Question about cheap DVD-R media

[NamPla]

Hi everybody, I'm just wondering, if I burn onto cheap Princo DVD-R, then scan it with Nero CD-DVD Speed & everything comes out green, does that mean I have nothing to worry about & I have a good burn? Or should I still be worrying?

Princos are so cheap here - $27 for 50 (Austr.). I think Ritek G04 are about $50 for 50. Then is a huge leap in price to Taiyo Yudens - hundreds of dollars, ha ha.

I burn lots & lots of Princos & then scan them & get green all the way. They play back fine etc.

Just wondering...

Thanks!

[OneCardShort]

With the cheaper media the only sure way of verifying them that works for me is to put them in a dvd rom after burning and start windvd or powerdvd and fast forward through the entire movie and any extras (trailers, making of's, etc.). If it stutters or freezes it's bad, toss the disk. If this happens a lot with a batch of disks try slowing the burning speed. Also, try not to burn more the 4 gigs onto the cheaper media as they are not as reliable on the edges as the good stuff.

For data I wouldn't use Princo's or Riteks. I have several of each containing data that burned and verified in Nero fine but 3 months later I can't open some files, the dvd rom just keeps trying to scan the disk in an endless cycle and I have to eject it to get it working again. These same files worked just fine when newly burned.

In fact, I should check some of my older movies on Princo's to make sure they still work.

[lordsmurf]

You're currently winning a gamble. You're fine, just be aware it won't always be that way. I have many, many good Princos in my possession, most of them are several years old and are still as still perfect as the day they were burned.

[NamPla]

Thanks for the comments. Except, LordSmurf says I'm OK if my burns check out good in Nero, but OneCardShort says not necessarily, that they can still deteriorate! I guess I'll keep gambling away for the time being...at least until I can start affording more expensive media, heh. Thanks guys!

[GKar]

People here still use the Post Office, you are probably safe.

(Oops forgot, I work for them!)

[lacywest]

Ok ... how about this.

I burned Kingdom Hospital Seizure Day Episode 11 on to those Longten cheap DVDs.

Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Manufacturer ID LONGTEN 001
Format Capacity Not Formatted
Free Blocks 411107328
Free Capacity 4.38GB(4.71GB)
Book Type DVD-R
Media Type DVD-R
Media Id Code Speed 4.0x 5540KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 4.0x 5540KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 2.0x 2770KBps
Write Strategy Speed 4.0x 5540KBps
2x Speed OPC beta 0B
2x Speed OPC power 0F
2x Write Strategy field 1 12 66 66 80
2x Write Strategy field 2 88 80 00 00 00 00
4x Speed OPC beta 01
4x Speed OPC power 1B
4x Write Strategy field 1 0B 0F 08 08
4x Write Strategy field 2 55 09 10 0B
4x Write Strategy field 3 80 88 80 88
4x Speed OPC beta multi-pulse 06
4x Speed OPC power multi-pulse 1C
4x Write Strategy field 4 13 A8 88 65
4x Write Strategy field 5 98 9A 88 80 00 00
4x Write Strategy field 6 00 00 00 00 00
Data area starting sector 30000h
Linear Density 0.267um/bit
Track Density 0.74um/track
Number of Layers 1

And just to play it safe I also burnt it to OptoDisk

Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Manufacturer ID ProdiscS03
Format Capacity Not Formatted
Free Blocks 411107328
Free Capacity 4.38GB(4.71GB)
Book Type DVD-R
Media Type DVD-R
Media Id Code Speed Unknown
Available Write Descriptor CLV 4.0x 5540KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 2.0x 2770KBps
Write Strategy Speed 4.0x 5540KBps
2x Speed OPC beta 09
2x Speed OPC power 11
2x Write Strategy field 1 11 87 78 90
2x Write Strategy field 2 A8 82 00 20 00 00
4x Speed OPC beta 05
4x Speed OPC power 17
4x Write Strategy field 1 0D 10 0B 0B
4x Write Strategy field 2 96 08 0F 0B
4x Write Strategy field 3 C0 00 00 00
4x Speed OPC beta multi-pulse 07
4x Speed OPC power multi-pulse 1C
4x Write Strategy field 4 13 A8 89 65
4x Write Strategy field 5 B6 89 88 80 00 00
4x Write Strategy field 6 00 00 D0 00 00
Data area starting sector 30000h
Linear Density 0.267um/bit
Track Density 0.74um/track
Number of Layers 1


It is a good thing I did. I took the Longten DVD into the living room to watch "the seizure" with my girlfriend ... the disk totally played screwed up within the first few seconds. Pixels all over the place and stuttering.

I went into bedroom and returned with the Optodisk DVD Disk and "The Seizure" played just fine.

I did a ... check for errors with DvdinfoPro ... and no errors were shown. But when I played the disk it was terrible.

Now for my Panasonic DMR E50S ... I do use the CompUSA DVD-Rs

Media Information
Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Manufacturer ID PRINCO
Format Capacity Not Formatted
Free Blocks 411107328
Free Capacity 4.38GB(4.71GB)
Book Type DVD-R
Media Type DVD-R
Media Id Code Speed 1.0x 1385KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 2.0x 2770KBps
Write Strategy Speed 1.0x 1385KBps
Data area starting sector 30000h
Linear Density 0.267um/bit
Track Density 0.74um/track
Number of Layers 1

They work just fine for recording the shows I record from Cable.

[GKar]

Ok ... how about this.

I burned Kingdom Hospital Seizure Day Episode 11 on to those Longten cheap DVDs.

That's nice, China will be shooting LongWang nukes at us before LongTen gets a consistent burn on a DVD.

[NamPla]

I'm sorry, that DVDInfo stuff is gobbly-gook to me. That's why I use Nero Scan-Disk, which gives a user-friendly visual display. Like I said, it all reads GREEN (like my tobacco!)...

So...As I ask at the beginning, should I worry or not? Lord Smurf says no, I'm OK, and I must say I value his word a lot on these matters.

I guess I was really asking: Is there such a thing as DETERIORATION of cheap media (even if it's a good initial burn). I don't see how...???

(Like I said at the start, I DO check them on my player/TV, everything looks good).

Thanks!

[handyguy]

Sure dvds can delete themselves, just read the dvd media topic on left, search for Princos....