Re: BD-R formatting help
>> The source code change mentioned in originating post is correct and
>> will be included [though in modified form] to next dvd+rw-tools update.
> Great, any idea when you are planning your next release?
Releases turned to be feature driven lately and as no new features were
required (e.g. HD-DVD was dismissed) I had no immediate plans so far.
But as option to specify TDMA allocation is of apparent interest, it
might be appropriate to consider release in foreseeable future, i.e.
from week to month.
>> This I can't reproduce. In other words I managed to format BD-R disc
>> with -ssa=4G, i.e. unit succeeded to format it with ~4GB spare area.
>> Have you managed to record BD-R in this particular unit at all? Same
>> question about BD-RE? What I'm trying to say is that the unit might
>> simply be broken... Another option is a kernel bug, maybe in SATA
>> support (as you mentioned it's SATA connected). Have you managed to
>> record a DVD?
> I have been able to record on this drive before. As long as I don't try
> to pre-format a BD-R. And I have never had any problems with the
> BD-RE's. I have also been able to record DVD's with this unit.
>
> I am going to move to a SATA unit soon, but right now I'm still
> tinkering with the same kind of drive that you have.
I.e. you suffered from this problem with non-SATA unit? To reiterate.
You run dvd+rw-format and kernel starts logging "test unit ready: meduim
error." As you start dvd+rw-format in text console (i.e. without
starting windowing system), the kernel log appears as dvd+rw-format
output. Error messages are emitted till you press ctrl-c. Is it
correctly understood? Do you see any output from dvd+rw-format? Like
process indicator? What does dvd+rw-format print exactly? Basically I'm
running low on ideas, primarily because I couldn't reproduce this...
>> Side note about spare area capacity. There is something they call
>> TDMA, Temporary Disc Management Area, residing in Lead-In. As you
>> allocate spare area, part of it will be reserved for *additional* TDMA
>> regions. Relevant question is what part of it? MMC specification says
>> that default value is up to vendor and in Panasonic case it seem to be
>> 1/2 of spare area capacity. This means that if you ask your unit for
>> spare area utilization data right after format, you'll see that 1/2 of
>> it is already used. Well, it's not actually used, but reserved for
>> TDMAs. Whether it's excessive or not, time will show. Meanwhile I'm
>> considering adding extra option to dvd+rw-format, which would allow
>> you to specify which portion of spare area will be reserved for TDMA. A.
> Wait, are you saying that if you used -ssa=4G you are actually going to
> get 2G of spare and 2G of TDMA?
[Don't kill the messenger...] Yes. The real problem is that we don't
know how TDMA is used exactly and therefore it's hard to judge if it's
excessive or not. It surely varies from application to application and
it might be that for your purposes (I assume you pretty much fill the
media up at once) it's absolutely excessive. Best is to ask vendor for
recommendation. A.
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