Maxell DVD burn issues

[RobV]

I've been using Maxell DVD+R for media and have a LiteOn DVD burner and almost every time I've tried to burn an authored disk (Using Sony Movie Studio & DVD Architect) the DVD does not play in my player.

Come to think of it, I think it's happened everytime.

I've been having good luck using Fujifilm DVD+R's. Everytime those disks come out fine.

I was just wondering if anyone else was having problems with those types of media.

Thanks.

[Nitemare]

I stopped using Maxell media long ago. Mine would burn okay and play okay... for about 2 months... then the burnt DVDs started getting errors and not playing... I'm glad I only used the Maxell's for backing up DVDs.

If I'd stored any kind of data on them it would have been lost.

[tomlee59]

Maxell media is not known for high quality. Your experience seems to be consistent with what other have experienced. Buy good media -- it's false economy to buy the cheap stuff.

[lordsmurf]

Maxell MANUFACTURED media is great media --- but you won't find it anymore. It would be "old stock", from the 2x, 4x or 8x days.

Maxell BRANDED media sold to consumers is crap, and has been for a couple of years now --- it's RITEK and CMC for the most part. Barf.

Good enough for dupes, but surely not for masters. You can easily replace a dupe if it burned bad. This assumes your burner is okay with this disc. Many burners hate CMC, it's not quite as bad with RITEK.

[RobV]

Thanks guys.

That's what I thought. 8)

Most times it won't even make it through the burn process. When it does, the disk doesn't player on the player. So I figured they're crap.

So now I got about 15 disks left that I don't know what I'll do with. I wonder if they'd be good enough to use for some data backups?

[tomlee59]

They'd be perfect for backing up data you never plan to use again.

Just toss those discs into the trash. If they won't burn well enough for video, they're not reliable for data of any kind. Backing up on flaky discs doesn't sound quite right.

[budz]

try burning your authored video with IMGBURN instead. Maxell outsources to CMC & RITEK as LS mentioned. Yes and they are crappy to use but since you have some of those maxell left try burning with a different burning software like IMGBURN.

[tomlee59]

If you are determined to use those discs, here are some tips for improving the quality of the burns (aside from the great advice to use Imgburn):

1) Burn at a notch or two lower speed than the rating of the disc/burner. So, if you have a 16x drive, resist the temptation to burn at that speed. Try 12x or 8x instead.

2) Be extra careful to handle the disc only by the edges. Reading is somewhat tolerant of smudges and scratches, but writing is not.

3) Avoid labels. Anything that imbalances the disc mechanically can produce a wobble. That, in turn, makes focusing and tracking more difficult for the optics, eating up precious margin (which you don't have with marginal media).

4) Make sure that no other processes compete with the computer for attention during the burn. For example, disable networking (particularly wireless, especially if the signal is flaky -- trying to reestablish connectivity takes a lot away from burning)

Then, after you've used up your spindle of MysteryDiscsFromSpace, order some Taiyo Yuden or other similarly high-quality media.

[RobV]

Thanks guys!

I tried Imgburn and it worked great. 8)

I'm not going to make a habit of using these disks. Most have already been thrown out anyways.

But at least I have another option to use when I want to burn.