hi i have not long purchased nd3500ag with stock 2.16 firmware and drive appears to be working fine and no real issues apart from slow rip speed but now i have bought 5 ridata dvd+r dual layer discs to try out. there appears to be a lot of different info regarding this writer and ritek/ridata dual layer discs.
i got the impression from various websites that without a firmware upgrade these discs will not work correctly although when i insert disc in drive nero and dvd decrypter recognise the disc as dual layer ok.
i haven't burned anything yet because the discs are too pricey to make coasters so can anyone confirm that these discs should burn ok at 2.4x on this writer.
there is one review i read(by flash on dvd-recordable.net) which stated that this drive didn't give a satisfactory burn to ridata dual layer disc on the stock 2.16 firmware but did with a 208 firmware. i'm not sure what this 208 firmware is. when i asked flash he linked me to a page on this site which doesn't exist.
would really appreciate anyones advise before i try and upgrade firmware to the 2.17 or 2.17se that i see on this site.
cheers all!

Only the SE editions support Ritek DL at 2.4X or 4X, so if you need this feature, use the appropriate firmware...

(in reply to is1111)

thanks emperor! going to attempt firmware upgrade later today to 2.17se.
cheers

(in reply to emperor)

Yes, the 2.17SE has been tested and burns at 4X Ritek DL without any problems...

Alternative you could use NEC ND-3500AG V2.C8SE which is slight newer than 2.17 and includes auto bisetting DVD-ROM for DVD+R/+R DL media

(in reply to is1111)

cheers emperor, whats the safest way to flash the drive. use the windows flasher in windows environment with no other programs running??
thanks again

(in reply to emperor)

Yes the windows flasher works ok, then reboot and enjoy

(in reply to is1111)

thanks so much for all your advise.
much appreciated!!

(in reply to emperor)