Write strategy

In DVD authoring, a write strategy is a set of low-level parameters that enables an optical disc drive to write on a specific type of blank media according to its optimum specifications. The media type is identified by the manufacturer and media ID, which is often unrelated to the brand of the media due to rebadging. Write strategies are essential for compatibility with various types of blank media, and are typically stored in the drive's firmware. If a drive lacks a write strategy for a media type, it will only be able to write using minimum speed. Drive manufacturers typically include new or improved write strategies as part of a firmware upgrade, in order to extend or improve compatibility with blank media. In cases where official support for a drive has been discontinued or is deemed unsatisfactory, users have come up with ways to patch the write strategies by modding the drive's firmware. Many DVD-writers have a learning feature (branded with names like 'smart-burn') that allows the drive to collect empirical data from its actual usage. The drive stores data from previous burns in its EEPROM, allowing it to adapt the default write strategies to account for individual drive variations, such as calibration, which may be affected by environment and age.