This thread is intended to give an overview about which drives have been tested with reading Gigarec, the ones which passed, and the ones which failed.

If you post about a drive, please include:
Gigarec setting (1.2x, 1.3x or 1.4x) and burn speed
data or audio
Total size
Firmware of reader
Could read: full speed / slow / only up to 100 mins, or whatever
Media

OK, i'll start:

Media: Taiyo Yuden 48x and Mitsubishi 48x
Gigarec: 1.2x
Total Size: 841 MB data
Speed: 4x


Readers:
Toshiba 1502, fw. 1816: full speed
Toshiba 1612, fw ???: does not recognise disc
LiteOn 165, fw CH11: full speed
Pioneer DVR-A03: does not recognise disc
LiteOn 52246S: "Illegal mode for this track"
Teac 32x CD-ROM: no problem


Media: Taiyo Yuden 48x
Gigarec: 1.4x
Total Size: 112 min audio
Speed: 4x


Toshiba 1502, fw 1816: very slowly, up to 100 mins
LiteOn 165: fast at the beginning, then slower; up to 100min
Pioneer DVR-A03: does not recognise disc

Media: Taiyo Yuden 48x
Gigarec: 1.2x
Total Size: 860 MB data (!!)
Speed: 8x


Asus 52x CD-ROM: works fine
Toshiba 1502, fw. 1816: full speed, only slight slowdown at the very end
Toshiba 1612, fw ???: does not recognise disc
Toshiba 1712, fw 1004: no problem, reading at full speed
Toshiba 5002, fw 1031: slowdown at 81 min, but can read the entire disc
LiteOn 165, fw CH11: full speed
LiteOn 52246S, 6S0F: does not recognise disc
Pioneer DVD-116: does not recognise disc
Pioneer DVR-A03: does not recognise disc
Pioneer DVR-A05: does not recognise disc

Media: Fuji TY 48x
GigaRec: 1.2x and 1.3x
SVCD
Burn Speed: 4x


Readers:

Lite-On LTD-163D VGHR6 (No Problems, Plays Fine)
Lite-On LTR-48125W VS0D (Does Not Recognize Disk)
Ricoh MP 5125 1.27 (No Problems, Plays Fine)
JVC XV-N55SL (No Problems, Plays Fine)

Media: Proformance 48x, 80/700, (Prodisc 79:59:72)
Gigarec: 1.4x
Total Size: 1458 MB DataCD Mode1 (165:58:04) -
Speed: 4x

Readers:

HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8400B (1.04) - Very slowly but Fully read
COMPAQ CD-ROM LTN486S (YQS8) - Read only TOC and freeeeez
TEAC DV-516E (3.04) - Does not recognise disc
SONY CRX160E (1.0e) - Very slowly but Fully read

Media: Plextor 48x, 80/700, (Taiyo Yuden 79:59:72)
Gigarec: 1.2x
Total Size: 857 MB DataCD Mode1 (97:37:09)
Speed: 4x

HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8400B (1.04) - Fully read
COMPAQ CD-ROM LTN486S (YQS8) - Read only TOC and freeeeez
TEAC DV-516E (3.04) - Does not recognise disc
SONY CRX160E (1.0e) - Fully read

Media: Memorex 48x, 80/700, (unknown 79:59:00)
Gigarec: 1.4x
Total Size: 1032 MB DataCD Mode1 (117:29:72)
Speed: 4x

HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8400B (1.04) - Fully read
COMPAQ CD-ROM LTN486S (YQS8) - Read only TOC and freeeeez
TEAC DV-516E (3.04) - Does not recognise disc
SONY CRX160E (1.0e) - Very slowly but Fully read

Media: Intenso 90/800, (unknown 90:02:00)
Gigarec: 1.4x
Total Size: 1147 MB DataCD Mode2 (130:36:57) -
Speed: 8x

Readers:

HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8400B (1.04) - Very slowly but Fully read
COMPAQ CD-ROM LTN486S (YQS8) - Does not recognise disc
TEAC DV-516E (3.04) - Does not recognise disc
SONY CRX160E (1.0e) - Does not recognise disc

Media: Memorex 48x
Gigarec: 1.4x
Total Size: 922MB DataCD
Burn Speed: 8x

Readers:

AOPEN 52x CD-ROM Fully Read
Lite-On 24102B fw: 5S5A Fully Read
Lite-On 40125S fw: ZS0P Fully Read
iMAC Drive ??? Fully Read
Plex 12/10/32A fw: 1.10 Fully Read
HP DVD Writer DVD200i fw: 1.06 Doesn't work at all.

will post back with more info on the iMAC drive and others that i test.

Media: Fuji TY 48x
GigaRec: 1.4x
Burn Speed: 8x

Reader:

LTD-163 (Does recognize disk, reduced speed, error towards end of the disk when copying contents to HDD)

Media: Proformance 48x/80Min/700MB (Prodisc 97m32s19f)
Gigarec: 0,8x
Total Size: 63:23:38 (639 MB) AudioCD + CD Text
Burn Speed: 8x
VariRec OFF, Silent Mode OFF, BP Rec activity: 0
Q-Check:
C1: Avg/Sec: 1,7; Max/Sec: 36; Total: 6525; C2 a CU: 0;

Readers:
HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8400B (1.04) - Fully read
COMPAQ CD-ROM LTN486S (YQS8) - Fully read
TEAC DV-516E (3.04) - Fully read
SONY CRX160E (1.0e) - Fully read
TOSHIBA XM-6302B (1521) - Fully read
JVC RC-X610 (portable) - Fully read

Media: Proformance 48x/80Min/700MB (Prodisc 97m32s19f)
Gigarec: 0,7x
Total Size: 53:46:32 (542 MB) AudioCD + CD Text
Burn Speed: 8x
VariRec OFF, Silent Mode OFF, BP Rec activity: 0
Q-Check:
C1: Avg/Sec: 1,5; Max/Sec: 48; Total: 4775; C2 a CU: 0;

Readers:
HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8400B (1.04) - Fully read
COMPAQ CD-ROM LTN486S (YQS8) - Fully read
TEAC DV-516E (3.04) - Fully read
SONY CRX160E (1.0e) - Fully read
TOSHIBA XM-6302B (1521) - Fully read
JVC RC-X610 (portable) - Fully read

Media: Proformance 48x/80Min/700MB (Prodisc 97m32s19f)
Gigarec: 0,6x
Total Size: 46:24:67 (468 MB) AudioCD + CD Text
Burn Speed: 8x
VariRec OFF, Silent Mode OFF, BP Rec activity: 0
Q-Check:
C1: Avg/Sec: 1,2; Max/Sec: 49; Total: 3393; C2 a CU: 0;

Readers:
HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8400B (1.04) - Fully read
COMPAQ CD-ROM LTN486S (YQS8) - Fully read
TEAC DV-516E (3.04) - Fully read
SONY CRX160E (1.0e) - Fully read
TOSHIBA XM-6302B (1521) - Fully read
JVC RC-X610 (portable) - Fully read

Well, I’ve been doing some testing to see how many minutes I can put on an 80 min Cdr, and still get it to work in a “standalone” CD/DVD player. Unfortunately I haven’t been very systematic, and didn’t write down my results. So I’ll try recall from my misty memory.

Gigarec 1.2 (About 96 minutes) in a combination with: Verbatim Datalifeplus 1-16x.

Denver DVD-132 Fail
Luxman Cdplayer D-355 Fail
Denver Cdplayer Fail

Gigarec 1.2 (About 96 minutes) in a combination with: Datatrack "D. Euro Disk" CD-R80 48x

Denver DVD-132 Success
Luxman Cdplayer D-355 Success
Denver Cdplayer Success

Gigarec 1.2 (About 96 minutes) in a combination with: Mr Platinum PCRS-80 32x

Denver DVD-132 Success
Luxman Cdplayer D-355 Success
Denver Cdplayer Success

Gigarec 1.2 (About 96 minutes) in a combination with: Verbatim Datalifeplus super azo 48x

Denver DVD-132 Success
Luxman Cdplayer D-355 Success
Denver Cdplayer Success




Gigarec 1.3 (About 104 minutes) in a combination with: Verbatim Datalifeplus 1-16x.

Denver DVD-132 Fail
Luxman Cdplayer D-355 Fail
Denver Cdplayer Fail

Gigarec 1.3 (About 104 minutes) in a combination with: Datatrack "D. Euro Disk" CD-R80 48x

Denver DVD-132 Plays but with a lot of crackle and the last track won't play
Luxman Cdplayer D-355 Fail
Denver Cdplayer Plays but with a lot of crackle and the last track won't play

Gigarec 1.3 (About 104 minutes) in a combination with: Mr Platinum PCRS-80 32x

Denver DVD-132 Plays. Last track won't play
Luxman Cdplayer D-355 Plays but some crackle and the last track won't play
Denver Cdplayer Plays. Last track won't play

Gigarec 1.3 (About 104 minutes) in a combination with: Verbatim Datalifeplus super azo 48x

Denver DVD-132 Plays. Last track won't play
Luxman Cdplayer D-355 Plays but some crackle and the last track won't play
Denver Cdplayer Plays. Last track won't play


All tests were done with Plextools 2.05. at 4x.

Thanks for your information BeeR_DoG. I've merged your thread with this one to keep the forum clear.

Damn! If I don’t post in the wrong forum, I post in the wrong thread

Anyway, here’s a piece of information you couldn’t live without.

Gigarec 1.3 (About 105.21 minutes) in a combination with: Verbatim Datalifeplus super azo 48x
burned with nero 6.009 (overburn enabled).

JVC – B55 Portable: Success


When I burned the disk, I wasn’t aware of the feature to enable G.rec in nero 6, so plextools was running (transparent) in the background.

Well, personally I don’t think the success has anything to do with the fact that I was using nero instead of plextools. It’s more likely that the JVC – B55 Portable is a very good player.
Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to test the disk in other players.

Sorry I mixed up Powerrec and Gigarec. There is no such feature in nero 6

Media: Datatrack "D. Euro Disk" CD-R80 48x
Gigarec level: 1.3 (103.59.73)
Size in Minutes: 102.20.73
Tracks: 27
Software: Nero 5.5.10.35
Write Speed: 8x (DAO/96)
Extra Software Info: Plextools running transparent.

Cdplayer test.

Denver DVD-132: Last Track won’t play. Otherwise O.K.

Luxman Cdplayer D-355: Disk don’t load

Denver Cdplayer: Disk load after fiddling around with FFWD/Rewind controls.
But the disk won’t play steady, and there’s some crackle.

JVC – B55 Portable: N/A




Media: Bestmedia Blax 1x16 (Black coloured)
Gigarec level: 1.3 (103.59.73)
Size in Minutes: 102.20.73
Tracks: 27
Software: Nero 5.5.10.35
Write Speed: 4x (DAO/96)
Extra Software Info: Plextools running transparent.

Cdplayer test.

Denver DVD-132: Last Track won’t play. Otherwise O.K.

Luxman Cdplayer D-355: Plays. Only able to FFWD to track 22, but the disk plays till the end.

Denver Cdplayer: Plays. Only able to FFWD to track 24. A minor jump from the laser at track 26,
But the disk plays till the end.


JVC – B55 Portable: N/A



Explanations.
When I’ve burned the cd, I’ll try to load the disk in the players. If the disk load, I’ll try to FFWD (fast forward) to
Every track, at the same time I listen to some of the track. If I don’t hear anything suspicious I’ll go on.
If the player won’t FFWD till the end, I’ll listen to the rest of the disk from where I was able to FFWD to.
I might not be in the room all the time, so maybe I didn’t catch some errors.

Gigarec level: 1.3 (103.59.73)
Size in Minutes: 101.22.16
Tracks: 31
Media: VerbatimDatalifeplus Metal Azo 1X-16X
Software: Plextools 2.06
Write Speed: 4X
Extra Software Info:

CDplayer test.

Denver DVD-132: Plays. But with constant crackle. Last track wont play.
Luxman Cdplayer D-355: Disk don’t load
Denver Cdplayer: Disk don’t load
JVC – B55 Portable: N/A



Gigarec level: 1.3 (103.59.72)
Size in Minutes: 101.22.16
Tracks: 31
Media: Verbatim Datalifeplus super azo 48x
Software: Plextools 2.06
Write Speed: 8X
Extra Software Info:

CDplayer test.

Denver DVD-132: Disk plays, but with a some crackle. Last track wont play.

Luxman Cdplayer D-355: Disk plays, but with a lot of crackle, but it seems to decrease at the end of the disk. Only able to FFWD to track 23. and its pretty time consuming. But the disk plays till the end.


Denver Cdplayer: Plays. Only able to FFWD to track 26. But the disk plays just fine till the end.

JVC – B55 Portable: Success



Gigarec level: 1.3 (103.59.72)
Size in Minutes: 101.22.16
Tracks: 31
Media: Verbatim Datalifeplus super azo 48x
Software: Nero 5.5.10.35
Write Speed: 4X (DAO/96)
Extra Software Info: Plextools running transparent.


CDplayer test.

Denver DVD-132: Disk plays fine, but Last track wont play.

Luxman Cdplayer D-355: Disk don’t load.


Denver Cdplayer: Plays. Only able to FFWD to track 26. But the disk plays just fine till the end.

JVC – B55 Portable: Success



Conclusions:

Well, unless I get some outstanding results, I won’t post more tests. It seems that the player is the
Most important factor. But the Cd brand has some influence. While testing I found out, that the: Denver DVD-132
Has a 100 minutes limitation. So if I keep the disk size less than that, and burn at 4x, it’ll work.

The: Luxman Cdplayer D-355, never was a good cdr player. Even with standard cdr’s I often have to load the
Disk twice. Playability did improve if I used a black media or increased the burning speed to 8x (strange).
But it never gained a satisfying level.

The: Denver Cdplayer, Did play most of the disks to the end, but it’s to unstable when it comes to navigation.
Between the tracks.


The: JVC – B55 Portable. With no doubt the best player of them all. It never failed. Even though I never did test
The “VerbatimDatalifeplus Metal Azo 1X-16X”, I still consider this player to be quite good for G-rec disks. This player is
a “ghetto blaster” so it’s not that interesting to me (what a shame).

If I find out about any good players, I’ll post it here.
At the moment I’m considering to buy a Kiss DP-450/ DP-500 DVD player. These players are based on Toshiba
SD-M1612/ SD-M1712 DVD drives. So I’ll be very interested if anybody has tested their G-rec (Audio) quantity and compatibility.



It seems that there’s quite some difference, even though those disk are data disks.



BeeR_DoG

So...the conclusion is Gigarec effective apply is 1.2 and burn at 4X(safe) can meet most usage.
What a pity, I just try to buy a premium.
Can firmware update give more chance?

Has anybody tested it with the latest firmware and tools?

I've done some reading on the subject of GigaRec and From what I can conclude from other forums and other peoples trial and errors. The cd can be read universally(more or less) if its only 99mins or 999mb long (I really dont remember which it is but its something like that) Players seem not to like that last megabyte or minute. I just got my Plextor Premium drive so i haven't had the chance to test (that lovely trial and error method) any GigaRec yet =-/

I hope this helped


laterz