Packet writing on DVD+R or DVD-R?

[Flying dutchman]

Does anyone have experience with packet writing on DVD+R?

I regularly need to transport some really huge files from my desktop PC to another PC (abroad). The latter has a DVD Rom drive that doesn't read DVD+RW but it's perfectly happy with DVD+R.

The problem is....

that I don't want to throw the DVD's away after one single use. Writing multi-session disks would seem the logical solution (after all, that works on CDR's too!) but it appears that writing multi-session is not an option, all sessions after #1 are only visible in the dvd writer but not in an ordinary DVD rom drive. Nero warns about this explicitly. You need Windows XP and one of the latest models of DVD Rom drive to make multi-session work.

So I tried a UDF packet writer instead (Pinnacle/VOB InstantWrite version 7) but it sucks. The disks are either only readable in the dvd writer or they must be finalized, which is just as bad as a single-session disk because I can't write on them anymore.

Surely there must be a way to write files to a DVD+R more than once, and still keep it readable in an ordinary DVD Rom drive ???

[wkulecz]

IMHO the simplest solution is to replace the DVDROM that doesn't read DVD+RW with one that does. If its an old notebook where you can't do this try a network file transfer between the old notebook and a desktop with a DVDROM drive that does at the destination. If this is not possible get a portable hard drive -- USB or 1394 whatever the target computer can support ( Many of these support both anyways) and forget about DVD data transfers.

Lack of good DVD data support is going to be a wedge Microsoft uses to force you to update.

I've only ran into a single computer DVDROM that can't read DVD+RW -- an old PII-300 Compaq notebook. Bulk erase and rewrte single session DVD+RW has so far worked well for me for data transfers.

--wally.

[Flying dutchman]

The PC is a Toshiba satellite 1730 notebook and it's probably not worthwhile to replace the internal drive (if any exist). It reads both DVD+R and DVD-R but not the RW flavors.

Still, I've used multi-session CDR's in the past for files and programs I wanted to archive, because I found it to be more reliable than packet writing. Surely it must be possible to do the same thing with DVD+R/-R somehow? And what has Microsoft got to do with all this?

[wkulecz]

Apparently only XP has (or will have) support for multisession DVD disks. That's what MS has to do with it.

Sounds to me like a portable hard drive is probably the way to go if you can't do a network file transfer from the DVD in a newer machine at the remote location.

Its highly unlikely you can "update" the DVDROM drive in any notebook at anything close to a reasonable price assuming its in a "modular" bay.

--wally.

[Technoid]

You could try updating the Firmware

[Flying dutchman]

The PC (Running Microborg WinXP PRO SP1) that has the DVD+RW writer in it, also has a brand new Toshiba SD-M 1712 DVD-Rom drive, only 2 months old. And it too only reads the first session of the DVD+R (In spite of Windows XP)...

I had never expected that write-once DVD media offer less possibilities than write-once CDR's, but alas it's true.

You're probably right about updating the notebook not being worthwhile. I have already replaced the hard drive of the notebook (6 GB -> 30 GB) and it took me half a day, because the drive is located beneath the motherboard and the only way to get at it is from the top, by removing the display section, top cover, keyboard and motherboard. I had a table full of tiny screws and gallons of sweat in my shirt but succeeded at last, even though I still had half a dozen screws when the case was closed again...


PS I just noticed my "posts" counter is somehow stuck at 598, this way I'll never be a "SuperMURCer"...

[Flying dutchman]

I'm gonna get myself a new notebook instead - might be the best solution. My boss has already approved it. Was about time anyway, my Toshiba was really falling apart. One hinge was broken and replaced by me, the top cover is cracked near both hinges which I fixed with epoxy. That plastic is paper thin. I'm really disappointed by Toshiba's quality this time (my previous Tosh was much better). It's a Compal OEM product which I'll avoid like the plague next time.

Any suggestions? My requirements: LI-ION battery, preferably magnesium case, 512 mb Ram, 40 gb hard disk, 15" XGA screen (NOT SXGA since I'm as blind as a bat), Pentium-M or similar low power cpu, built-in LAN, modem, Firewire, UBS2, DVD/CDRW combo, SVGA output, and most important: "VIA outside"...

I heard DELL has LCD burn-in issues with their built-in Samsung TFT panels.

[wkulecz]

We've lots Dell's with their OEM Samsung LCD panels in both desktop and notebooks. Not seen any "LCD burn-in" issues. Many of these are 2+ years old and rarely turned off. These are consistently amoung the best LCD monitors I've ever seen in their given screen sizes.

I generally like Dell notebooks, but its because of their higher than normal (XGA) display resolutions that are available for "free" or nominal cost if you wait for a promotion.

I got my last notebook from Dell for ~$1800, someone at work saw it and pricing the same thing thru the government purchase section of Dell's website was $2300!!! US taxpayers are getting screwed!

Nobody is more "Intel inside" than Dell.
This is good and bad, they seem to have stuck with 1394 controllers from TI so far, which IMHO is a very good thing.

I agree that Toshiba notebooks seem to have gone down hill the past few years.

Before the Dell I had an HP Pavillion and was very happy with it except for the doggy 1394 port -- would only work for Camcorders, not hard drives or CDROMs. By time the problem esclated thru their support system it was a discontinued model with no replacements available -- last of the three spindle machines. HP "bought it back" and gave me a full refund with paid return shipping. Since they did the right thing for a difficult problem I'd recommend looking at HP notebooks.

--wally.

[Flying dutchman]

The burn-in is a recent "development" and limited to one series. Have you looked into a notebook newsgroup lately? Many people complain about it, and the German CT magazine has a feature on it this month.

I have to stick with SVGA, preferably 15"+, because of my poor eyesight. A colleague has an SXGA notebook and I find the fonts much too small.

Mind you, I have nothing against AMD processors, I just want to avoid VIA chipsets because I might want to record some video on it. A good AMD-based notebook with SIS, Nvidia or AMD chipset would be just as fine.