1

I have an ISO file. I'm burning it to DVD number 1 using my laptop DVD burner. I'm also burning the same ISO to DVD number 2 using the other DVD burner.

Is it possible to tell only from these two DVD discs that there were burnt using different DVD burners?

1 Answer 1

2

No you can't.
There is no such thing as an reliable identifying mark that a burner can leave on the medium.
(If different software is used it is sometimes possible to tell because various software writes different lengths of lead-in/out areas. But the disks could still have been burned in the same drive in that case.)

There is software that can measure the quality of the burn by reading the raw data of the disk and analyzing the error-rates.
But the same drive can have quite variable error-rates from disk to disk: the media itself, drive-calibration, the software, ambient temperature, humidity, storage conditions of the stored disk (exposure to (UV) light) and burn-settings (like the speed) all influence the outcome to some degree.
So these results, even though they give an impression of the overall quality of the burned disk, can't be used to finger-print a specific drive.
You just can't find any metric that is measurable in every disk and remains the same in every disk burned on that drive. That also makes it impossible to compare the same content, burned by different drives by that method.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .