Tsstcorp dvd+-rw ts-h653a will not read in windows explorer nor burn DVDs

First check that your drive is indeed a DVD writer and not a 'hybrid' i.e. CD writer and DVD reader. If it is, go on the manufacturer's site and see if they have Win 8 compatible drivers - Win 8 is a fairly new OS so they may not have had time to get a new one out.

All burners use 2 lasers - one for the cd and the other for the dvd. In your case the laser for the cd has died and cannot be fixed. You must replace the burner . This one will do the job
http://www.impactcomputers.com/dvr-k16tbc.html

You could try a diffrent program (Like Roxio). Nero is not the best for burning DVD's of any kind

Make the DVD your 1st option for booting. It's also your CD drive but is identified as the DVD RW. Once this is made your default (make sure you accept and save the change before exiting) with your installation disk in the drive, boot up and it will read off the disk and prepare your system for install. If your disk is bootable, this will work.

There is a possibility that the laser of the optical drive is not functioning anymore to write dvd. This is what you have to do.

Click on Start
Click Run
Type regedit and press OK
Registry Editor windows will come up
go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
SYSTEM
CurrentControlSet
Control
CLass
{4d36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
on the right hand side, delete "Upper FIlters" and "Lower Filters" you may see on it. Everything that has something to say on upper and lower filters.

Close the Registry Editor and then Click on START, right click on My Computer and then select Properties.

Go to Hardware Tab and click on Device Manager
click on the (+) sign of the cd/dvd rom and right click on the item below and select Uninstall.

Close everything and restart your computer and try burning a dvd

***remember to use burning software since windows XP explorer could not simply burn data using the Explorer it self.

CDs and DVDs don't need to be formatted, unless you're using a DVDRW (Rewritable) and want to erase what's on it. Regular CDs and DVDs are single-write onl, and don't need to be formatted before burning.

does it try to copy ?is there any error messages?

download (VLC media player) this program plays all sorts of video types

my tsst corp cdw/dvd ts-h492a is not reading any dvd's how do i fix this problem without having to spend $29.99 for another program?
where can i download the drivers for this drive?

Right click My computer>Explore, and see if your dvd writer is showing as a DVD RW drive and not a CD Drive, then come back