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Last post Author Topic: Nero - WHY?  (Read 28859 times)

Lashiec

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Nero - WHY?
« on: June 23, 2008, 07:14 PM »
Welcome to another edition of "Beating a Dead Horse", this night the program will revolve around one of the audience past favourite programs... gone wrong (and you know how people love to see heroes in the mud), the ever present Nero Burning ROM (or whatever it's called now)

OK, everybody knows what immensely bloated suite Nero has become since version 6, and how people still use it in a great percentage due to inertia (just like they use Real Player, Adobe Acrobat or iTunes), and that free license you get with every DVD writer that is available in the market. OK, despite that, Nero, as a burner, is still a very decent program, and as such, some of its shortcomings can be ignored. Like the fact that, even if you can disable the installation of most of the shovelware that brings along, the program insists on installing Nero Scout (barf!), or all those video decoders, WITHOUT asking. At least you can disable them, and they don't take over the computer, unlike some other video players.

What it can't be forgiven is how shitty is to update *something* in this trainwreck of a suite. Not only Nero did combine ALL the languages available in a single installation package, ending up with a > 300 MB file, but they also decide to release the help files in a separate RAR archive to reduce the size of the distribution. And imagine my reaction when I see that decompressing them in the default locations does absolutely nothing, and calling for help in most applications of the suite brings up the default help file, telling me to download the help package. Exactly that one: "Wow, what a mess"

You may argue that Nero provides its own update system, and this is the final thing that drove me nuts, and made me forget about Nero until they fix their ways. First, you have to check to updates, and once you know there are updates available, the program checks again! WTF? All of this with a big banner of Nero 8 in front of your face. So, you start updating, for what it needs to configure the Windows' Firewall, because it blocked the connection (what? the firewall did not say anything, and I already added the program to the exception list), download files for God-knows-what-engine, and then you start the update, which usually weights between 40 and 80 MB (if you update often that is).

But wait! In the last two updates, Nero prompted me to uninstall the previous version, which is typical as you may know. So, I accepted the dialog, waited for the program to do its job, and rebooted the computer. The update continued afterwards. And this is when everything breaks. I was doing some other things meanwhile the setup ended downloading the files, and installing everything, but the installation phase was taking too long, like 10 minutes, and there was no sign of activity anywhere. I launched Process Monitor, and confirmed my suspicions, nothing was going on. This is the second time that it happens, and the last as well. Bye, bye, Nero, I tried to give you an opportunity, but you really wanted to be kicked out of the door.

It's a shame, really, there are very capable people working in Nero, like the guys in charge of the Nero AAC encoder, or Erik Deppe, the sole programmer of Nero DiscSpeed, the burner is still quite good IMO, and some of the best tools of the suite are being available for free, but the program crumbles under its own weight, the rest of the applications are poor excuses and suck hard compared with the competition. It does not help that programs like CDBurnerXP or ImgBurn are far more capable that Burning ROM, with tons of options for power users, much less footprint, and free. I suppose Nero would continue its own path, until it comes to a RealPlayer situation, and tries to reverse it by doing too little and too late.

Tune in next month to see if it's possible to find a less obnoxious alternative to Adobe Reader, OpenOffice and QuickTime (it there's no broadcast, that means they're not obnoxious enough)
« Last Edit: June 24, 2008, 04:45 PM by Lashiec »

Carol Haynes

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2008, 07:33 PM »
Interesting comment ... personally I haven't updated to version 8 of Nero (can't see the point) and I can't see my self ever upgrading again unless they offer a simple 'lean mean burning ROM only" option - which is extremely unlikely.

I do have Burning ROM version 7 installed (and wish I had stuck with version 6 and not bothered upgrading then) AND ImgBurn AND AShampoo Burning Studio.

Strange thing is I keep coming back to BurningROM. I get far fewer coasters with it and I can do most things more quickly - especially if you want to build DVDs. ImgBurn doesn't really support building disc contents in a nice way (in fact it is pretty awful and doesn't produce compliant DVD video discs from a VIDEO_TS folder) and AShampoo's offering is not much better.

Even when I do have an ISO file I find I get fewer bad burns with Nero than I do with ImgBurn - especially with Dual Layer DVDs (which are expensive to waste). I don't know why - never been able to figure it out.

Personally I would like to see the back of Nero on my system - I hate the massive downloads for updates, and the annoying installation/uninstallation/reboot nonsense - but it does work and does pretty much everything you need in a burning app.

Incidentally I have non of the other Nero apps installed and disable Scout as a first course of action after installation.

I just don't understand the Nero mentality - why take THE most popular burning app and turn it into a ridiculously over the top bloatfest? They must realise that they are alienating lots of long term users. Presumably the profits from the mindless people who buy the upgrade simply because it came with their computer and think "OOOO Look at all this nice video/picture stufff " (which they will never ever remeber they have got after running it once). Presumably they felt they had to compete with ROXIO - but does anyone even use ROXIO any more - I haven't heard of them in years.

Presumably Nero will start losing out as users become more savvy - let's hope they have the sense to sort things out before they end up down the flusher .... the mind boggles.

lanux128

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2008, 07:53 PM »
Not only Nero did combine ALL the languages available in a single installation package, ending up with a > 300 MB file, but they also decide to release the help files in a separate RAR archive to reduce the size of the distribution. And imagine my reaction when I see that decompressing them in the default locations does absolutely nothing, and calling for help in most applications of the suite brings up the default help file, telling me to download the help package.

hehe.. good old times. i fell for it too, diligently downloaded all the chm files and put in their respective folders only for Nero to bug me big-time. ;D

CWuestefeld

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2008, 07:57 PM »
I agree with everything you've said, but...

As counter-examples, consider Lotus 1-2-3, or PKZip. Both of those programs essentially defined their genres, and it was unthinkable that they could be dethroned. Yet they rested on their laurels so that today those programs are all but forgotten.

To remain a leader in your segment you must continue to innovate. Some companies have done this, correctly anticipating customer desires, and surfed the wave to ongoing success. Photoshop has broadened its scope to graphical tools that would surely have been outside of its original mission. MS Office has done the same, albeit with choruses of "bloat" along the way. But in these cases, much of the bloat has evolved into must-haves in their genres.

I suppose that it's a matter of correctly anticipating the needs/desires of your target market. Nero had the right idea at version 6, but let it carry them away in subsequent versions. Acrobat was a good idea, but bloat made it unwieldy and their over-aggressive marketing led to its use for really inappropriate tasks, and made folks like me hate it.

But if you can see that your image editing users need a light table, or that people editing documents could use change tracking, you may be ensuring your ongoing success.

f0dder

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2008, 07:59 PM »
Humm, ImgBurn works well with VIDEO_TS for me, at least movies burnt that way play on my standalone Philips player. I dropped using Nero when I realized that it consistently made bad burns. Not coasters, no, a lot more devious: it made burns that gave horrible read speeds, but other than  that worked just fine. No idea how they pulled off that trick.
- carpe noctem

4wd

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2008, 08:01 PM »
Strange thing is I keep coming back to BurningROM. I get far fewer coasters with it and I can do most things more quickly - especially if you want to build DVDs. ImgBurn doesn't really support building disc contents in a nice way (in fact it is pretty awful and doesn't produce compliant DVD video discs from a VIDEO_TS folder) and AShampoo's offering is not much better.
-Carol Haynes

In what way does ImgBurn produce non-compliant discs?

I've used it for writing Video DVDs ever since it could and never had a problem with a player not playing one.  The ones that were a problem were all due to the disc I was using, (ie. low quality).

Even when I do have an ISO file I find I get fewer bad burns with Nero than I do with ImgBurn - especially with Dual Layer DVDs (which are expensive to waste). I don't know why - never been able to figure it out.

My experience was exactly the opposite, I had more crap burns with Nero than with freeware tools - such that I haven't used Nero for anything since early version 5.5.

Personally I would like to see the back of Nero on my system - I hate the massive downloads for updates, and the annoying installation/uninstallation/reboot nonsense - but it does work and does pretty much everything you need in a burning app.

You could try NTI's offering, my laptop came with it and I found it to be actually very good compared Nero.  Or not, I've just seen their software is now 188MB+ - still it is smaller than Nero.  The original NTI CD & DVD Maker was very good at what it did and was only about 30MB, (which is still ridiculously big I think).

I just don't understand the Nero mentality - why take THE most popular burning app and turn it into a ridiculously over the top bloatfest? They must realise that they are alienating lots of long term users. Presumably the profits from the mindless people who buy the upgrade simply because it came with their computer and think "OOOO Look at all this nice video/picture stufff " (which they will never ever remeber they have got after running it once). Presumably they felt they had to compete with ROXIO - but does anyone even use ROXIO any more - I haven't heard of them in years.

Luckily I buy OEM optical drives, cheaper and don't come with the Nero bloatware :)

Presumably Nero will start losing out as users become more savvy - let's hope they have the sense to sort things out before they end up down the flusher .... the mind boggles.

Hopefully they'll die a quick death and then they'll figure out where they went wrong - it's the only way it happens these days, the company goes bust AND THEN some bright spark says, "I wish we'd done it that way."


EDIT: DOH!  Double negative......
« Last Edit: June 23, 2008, 08:46 PM by 4wd »

Carol Haynes

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2008, 08:47 PM »
In what way doesn't ImgBurn produce non-compliant discs?

Sorry - looks like I am out of date. The versions of ImgBurn I tried to use to build DVD-Video didn't work well (and there was a note on the ImgBurn site saying that 100% compatible DVD-Video was not possible in normal build mode). Given the current homepage it seems they have sorted this out.

Having said that I do thing that "build mode" is pretty cumbersome compared to Nero's approach. In Nero to build a DVD-Video you just create a new DVD-Project, drag the VIDEO_TS folder to the disc and click burn. In ImgBurn you have to use build mode to add the folder, calculate to make sure there is enough space on the disc, set the filing system correctly manually, set the layer break manually if your are using dual layer (and just how are you supposed to select from the list of optional split points they offer?) ...

Don't get me wrong I like ImgBurn and for single layer DVD burning I have been more than happy with it for years (I just build the DVD as an ISO first). Problems started when I started using dual layer discs. They pretty much always burn and verify in Nero without any errors. In ImgBurn I would say I get about 20% failure rate - which is pretty bad given the price of dual layer discs.

By the way I do use discs recommended by Pioneer for the drives I am using - Verbatim 8 x DVD+R DL - which are quite expensive. I tried cheaper ones and had mixed results (but still consistently better in Nero). I can burn those Verbatim discs at 8x in Nero without problem - when I tried ImgBurn I generally had to burn at 4x or less and still got coasters.

4wd

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #7 on: June 23, 2008, 08:49 PM »
Humm, ImgBurn works well with VIDEO_TS for me, at least movies burnt that way play on my standalone Philips player. I dropped using Nero when I realized that it consistently made bad burns. Not coasters, no, a lot more devious: it made burns that gave horrible read speeds, but other than  that worked just fine. No idea how they pulled off that trick.
-f0dder

You hit the nail on the head f0dder, I was trying to remember how Nero was crap when I used to use it and you've just reminded me.

4wd

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #8 on: June 23, 2008, 09:03 PM »
In what way doesn't ImgBurn produce non-compliant discs?
Having said that I do thing that "build mode" is pretty cumbersome compared to Nero's approach. In Nero to build a DVD-Video you just create a new DVD-Project, drag the VIDEO_TS folder to the disc and click burn. In ImgBurn you have to use build mode to add the folder, calculate to make sure there is enough space on the disc, set the filing system correctly manually, set the layer break manually if your are using dual layer (and just how are you supposed to select from the list of optional split points they offer?) ...
-Carol Haynes (June 23, 2008, 08:47 PM)

Let's see how I do it here with ImgBurn:

1) Open ImgBurn in Build mode - my default anyway.
2) Drag VIDEO_TS folder onto window.
3) Click burn to go to a DVD or type an ISO name in and hit the button.

ImgBurn picks up the disc name from the folder VIDEO_TS was under, (if it was).
The files don't need to be in a VIDEO_TS folder, ImgBurn will correctly identify that it's a DVD structure and create the correct structure for the disc including filesystem.
ImgBurn will offer alternative layer break points if it's a DL disc.

Just tried it to be sure - yep, it's as easy as that for me.

This is my understanding regarding layer break point.  ImgBurn highlights the best choice closest to 50% of the size of the complete disc.  This is to try and ensure that minimum data is written to the outer edge where, generally, the most reading problems occur.
But it offers you the option to override this.

By the way I do use discs recommended by Pioneer for the drives I am using - Verbatim 8 x DVD+R DL - which are quite expensive. I tried cheaper ones and had mixed results (but still consistently better in Nero). I can burn those Verbatim discs at 8x in Nero without problem - when I tried ImgBurn I generally had to burn at 4x or less and still got coasters.

I also have a Pioneer drive, (215 SATA - and personally won't be buying any Pioneer and possibly SATA optical drives again), and an Optiarc AD7170.  I stopped using any kind of Verbatim discs because I started getting crap burns even at lower than rated speed.  These days I only use Taiyo Yuden - pretty much acknowledged to be one of the best, if not the best, around, (and at only AU$50/100 for SL, why wouldn't I :) ).
« Last Edit: June 23, 2008, 09:19 PM by 4wd »

nosh

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2008, 09:12 PM »
I have Nero 6 on my system, though I rarely use it. The other day I aborted a writing session with Power2Go a few seconds too late and though nothing seemed to be written to the disc, it refused to recognize it again. I started Nero and it did recognize the disk and also let me write a full session to it. Punchline: The disc was unreadable anyway.
So, while I'm tempted to say Nero's core writing routines are more mature.... what's the point?

I tried ImgBurn but it was way too geeky for me, too many ways to fxxx things up. Add to that firmware customization (removing DVD zone checks, uncapping write-speed(?), enabling some mode where the writing is slowed down in real-time if the media is not up to mark - does that depend solely on the firmware or does the writing software take care of it or do they have to work in conjunction?), some softwares randomly knocking me down to PIO mode... and the whole optical writing thing is a minefield as far as I'm concerned.
Bottomline: Almost any software will do, as long as it isn't BLOAT!  
    

Carol Haynes

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #10 on: June 24, 2008, 04:39 AM »
Having said that I do thing that "build mode" is pretty cumbersome compared to Nero's approach. In Nero to build a DVD-Video you just create a new DVD-Project, drag the VIDEO_TS folder to the disc and click burn. In ImgBurn you have to use build mode to add the folder, calculate to make sure there is enough space on the disc, set the filing system correctly manually, set the layer break manually if your are using dual layer (and just how are you supposed to select from the list of optional split points they offer?) ...

Let's see how I do it here with ImgBurn:

1) Open ImgBurn in Build mode - my default anyway.
2) Drag VIDEO_TS folder onto window.
3) Click burn to go to a DVD or type an ISO name in and hit the button.

I haven't used it in a while for video - are you saying it now automatically chooses the correct ISO9660+UDF format automatically - because all the tutorials I could find on how to burn DVDs say you have to set that manually?

These days I only use Taiyo Yuden

The big problem in the UK is it is really hard to find dual layer discs let alone specific makes. The only consistent branded make I have found is Verbatim and I don't seem to have too many problems with the DVD+R 16x (with pretty much any software) and DVD+R DL 8x (so long as I use Nero).

I have never seen "Taiyo Yuden" discs in the UK - online or in the shops - but then I haven't really looked for them.

Having just done a search it seems that Verbatim get at least some of their stock from Taiyo Yuden (see eg. http://svp.co.uk/pro...en)_(43548)_3652_box) and most other references I find to Taiyo Yuden refer to bulk purchase Datasafe stock. As far as I can tell it doesn't seem to exist in the UK as a named brand.

Anyone any suggestions for quality DVD+R DL full face printable discs in the UK and a supplier that has them at a reasonable price?

4wd

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #11 on: June 24, 2008, 07:29 AM »
Let's see how I do it here with ImgBurn:

1) Open ImgBurn in Build mode - my default anyway.
2) Drag VIDEO_TS folder onto window.
3) Click burn to go to a DVD or type an ISO name in and hit the button.

I haven't used it in a while for video - are you saying it now automatically chooses the correct ISO9660+UDF format automatically - because all the tutorials I could find on how to burn DVDs say you have to set that manually?
-Carol Haynes

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying.

If you have dirs/subdirs/files as follows:

A\B\C\VIDEO_TS\(*.IFO, *.BUP & *.VOB)

You can drop just the files (IFO, BUP & VOB), the VIDEO_TS directory or the C directory onto the ImgBurn window and it will correctly identify a set of DVD files and select the correct filesystem, (ISO9660+UDF 1.02), open the layer break window if required and default the DVD volume name to "C" if it's getting burnt to disc, (rather than an ISO).

Of course, this may vary depending on what options you've got selected - so I've attached mine for ImgBurn 2.4.1.0.  It may provide somewhere to start tweaking them for yourself.

Added to the fact that ImgBurn is fully portable, (just put ImgBurn.exe and ImgBurn.ini in a folder anywhere), and IMHO it's the best "pure" burning program out there.

f0dder

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #12 on: June 24, 2008, 07:59 AM »
I haven't been able to find a decent burner since my Plextor PX-716A crapped out. First I went with some Pioneer drive, which wasn't especially fantastic. Then I bought a Lite-On LH-20A1S, which is better. But I still can't reliably burn Verbatim 16x +R discs reliably at 16x, so I generally end up burning at 8x :(. At least my Plextor would automatically degrade write speed to 12x and burn perfect discs (don't think I ever hit 16x with it, not even near the outer edge).

Tayo-Yuden, ho humm. First problem is finding the discs, second problem is finding discs that aren't fake - apparently there's a big market for faking TY discs because of their popularity.
- carpe noctem

tomos

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #13 on: June 24, 2008, 06:33 PM »
I have never seen "Taiyo Yuden" discs in the UK - online or in the shops - but then I haven't really looked for them.
-Carol Haynes (June 24, 2008, 04:39 AM)

I've brought them as Plextor discs on ebay.de but I couldnt guarantee you they're not forgeries
Tom

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #14 on: June 24, 2008, 06:37 PM »
I keep going back to a free copy of Nero burn I have (with simple interface), dont even know what version (7 maybe) -
but anyways, keep going back to it because multisession simply WORKS

mind you I think(?) img burn may have that capability now & I havent checked it out...
Tom

lanux128

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #15 on: June 24, 2008, 07:46 PM »
those concerned with the size of a typical Nero installation should check out Nero Lite, which has been mentioned several times here in the forums. however, i haven't tried it out due to the fact that i'm no longer using Nero.

4wd

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #16 on: June 25, 2008, 12:54 AM »
I haven't been able to find a decent burner since my Plextor PX-716A crapped out. First I went with some Pioneer drive, which wasn't especially fantastic. Then I bought a Lite-On LH-20A1S, which is better.

Yes, after the experience with the Pioneer, (which does do great burns but is so damn slow at deciding it really IS a blank disc and blocking all PC operation while doing so), I'll be going back to Optiarc since third-party firmware support is so much better.

Tayo-Yuden, ho humm. First problem is finding the discs, second problem is finding discs that aren't fake - apparently there's a big market for faking TY discs because of their popularity.

Yes, unfortunately that is a big problem.

The ID of mine is TY03 and they burn reliably and consistently at 18x, (the maximum speed of the burner). 

They also read back with a consistent increase in read speed until the end of the disc, something that normally doesn't happen with a cheap disc written at high speed.

So I'll go out on a limb and say I'm pretty sure I got the genuine article :)

Of course, I'll really be certain 12 months from now if I can still read them :D
« Last Edit: June 25, 2008, 01:01 AM by 4wd »

wreckedcarzz

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #17 on: June 25, 2008, 01:23 AM »
I have had the preinstalled Nero come on several computers, and IMO it just sucks. Not only does it take ages to open, but once it is open, you are thrown into this world of pointless extra crap that you will never use, and all you want to do is burn some data. And assuming you get a usable disk out of it, it might not work in another PC.

ImgBurn is perfect for me - it makes sense, is quick, and the options are there if I want them. It does its job and it does it well (I have never had a bad CD/DVD from ImgBurn). I use CDBurnerXP for other things, as it is user-stupid and I am usually in a hurry when I want something on a disk. :)

TSEG72351

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #18 on: July 12, 2008, 05:19 AM »
OMG..Nero..I don't want to reiterate the stuff thats already been said so here is the short of it. I feel in love with Nero about 4 years ago and now can't even bear to see their name in print.I spent about a month with the last upgrade (8) AND several e-mails back and forth and experienced just about every problem that has been mentioned here.After I recovered from the shock of the size of the updates,SOME help files,not all*sigh* I should have just stopped right there, but didn't.Being the hard head I am and having enjoyed years of use of Nero I just did NOT want to give up.At this point in time,every single reg.entry for Nero,any and all places where the word Nero comes up on any of my drives have been totally erased from my PC's.
BTW I have donated,admittedly not a lot but some,so how come I have 0 donation credits.Hummm..Or am I not understanding that correctly? Have a great weekend all.

mouser

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #19 on: July 12, 2008, 05:25 AM »
I have donated,admittedly not a lot but some,so how come I have 0 donation credits.Hummm..Or am I not understanding that correctly?

when you donated you should have gotten right away an email with both a non-expiring license key and a forum upgrade code/link that you need to visit to upgrade your forum account and put the credits into your account.  email me if you can't find the email after looking in all the usual places (junk mail folders,etc.) ([email protected])

Curt

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #20 on: July 13, 2008, 08:04 PM »
Anyone any suggestions for quality DVD+R DL full face printable discs in the UK and a supplier that has them at a reasonable price?
-Carol Haynes (June 24, 2008, 04:39 AM)

SVP http://svp.co.uk/sea...11&Submit=Search

A year ago the Danish site recordere.dk recommended Taiyo Yuden DVD+R with booktype DVD-ROM for 8x, for best quality, but I guess 16x is all okay today. 100 silver topped disks is £14.25

Edited:
Is 16:9 a must?
« Last Edit: July 13, 2008, 08:08 PM by Curt »

Carol Haynes

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #21 on: July 14, 2008, 03:28 AM »
Thanks for the link but I never have problems with single layer DVDs and I have plenty of sources for cheap ones - it is dual layer discs I have problems finding at a reasonable price and consistently burnable.

For example - yesterday I burned 4 dual layer DVDs with ImgBurn (I thought I would give it another go). The third disc burned but wouldn't verify so I burned it again in Nero where it burned and verified correctly. This has been my experience in recent months with ImgBurn - regular unverifiable discs which burn fine in Nero. I rarely get a duff Nero disc. Trouble is that a 30% failure rate in ImgBurn is probably about what I expect now (with DL discs - SL discs are fine). And that is unacceptable because the discs are so expensive in the first place.

J-Mac

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #22 on: July 27, 2008, 02:01 PM »
Hehehe...   ;D 8)

I won't reiterate all the same stuff. Nero Ultra 7 was my last version.  I didn't reinstall it after my last XP Pro reinstall.  I really don't want the crap.  Even if you disable all the processes it still clogs up your system and registry.  BTW, you DO have to actually delete a few files - or rename them - to fully disable all of Scout's activities.

And then take a look in your registry.  Every media file reference in the Class section of your registry will have at least two keys naming Nero as the associated application for that file type.  If you remove a program that does have the association assigned, it will default automatically to Nero again.  Can't fix that except by reinstalling the OS.

Just a truly over-intrusive program now.

Oh, also:  someone above mentioned that they are just being progressive be reacting to user needs. I'm sorry but the photo app they put into the suite is not a good one - not even adequate, IMO. But of course the file association is hard written into the registry so its hard to keep those Nero icons down.

They had good support people at one time - back around Nero3 or 4, I think it was.  Now you get no help at all.  I don't think I will ever use it again. Not unless they do a complete about face -- which I don't see happening.

Jim

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #23 on: July 28, 2008, 09:24 AM »
Thanks for the link but I never have problems with single layer DVDs and I have plenty of sources for cheap ones - it is dual layer discs I have problems finding at a reasonable price and consistently burnable.

For example - yesterday I burned 4 dual layer DVDs with ImgBurn (I thought I would give it another go). The third disc burned but wouldn't verify so I burned it again in Nero where it burned and verified correctly. This has been my experience in recent months with ImgBurn - regular unverifiable discs which burn fine in Nero. I rarely get a duff Nero disc. Trouble is that a 30% failure rate in ImgBurn is probably about what I expect now (with DL discs - SL discs are fine). And that is unacceptable because the discs are so expensive in the first place.
-Carol Haynes (July 14, 2008, 03:28 AM)

Not sure how good they are but Scan are selling various 10 pack of 'Aone' dual layers including printable for less than £4.

Carol Haynes

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Re: Nero - WHY?
« Reply #24 on: July 28, 2008, 11:40 AM »
I read the reviews on Amazon of Aone and won't be buying them.

I have just discovered RiDisc Silver printable DL DVDs which seem to work very well on my system and they are considerably cheaper that Verbatim etc. They also look stunning when printed (I really like the metallic finish to the discs). The batch I have appear to have Disc ID: CMC MAG-D02-00 so maybe my system likes CMC disks. The dye looks like typical Ritek purple but I am not sure if Ritek have anything to do with them. So far I have burned about 10 and had no duds. Unfortunately they only work at 2.4x but at least they work.

I didn't have the same luck with BulkPaq discs which report Disc ID: RICOHJPN-D01-67 - despite the fact that Pioneer say that RICOH D01 discs are compatible at 8x speed! Even at 2.4x I still get at least 50% duds. At least these seem to work fine in my laptop with a different drive make.

I have also tried Arita discs (reporting Disc ID: RITEK-D01-01 - again supposedly compatible according to Pioneer) with very poor results and also Prime discs (haven't got any left and won't be buying them again).

So RiDisc (2.4x, cheap) and Verbatim (8x, expensive) seem to be the way to go on my system.