Verbatim's for back up?

[jason]

I'd like to go ahead and put some of my dvds on blank media. My main concern is quality loss, would I lose any of the original dvd quality if I plan on using blank dvd's as back ups? All of my media is on an external hard drive, and it's almost full. I would like to burn some of my dvd's to a blank disc. And I know Verbatim is one of the best for quality and assurance. Should I go ahead and keep the original copies on my external hard drive, even after I burn them? For quality purposes I would suppose.

[guns1inger]

If they are larger than a single DVD and you have to re-encode them then yes, you may lose some quality. If you do it well, the loss might not be noticable. If they are less than 4.38GB then you lose nothing when you burn them.

[jman98]

If you rip a single layer DVD and burn it to a single layer DVD, there is no quality loss. If you rip a dual layer DVD and burn it to a dual layer DVD, there is no quality loss. If you compress a dual layer DVD to single layer size and burn that, yes, there is quality loss.

You are wise to use Verbatim. If you want to use dual layer media, use the DVD+R DL discs. The DVD-R DL discs cost a fortune (usually $4 a disc!) and require special settings when burning that DVD+R DL doesn't use. ImgBurn should be what you burn with for best results. Finally, note that DVD+/-RW discs should NOT be used for long term storage as the discs are not designed for that. The chemical used to make the discs re-writable was never intended to be used for long term storage, just for short term storage of data that would be erased. If you want to keep your backups long term, you need to use DVD+/-R (DL) discs and not the re-writable ones.

[jason]

I use DVDfab and choose the main movie option. Majority of my collection is less than 4.7 GB. I have a selected few that were over. Aren't there more coasters when you use dual layer media? I'd rather be coaster-free and stick with the regular 4.7 media.

So even if it's 4.7, it has to be less than 4.38 for 100% quality?

[jman98]

There is much debate over the burnable DL media. We're basically in agreement that in much of the world, Verbatim is the only reliable manufacturer. Taiyo Yuden does make DVD-R DL discs, but only for the Japanese market. Verbatim has recently started outsourcing DL manufacturing to India and away from Singapore The Made In Singapore DL discs were top notch. The Made In India discs seem to me to be mostly good, but slightly less good than the Made In Singapore discs. I have no coasters on MII media, but I did have one disc that wouldn't play correctly in my old Philips DVP-642. It plays fine in my Toshiba HD AD-30 player. I have no playback issues ever with MIS DL discs. Many people are very passionate in their belief that MII DL discs all suck though. You'll have fewer coasters with single layer media, that's true. And nobody really knows yet if DL media will last as long as single layer media does. Verbatim now seems to have stopped making normal DL discs in Singapore. There is some chance that their DataLifePlus line of DVD+R DL discs MIGHT still be made outside of India, but at $40+ for a box of 20 discs, that's a big gamble to buy a set just to find out.

I'd advise not putting too much stock in the "4.38 GB" recommendation. It comes from the idea that at the outer edges the discs may be less reliable, so staying under this value ensures that you have the best burns possible. I don't worry about it and I have discs that I burned up to 99.9% full and they played back fine. With better quality media, I'm not sure it's something you need to worry about, but some people are very passionate about this thing too.

[jason]

Thank you for the help.

[jman98]

When I said "normal DL discs" I mean discs you can buy in stores (ie. BestBuy, etc.). That probably wasn't the best way to put it. I'm talking about discs you can buy in stores that you don't have to mail order to get. Those 15 or 20 disc packs.

[jason]

When you purchase from retail stores, how can you tell if it's MII or MIS DL media?

[bendixG15]

When you purchase from retail stores, how can you tell if it's MII or MIS DL media?

The country of origin should be printed on the label.

[jason]

Ok, thanks.