Accu & Princo Both Bad?

[Gritz]

In my limited experience burning over 4GB to a DVD (brand Princo or Accu, both 1x) almost always results in corrupted video in the form of pixelation (or lockup) starting somewhere in the last 400MB. Write the same identical data to a DVD-RW and the problem goes away. Why would the media be worse at outer edges then at the beginning? I just bought a 50pk of Accu .... live and learn I guess! So .... what would the next reasonable step up be in quality, and price?

[ghoster]

i have burned over 50 accu dvd-rs and no problems. all most all of them where like 4.36 megs in size.

[Gritz]

Maybe I just got a defective batch. I'll switch to the bottem of the deck and see what happens. From the posts though, I see that my experience is not unusual at all ........ many have had the same problem with both these brands (pixelation at the end). I guess my next order will be Ritek G03s just to be safe.

[ghoster]

well i hope i don't have that problem just bought a 100 pack the other day.

[Bob W]

I had the same exact problem only with 15 Verbatim DVD+R 4x media I bought from BestBuy. I was able to use the media but only for burns of 4GB or less. Bad media for sure and I could even see the problem on the outer edge of the disc with small air bubbles and distortion.

[LanEvo7]

According to some reports from the DVD Media list, Princo has degradtion issues.

[Gritz]

One thing I have noticed is a variance in overall even density in the silver topped Accu and the white sided Princo versus others. If I take a strong flashlight in a darkened room, put it between my knees, and shine it through the top side of the disc (writting side towards you) and rotate the disc I see what appears to be defects. By angling the disc to the flashlight I can see rings (like the growth rings on a tree) towards the outer edge but occasionally a whole section up to 3/4" wide (and shaped like a pie - large at the outside and to a point at the center) will appear and be distinctley dark (almost black), as I turn the disc. Also on the Acuu the "rings" are deeper (towards the center) than the Princo, or a DVD-RW (which overall is very consistent), or any of the commercial movies on DVD I have that I checked, and also the density on the Princo and Accu seems less "consistent". Of course I can't see as well through the white topped Accu because of the coating. On a DVD movie, the overall density is lighter, but much more uniform. The commercial DVD movies I looked at have a silver burn side versus the purplish ones I've been burning. The density of the DVD-RW I have is more uniform also. If there was any point to all this it might be that the discs I'm having trouble with seem to be the ones that vary in density with pie shaped darker sections .... and these are the ones that are giving me pixelation past the 4GB size. Anyway .... just some observations.

[Tech44]

I purchased the Panasonic DMR-E30 (manufactured Oct. 2002) in the past 2 weeks and ordered 500 Accus from Meritline.com. I received the discs this Friday and have been burning all weekend. 25 discs later and not a single problem. All the discs are completely full - the finalize fine and play perfectly in Apex 500w, HP100i DVD+RW drive, and portable RCA player. I can't attest to the longevity - but for 79 cents each I could not do much better.

Before I received my Accu discs I purchased a single DVD-R at Wal-Mart (Nashua) to test - and the unit did turn itself off when starting to record the second program on the disc - and again when I tried to set the program titles - but the disc still finalized and plays fine. Interesting that Nero indicates this one disc is improperly formatted and won't copy it.

I have standardized on DVD+R for my computer work and video editing using Pinnacle DV1000 and Adobe Premier - but I purchased the Panasonic DMR-E30 for real time writing where editing and custom menus are not required. I am quite pleased with the Panasonic DMR-E30 unit and the results with Accu discs. I have been using the TB1000 time base corrector for all input with no issues - even on old VHS home videos - TB1000 highly recommended.

As I don't have a DVD-R drive I can't tell who actually manufacture red my Accu discs. They are silver top - somewhat transparent, and each disc has black printed text on the clear plastic center as well as some characters on the inner silver section.

[ckdexterhn1]

I have tried Lead Data, Accu and Ritek, before settling on Optodisc. A good burn is important, but also the look of the disc, as I sell public domain movies online.

Lead Data has little pits on the silver side surface, burns well, but I've had a few returns because of problems with playback on standalone DVD players.

Accu is pretty good, but if the movie being burned is over 4 GIG, it has problem with playback if burned at 2x. Burning ISO at 1x gives me a good disc, but I can't wait the hour it takes to finish.

Ritek burns well at 1x & 2x all the way to the end, but is not always smooth on the disc edge. A professional look is very important to my final product. Plus, many of the online stores run out of Ritek every other week.

Optodisc has the professional look and good burn I've been looking for. Burns over 4 GIG at 2x and results in a perfect disc. I found an online outlet close to where I live, and can have them ship product to me by UPS Ground, and I get it the next day! The DVD cases they ship with the discs are the best cases I've ever seen!

Princo I read too many bad stories about. I don't want my customers calling me in 6 months talking about how their DVD's no longer play because the dye in the disc is bad.

[Pontiac]

Funny you people talk of dark rings. Does anyone else notice this? Princo media is all I've tried pretty much and towards the outer edge i notice a dark ring about 1cm into the disc all the way round. This doesn't happen on all of my burns with these discs, but some.

[garryheather]

Part of the problem is how the disc is spun during manufacture.

When they are being made, the disc is spun up to a fairly low speed, and a thin line of dye applied around the center. The disc is then spun up, allowing centrifugal force to spread the dye across the disc.

If the disc isn't balanced, off center, or not spun correctly - or if the consistency of the dye is off or contaminated, the dye will not reach the outer edge correctly (ie it might start to solidify as it nears the edge and be too thick by the time it gets to the edge), which is why they crap out nearer the end of the media.

Better quality controls equal higher prices on the whole, although saying that some of the best discs I've ever had were by Pro-disc, and supplied cellophane wrapped in jewel cases for just 69p a shot !