DVD-R: Should I use 16x or 8x, or something else?

I have found DVD+R to be more reliable than DVD-R. The only disadvantage to DVD+R is that DVD players manufacture before 2003 may not play them.

I burn at 4X.

I would recommend Taiyo Yuden DVD+Rs. (I get excellent results using iMovie 06 with iDVD 09.)

http://www.supermediastore.com/product/u/taiyo-yuden-8x-dvd-plus-r-media-white-i nkjet-hub-printable-100-pack

If I use one that records "up to 16x" but select the 8x burn rate, will that increase the likelihood that most DVD players will be able to read the discs I create?

If the original DVD-R packaging says "up to 16x" or "through 16x" or even a higher number that means it covers the burns speeds 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,etc. up to the top value.

Lowering your burn rate will force iDVD to burn at a lower speed, thus making it more compatible with older DVD players that may not be able to read faster disks (and of course newer players can still read them).

Greetings,

Commonly recommended brands you will see on the boards are Verbatim, Taiyo Yude, Sony, and Maxell.

The lower the burn speed = more compatible with more DVD players. So if you want a very cross-compatible disk, shop for the lowest speed you can find.

You can force iDVD to burn at a lower speed on all disks by going to iDVD > Preferences > Advanced and change the burn speed at the bottom of the window.

Your built in DVD drive has a maximum speed it can burn for each media type. You can look up that speed using your serial number on Apple's website: http://support.apple.com/specs/

Hope that helps.

Yes.

There is much discussion about lower burn rates (I burn 16x DVDs at 2x or 4x), largely due to the different qualities of coating on various brands of DVDs. I only use Verbatim and Fuji DVD-R.

Not everyone agrees, but here is the story so far:

Using 16x DVD media is fine - in fact it is difficult to buy any other - but there is a consensus in the Apple Support Forums that a slower burn is a better burn and that the most reliable brands are Verbatim, Maxell and Fuji, all DVD-R, burned at 2x or 4x (slow burns are better burns!). I always use Toast for burning.

I generally use Verbatim and when I can't get those, Fuji, and have never had a coaster from either.

Plenty of coasters in the early days from Sony, TDK and a few others.

The term "Best" means the fastest speed that the drive told Toast it can write to a specific disc. The drive's firmware and info on the disc decide what speed burns are available. When you press the speed setting button in Toast (after inserting a disc) you'll likely see some speeds in italics and some in bold face. The ones in bold face are supported by that media on that drive. The fastest one is what Toast calls Best.

Audio CDs in particular should be burned at the lowest supported speed.

Verification is a good indicator the disc is burned okay. However, other DVD players can still have problems with the disc. Media problems with various drives is not uncommon. Slower burning may reduce the chance of those problems, and is one of the reasons why RW (read/write) media is always rated slower than DVD-R.

There are some interesting facts here:

http://www.osta.org/technology/dvdqa/dvdqa4.htm and here:

http://www.osta.org/technology/dvdqa/dvdqa4.htm

But many will tell you that the 'slower burn is best' theory is outdated, as in this useful article:

http://www.digitalfaq.com/guides/media/dvd-media-concepts.htm

Who really knows? At the end of the day, if your home-made DVD was verified by Toast and will play anywhere on anybody's DVD player, then that is the result we are all after!