Eazy said:
When I had Mosers -R media I had smooth read curves too but the writing was quite bad.
Whew, finally some common ground.
Okay, drawing a few conclusions then:
1. The Benq 1640 hates the Moser 8X DVD-R media available in india (MID = FUJIFILM03)
2. Samsung 4x DVD-R media (MID = MBI 01RG20) can be burnt upto 12x speeds and can still maintain disc quality rates of ~99%
I will test Moser 8X DVD+R Media (MID = MBIPG101 R04) for burn quality, which you say gives excellent burns upto 12X speeds
You could do the same for Sony 8X DVD-R (MID = SONY08D1), which gives me pretty poor burn quality at its default speeds of 8X (between 45-90%, with EXTREMELY high PIE/PIF totals and out of spec jitter)
3. In case Moser DVD+R gives me poor burns OR Sony DVD-R gives you good quality burns, there is something wrong with either:
a. The Benq drives I've tested - Batch June 2005, Made in China, Serial Nos 903SP and 999SP (which would possibly make them from the same assembly line as they are so darn close to each other)
b. my PC setup - either hardware or software
In any case, you should setup some pseudo poll to help n00bies decide on a safe media for backup, not just 'i've burnt 50 dvds at 12x with verification on and no coasters - this drive rules' BUT disc quality test results, that will ensure trouble free data retrieval even after 2-3yrs!!