Project: Extreme DVD Overspeed Writing with the Sony Optiarc AD-7280S

In the last post, I described my glee at receiving a very competent Sony Optiarc AD-7280S. As it would turn out, in this post, I give it some torture as I relive a bit of a hobby from my past, while trying to set a new record – the most oversped DVD burn which is still readable. We’re not talking going from 4x to 6x or 8x to 12x. This drive is going to let me take things to an extreme level. Why Do Discs Have a Write Speed Rating At All? We’re probably used to the fact that blank discs are sold with a rated speed or range of speeds supported by the media. For blank DVDs, 1-2x, 1-2.4x, 1-4x, 1-8x, 1-16x are all common speed ranges for recordable discs of varying vintages. But have you ever once stopped to ponder the question of why do recordable optical discs have a write speed stated at all? After reading a good number of ECMA standards and through a few practical experiments, the answer seems to be for a few reasons and not just one. The first reason would most likely be the dye…