Best brands/what to look for buying locally? Or which Verbatim/TY to order?

[trimicada]

Seems nearly everything on the shelf these days is Taiwan. Haven't been able to find Maxell MIJ in quite a while. Looks like I'm about to order online either TY or Verbatim. However, if I wanted to pick some up locally, what is the best to look for? If I find some FUJI MIJ, I assume that is still good. But what is best at Best Buy/Staples/etc.? FWIW I have a NEC2500 and may pick up an NEC3550 soon. Also, if I just go ahead and order from RIMA or the like which has been coming up best? Verbatim or TY? 16x or 8x? Any current tips?

[Gen-An]

You can't really go wrong with Verbatim 8x or 16x sold in retail stores. It will be made in Taiwan, but it will always be MCC media.

[piano632]

Fuji MIJ are TY discs, if you can find any. Some Sony MIJ are TY also.

There seems to be a resurgence of high-quality media lately, though you usually have to mail-order it (and of course, you pay a premium price).

Maxell (Japan) is now making "Broadcast Quality" DVD-R with hardcoat ($2 each in DVD cases):
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&kw=MADVDMRBQ&is=REG&Q=&O=pro...ist&sku=382445

Then there are Mitsui and Delkin gold DVD-R's.

[Gen-An]

The Maxell Plus DVD-Rs (always MXLRG03 Made in Japan) seem to have a good reputation:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=382473&...goryNavigation

[bnbhoha]

Office Depot and Bestbuy always carry Verbatim on sale for around $15 for a 50 pack. Go to fatwallet and do a search for verbatim; Im sure you'll find a link for a sale either in store or online.

[cyflyer]

You can't really go wrong with Verbatim 8x or 16x sold in retail stores. It will be made in Taiwan, but it will always be MCC media.

Not true. Be aware that most Verbatims I see in shops lately seems to be Made in India by Mitsubishi Kaga... (something or other). You have to look carefully even for the MCC jobs nowadays.

[NiteLite]

TY-GO2 (8x MIJ) from Rima $32.00 per 100. Consistent quality. Hard to beat from a respected company.
Dont understand the comments about online prices being so much higher with quality media. Cant buy quality (Verbatim-MCC / Taiyo Yuden) in stores in my area.
Yes there is shipping. But, when compared to buying local with TAX and $3.00 a gallon gas, I think home delivery costs are about equal and fair.
BTW> Verbatim DVD-RW = Ritek.

NL

[ntngod]

by Mitsubishi Kaga... (something or other).

Mitsubishi Kagaku. So did it have an MKM MID then... or the regular MCC?

I've just run into the usual Prodisc-made MCC and CMC-made MCC in my region, but YMMV (obviously).

[lawnman]

I buy my Taiyo's from SuperMediaStore and got the last 100 Premium Silver 8x DVD-R Spindle cake box for $32.00 and shipping was free. How do you beat that?

[lordsmurf]

I buy my Taiyo's from SuperMediaStore and got the last 100 Premium Silver 8x DVD-R Spindle cake box for $32.00 and shipping was free. How do you beat that?

Four spindles of MCC media for $14.95 on sale, plus tax, with a $10 coupon.
So 200 MCC discs for $54.75

That beats you! :P

[lawnman]

I guess I lost the Race.

I still like the way I ran.

[cyflyer]

I've just run into the usual Prodisc-made MCC and CMC-made MCC in my region, but YMMV

Sorry ntngod, don't quite understand. What d'you mean prodisc made MCC, and CMC made MCC but YMMC ???

[samijubal]

I got my last 2 100 packs of Verbatims for $18 each shipped after rebates from Meritline. One of them was 16x the other 8x. The rebate from Verbatim was fairly fast as far as rebates go, the Meritline one was slow.

[Gen-An]

You can't really go wrong with Verbatim 8x or 16x sold in retail stores. It will be made in Taiwan, but it will always be MCC media.

Not true. Be aware that most Verbatims I see in shops lately seems to be Made in India by Mitsubishi Kaga... (something or other). You have to look carefully even for the MCC jobs nowadays.

The original poster is in the USA. Here, all the Verbatim DVD SL media on the shelf, 8x or 16x, is MCC media made in Taiwan by either CMC or Prodisc.

[Gen-An]

I've just run into the usual Prodisc-made MCC and CMC-made MCC in my region, but YMMV

Sorry ntngod, don't quite understand. What d'you mean prodisc made MCC, and CMC made MCC but YMMC ???

Mitsubishi's only optical media plant is in Singapore. Right now, they're only making Dual layer media and HD DVD there. Single layer media is made in Taiwan by Prodisc and CMC, and in India by Moser Baer. Mitsubishi sets these companies up with its own dye and stampers and the discs are made to MCC's specifications; these companies are making MCC discs rather than MCC making them itself. YMMV means Your Mileage May Vary.

[cyflyer]

So whats happened to the famous MCC plant of Taiwan that we hear so much about producing the only decent non Japan made discs ? Am I hearing correctly that MCC (good media) is now made by CMC and prodisc (crap medias) ? Geez, none of this makes sense anymore, even if it is made with Mitsubishi materials supposedly.

[lordsmurf]

Mitsubishi has never owned a plant outside Singapore. They have their Taiwan media production facilities set up inside a leased space at plants run by CMC and Prodisc. In India, it's at Moser Baur.

Do not get confused. This is still MCC media. It is not CMC or Prodisc media.

[cyflyer]

So why are the indian ones Mitsubishi Kagaku instead of MCC also, and why are they not as good as their Taiwan counter parts ?

[trimicada]

So whats happened to the famous MCC plant of Taiwan that we hear so much about producing the only decent non Japan made discs ? Am I hearing correctly that MCC (good media) is now made by CMC and prodisc (crap medias) ? Geez, none of this makes sense anymore, even if it is made with Mitsubishi materials supposedly.

Tell me about it. You step away for a few months and everything changes.

Maybe I'll stick to mail ordering some TY.

So CMC and Prodisc made media if from Verbatim is now "OK"? Or at least might be?

[ntngod]

So why are the indian ones Mitsubishi Kagaku instead of MCC also, and why are they not as good as their Taiwan counter parts ?

If I understand the corporate chain correctly, Verbatim is actually part of Mitsubishi Kagaku Media, which in turn is part of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (where the MCC comes from). Why the Indian-made discs say 'Mitsubishi Kagaku' rather than 'Verbatim Corporation' as on Taiwan-made packages, I don't know.

(If you think the organizational structures of some large US corporations is sprawling and confusing, you should take a look at some of the Japanese mega-corps. Mitsubishi is seemingly into EVERYTHING - they've got their fingers in a whole lot of different, unrelated areas.)

The reluctance about Indian-produced Verbatim comes from the fact it's produced by Moser Baer.
(My LiteOn absolutely loves the 8X Moser Baer-made FUJIFILM03 that were sold under different labels, but everyone has their own experiences)

[ntngod]

So CMC and Prodisc made media if from Verbatim is now "OK"? Or at least might be?

The Verbatim in the U.S. has been coming from those two sources for quite some time; this isn't a sudden shift of providers.

[Gen-An]

Not just in the US. CMC and Prodisc have been making MCC media since the 4x days. Some 2x Mitsubishi DVD-R was even made by Prodisc.

[trimicada]

OK, last question about the Verbatims...I went by Best Buy last night but didn't buy any because they were only labeled Datalife and not Datalife Plus. Is there a difference? I wasn't sure so figured I would come back here and ask first...

[OneSickPup]

OK, last question about the Verbatims...I went by Best Buy last night but didn't buy any because they were only labeled Datalife and not Datalife Plus. Is there a difference? I wasn't sure so figured I would come back here and ask first...

No difference other than labeling and packaging.

[trimicada]

Thanks for all the help. Just placed an order with Rima for 50pks of both TY and Verbatim to try them both. Part numbers 1792 (Verbatim) and 1736-50 (TY).