Dual Layer DVD question...?

[Bansaw]

Couple of questions:
1) Are all Hollywood DVDs distributed on dual layer discs now?

2) When did Dual Layer DVD players arrive on the market?

3) What is best Dual Layer media (brand, type), eg: Tayio Yuden DVD+R DL...

[redwudz]

1) Most all I've seen. They need the running time for the main movie and extras.

2) 1996 in Japan and 1997 in the US for set top players. AFAIK, they were dual layer then.

3) I use Taiyo Yuden for single layer, but for dual layer Verbatim.

And that's three questions.
And others may have different answers.

[Kerry56]

1. The vast majority of mainstream movies are double layer, yes. I do not know of any site that keeps track of percentages. Commercially made DL discs are manufactured in a different manner from the ones you burn at home. They are pressed rather than having a dye layer.

2. DVD specifications require players to be able to play DL discs. Some players do occasionally have issues with burned DL discs, especially those that are poorly made or a bad match with a particular burner.

3. Verbatim +R DL discs have been the gold standard for this type of disc for many years. They use the 2P manufacturing process which has proved to be superior to the cheaper inverse stack method used by most of the other manufacturers.

[PuzZLeR]

Can I play The Three Questions too? He, he, ...

1. Most I've seen. To get high quality MPEG-2, for a high quality production, at 6MBPS-9.8MBPS, for a movie over an hour, of which most are, you really need to have more capacity than the 4.7GB of a single layer.

2. They've always been there AFAIK, and have always been part of the DvD standard, since DvD's origin in the mid-90s. However, the consumer DL empties came to market years later, and well after the consumer single layer empties have been on the market for some time.

3. I agree with the previous posters. However, if you backup data regularly, even to a HDD in ISO, your choice of brand becomes less significant IMO.

[Beck38]

Definately Verbatim +R DL; fact of the matter is, though, BD25's are less than half the cost, don't (of course, and neither do the BD50's for that matter) the 'layer break' problem/hassel.

I still have a couple of 25/packs of the Verbatims. Probably never going to be used. Blu burners/players and blank blu discs are simply too cheap to fool around with dvd's.

[Chopmeister]

That's interesting. I have a couple of follow on questions:

1. While Verbatim +R may be the standard for dual layer DVDs, does anyone have any recommendations for -R DLs? My DVD recorder burns -R disks, including DLs, very well. It's not so good with +R DVDs. I used to use the Verbatim -R DL disks, but they now seem to be as scarce as hens teeth here, and very expensive when I do find them.

2. I note that BD25s are cheap now, at least for lucky people in the US. Here the good HTL ones go for $NZ5-$7 (approx US $3.50-$5) a pop, even in bulk. I have quite a lot of stuff I want to back up and archive and need several hundred. The bulk sellers I have tried don't ship to New Zealand. So, if anyone has some suggestions about where to buy good disks in bulk at a good price, from a place that will do international shipping, I would be very interested.

[Kerry56]

There were only two types of -R DL discs worth buying, the Verbatims and those made by Taiyo Yuden. You're going to have problems finding the TY discs, since that company quit making optical discs back in December, and supplies of the -R DL discs were never great.

I don't know of a good firm for importing discs into New Zealand, sorry.

[redwudz]

I've ordered Verbatim Blu-ray Disc 50 pcs Spindle - 50GB 4X BD-R DL - Inkjet Printable $100 US shipped. That's about $2 US each.
The seller is 'Buy in Japan' and I've ordered from them on Amazon and Ebay. You can search around on NZ Ebay and Amazon if available.
This is one link: http://stores.ebay.com.au/buyinjapan/Blu-ray-Sealed-/_i.html?_fsub=3436021014

[Beck38]

BD-25's are ~.40cents (bulk cake packs, inkjet hub print) in the us, BD-50's $1.60-1.80. Out in the wilds, probably more, but the problem is what player will play the multiple non-recoded sd dvd's. In my case, a trusty popcorn hour box will, but off-the-shelf players may or my not. Would have to be tested.

[Chopmeister]

I think I want to stick with BD-25s. I have a ton of media files that I want to backup, and I suspect SL disks are more long-term durable than DL disks. I also understand that for storage reliability I should get HTL, rather than the more common (and slightly cheaper) LTH disks.

@Beck38 - For playing DVDs I am less worried. I tend to store stuff on disks rather than play off them. Once recorded, I tend to rip them to my NAS and play with media players. I'm more concerned about disks that my DVD recorder will write to happily, than playback compatibility.

[PuzZLeR]

I think I want to stick with BD-25s. I have a ton of media files that I want to backup, and I suspect SL disks are more long-term durable than DL disks.

As a suggestion, you can do both in your backup strategy. Burn to BD25, and a backup of two of them to a BD50. This way you can leverage advantages of both discs, the (maybe, likely) better stability of BD25, and the space savings (and maybe cost/GB advantage) of BD50.

[Seeker47]

There were only two types of -R DL discs worth buying, the Verbatims and those made by Taiyo Yuden. You're going to have problems finding the TY discs, since that company quit making optical discs back in December, and supplies of the -R DL discs were never great.

I don't know of a good firm for importing discs into New Zealand, sorry.

This is probably a good example of "more appropriate place to post a reply, even though an older thread." If TY has in fact stopped making optical discs, then just what are the "TY" discs currently being sold by my old stalwart supplier, Rima ? Remaining stock that is gradually diminishing . . . or something else ? (I think it mentions 'CMC'.) If this is in fact a vanishing resource, I should probably stock up again.

Regarding the Verb DLs, I think anyone who does not know ought to beware: the "DataLife" sub-label did not have a particularly good rep; you could be buying discs manufactured in India, or Abu Dhabi. (?) I did see some spindles like that recently, made in one of the Gulf states. No thanks ! In the past, I was careful always to buy the AZO dye 8X Verb DLs that were made in Singapore. I think that item is still on the market, and probably still good. You might have to look around for it. Would not want to use anything else for DL.

[Kerry56]

There were only two types of -R DL discs worth buying, the Verbatims and those made by Taiyo Yuden. You're going to have problems finding the TY discs, since that company quit making optical discs back in December, and supplies of the -R DL discs were never great.

I don't know of a good firm for importing discs into New Zealand, sorry.

This is probably a good example of "more appropriate place to post a reply, even though an older thread." If TY has in fact stopped making optical discs, then just what are the "TY" discs currently being sold by my old stalwart supplier, Rima ? Remaining stock that is gradually diminishing . . . or something else ? (I think it mentions 'CMC'.) If this is in fact a vanishing resource, I should probably stock up again.

Regarding the Verb DLs, I think anyone who does not know ought to beware: the "DataLife" sub-label did not have a particularly good rep; you could be buying discs manufactured in India, or Abu Dhabi. (?) I did see some spindles like that recently, made in one of the Gulf states. No thanks ! In the past, I was careful always to buy the AZO dye 8X Verb DLs that were made in Singapore. I think that item is still on the market, and probably still good. You might have to look around for it. Would not want to use anything else for DL.

The TY discs at Rima may indeed be old stock. But TY sold their dye formulas, MID codes and manufacturing process to CMC Magnetics and they have come out with their own versions of the TY discs. Initial reports weren't bad, but I've recently read one over at MyCE where someone in London was having terrible problems with these discs.

Regarding DL discs, the Verbatims made in UAE weren't bad. They were made by Falcon/FTI. Lots of people complained about the ones made in India by Moser Baer.