Just got a DVD writer, now I need media....

[mjvgiese]

Just got my first DVD writer today. It's an Emprex 8x DVDRW 1008IM. It'll do DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW. I looked at the store to get some blank DVD-R's, but I left without any because I didn't know what to get. I took in a list with a bunch of good/bad Media ID's, but I couldn't find them anywhere on the packages. I'm at a total loss of what to try...

Can someone give me some suggestions of what media to try? I'd like to get some DVD-R and DVD-RW's, maybe like a 5 pack of each.

Thanks......

[solarfox]

Ahhh, welcome to the unique hell that is trying to get decent media off the shelf.

I took in a list with a bunch of good/bad Media ID's, but I couldn't find them anywhere on the packages.

And you never will, because by and large they don't want you to know who made the discs. Not to mention that they don't always buy them from the same place.

Sadly, I've found that the only retail-store-boxed media you can really depend on getting the same stuff each time, is the Apple-branded DVD-R media which Apple sells for use in their DVD-burner-equipped Macs. Apple's very conscious of their brand image and their reputation among A/V professionals, so they're not going to jeopardize that by selling crap media. Unfortunately, they only sell dash-R media under that label as far as I know, and Fry's Electronics is the only retail outlet I know of that carries it regularly. It's also usually a few bucks more expensive than the rest.

For more commonly-available brands, I've generally had good luck with TDK and Verbatim, for whatever that's worth. You can increase the odds in your favor by staying away from any cheap "house brands", like GQ or CompUSA, but basically, it's a crapshoot.

[tag]

First, the 3pk of -RWs and the 10pk of -Rs. Next, buy the spindle of 25. I believe they're also sold in spindles of 50.








See how easy that was???

[handyguy]

Buying an 'off' writer means you don't have a big selection of tested media, but try Left Column, dvd media.....

Btw, panasonic 'Ty's are $5 for ten after rebate at Best Buy online. Is best, most compatible media in the world.

[lordsmurf]

www.nomorecoasters.com

a tip on the BTC 1004/1008 for you....
avoid PRINCO and be wary of RITEKG03 coasters.
MXLRG02 is top media, but the early BTC firmwares had poor support on it. Use TDK or TY or another 1ST class if you don't update the firmware

[mjvgiese]

I went and looked at Walmart... they don't have a huge selection, and I didn't really see anything all that appealing. I'm not huge on the idea of paying $15 for something I'm not sure will even work good. So, once again, I left without getting my media. I saw some earlier today at Circuit City, I think it was either Memorex or Maxell, I don't remember which. I think I'll get that tomorrow and try it.

Thanks for the tips, I appreciate it. Sounds like finding decent media will be the worst part of DVD writing. At least I hope....

[disturbed1]

Walmart sells both Maxell and Verbatim, either of those would be fine.

Memorex puts out both a good product and a bad product, so becarefull with those. The price at Walmart isn't that bad for low quantity purchases.

[indolikaa]

The Maxell DVD-Rs at Wal-Mart (same as you see in the pictures above) for $16.84 per 10-pack are excellent discs. Look for Made in Japan on them. I have been using them while I await the arrival of my next Taiyo Yuden purchase.

I've never seen them in spindles before!

[lordsmurf]

Walmart sells both Maxell and Verbatim, either of those would be fine.

Memorex puts out both a good product and a bad product, so becarefull with those. The price at Walmart isn't that bad for low quantity purchases.

They sell SONYD4 also, this would be a good disc to try out and use on the BTC drive.

[JBUNGIE]

I have found that fuji dvd-r' work pretty good..they play on my ps2, rca, and memorex, but would not play on an older toshiba model "99".

[chas0039]

A number of media sellers on the web will sell samples of media so you can try them out. Rima.com and Supermediastore.com are two of the best.

I have no experience with BTC writers but Prodisc is pretty good for the price and Rima.com might send you a sample at no charge if you email them.

Also download Nero CD-DVD Speed and you can get a basic media tester and media identifier.

Welcome.

[lordsmurf]

BTC loves the PRODISCS03

[tag]

I've never seen them in spindles before!

In case you want to do a LOT of burning:



$59.88 at J&R

[Hawseman]

Mmmmm.....sweet media.

Best printables on the market (yes....even better than TY):



$55.76 at Shopperwiz or $56.60 at Pagecomputers. Both good online retailers, IMHO.

[Bodysurf]

Can someone give me some suggestions of what media to try? I'd like to get some DVD-R and DVD-RW's, maybe like a 5 pack of each.

As others have written, <http://www.nomorecoasters.com> is a great place to start.

For easily available media, go with Maxell DVD-R or 4X/8X Verbatim (MCC not CMC) DVD-R.

I also recommend going with DVD+RW over DVD-RW. It's faster, supports defect management, no lead-in/lead-out times, etc.

I know there are a few DVD-RW supporters here, and you don't have to take my word for it. Grab 3 or so DVD-RW blanks and 3 DVD+RW blanks and do tests for yourself. DVD+RW is the clear winner as far as I am concerned.

[tag]

Best printables on the market (yes....even better than TY.....

Damned good prices on those, too!

BTW, I F***ed up and tried this at home.

.......stings a bit.

[Hawseman]

@tag

A mixed cocktail of CIALIS/VIAGRA/EXTENZ-RX/ENZYTE/LEVITRA with a chaser of STAMINA-RX is the trick.

(You can learn a lot from spam....including how to spell Viagra 20 different ways)

[Fandim]

lol, you need viagra, cialis, and levitra for this?!

I just need the Stamina RX.

Heh heh.

[faithfoo]

I need DVD RW that is less prone to error; say I back up 1000 files ( overidding all of them everyday from Hard disk to DVD RW
(( not using packet writing , but erase and rewrite again )

Is DVD RW + or DVD RW- better in creating less error

From
www.nomorecoasters.com

1) it appears to be DVD RW - by pionner , and 2nd best MCC RW +

2) IT APPEARS that copying movies, MCC or TDK R- are the among the top ..( NOT R+)

[lordsmurf]

My BTC drive loves the INFODISC DVD+RW (Memorex 2.4x) and TDK DVD-RW (TDK 2x).

Expect to put 1-2 INFODISC DVD+RW in the trash right away (blemishes in dye). Then 1-2 will die after a few hundred writes. This is 25-spindle.

The TDK DVD-RW is almsot the same. Expect one to die after several hundred writes. Never really any defects. This is the 20-pack (2x10) jewel cases.

[tkamin]

@Lordsmurf
I had a Ritek dvd-rw (ricohjpn media id) which died after only 30-40 burns... it's just got tons of errors right in the middle... still burns but some files are unreadble by pc... isn't it suppose to be high quality?

[faithfoo]

it appears to be DVD RW - by TDK given my 1000 files update on frequent basis . I should not go for DVD RW + by MCC RW + ?

2) IT APPEARS that copying movies, MCC or TDK R- are the among the top ..( NOT R+)

[lordsmurf]

@Lordsmurf
I had a Ritek dvd-rw (ricohjpn media id) which died after only 30-40 burns... it's just got tons of errors right in the middle... still burns but some files are unreadble by pc... isn't it suppose to be high quality?

No disc is perfect.
My Coca-Cola is on a TY DVD-R 4x right now. No lie.
Can't find my real coaster, dug this out of the trash.

[faithfoo]

orignally I have settled for DVD RW + as I understand to have better error corrections than DVD RW -

now it appears DVD RW- is better than DVD RW +

and TDK is among the best


and for DVD RW + , MCC is among the best