Blank DVDs for Apple Superdrive DVR-106D?

Question

I'm soon going to need some more blank DVD disks for my 17" iMac but there's a problem. As I understand it I can only use 4x DVD-R and 2x DVD-RW discs.
Is this right?
The problem is not many places do these now (I've found some 4x DVD-Rs but 2x DVD-RWs are rarer than rocking horse poop).
However reading through this forum I found the bit about the Superdrive software upgrade. It suggests that I can use faster discs without breaking the drive but that they'll only burn at 1x speed. Is that correct? Can I use, say, 16x DVD media in my drive without destroying it?
Is there anything else I should know? The reason I ask is that in the past I've tried to burn DVDs for use in a domestic DVD player and I've only found one type of disc that does it reliably (RiDisc 4x DVD-Rs which now, of course, are no longer available).
As ever any thoughts or advice gratefully received.

Answer 1

Many of the older drives required you use the same speed media for the drives in your machine or they would show a error message.
As time has gone by, the Drive manufactures and the Media manufactures were made aware of this problem. In many cases they released Firmware Updates for many of the drives used in the computers to enhance there performance.
Here is a Media guide to use when purchasing DVD Media.
http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm
Read it carefully there is a wealth of information in reguard to Media in general.
Now let's talk about high speed media.
Now since the advent of 16X high speed media, many users have older machines that are only capable of burning at 1x, or 2x. Some of the media that is 16X will not work whereas others will. The key here is to read the packaging on the Media. It will clearly tell you that the media will burn at 1X,2X,4X,8X, and 16X. The key here is using high quality media your burner will burn at the highest rate it is capable of, using the higher quality media where it will not with cheap media.
I also recommend that you use DVD-R Media it is the most widely recognized and used across the board.
http://www.videohelp.com/dvd
As time goes buy and you become more familiar with your Optical drive and it's capabilities then you can branch out and expieriment with different Media Format's.
Remember that not all players and computers will recognize and play Some media's.
I personally use Maxell 16X DVD-R media. This is one of the highest in quality and is not farmed out by them to another maker as some are and burns fine at all speeds, This will be determined by your Optical Drive in your machine.(Read the Packaging on the Media)
Good Luck, Oh by the way I have never had a bad burn with this media.
Don