WHAT IS THE BEST (CHEAP) PRICED DVD-R MEDIA?

[i am x]

I'm looking to buy the lowest costing DVD-R discs that I can that are of decent quality. I just found out that really cheap quality DVD-R's can actually "wear out" and not work if you use them a lot. I thought that as long as you kept the surface of a disc clean and free of dust, sunlight and fingerprints that it could never wear out. So What I want to do is pay as little as possible for DVD-R, but I want the discs to be discs that will NOT wear out after only a couple months of use. Can someone drop name(s) of a brand that fits this description? Any help would be appreciated.

[Synergy]

I only buy DVD discs from retail stores, and this CompUSA(FMI) brand of 1X DVD-R is, for this week, at $0.80 per disc with case:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=289893&pfp=BROWSE

They are made by either Lead Data, Optodisc, or Princo.

Cardboard: Lead Data
Soft Plastic Wrap: Optodisc
Hard Plastic Wrap: Princo

If you could avoid Princo made discs, these discs should have decent quality. Just remember, YMMV.

[garryheather]

Don't forget that your target player may not like certain brands - I strongly advise you buy a small qauntity of any media to try BEFORE yuo commit to a larger quantity based on the experience of those who post on the boards.

Yes, that includes me !

A lot of people here only seem to base their findings on their own experience, and your mileage may vary.

Tell us what player you've got and maybe someone can advise you better.

[vric]

only Ritek for me.. 1.60$Cnd
TDK are good too, but is 3$Cnd each (no spindle )

[d9fan]

Hi! I would like to share my observation.

I bought a 10pk sampler from CompUSA SKU#289893 but it has a green cover instead of the grey one like shown in your URL. When use with DVDinfo, it says PRINCO. I used NERO to burn and it burns fine and also playback fine. Tried a couple more disc. Out of 10, 3 turn into coaster. I think it is because everytime I tried to burn BEYOND 4.29Gb, the last few extra MB would turn into CRC errors during verification. Nero burns with no errors but it is during the verification, it gave back errors if the disc is over 4.29Gb. I played it on my DVD player. The APEX plays with skips and pause towards the end and my NORCENT plays with no problems. I guess some DVD player are more sensitive than others. As for the discs with errors, although my NORCENT player can play it, my PC no longer able to READ the last few files (vts_01_4.vob, vts_01_5.vob) without giving CRC errors. Any way to fix this?

I haven't try the LeadDATA or the Optodisc made ones sold by CompUSA.
Do they have the same SKU# id?

I only buy DVD discs from retail stores, and this CompUSA(FMI) brand of 1X DVD-R is, for this week, at $0.80 per disc with case:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=289893&pfp=BROWSE

They are made by either Lead Data, Optodisc, or Princo.

Cardboard: Lead Data
Soft Plastic Wrap: Optodisc
Hard Plastic Wrap: Princo

If you could avoid Princo made discs, these discs should have decent quality. Just remember, YMMV.

[vtecwil]

Thanks for the tip Synergy . I just picked up 50 of the FMI discs from Comp USA . They are 10 pak in jewel cases with the soft plastic wrap and here are the results from DVD Info ...

Media Information
Region info N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Mfr ID OPTODISCK0
Formatted Size Blank
Total Size 4.38GB(4.71GB)
Book Type DVD-R
Media type V2.0 DVD-R
Media Id Code Speed Unknown
Current Drive Speed 2.0x 2770KBs
Default Rotation Control CLV
Linear Density 0.267um/bit
No of Layers 1

These results came from my DRU-500 AX . I am going to try one right now .

[zgrm100]

damn whats the difference between soft and hard plastic wrap? I just picsked up the 10 disc pack from CompUSA and they all turned out to be PRINCO's! Thank god that I only bought a ten pack.

The pther day I bought a two pack of the Compusa ones and they turned out to be optodisc. go figure.

[Synergy]

damn whats the difference between soft and hard plastic wrap?

The Princo made 10-pack discs are wrapped in "hard" plastic with a hole at the bottom of the package while the Optodisc made 10-pack discs are fully wrapped in "softer" plastic. Your local store may have either one or both so YMMV.

...As for the discs with errors, although my NORCENT player can play it, my PC no longer able to READ the last few files (vts_01_4.vob, vts_01_5.vob) without giving CRC errors. Any way to fix this?
I haven't try the LeadDATA or the Optodisc made ones sold by CompUSA.
Do they have the same SKU# id?

All 10-pack discs have the same SKU#, just different packages and your local store may have only one particular type of package. Since CompUSA discs do have a 90-day warranty, you should exchange for another pack and hopefully find another manufacturer made discs.

[zgrm100]

is it possible to exchange without a receipt? I might have thrown it out already thinking that I would not get a refund.

[Faustus]

I would like to verify the compusa thing.

Hard Plasic is unknown (Synergy says Princo)
Soft is Optodisc 1x.

BTW the hard plasic has an oval of plasic not filled in on the bottom, meaning the plastic seal is not complete all the way around.

On the optodisc is is a complete plastic wrapper.

Not a bad buy, I picked up 20 and I'm gonna try for 20 more tomarrow.

[vtecwil]

Pretty good so far . Burned five of the Comp USA / Optodisc blanks so far , and no problems . Burned at 2X on my DRU500-AX . They had a ton of them so I'm going back this friday and get 50 more .