Overburning: An Intro to the Dark Side

We’ve all been there.  You get that file that is just a little too big for the data disc you wish to back it up to.  If it’s too big for a CD-R, you could simply stick it on a DVD-R – although I consider that an immense amount of wasted space.  DVD-Rs are cheap now, so it’s not really a big deal unless you are pretty anal.  And then there’s the old standby: the DVD-R Dual Layer.  8.5 GB of precious space just begging to be filled up with video files, downloaded programs, and backing up all those pictures of scant chicks at Oktoberfest.  Data backup is near and dear to my heart.  But there is also a dark side to it.  A very dark side…  Overburning.

I personally think that overburning is a very unstable process.  I don’t like it, and I never suggest that you do it.  But if you feel the need to go to the Dark Side, then here are a few tips to get you on your way.  First, make sure your burner is capable of overburning.  Plextor burners are notorious for their ability to overburn successfully, but keep in mind that even if you do succeed in overburning your disc, you might not be able to use it afterward on anything but your computer.  I’ll explain why later.  Right now, let’s have a brief overview of various data storage, starting with External Drives.  Yes, I know you don’t burn to them, but seeing as they are capable of the largest storage space and there’s little to no chance of a data write failure, I think that including it in here would be a wise reminder of what you should fall back to for large media storage.

Just about any form of data backup has its drawbacks and limitations.  External HDDs, by far the best when it comes to capacity, have overheating problems.  This can cause data loss.  They are also very susceptible to magnetism, heat, cold, and pretty much anything else you can think of.  They are also much heavier than most other media options, which is a negative for travel.  Also, many of them might make the guy scanning your luggage at the airport look at you twice before taking you to the back room.  Don’t take square boxes filled with electronics onto an airplane.

Next in line is the new BD-R, or Blu-Ray disc. They can hold around 50GB of media, which is equivelant to 10 DVD-Rs, 5 DVD-R DLs, or 70 CD-Rs.  That’s a lot of burning space.  And while the cost of the media itself isn’t dropping as fast as most would like, the price of the burners themselves are coming down fast.  A decent Blu-Ray burner can be had online for under $200, and a few I’ve found are just over $100.  Just keep in mind that you get what you pay for.  And if you care about your data enough to back it up, be sure you do it with something dependable.  BD-R overburning isn’t really a huge deal right now, as it’s not the most popular form of backup and not many files are that big.  So we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.

DVD-R DL is the next in line. Also known as the DVD9.  This is not to be confused with the repulsive Dual Side DVD-R, which requires you to burn to both sides of the disc.  That thing should have never been created.  Throw it in the trash with the Zip Drive.  No, the DVD-R DL has a topmost layer for burning data to, but the laser on your burner and your reader can also peek through and see the layer underneath, enabling you to burn twice as much to the same size disc.  And without having to flip the disc over to finish the burn on the other side.  Imagine that you have two layers of glass, and a layer that has the ability to burn through to the second layer, then the top layer.  There’s not a lot of need for overburning with DVD-R DL, unless you have massive video files that must stay in one piece.

Next we have DVD5, or the typical DVD-R with 4.5GB of data space.  This is usually enough for most people.  However, if you are looking to make backups of your movies to keep your originals safe, I would recommend going with a Dual Layer disc for a pristine backup.  Using a program such as DVD Shrink, then burning the backup with a reliable burning software will get you a decent copy, but sometimes with an obvious loss in quality.  When it comes to data, you can typically get a good 4.5 – 4.7GB of storage on one of these, depending on which brand of media you buy.  I can’t say this enough, you get what you pay for.  Right now this is my mainstay when it comes to data backup.  I use these for everything.  Whenever my iTunes folder gets up to enough to fill up a DVD5 I always burn them off and stick the disc in a plastic case for safe keeping.  Music costs too much to let it get scratched in a vinyl case.  DVD5 is the most popular form of data backup at the moment, but I assume that BD-R will replace this over the next couple of years as prices continue to drop.

A little less used is the 1.4GB Mini DVD that is usually reserved for camcorders.  While most people wouldn’t find use for these for large data backups, they are perfect for those amounts of data that normally wouldn’t fit on a CD but are too small to fill up a DVD5.  I usually keep a couple of these around for when I miss an episode of a television show, all I have to do is download, convert, and burn.  A typical 45 minute show fits on these great.  Also some programs that I buy online come as instant downloads and are just over 1GB, so there you go.

And finally, the original burning media.  The classic CD-R. Capable of holding 702MB of data, 80 minutes of music, or 15 minutes of HD video.  Amazingly, this is still a popular format for the burning scene, as it’s the only media that most in-car disc players recognize.  And even though many players are now iPod compatible and have jacks for just about an auxillary add-on you could imagine, I don’t see CD-Rs going away any time soon.  They are still perfect for many levels of media backup, and most disc players now come with the ability to play MP3s directly from the disc.  On average, you can fit around 400 MP3s or more on a typical CD-R.  That makes for a lot of music during long trips without having to plug in your Zune or iPod.

Now that we have introductions out of the way, we should get down and dirty with exact data storage on these discs, and when overburning is possible on which media.  It’s common knowledge among burning enthusiasts that CD-Rs are much more forgiving to overburning that any other media type.  The disc structure allows for shorter lead-out time, and hardware used for playback readily has access to the outer edges of the disc where the lead-out area is stored.  Remember the early nineties when every band put hidden tracks at the end of their discs and you could punch in any track number you wanted on CD players?  They were taking advantage of unused space near and on the Lead-Out.  Which can be dangerous to your burner and your media if you do not know what you are doing.

The same goes for any other type of media as well.  Consider this; In joint testing conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA), and the DVD Association (DVDA), they found that 76% of failures occurred in the outer 10% of the disk, most significantly in the outer 5% of the disk. When the outer 10% of the disk wasn’t used, playback compatibilty rose to 98%, which is why they recommend not filling a disk to capacity. Considering their findings, actually overfilling a disk is something to be avoided at all cost.  The media is made up of three zones that your player uses to tell when media begins and ends. The Lead-In Zone, Media Zone, and Lead-Out Zone make up the surface area of your disc, with certain bytes reserved for each, respectively.  That is why DVD players have such a hard time playing back overburned or filled discs.

DVD players only go as far as the edge of the Media Zone, so when you are burning into the Lead-Out zone, you are actually going beyond what the player can read at all.  And you are causing errors for the player as well by taking away the areas it sees as the “beginning” and “end” of your disc.  In short, it is possible to overburn your DVDs with success, although that success is around 50/50 in terms of chances.  In the case that you do succeed, you have a 50/50 chance of your player actually playing the disc.  Given that DVD5 media costs just under $1.00 per disc, and Dual Layer is a little pricier, you’re taking a 1-in-4 chance of ruining a disc and damaging a $75.00 burner permanently.  Trying to cram as much as you can on an 80-cent disc at that kind of risk is not really worth it.  Try larger media, or split your data in two.  But don’t take stupid risks with expensive hardware to save a penny or two.

If you absolutely MUST overburn your discs, I suggest using programs like Nero and reading up on it as much as possible so you understand the consequences.  Googling for information is always a positive way to get information, but look for reputable forums for success stories.  If you haven’t bought your hardware yet, they might be able to point you in the right direction.  And then you have to read up on your player to ensure that it will play overburned discs.  There are a lot of variables leading up to a 10-minute burn, but if you don’t cover your bases ahead of time, your wallet will be getting burned as well.