Struggling to get to grips with all the media on the market

[Will Hay]

I'm finding I'm losing my way with all the different brands on the market, but more importantly with the different dyes available.
I always stuck with Ritek, preferably GO4's but lately, having had a compatability issue with my inkjet printable G04's and my friends/families standalone DVD players, would like to try some alternatives.
I know the only real method is trial and error but the flaw with that, at least for me, is that no sooner do I find a pack that I/everyone likes I struggle to find it again and am never sure whether I'm buying the same disk again.
There are so many brands....
* bulkpaq
* datasafe
* datawrite
* prodisk etc.
I'm happy to stick with GO4's (are these what they call Grade A?) and don't mind paying that little bit extra once I find a disk that will play on mine/my families DVD player (my content is always home camcorder footage).
The main difference appears to me to be the disk surface, ie inkjet or some brand logo or some ugly design and the grade, ie A, B etc.
Then there's the manufacturer, but do the disk manufacturers make the dye, what is the deal?
Also, it is safe to assume that if I buy a Ritek GO4 with an injket printable surface from one store (who may give it the code DV3071/25), is it safe to assume if I buy an inkjet prinatble Ritek from another store it will be exactly the same disk?
Also, call it niavety but I always stay clear of anything other than Ritek, simply because I just do not know what or how good the alternatives are.
You see how confusing it is, or maybe it's just me.
A link to informative site (I wish!) or perhaps just a few pointers would be a big help.
Many thanks,
Will Hay

[lordsmurf]

My normal answer to this would simply be typing "www.nomorecoasters.com" ... but I know you're not a newbie.

The short answer is "no" ... nothing stays the same in media, not from place to place, store to store, day to day, ... nothing.

We have the "general ideas" like I published online at my site ... but it'll never be 100%

I'm still shocked you had 4 of 5 PRODISCS03 go bad. Could be UK .. could be SVP .. could be the phase of the moon.

[Will Hay]

Okay, I get you, so you're saying once I find the right brand and type here's nothing much I can do other than buy what I can and hope for more stock, right?
Okay, as long as I'm not missing anything.

My normal answer to this would simply be typing "www.nomorecoasters.com" ... but I know you're not a newbie.

I'm glad you didn't, I didn't think it was an unreasonable question considering I know nothing about the media market.
Thanks for the post.
Will

[indolikaa]

It's an excellent question. When people bring up Ritek I always tell them ask around here to see where to good stuff is currently being purchased.

This is a big reason why I tend to stick with Taiyo Yuden. I always get nervous looking at another brand in bulk because I wonder if the formula is the same as the last advertised item. It took me a few small purchases before I plunked down for a bulk in Maxells for that reason.

Buying media can be somewhat unnerving.

[stiltman]

Buying media can be somewhat unnerving.

You can say that again. I alway used Ritek orange tops from the same source. Never had a problem. Then I got my R200 and had to find a new vendor and product. My first test is with ProDisc silver top printables. They burn great (so far) but I just don't care for the transulcent look to them...That mean I will have to test another product. I will most likely try the ProDisc white top printables, that is if I get good results from my current batch of silver tops....

[aggies11]

It's also an issue of "you get what you pay for".

Not necessarily saying that less expensive discs are of lesser quality, more of "the cheaper the disc, the more you have to worry about fluxuating quality, inconsistency, bad batched, etc.

There are some people that are willing to pay more for a disc, to avoid all of this uncertainty (eg. Taiyo Yuden, Maxell etc). Even with these discs, you aren't guaranteed 100%. All you get is the much lower chance of unreliability.

A good Ritek G04 disc, is a great disc. THe problem with going with them is that there is some uncertainty as to whether you are going to get a "good" ritek disc.

So ultimately it boils down to a question of: is the less worry the extra cost for "high quality" media? Or conversely, is the added uncertainty worth the extra savings you get on less expensive media? It's all about what you are willing to put up with.

Aggies

[ny888]

Will,

I'm interested to know which standalone dvd players you're having problems with in regards to the Ritek G04.

I've been using the same Inkjet Printable Ritek G04 from Meritline and have been fortunate to not have had any problems yet. I just sent out a batch of 30 DVDs of my daughter's 1st year and no problems.

[Will Hay]

Will,

I'm interested to know which standalone dvd players you're having problems with in regards to the Ritek G04.

I've been using the same Inkjet Printable Ritek G04 from Meritline and have been fortunate to not have had any problems yet. I just sent out a batch of 30 DVDs of my daughter's 1st year and no problems.

I'll find out, there's three of them, one is certainly a Yamada but I've dug into the compatability section o fthis site an dthey should play okay.
Thanks to everyone for the contributions.
Will

[DaveS]

Buying media can be somewhat unnerving.

You can say that again. I alway used Ritek orange tops from the same source. Never had a problem. Then I got my R200 and had to find a new vendor and product. My first test is with ProDisc silver top printables. They burn great (so far) but I just don't care for the transulcent look to them...That mean I will have to test another product. I will most likely try the ProDisc white top printables, that is if I get good results from my current batch of silver tops....

stiltman - have you considered TY printable or samsung beall printable (full face)? I was liking my samsung's although I got a few problems w/ full disks not playing right at the end. Trying the TY printables now...I think I'm 10 for 11 (1 bad media - write error)

[edit:] btw, Will Hay - thanks for posting this - great question

[Will Hay]

My normal answer to this would simply be typing "www.nomorecoasters.com" ... but I know you're not a newbie.

I only just figured this is your site.
Knowing you as I do I incorrectly assumed you meant you were posting a dead link, a link to a site that didn't exist just to prove it's impossible to answer questions such as mine.

I know I'm setting myself up for a fall by admitting this stuff but figured you should know (why I phrased my first response as I did).

Will Hay

[DaveS]

one question as I re-read lordsmurf's response...

where in the marketplace does all of the 'fuzzyness' around the media stop?

e.g. for me, for example, buying 50 here or there, I am at the lowest end of the retail market for these media (or I guess they guy who buys 5 at circuit city is, but the two are probably similar).

at the other end of the specturm is a hollywood studio which has dvd's pressed from glass masters probably directly to their spec.

in the middle is maybe studios that do a lot of DVD work for their clients, maybe like some here work for.

I guess my question is what type of volumes does one need to purchase to actually know what one is getting?

do the small studio guys actually know or do they buy 500 from rima at a shot and know no more then we do? If you buy 10,000 do you actually have a better handle on being confident of all of this?

I guess if one stays away (somehow?) from the fake dvd's (e.g. fake sony, etc.), then maybe it's just knowing the grade. E.g. am I getting grade a or b, but I wonder what volume or suppliers you need to buy from in order to get a legitimate answer to what you are being supplied w/. (e.g. last time I got some from meritline, the edges were all drippy which I suppose didn't impact the burnable surface but I did feel a bit mislead).

If any of this makes sense, I'd be interested to know what you guys think. Is it just b/c we are at the low end of the market that we suffer from this or what?

[lordsmurf]

My normal answer to this would simply be typing "www.nomorecoasters.com" ... but I know you're not a newbie.

I only just figured this is your site.
Knowing you as I do I incorrectly assumed you meant you were posting a dead link, a link to a site that didn't exist just to prove it's impossible to answer questions such as mine.

I know I'm setting myself up for a fall by admitting this stuff but figured you should know (why I phrased my first response as I did).

Will Hay

Like the site name? Yeah, it's a real site.

But I have been known to post the www.howtobeperfectandnevermakemistakes.com kind of sites, so can understand.

@DaveS
I buy my discs 100-500 at a time at most (and sometimes they're not all for me, but for a few of us here). I'm in this with the rest of you guys. It's part skill, part knowledge and part luck to be honest. I place orders as I need them, which can be monthly or even weekly, and for the amounts I need. I'm not rich enough to stock $10K of media, nor do I have the office closet space.

[gminnick]

I noticed BeAll was not on lordsmurf's list. I just tried a pack of the printable ones that print to hub and while it does not seem to take the ink as well as the Riteks I was using (have to use +2 or +3 print density) they seem to burn fine. Did not have a problem out of the 25. Any comments on where they would be in the list?