Pioneer DVR-220S and TDK (CMC MAG, AM3) discs incompatible?

[cwerdna]

I've got a Pioneer DVR-220S which has been working great w/virtually all the blanks I've thrown at it so far, DVD-Rs like (TDK) TTG02, MCC 03RG20, RITEKG05, TYG02 even some CMCMAGAE1 (I believe, weren't bought by me), and DVD-RWs from OPTODISC and RITEK. I've probably burned 100+ full discs of stuff so far and produced only 1 coaster w/a RITEKG05 disc.

However, a coworker gave me some grey top TDK DVD-Rs (Nero CD Speed identifies them as CMC MAG. AM3) and NONE of them work. All 6 that he gave me are spit out within a few seconds by the Pioneer 220 w/the message CAN'T USE on the display and on the screen message "Incompatible or unreadable disc." I've NEVER encountered this w/ANY discs before until now.

Interestingly, on my PC w/BenQ DW1640 drive, DVDInfoPro 4.614 crashes when I click on the Media info button w/these discs in. That's why I have to use Nero CD Speed. One of his discs also got my DW1640 into a wonky state (strange blinking light pattern and I had a LOT of trouble ejecting it).

I dug around on Pioneer's site and couldn't find any firmware updates for the 220 so I don't know if any even exist. Some quick Google searches didn't turn up anything useful. Are these discs just crap as (http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm claims they are) or incompatible or incompatible w/my recorder's firmware? How/where can I get firmware upgrades for my recorder?

I actually don't care THAT much about his discs, but I am worried about accidentally buying discs that aren't compatible in the future...

Here's the info from Nero CD Speed.
Nero CD-DVD Speed: Disc Info
Basic Information
Disc type: : DVD-R
Book Type : DVD-R
Manufacturer: : CMC
MID : CMC MAG. AM3
Write speeds: : 4 X
Blank Capacity : 4.38 GB
: 4486 MB
: 4704831488 bytes
Extended Information
Layers : 1
Usage : General
Recorder information
Disc Status : Empty
Raw Data
Pre-recorded Information in Lead-in (0Eh)
0000 - 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 52 00 02 84 0D 12 98 99 90 00 - .@....R.........
0010 - 03 43 4D 43 20 4D 41 00 04 47 2E 20 41 4D 33 00 - .CMC.MA..G..AM3.
0020 - 05 88 80 00 00 00 02 00 18 EE 90 7C 78 FB 90 7C - ...........|x..|
0030 - FF FF FF FF 71 FB 90 7C 18 6A DD 77 51 6A DD 77 - ....q..|.j.wQj.w
0040 - 00 00 15 00 02 00 00 80 30 00 00 00 18 00 00 00 - ........0.......
0050 - 30 00 00 00 14 D5 05 00 40 00 01 00 0B 00 00 00 - 0.......@.......
0060 - 1C D4 05 00 4E 00 4E 00 98 D5 05 00 18 EE 90 7C - ....N.N........|

[budz]

I have the Pioneer 220 dvd recorder as well. I only use Sony (made in japan) or Maxell DVD-RW media. CMC is pure crap media so use something else other than that.

[cwerdna]

I have the Pioneer 220 dvd recorder as well. I only use Sony (made in japan) or Maxell DVD-RW media. CMC is pure crap media so use something else other than that.

The Sony MIJ media I have is TYG02 (Taiyo Yuden). The Maxell DVD-RWs I have are MIT and 1 pack of them turned out to be Optodisc and the others were Ritek.

[Bagheera]

I'm with budz on this. I use exactly the same media he is using and have never had a coaster or any issue with my DVR-220-s.

I tried a CMC disc once. And only once.. My 220 spit the damn thing out so quick I think it was insulted by my choice of media. It acted like I was trying to give it heart-burn!

That was the one and only time I have EVER had an issue with my 220 and media.

[orsetto]

A lot depends on where you live: different countries get different discs made in different factories. The brand-name quality depends on their supplier for your market. In the USA, media options for older recorders like the Pioneer 220/225/520 series have diminished sharply. As others have noted, the dreaded CMC conglomerate now makes nearly every brand you can think of. These discs work OK in updated PC burners, but very poorly in our older, non-updateable recorder burners. Of the brands left in stores, only Sony 16x DVD-R with "Made in Taiwan" on their wrappers will work correctly in my Pio 510 and 520. Verbatims and TDK used to work OK, but their newest CMC formula revision gets spit right out of my machines as "unrecognized discs" so I gave up on those. With availability of Taiwanese Sony rapidly fading in favor of the very dodgy Sony Malaysia discs, I have now turned almost exclusively to TY (Taiyo Yuden) 8x Premium DVD-R for my oldest Pioneer and JVC machines. I have never had a failure with these. (The excellent Sony Japan media recommended by Budz was usually Sony-relabeled TY Premium- very hard to find in USA stores, Sony media for USA is now made by Daxon Taiwan and Daxon Malaysia.)