Exponential CD burn times in iTunes 10.6.1 (7) on OS X 10.6.8 The more I try put on a CD and the closer I get to the 80 minute mark, the longer it takes to burn with it on occasion never finishing, the time rises exponentially. I never try and burn more than 80 minutes (not sure it will let you anyway).

Is this a known issue?

I'm using the standard 'burn from playlist' method.

Also sometimes it goes nuts and starts generating random 'time remaining' times, changing every couple of seconds (see below).
According to Wikipedia, the original playing time of an audio CD is 74 minutes.

Longer play durations are achieved by "squeezing" the data tracks closer together. Also, because CDs are written from the inside out, the write speed is much faster on the outer sides of the disc — bigger diameter means more distance travelled in the same time.

So squeezing plus faster writing needs more precision. It’s likely that an older CD writer will struggle (on a pre-OS-level) with the precision requirements, leading to claims of absurd burning times. I think you will be on the safe side when burning shorter CDs. I hope this helps!