Wow 2x DVD-R for $0.60 each.

[Bob W]

http://www.yesbuy.net/2xdv47gb10.html

Prices are still falling for DVDR media. I know this is some off brand but that sure is a good price. I may just order some myself at that price.

[Don2050]

And free shipping !! Bob..can you order some and tell me if it is anygood ???

[Bob W]

And free shipping !! Bob..can you order some and tell me if it is anygood ???

I'm going to place an order tonight for 100 of them so PM me in about a week and I will let you know how they worked for me. Thing is I can test them on my Sony 500ax or my pioneer 105 burner and hopefully they will burn at 2x on both burners.

[ROBERT BLACK]

They sell this "sky" brand of DVD-R locally here. Yes it's quite cheap, but don't expect very good quality. My samples had read errors, and would freeze up in my two set tops, for 1-2 seconds at a time.(a few times) You've been warned. I'm burning with a Pioneer 105(latest firmware), with last edition of Nero 5.5.10.50.

[defense]

some posters just trip me out. Bob..you've been saying you're gonna purchase these disks for several months now..why don't you just purchase them already?

@Robert Black..some people need to just learn for themselves. It's been mentioned before that sky disks are complete crap...if they were .10 cents a piece..they wouldn't be worth it. I did a web search also on "SKY" disks..and found nothing but negative posts...must be a relative of the Long..Ten disks. I found one post from a forum where the person was pretty familiar with sky disks..said they were manufactured in Sweden..and they were just terrible disks. Every other post i've read says the same on them. Go get em' Bob....

[tigerman8u]

I got a 50 pack from yesbuy. Burning on my optorite DD0203 using Nero 6. All burn at 2x n no problems yet.

[Bob W]

Imagine that, actually buying something that is not manufactured in Japan or China. I can hardly wait.

[bugande]

I have bought these discs, well the logo SKY 2x. The media code is MXL RG..01. ,probably fakes as we have all come to hear. Yesbuy.net told me Maxell OEM. Whatever ! I mean who really makes all these discs anyways, you know very few manufactures making lots of different brands. CompUSA has logo DVD-r that are ID Princo, LD or Optodisc. Do they all come from the same manufacturer? Whatever ! Sorry about the rant. I first ordered 25 Logo SKY 2x, burned in Pioneer 104 with firmware 1.41. Discs burned 2x with DVD Decrypter no problems. Nero DVD speed showed very good results, mostly up to 4.16gb so I build DVD's to 4.14gb and have no trouble. I will say that these discs have all played with no trouble in about 8 different DVD players. So I ordered 50 next time. They burn 2x fine but DVD speed shows mostly poor results and forget about burning past 3.6gb with this batch, but wait! The hub stamp on these was different. First batch that was good was stamped IFPI GZ05 and poor batch was stamped IFPI GZ03. So I called for a return. Then decided I would like to order more of the IFPI GZ05 at a better price then send them back. They said fine so I ordered 50 of the SKY Logo 2x IFPI GZ05 stamp. Got them and have no problems with them. I use the poor batch for small or disposable projects until they are gone, and the good batch for whatever else. For me they seem to work fine (GZ05) who knows if they will last, as we all seem to wonder if our burned DVD's will. I would say try 25pcs first. Maybe you will have good luck with them also. I will also say that for anything I deem really important (weddings, birthdays, etc...) I use TDK I bought from Target for a good price. I just bought some TDK from Best Buy 25pcs for $29.99 ($1.30 each after tax) you should too! How can you go wrong with that? TDK burns excellent to 4.37gb and no burn worries about them to me. But give the SKY a try, we all look for cheap and good, they have been good for me. Just be sure to ask for GZ05 on the hub.

[Bob W]

Okay so I received my order of 100 of these discs and so far they burn just fine at 2x on my Pioneer 105 and play on the computer and all three DVD players I have at home.

[bugande]

Bob W, what is the stamp on the hub?

[BobK]

I'm very leery of cheap DVDs. When the prices fall they'll fall for the good media not long after the cheap crap comes down.

The first DVDs I bought after I got a burner were 79 cents each- being new (and not yet having found this site) I thought all DVDs were created equal. Later I discovered that about 20% of what I burned on cheap media was no good a month later. Of that 20%, some would play on my standalone, but none could be ripped to make copies. Fortunately I still had my source material.

[defense]

Some people are just bloated with mularky. @BobW, what's the media id of those disks that play so flawlessly on all three of your standalones? It's been said countless times on this forum and others that those Sky disks are as bad as they get. The poster who said their disks "probably" had a FAKE MXL media id should be informed it was ABSOLUTELY a fake media id. And it's also been said those SKY disks with the MXL media id are total crap. There is apparently two other media id's for those disks....what is the media ID of those disks BOB? Oh yea..and i'm also curious what the center hub letter/number etch is.

Just weeks ago I remember in this post

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=654161&highlight=#654161

you said you SPECIFICALLY ONLY use 3 types of media.....so you purchasing such crap media so quickly really is interesting. Not sure why you didn't post the media id so fast when you've been so quick to post it on other disks before. If you'd be kind enough to post the media id and center hub etchings...I think I may just purchase some of these disks myself.

[Bob W]

The hub ID is "FP GZ05". I have burned seven of them tonight without a hitch.

[defense]

What's the media id bob? Sounds like you got a great deal...you should purchase 500 of them. Especially now that they're a penny cheaper at .59 cents..i'm sure you don't mind that you got these excellent disks for just a dollar more. My hunch is you'll be a perfect 100 outta 100. Just because the majority of people who purchased those disks found that it wasn't the disks which burned...but them who were burned....doesn't mean you'll have the same problems...i'm sure your situation is special. After all, your already 7 outta 7...batting .1000.

I guess you "NOW" use "FOUR" types of media ONLY, huh? Because just two weeks ago you only used Ritek & TDK along with those COMPUSA disks...glad to see you've got more versatility with disks now.
What's the media ID? Why haven't you posted it?


Oh, By The Way, you're burning these with your Sony?

[Bob W]

I'm burning the disc with my Pioneer 105 as my Sony system is not connected yet since my recent move.

I have ADVDInfo so what test do I run on the discs to get the media ID?

[tompika]

ADVDinfo sounds a bit old

www.dvdinfopro.com

[Bob W]

ADVDinfo sounds a bit old

www.dvdinfopro.com

Here is what I read with this utility program.

00000000 00 42 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 50 00 02 58 0E 11 .B...@....P..X..
00000010 98 99 80 00 03 4D 58 4C 20 52 47 00 04 30 31 00 .....MXL RG..01.
00000020 00 00 00 00 05 88 80 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 ................

[defense]

sounds real odd Bob...you got the FAKE MAXELLS which are known to be extreme CRAP. And with all the heat..the online sites apparently stopped selling the fake/crap disks.....interesting.....you must have a magic burner. Please keep everyone posted on your burning status ratio of sucess to failure. I'm sure you won't have any failure though.

[Bob W]

sounds real odd Bob...you got the FAKE MAXELLS which are known to be extreme CRAP. And with all the heat..the online sites apparently stopped selling the fake/crap disks.....interesting.....you must have a magic burner. Please keep everyone posted on your burning status ratio of sucess to failure. I'm sure you won't have any failure though.

Magic? I doubt that I'm just using DVDshrink version 3.0 beta 5 then burning to my Pioneer 105 using RecordNow (not RecordNow Max). I burned another this morning so now that is 8 for 8 and I have at least checked each disc for playback all the way to the end credits of the movie by chapter skipping through the discs.

I'm gong out of town today for three days but when I get back I will try these discs on my Sony DRU500ax.

[ebenton]

I have at least checked each disc for playback all the way to the end credits of the movie by chapter skipping through the discs.

Chapter skipping doesn't really tell you much. A lot of read errors can occur in the parts that you skip. Even fast-forwarding can mask some errors.
In my humble opinion, if you are in a hurry and don't have time to play a movie all the way through, it is better to do a speed test using Nero CD Speed or some other reliable speed-testing software to check the disk. This should at least tell you if you can successfully make a copy of your copy. Even if the disk plays all the way through with no problems, if you can't make a copy of your copy, you haven't gained much.

[ROBERT BLACK]

And with all the heat..the online sites apparently stopped selling the fake/crap disks...

Unfortunately,I noticed some of B&M stores are still selling the Fake Maxells as the real deal. They're either trying to unload they're losses on the naive, or they have no idea they're fakes. I wouldn't doubt it if they're trying to dump that crap, along with LongTen and Sky on Ebay or other auction sites.

it is better to do a speed test using Nero CD Speed or some other reliable speed-testing software to check the disk. This should at least tell you if you can successfully make a copy of your copy. Even if the disk plays all the way through with no problems, if you can't make a copy of your copy, you haven't gained much.

I agree, but that doesn't necessarily mean you couldn't make copies of a disc that suffers from massive read errors. I managed to re-rip and copy a couple of the ultra bad Longten discs. Regardless of bad read errors you should try and back it up. No problems on the re-ripped discs.(Ritek)

[bugande]

Just wanted to get back into this post. Like I said I had very good results with the sky logo 2x discs. Hub reads GZ05 (GZ03 were terrible, but not bad at 1x though). Played in 8 dvd players with no reported problems. The first time I burned these discs was a 4.36gb disc and DVD speed reported bad results after 4.2gb or so. Since then I made discs fit to around 4.16gb for these discs. Maybe they can burn more but I don't bother trying since if they don't work, junk, reburn. I must say that the poster defense is bashing this thread hard. I think he should listen for more results or try some himself. I know they are fake Maxell ID but have burned good for me. He has played with the Matrix discs from shop4tech.com for how long now? He has tried three different formulas and now likes them. I have heard of these SKY discs having stamps on the hub of GZ04, I have GZ03 and GZ05. The GZ03 burn lousy (1x OK). The GZ05 have been great for me (pioneer 104 fw 1.41). In the media list a poster reports good results with the GZ04 on his Pioneer also. Maybe the maker of these discs has improved them also over time? I don't know just a thought. But trying cheap discs seems to be what alot of us are trying. Anyways just wanted to get back with my thoughts. Some common results are KProbe PI average 27.3 and PO average 0.71. DVD speed results:

[defense]

@bugande... i'm not bashing anything. I'm simply posting facts. If that is an accurate nero cd speed graph then you are one of 100 people who have had that result. You are the one who needs to to research...I could easily find countless threads with those fake Maxell media id disks...but I'm not gonna do your homework. I got some more news for you....if any disks are going to be subject to problems..it's gonna be those. Like I said...do your own research and check out the majority on those Maxell disks...the results were horrific to say the least.

As far as the Matrix disks go....what's your point? The Matrix disks were said INITIALLY to be continuously updated and improved and that has been accurate to this point. Many others have posted the same..not just myself. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade..but I do have a problem with someone who says they only use 3 types of disks...2 of them... HIGH QUALITY media ...and mention RITEK AND TDK as two of those three types of disks...then a couple of weeks later..they all of a sudden say they purchased "100 of some of the crappiest known disks being sold." Something smells FISSHHEEEE.....

What smells even MORE FISHY is good ole' Bob W with PERFECT RESULTS with those PHONY MAXELL disks says they didn't post the MEDIA ID because they didn't know how to check MEDIA Id's. Gee..that's real odd considering i've read posts where Bob has posted media id's before..and way back in April he was told how to use the ADVDINFO tool...but NOW he makes it sound like he NEVER KNEW about ADVDINFO. Here's just one of his posted media id links. https://www.videohelp.com/forum/archive/t155937.html

Maybe it's just severe amnesia and my hunches are wrong

but more importantly then all of that is that this "YESBUY" is still selling those Phony Maxell disks MONTHS after it's been said they are fake and terrible disks. Why do you think the disks are selling so cheap? They are trying to dump off their supply...that's why. The other online sites gave themselves a cop out if shit hit the fan. Sites like meritline said the weren't aware of the fact that the Maxell disks were phony...NOOOO...OF COURSE they weren't...I mean...after all..they sell CARS online....not MEDIA...so why would they know the disks were fake. It's not like they're in the media business. And of course they woudln't know Maxell at that time was only manufacturing their own media..so they couldn't be legit anyway...but they wouldn't know that either...Oh....and they woudln't know that they were getting the DISKS DIRT CHEAP...AND ACTUALLY SELLING THEM AT ABOUT 1/4th the cost of AUTHENTIC MAXELL disks....but why would the online sites know that either?

At least many of those sites did do the right thing and take whatever losses they incurred and stopped selling the disks...but Yesbuy shows how truly shady they are. And the truth is...the bottom line is that Yesbuy still selling phony Maxell disks shows how truly unethical they are. Anything for a dollar..huh? And as I said..this isn't about bashing or knocking..it's about making unsuspecting people aware of the fact that those disks are complete crap. And if they want to know more..all they have to do is search "phony" or "fake" Maxell disks on this forum..and they'll find out for themselves. There were a lot of pissed off people who got "burned" with those Maxell disks.

I'm a person of numbers...meaning...if 1 or 2 people say something..regardless of what it is...I don't store it as being legit. Now when I read numerous people say something similar...then I say...O.K...this must be legit. In this case with the Phony Maxell disks...there are COUNTLESS more people who have gotten nothing but horrific results with those disks. If 100 people say they are the worst disks they've used....and 2 people like yourself and bob say the disks are great...call me crazy...but I'm gonna go with the 100 people's results. And that's the situation here...numbers speak louder then words.

[bugande]

defense you are right about the numbers. I am not saying that anyone is wrong about these discs, just that I ordered some without knowing the Media ID until I got them and checked myself. When I saw Maxell I said, Oh great fake Maxells. I had read the posts about them too. But like I said my results have been great, I check all the discs I burn with DVD Speed. No one is saying they are Maxells. That is just the Media ID. Fake, sure. But who makes the discs anyways? Media ID tells burner what speed and how to write. They are not fake discs just fake Media ID. They may come from the same factory your discs come from! I just want to let people with my same setup know my results (pioneer 104 fw 1.41) that is all. Hub stamp GZ05. It is interesting how so many people have trouble with different discs. I mean most posts report Princo to be terrible, why do people still buy them. I have burned ice top Princos that were awesome. Comp USA Princo discs totally sucked for me. Ritek G03 are excellent 1x, G04 burn 2x but 3.8gb is max (maybe bad batch of 50 ?) TDK always great. Accu 1x and 2x burn nice to about 3.8gb also most of the time. Optodisc 1x Comp USA discs were very good, full burn. CMC early discs terrible, latest CMC burn 2x real nice. Anyways posting good results or bad results is what this forum is all about, to help others. I like to try the cheap disc also, I guess it is exciting and challenging to see how they will burn. Have been thinking about Matrix third formula, funny looking DVD speed results though. What about Prodisc 2x ? Well I only want to post my results for others out there, even you. If you like trying cheap discs these work for me. I have not looked at Bob W's posts but I know what I am doing. Media ID check, DVD Speed, KProbe results (the same things you do). I create am image first and burn with Dvd Decrypter. Good Luck.

[defense]

@ bugande,.... I understand where you are coming from as well...as I said...you are just in the small percentage of people who have had success with those disks. It has nothing to do with the fact that the media identifier is fake...it has to do with the results. What makes a difference is Maxell are some of the highest quality disks manufactured...stealing their media id and putting it on inferior disks with inferior dye as the Sky disks no doubtedly are...is just begging for issues. This is why most of the people who have used the disks were literally BURNING up. They got taken and were understandabley pissed.

What is more disappointing is that a site like Yesbuy could of and should of easily taken the "HIGH ROAD" ...taken their losses and moved on. Instead..it's been MONTHS later and they're still selling the phony disks. What does that say about their reputability? The put the price so low to dump off their remaining stock. But if the disks work for you..then hey...great job...by all means keep using them. As far as the Matrix disks go....if you knew more about them...you'd know the phony Maxells don't come from the same factory. But again...stick with what works for you...if the Sky disks are working great for you..then keep using them.

I'm just curious Bugande...in total..how many of the Sky disks have you used..and overall...how many coasters have you created?

[robb7979]

Alright,
I have some of these Sky Dvd-r's. I bought them local here in Germany. They have Purple Print on them. The hub is stamped with nothing like you guys talk about. It says...11L-1-2 0308170302-332199. I bought them for about 35 Euro's for a 25 Pack. I had A 50 Pack of Matrix (not sure which "generation") and I notice half way through everyhting I burned on them sucked, so I was in a bind. being woefully addicted to my burner, I decided to ease the shipping time and buy these. I'm down to my last 3 (with a new shipment of Maxell DVD+r to fill my drawer) and everything I have burned on them has worked perfectly. I have watched at least half of the movies all the way through, NO SKIPS! I usually burn with NERO 5.5.10.42 at 2X but I've used DVDecrypter, and Several with DVDShrink, same results. If there is intrest I will run a dvdinfo, might take me a day or 2 to post back, work has been a B*tch-rob

[bugande]

I'm just curious Bugande...in total..how many of the Sky disks have you used..and overall...how many coasters have you created?

20 of the GZ03 discs. 54 of the GZ05 discs. 51 remaining (30 GZ03 and 21 GZ05). As fas as coasters, the GZ03 batch around 6. Now realize if DVD speed shows poor graph I toss it. First three burned hit 3.5gb then looked bad. Never failed but obviously I did not like the burn. After that I limited that batch to 3.5gb or less. Some (3 or so) others would be unacceptable so I tossed them. Didn't even play them just tossed after DVD speed results. Now burning GZ03 at 1x up to 3.5gb has been working fine. Coasters on the GZ05 batch about 4. First two poor results after 4.18gb or so. So I build the DVD image to less than 4.17gb to be safe. The other coasters were from trying to burn at 1x. Terrible results, jagged all the way through on DVD speed. Tossed them and don't burn 1x on these anymore. I have not tried burning them full again since I figure the results will be poor. I will say that no coasters on the GZ05 burning 2x less than 4.17gb since the first two around 4.36gb. Burn the GZ03 at 1x. Now yes I'm stuck with that poor batch but will use them. Last time I ordered I called and made sure I was to get the GZ05 like before. I must also say that anybody buying these discs from yesbuy.net like I did can't be too upset since they are not like the others who were selling them as Maxell or OEM Maxell. They just bought cheap DVD-r's. They work or they don't. Princos are cheap and work or don't and people still buy them, WHY? Like I said before TDK for important stuff! I feel I can trust the burn and longevity. We will see about that in the years to come. Some day we may be back on this forum talking about the discs that are still readable. That is why I want good results from DVD speed, no since making discs that are no good now even if we may never watch them again. @defense it is good talking with you about this. I can keep you posted about anything else you would like. My success has been very good with SKY but like I said trying different cheap discs seems to be interesting.

[defense]

@ bugande....informative info...and the coaster ratio isn't all that bad for you. One thing I definitely agree with is that people can't be pissed if they get the SKY disks and find that they are PHONY Maxell. That's why I never mentioned that..because I do feel if a person buys media for .59 cents a piece...then they have to beware ahead of time..or they may get screwed.

Yesbuy isn't being 100% shady...however, as I mentioned..I do have a problem with them selling the disks to begin with. But to each his own. If people are happy with the disks...such as yourself and the other posters in this thread who are satisified...then keep buying them since they work. Prior to this post...the general consensus was that those Phony Maxell disks were total garbage....but it seems here that some have had better success. Maybe the disks are being manufactured better..who knows....as far as Princo goes ...

I think the reason people still buy them knowing they can have serious issues...is because of the price. But the difference between Princo and Phony Maxell disks are that Princo disks have been known to be hit or miss.....either really good or really bad....while the PHony Maxell disks...aren't any specific companies disks...it seems like several shady media manufacturers who pulled together on this thing to begin with. I think mentally...people would be more willing to purchase cheaply priced Princo's while they may be a little more reluctant to purchase an unknown entity and an unknown manufacturer.

[Bob W]

Update: I have burned about twelve of the discs so far. I viewed two of the backups all the way through and they played back great. I have yet to try them on my Sony burner however later this week I will try that and report back.

[FOO]

DVD speed reported bad results after 4.2gb or so. Since then I made discs fit to around 4.16gb for these discs. Maybe they can burn more but I don't bother trying

Looks good to me. All I have to do is reduce the size of my movies
to zero and I won't have any errors .