Plaid13

Ok just looking for opinions on what blank dvds to use. what brand has everyone had the best luck with? What should i expect to pay for how many? Wheres a good spot to buy them? Very cheap would be nice but i would rather spend a few more bucks to get better quality.

Basicly just going to be making copies of dvd movies for the most part but i will use some as a way to back up files. I have a 16x liteon dvd burner and a amd 3700+ and 2 gig of ram so it souldnt have any problems with the computer keeping up with the burner. (hopefully no coasters)

SiN

which liteon? I've got the 1693 and i love it.

regarding which media to use ...

1. it's always on sale, somewhere, sometime. the more you buy, the cheaper the per-disk price, usually. but, I rarely buy more than 50 at once. Got 50 verbatims @ office depot this week on sale for 12.99. and they are decent media.

2. 'decent' media. oh, that is a lot more complicated than one would think, but it doesn't *need* to be. (only if you want it to). http://club.cdfreaks.com is a great site/forum for more than you ever needed to know about optical drives/media. (in fact, that's where i saw the deal on the ones i got, and found out they are of good enough quality).

regarding quality, as a general rule, look on the cakebox label (if buying them in person) for where they are made. I think, generally. order of preference from best to worst is:
Japan
Taiwan
China
India

aaaand, that's about the best i can tell ya off the top of my head.
regarding +r or -r, afaik nowadays it's more personal preference than anything, but perhaps -r's are more readable in more stand-alone dvd players. I always get +r, just what i'm used to, more common in europe to get those, -r's are more common 1st choice in the US.

and ... yeah, i'll shut up before i start babbling about media id codes and stuff

__________________

Plaid13

its a 1693s according to the prpperties when i right click it too lazy to get up and look at the box. but i have had liteon before and loved them.

trickyy

www.shop4tech.com is a decent online retailer

phukraut

I buy Taiyo Yuden discs by the 50s and 100s from blankmedia.ca. I highly recommend the brand and the store.

bendsley

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showpos...48&postcount=2

The following is an exerpt from the link above.

Media ID Quality Guide

The following list is in preference order. The best discs are near the top of the list. The discs at the bottom of the list are suitable only for a landfill. PVC is the best of all, LONGTEN is the worst of all, etc. Note: Some codes may be listed twice, done because a -R, -RW, +RW and +R by the same company may not be the same quality. The format is listed because of this.

1ST CLASS MEDIA
Almost flawless burns with 95-100% reliable results:
PVC = Pioneer = (-R)(-RW) ... media is no longer made
MXLRG01, MXLRG02 = Maxell = (-R)(-RW) ... be aware of fakes
TAIYOYUDEN, YUDEN, TYG01, TYG02 = Taiyo Yuden = (-R)(+R) ... be aware of fakes
MCC = Mitsubishi Chemicals = (-R)(-RW)(+R)(+RW)
TDKG02, TTG01 = TDK Corp = (-R)(-RW) ... be aware of fakes

2ND CLASS MEDIA
Decent discs, though not perfect, about 80-95% success rate:
PRODISC = Prodisc Media = (-R)(+R)
INFODISC = Infodisc Media = (+RW)
SONYD04 = Sony = (-R) ... be aware of fakes
RICOHJPN = Ritek or Ricoh = (+R)(+RW)
RITEK = Ritek = (+R)(-R)(-RW)(+RW)
OPTODISC = Optodisc = (-R)
FUJIFILM = Fuji = (-R)(+R)

3RD CLASS MEDIA
Quality can be very questionable, about 50-80% success rate:
LEADDATA, LD01, LD, LEDA = Lead Data = (-R)(-RW)
BEALL = Samsung BeAll = (-R)(+R)
MBI = Moser Beaur (India) = (-R)(+R)(+RW)
PRINCO, fake TDK = Princo = (-R)(-RW)
ONIDTECH = Unknown OEM = (-R)
MUST = Unknown OEM = (-R)
GSC001, GSC002 = Unknown OEM = (-R)(+R)

4TH CLASS MEDIA
Pathetic garbage media, landfill material, about 0-50% success rate:
RITEKG01, RITEKG02 = Ritek = (-R)
CMC, CMCMAG = CMC Magnetics = (+R)(-R)
PIODATA, PIO = LeadData, Ritek = (-R) ... once sold as "Pioneer" but that's false
Fake SONY, MXL = Fake Sony/Maxell from Hong Kong OEM (Infosmart?) = (-R)
OPTODISC = Optodisc = (+R)(+RW)
AN31, AN32, ANWELL, AN30 = Hong Kong OEM (Infosmart?) = (-R)
INFOSMART = Hong Kong OEM = (-R)(+R)
VANGUARD = Unknown OEM = (-R)
YIJHAN = Hong Kong OEM = (-R)
MATRIX = Hong Kong OEM = (-R)
VDSPMS = Unknown OEM = (-R)(+R)
LONGTEN = Hong Kong OEM = (-R)

ANYTHING ELSE = Unknown OEM or NEW
New medias to watch for: MXLRG03

Are there exceptions to this list? Sure, but not many. LD01 inkjet media and RITEKG04 inkjet media has proven to be almost flawless media for many users. But those are the only two we've seen as consistent exceptions. Use this list as a guide. This list is a "sure bets" kind of list, and is pretty reflective of the media market as a whole.

What do the % numbers mean? This list is constructed from many tests on many burners from a handful of experienced people that use a lot of media. These numbers reflect the number of discs in a spindle that will give good results. For example, out of a 100 spindle of media, 1st class discs may kick out a few bad discs (0% to 5% of the media may have playback imperfections or be outright bad burns). The 2nd class media may have a dozen or so bad discs. The 3rd class discs could give you a half-spindle of duds. And the 4th class stuff can be pure trash. These are mean averages too, simple statistics math, meaning best tests and worst tests are discarded, and the middle range of tests is the basis for these numbers. You may sometimes find the rare instance where a CMC spindle will be perfect and a Taiyo Yuden spindle will be completely flawed, but those times are the exception rather than the rule (and are not part of a mean average).

Testing procedures: Burns are subject to playability/reflectivity tests (usage tests), as well as software verification. Test equipment is under controlled hardware/software environments to eliminate user variables. Burns are at least 4GB or more to test the entire length of the media.


Branding Guide

Although this will change on a regular basis, the following brands are known to use the following media makers for their outsourced discs.

Be careful for CMC and PRINCO discs, as those are becoming more common in those "special sales" seen almost every week since early 2004. Some companies prefer dollars over quality, so be careful. Also be especially careful of "house brands" or no-names. Stores like Fry's and CompUSA have horrible return policies too, so if you end up with an unfavorable media ID, do not burn a test, just take it back for a refund and take your business elsewhere.

Accu = LEADDATA
Americal = RITEKG01, PRINCO, LEADDATA
Apple = MXL, MCC
Arita = RITEKG03, RICOHJPN
Bulkpaq = PRINCO, PRODISC
CompUSA = PRINCO, OPTODISC, LD
Datawrite = PRINCO, PRODISC, AN31, RITEKG03
DupEZ = PIODATA, LEADDATA
Esbuy = RITEK, LEADDATA, other budget IDs
Fuji = TAIYOYUDEN, MCC, RICOHJPN, PRODISC, FUJIFILM
GQ = PIODATA, PRINCO, RITEKG03, RITEKG02, LEADDATA, LD
HP = CMC, RICOHJPN, MCC
Imation = RITEKG03, CMC
KHypermedia = CMC, TTG01
LiquidVideo = OPTODISC
Matrix = MATRIX, LONGTEN, YIJHAN, MUST
Maxell = MXL, RITEK, RICOHJPN, TYG01
Memorex = CMC, RICOHJPN, PRODISC, INFODISC
Meritline = Various budget IDs
Mirror = AN31, ONIDTECH, PRINCO
Optodisc = OPTODISC
Philips = CMC
Pioneer = PVC
Princo = PRINCO, Fake TDK
Prodisc = PRODISCS03, MCC
Ritek = RITEKG01-04, RICOHJPN
Samsung = TYG01, BEALL, RITEK
Sonic, Shop4tech = LONGTEN, MATRIX, MUST, YIJHAN, various budget IDs
Sony = SONYD04, RICOHJPN, MCC
Supermedia, Linkyo = Various budget IDs
TDK = TDK, RITEKG04, RICOHJPN, MXL, CMC, MCC
Verbatim = MCC, CMC, YUDEN, RICOHJPN, RITEKG03


Why discs are "bad" or "go bad"

DVD media is still new, and methods for creating faster and better discs are always being perfected. Discs are created in an interesting manner (note that this is a basic description). Plastic is laid down, then metal reflective foil, then dyes are poured onto the foil. Another plastic is laid on top, then the disc is spun at high speed to spread out the dye, hopefully evenly. It even sounds like an unstable method!

Dye imperfections. Bad foils and dyes, as well as bad dye spread are the most common issue that causes bad media. If the dye is uneven or does not reach to the edge of the disc, it is often bad. CMC is known for bad inner-disc spread (dye thinning) and Princo is known for not reaching the edge (short spread).

User error. A common "error" with "bad media" is actually user error. Even I'm guilty of this. Do not try to use your computer extensively while burning, especially at 2x and 4x speeds. Also test your discs before dumping the source. And run several tests, as the "verification" features found in programs like Nero have been known to not properly catch errors.

Problems past the 4GB mark. Balancing is also a side effect caused by faulty plastic, foils or dye spread. A disc spins faster on the outside than it does on the inside (ask any college physics professor). And round objects tend to be most unsteady at the outside. While DVD media allows for some degree of error (data is written in a "wobble groove"), exaggerated wobble will caused the laser to spew data in areas not meant for writing. It thus disappears, and the data comes up as missing on the disc, resulting in freezing, blockiness and other odd visual errors (caused from the decoder attempting to compensate for material that is missing). Simple explanation: bad disc.

Fake media. Fake media is often bad. If you ever acquire good media like TDK, RITEK or MXL, and the results are bad, check to see if the media is legitimate. Many of these top-tier media companies only have branded discs, not plain white-top or silver-top ones. TDK, MXL, and RITEK have been spoofed before. These discs often are cheaply-made unbranded 1x media with fake 2x or 4x Media ID speeds and maker ID codes.

Gradual data loss. Also known as "disc fade" and "laser rot", this is actually not very possible due to the mechanics of DVD recordable media. Terms like "disc fade" and "laser rot" only apply to pressed media, which are altogether different from recordable media in structure and physical/chemical properties. These theories are still widely argued, and applied only to the corrosion of the metal discs. The only feasible explanation for burned media "rotting" would be a breaking of the vacuum enclosure of the disc, allowing air and moisture to permeate the metal and dye. But such chain reaction would occur fairly quickly, not at a gradual pace of months. Simple explanation: The likely reason people face "disc rot" is that they simply did not check the media when it was first burned. Or the player/reader is now dirty, and not related to the disc at all.

Dye melting from excess burn speed. Some discs simply cave in under high speed burns. Optodisc 4x DVD-R media is known to corrupt on 4x burns. Some recent April 2004 RITEKG04 media are reported as doing this too. The dye simply cannot handle the write speed. Poor production is to blame. This happens mostly on bad discs, but can also happen on good discs due to user error. Many hacked firmwares and poorly-written firmwares will allow a user to burn a disc faster than it's write strategy and media ID speed. The side-effect of these illegitimate burns is ruined dye. The dye appears discolored or otherwise unusual.

Not a media error. This is another very frequent "problem" with discs. The simple fact is not every player or DVD-ROM will read a burned DVD media. Some players were not made to play anything other than official to-spec pressed metal discs. Non-media errors may also include players that have a weak laser or a dirty laser. A non-playing disc is not a sign of a "bad" disc, but rather just means that particular player/ROM cannot play it. Run real tests to see if the disc is truly a coaster. Also be aware that some formats are more compatible than others (with DVD-R being most compatible of them all for DVD-Video content). This is often call a reflectivity error. This is not necessarily the media's fault.

Me personally? I use both DVD+R's and DVD-R's. I have a Sony DRU-710a Dual Layer burner. I recently picked up a 25-pack of Fujifilm DVD-R's from BestBuy for $8.99. Really cheap. My friend and I ended up cleaning out the store here where I live (they only had 7 cases of them).

__________________
"You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane."

lpj8

Many Fuji DVD-R and DVD+R blank media are rebadged Taiyo Yuden discs if they were made in Japan. If you have a lite-on, DVD+R tends to work better than -R from my experience.

You can usually find them onsale at major brick and mortar retailers.

sashime76

I also get my blank medias from Shop4Tech, 100s or 200s. I've tried several different types, Optodisc - not bad; Taiyo Yuden - nearly coasterless, Sonic & Princo ~3-5% coaster rate. The Optorite burner didn't always like all the different types of discs. The NEC's I have now aren't too picky but seem to like the Taiyo Yuden the best. I also don't burn anything above 4X regardless if the discs are rated 8X or higher.

viper11885

I've had really good luck with memorex cds and dvds. Have about 300 cds and 100 dvds that all burned fine. They are always on sale as well.