Fastest compatible DVD writer *currently* available?? Is it yours??

[jch]

I'm using Retrospect Pro v6.5.382 with a Pioneer DVR-108 DVD Burner (Dual Layer).

 

Even though the Pioneer DVR-108 is listed as "qualified" in the compatibility database, Retrospect cannot read or write above 150 MB/min (i.e. 2x speed), even though other applications can easily record/read at 8x speed.

 

And if I use anything faster than 8x DVD+R media, it creates an avalanche of media errors. I'm guessing that this is because Retrospect doesn't realize that the burner doesn't actually support 16x, but tries anyway.

 

I'd *really* like to upgrade to Retrospect v7.5, but don't want to get saddled with this same pokey (2x) performance. So a new DVD burner may be in the works too....

 

Now to the question that I'm sure lots of others are wondering too...

 

Question: What DVD burners are people using with v6.5 (or v7.5) that give 300+ MB/min performance??

a) What version of Retrospect are you running?

What DVD burner are you using?

c) Is this DVD burner still readily available? (i.e. still on the market)

d) What "typical" write and read speeds do you get with it?

e) With what type of media? DVD+R? DVD-R? Speed rating?

 

Hopefully, we can get a good list of "recommended" high-speed DVD burners.

 

Thanks!

.../j

[safreeds]

If you are interested in speed you should change your media. Magnetic media (hard drive or tap) is much faster than optical and I have seen optical media write fine but after a couple of years it is unreadable.

 

Most hard drives seem to be in the 500+ MB/min category and I have heard of LTO3 drives (yes those are ridiculously expensive) getting up to 5 GB /min.

 

Hard drives and tapes are just as portable as a dvd and can easily be rotated and stored if that is an issue.

[jch]

Quote:

---

If you are interested in speed you should change your media. Magnetic media (hard drive or tap) is much faster than optical and I have seen optical media write fine but after a couple of years it is unreadable.

 

Most hard drives seem to be in the 500+ MB/min category and I have heard of LTO3 drives (yes those are ridiculously expensive) getting up to 5

GB

/min.

 

Hard drives and tapes are just as portable as a dvd and can easily be rotated and stored if that is an issue.

 

---

Thanks for the suggestion. Currently I rotate my backup media offsite weekly into a bank safety deposit box. DVDs fit (barely). I tried fitting a hard drive into my safety deposit box but it wouldn't fit. (I used to use Travan 20 tapes and they were even slower--about 1/4 the speed of the DVDs). So DVDs are my only option for now.

 

Currently, Retrospect is writing to DVDs at 1x or 2x speed (even though the media is rated at 8x, and the drive rated at 16x). Other software (Nero, etc) can write to this media at full speed.

 

Which makes me conclude that it's a software/driver problem with Retrospect that's limiting the DVD writing speed.

 

I'm looking for someone who has a DVD burner that Retrospect's drivers work well with.

 

Anyone?

 

.../j

[jda11560]

Certainly not mine either.

Environment:

Windows XP Pro SP2

Retrospect Professional V7.5.387

Retrospect Driver Update V7.5.13.100

 

Pioneer DVR-109 (Listed as supported in Retrospect Database; http://www.emcinsignia.com/supportupdates/technical/retrospect/device/ ).

Note: DVR-109 is recognizable/configurable, but using 1x - 16x DVD-+R media, need to set write speed to Medium (in: 'Properties>>Set Write Speed') for "Configure Optical Devices" to succeed.

...and, though "Configure" is successful, the Backup is a ?TOTAL? failure. Far too many "didn't compare" errors, especially in crucial 'System32' and 'dllcache'. Though some errors are corrected on subsequent backups, the end result is never satisfactory.

 

Pioneer DVR-112 (Not listed in Retrospect Database).

Note: DVR-112 is recognizable/configurable, using 1x - 16x DVD-+R media.

...and, though "Configure" is successful, the Backup is a ?TOTAL? failure. Far too many "didn't compare" errors, especially in crucial 'System32' and 'dllcache'. Though some errors are corrected on subsequent backups, the end result is never satisfactory.

 

In fact, the end result is down-right disappointing.

With these sort of results, I would not be proud of how many Optical Drives my Backup Software recognized/(supported?).

 

Perhaps, speed is not everything, and I need to use slower media, e.g. 2x4x DVD-+RW.

(I do configure/test at slower 'Medium and Slow' write speeds, but the change in error rate is minimal).

 

Seagate SCSI Travan NS Hornet STT20000N 7A61

Slow, yes unbelievably slow in these days of "fast is never fast enough".

Result:

0 Errors / 0 Warnings

Completed: 20886 files, 3.2 GB

Performance: 68.1 MB/minute (69.6 copy, 66.7 compare)

Duration: 01:42:40 (00:06:51 idle/loading/preparing)

 

But, the Travan results are so much better than the results I obtained from the two Optical Drives.

At least with the Travan NS 20gb (TR-5) Tapes, I know I have a reliable backup, and therefore, reliable restore.