each:
1. Media quality
Blank media in good quality by reputed brands are highly recommended.
Taiyo Yuden (Media ID: TYGx, YUDENT) , not Valueline
Verbatim (Media ID: MCC, MKM) (Made in Taiwan or Singapore)
Use Verbatim +R DL (made in Singapore) or MAM-A +R DL 8x for double layer blank media. Don't use -R DL (useless format).
References:
http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com
http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia
2. Slow down the burning speed
Burning too fast may result in unpleasant outcome, or even damage the disc or writer, so we suggest that you do not burn higher that 2.X with those less good media, and no more than 4.X with excellent media, even with 16.X media.
While burning, it’s better to stop all the other background tasks, including Antivirus software, Anti Spyware software.
3. Don’t burn to the edge of the blank disc
Many blank DVD discs have uneven dye around the outer edge. To avoid the burning error toward the end, please set target size to 4300 for DVD-5 and 8100 for DVD-9.
4. Instead of PIO mode, switch to DMA mode
DMA stands for Direct Memory Access, a capability in modern computers that allows peripheral devices to send data to the motherboard's memory without intervention from the CPU.
DMA is implemented in computer bus architectures to speed up computer operations and allow multitasking. Normally, the CPU will be fully occupied in any read/write operation; enabling DMA allows reading/writing data in the internal memory, external memory and peripherals without CPU involvement, thus making the processor available for other tasks.
So if DMA is not enabled, the writing speed could be very slow or it could raise burning error.
5. Update the firmware for your DVD burner timely
You can get the firmware of writer: If you bought an OEM burner that came bundled with Dell, Compaq, HP, Gateway, etc, systems then contact that company and ask about firmware updates for your drive or check their respective websites for firmware updates.
For Pioneer burners, visit: http://wwwbsc.pioneer.co.jp/product-e/ibs/device_e/dev00001r_e.html#firmware1
For Pioneer S1xJ series (or A1xJ series), visit: http://wwwbsc.pioneer.co.jp/device/dvr_a09.html (Japanese)
For Samsung burners, visit: http://www.samsungodd.com/Eng/Firmware/FWDownload/FWDownload.asp
For Plextor burners, visit: http://www.plextor.com/english/support/support_downloads.html#firm
For LG burners, visit: http://www.lge.com/support/software.jsp
1). Select your location at the top
2). Select DVD-ROM (writer) link
3). Scroll through or search the various pages until you find your burner
For Optiarc burners, visit:
http://www.sony-optiarc.us/en/support-service/downloads/updateprocedure.html
For NEC burners, visit: http://support.necam.com/Optical/downloads/FlashFirmware/
For Lite-on burners, visit: http://www.liteonit.com/global/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=154
1). Select "Optical Storage" under category
2). Select the model of your drive
3). Click "search"
For Sony burners, visit: http://sony.storagesupport.com/models/21?tab=drivers
1). Select your drive model
2). Click "firmware/drivers/utilities"
For Asus burners, visit: http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us
1). Select "optical storage"
2). Select your drive type
3). Select the model of your drive
4). Click search
For Benq burners (this is the U.S. website), visit:
http://www.benq.us/support/downloads/index.cfm?productline=30
For HP burners, visit: http://h20180.www2.hp.com/apps/Lookup?h_lang=en&h_cc=us&cc=us&h_page=hpcom⟨=en&h_client=S-A-R163-1&h_query=HP+DVD+writer&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
For Philips burners, visit: http://www.storageupdates.philips.com/en/index.html
For Memorex burners, visit: http://www.memorex.com/en-us/Digital-Storage/CD--DVD-Drives/
1). Under "Digital Storage", select "CD and DVD drives"
2). Open the webpage, select your drive, and click on "Visit Product Support" on the right hand side
For Buffalo burners (I hope you can read Japanese), visit: http://buffalo.jp/download/driver/hd/index.html
For LaCie burners, visit: http://www.lacie.com/support/drivers/driver.htm?id=10092
For Ricoh burners, visit: http://www.ricoh.com/drive/asia/support/download/
For Toshiba drives (Toshiba Europe), visit: http://storage.toshiba.eu/cms/en/support_services/product_archive.html
1). Select your product type
2). Select your model
3). Select firmware update on the right hand side of the webpage
6. Replace the old burner
If your writer is more than 2 years old, we suggest you change one new writer.
7. Change a strong power cable
If you update your hardware recently, such as floppy and disk drive controllers, graphics cards, network cards, sound cards and graphics processing units and have burning problems suddenly, you should change a larger power of your computer.
8. Set booktype to DVD-ROM
Booktype set to DVD-ROM is recommended when burn DVD+R (Find this in Write setting window of your burning software). Not all DVD burners offer this option, so read your manual before you try.
By the way, older DVD Player will prefer DVD-R media.
9. Upgrade your copy/burn software frequently
The vendor of software always upgrades their software to fix all kinds of problems, including burning issue.
