Write strategies are essential for compatibility with various types of blank media, and are typically stored in 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.
A newer feature contained in some DVD writers allows a drive to invent write strategies for unknown media types, ostensibly reducing its dependence on firmware to provide explicit compatibility.
Thus, in practice, this form of learning is generally a last resort, and firmware support is preferable.
Branded technologies that incorporate this form of learning have been given names like "solid burn" and "hypertuning".