MBP not recognising blank DVD media

Hi to all the Mac Forum community out there.

I have MBP that has recently stopped recognising blank DVD media when I insert it into the superdrive.

The strange thing is that the superdrive:

• recognises DVD's with content and also plays DVD movies

• recognises CD's (blank discs and/or disc with content written)

When I try to burn files (Data, photo's or iDVD projects) using various different software programs like iDVD, toast, burn from Finder, it askes me to insert a blank DVD media... I put the disc in, the superdrive whirrs and seems to be reading the disc, then after about 10 secs it spits the disc out.

I've tried:
-different brands of DVD
- resetting pram
- repairing disk permissions

Any help of advice would be great, as I would really love to export my movies onto DVD

thanks
mc

MBP specs:
Mac Book Pro 17" (Early 2008)
2.5Ghz Intel core duo
OS 10.5.8
Matshita DVD-R UJ-875 (firmware revision DA09)

Have you experimented with different DVD writable media types (not brands) like -R and +R?

Unfortunately, it seems like the slimline slot-style optical drives are just not all that reliable. If you do a lot of burning, you may want to consider an external like this one:

Amazon.com: Samsung USB 2.0 8x DVD Writer External Optical Drive for Mac and PC SE-S084F/RSBS (White): Electronics

Hi cwa107,

Thanks for the fast reply.
Yeah, I've tried different types +R -R/ RW etc... no change

Good suggestion about the external burner, but first wanted to explore what 'fixing' options there may be out there.

mc