Maxell deceitful labelling-Beware

[cyflyer]

Until now, I only bought the MIJ Maxells 'MXL..' id code. I knew about the Ritek 'Maxells', but knew that the genuine MIJ Maxells always said 'Made in Japan' on the box so you could identify them on the store shelf. I bought two x25 cake boxes yesterday with "Made in Japan" clearly printed on the shrink wrapping. To my horror, when I popped them in Decrypter I see the media code as 'Ritek G05", ie Taiwan crap !!!
What the f*** is going on ? I was well pissed off. This is highly deceptive labelling. How can they get away with fobbing off 'made in taiwan' with a 'MIJ' label. Anyone else had this ? Beware. These are going straight back !!!!!!

Is it the local distributers that are being con artists, or Maxell themselfs ?

[hamilton accie]

bought 2 50 packs of maxell dvd-r from costco scotland both labelled made in japan. dvd decrypter says they are ritek g05. contacted maxell customer support for clarification yesterday still no reply. my brother is a researcher for a uk consumer rights programme (watchdog)on the bbc. if i dont get a reply i will pass this information to him. watchdog is the uk's no1 consumer rights show.

[lordsmurf]

This has been known for a while now. Most of the spindle were "fixed" with those MIT stickers. We can only assume there was either some sort of screw-up with label printing, or excess was used and supposed to get stickered. This was reported early in 2005.

[ROF]

I got caught up in this too. The discs burn just fine. If you are buying discs because of where they are made it's OK to try other media. You never know. Your equipment may like media that others complain about. I know mine do. The media I buy is the name brand media that's on sale. I don't even bother with country of origin as it would take me too long to focus on such fine print that doesn't amount to any difference IMO.

The only time I check media codes is when I see a thread here or elsewhere when people are having problems with media I've purchased.

[Gen-An]

ROF, the thing is, there is a big difference between the Maxells made in Japan and the ones made in Taiwan. They aren't even the same discs; the Japanese discs are made by Hitachi-Maxell themselves while the Taiwanese media are made by Ritek. Ritek media is known to be problematic whereas Hitachi-Maxell media is top quality.

[ROF]

I've had no problem with either. Staples had a sale on maxells. When a similiar like this appeared I checked and mine were Taiwan made. I've since used them all up and have zero issues to report.

[SCDVD]

This mislabeling problem is irritating. It makes you wonder how big of a "mistake" it was. Ritek is capable of making very good media but they also fob off some pretty nasty stuff. When the big names buy media on an OEM basis from a company like Ritek, they usually impose some strict QC requirements. They often have their own QC staff on site to minimize the "funny stuff". I don't know how closely Maxell monitors their OEM suppliers, but IF (Big IF) they do, the media is probably OK. If not, --- Well, good luck!

[Wile_E]

I just checked 2-50pks of -R. (MXL RG03). These have shiny gold reflective top. I also have 1-50pk of +R. (MAXELL-002-00). What's next? Do I need to check ALL discs in every pack I buy? Will they start mixing in Taiwan/Japan in the same cake box? If so, that would be worse yet.

[Gen-An]

There is no need to check all of the discs in the package. The Japan and Taiwan discs come from completely different factories and are likely packaged at their respective origins.

[cyflyer]

The discs burn just fine. If you are buying discs because of where they are made it's OK to try other media

Ok doubting Thomas, you're missing the issue hear again. I/we bought Japanese Maxells labelled as such BECAUSE THATS WHAT WE WANTED TO BUY ! If I wanted to buy crap I would have bought it, but NOT DISGUISED AS SOMETHING ELSE !!!!!!!!! Thats our right. Get the point now ? Wether or not you think they burn OK, contrary to evryone else's opinion, THATS NOT WHAT I WANTED TO BUY .

[hamilton accie]

ok its been 2 days since i contacted maxell customer support still no reply. will speak to my brother at "watchdog" about this situation tonite!

[Wile_E]

hamilton accie,
Please keep us informed. But I doubt Maxell will respond.

[ROF]

The discs burn just fine. If you are buying discs because of where they are made it's OK to try other media

Ok doubting Thomas, you're missing the issue hear again. I/we bought Japanese Maxells labelled as such BECAUSE THATS WHAT WE WANTED TO BUY ! If I wanted to buy crap I would have bought it, but NOT DISGUISED AS SOMETHING ELSE !!!!!!!!! Thats our right. Get the point now ? Wether or not you think they burn OK, contrary to evryone else's opinion, THATS NOT WHAT I WANTED TO BUY .

Who's this RDF fellow? In any case, you didn't get crap or at least I didn't. Smell the disc and I think you'll notice the distinct difference.

[Seeker47]

I don't recall who mentioned it (in another thread), but I recently saw that he was correct: Sears does carry some Maxell 50 spindles that say MIJ on the label. Even the really threadbare Sears location closest to me. Furthermore, these were recently on sale @ $15. However, I wouldn't pay 15 cents for them, if they actually turned out to be any sort of Riteks ! Not when there are so many other good options available. The reports in this thread make me very hesitant to find out.

[cyflyer]

However, I wouldn't pay 15 cents for them, if they actually turned out to be any sort of Riteks !

How true, Seeker, how true. However, I don't think ROF is persuaded and still thinks shit smells like roses.

[ROF]

Like I've said one's mans trash is another mans treasure.

If the discs burn and read back fine, it's good media.

Doesn't matter if it comes from Taiwan, Japan, or where ever.

and if you can find it on sale most stores allow you to return opened cakepans if only a few disc are used and it's returned with them.

[lordsmurf]

RITEK still burns good for a lot of people. It's not total crap, it has a coaster rate in the 10-20%'s mostly. So I can see what ROF is saying, in terms of him having good luck with the discs.

That said, if you want to buy MXL and get RITEK, you deserve to be pissed from a mislabeled package, just take it back.

[ROF]

I can't remember my last coaster. The only time I even consider checking media codes is when I see threads discussing media I have on hand.

[Wile_E]

The discs you burn may be good now. But don't come back here 2 years from now, complaining that they all have errors. A lot of people here just want quality discs to archive stuff on. Discs that last for several years in storage. I already had problems with Memorex CMC crap. My CD-R's I burned a little over a year ago, are going BAD! They have been in my closet, in CD binders. Some had unreadable data. Had to throw some of them away. Luckily I had nothing of value on them, except backups of my PC games. I have the originals to make new backups. If these were photos of my family, etc, I would've been pissed if they were lost forever!

There needs to be a law or something, forcing manufacturers to put the dye type used, on the package, so it's easy to identify it. Most people want quality discs and would gladly pay more to get them. I'm tired of all the crap products I've bought over the past 10 years. Everything is being made too damn cheap. They are cutting corners as much as possible, just to save the company a few dollars per product sold. Again, I would gladly pay extra money for a quality product. The same goes for companies "downsizing" products, and selling the stuff at the same price. I'm tired of all this, and it's got to stop.

[Gen-An]

Most people want quality discs and would gladly pay more to get them.

Er, maybe in Japan, but in the US most buyers just want the cheapest thing possible.

[cyflyer]

maybe in Japan, but in the US most buyers just want the cheapest thing possible

Yeah, well they shouldn't come on the forums balling their eyes out that their dvds don't work or have problems, especially after the good advise offered by Lordsmurf and others in the know, over and over again.

[Seeker47]

The discs you burn may be good now. But don't come back here 2 years from now, complaining that they all have errors. A lot of people here just want quality discs to archive stuff on. Discs that last for several years in storage. I already had problems with Memorex CMC crap. My CD-R's I burned a little over a year ago, are going BAD! They have been in my closet, in CD binders. Some had unreadable data. Had to throw some of them away. Luckily I had nothing of value on them, except backups of my PC games. I have the originals to make new backups. If these were photos of my family, etc, I would've been pissed if they were lost forever!

There needs to be a law or something, forcing manufacturers to put the dye type used, on the package, so it's easy to identify it. Most people want quality discs and would gladly pay more to get them. I'm tired of all the crap products I've bought over the past 10 years. Everything is being made too damn cheap. They are cutting corners as much as possible, just to save the company a few dollars per product sold. Again, I would gladly pay extra money for a quality product. The same goes for companies "downsizing" products, and selling the stuff at the same price. I'm tired of all this, and it's got to stop.

I couldn't agree with you more, Wile_E. I've had distribution CDs from 3 years ago go south on me, with important contents being lost. (I'm glad I didn't make those CDs myself, or I'd feel even worse about it.) Don't want to repeat that experience with DVD. It all goes back to the observations noted here before, about how ridiculous it is for us to be having these uncertainties in our brave new world of digital storage, when many of us have videotapes 20 years old or older that still retain their contents in pretty good shape !

Gen-An commented: "Er, maybe in Japan, but in the US most buyers just want the cheapest thing possible." Well, then, most of them are sheep, or idiots, or both. Same as it ever was, with so many things.

[hamilton accie]

i cant believe it i just got a reply from maxell which reads as follows

we are currently investigating these issues however please note that all maxell media is manufactured either by ourselves, or due to excessive demand, to maxells exacting standards via approved suppliers. although these suppliers may also manufacture product for themselves or competitors they do not use the same technology that goes into producing a maxell product.

[ROF]

What surprises you: The outsourcing or the reply?

[hamilton accie]

actually getting a reply

[lordsmurf]

they do not use the same technology that goes into producing a maxell product.

Bullshit.

At most, they may have their own QC people on location, but I really doubt it in this case. Really, seriously, totally doubt it. I think they just buy and brand, the end.

[cyflyer]

Bullshit

ABSOLUTELY !!!!

Can you imagine it at the same factory:
QC man 1: I'm from Maxell, and my G05's are the best.
QC man 2: I'm from Sony and my G05's are the best.
QC man 3: Bullshit, I'm a Ritek man and our brand are the best..etc etc

A Ritek G05 is a Ritek G05. You can't have different qualities of the same product, thats absolute nonsense.

[jbarth]

so if Maxell is deceitfully labelling, what are the best dvd-r +r brands to buy???

[cyflyer]

After the adventures of buying 'supposed' MIJ Maxells which turned out to be MIT Riteks, I returned them and got a batch of the jewelcased versions of MIJ 1-16x DVD-R Maxells and some 1-8x DVD+R Maxells. The DVD-r's 1-16x, code MXL RG04 burned at 4x are all great, no probs. The DVD+r's, 1-8x, code MAXELL-002-00, burned at 8x, are all pixellating like the clappers at the end. I check the media code a couple of times in decrypter and it wouldn't even show a media code. After about three attempts it showed MAXELL-002-00. What the heck is going on with Maxells ? Will the +'rs burn ok ok if I drop the burn speed to 4x, or is there just a problem with them ?
I'm rapidly going off Maxells in general. Too much hassle.

[Pisidan]

Funny all I use is RitekG05 Never any coasters and has played in every DVD player I have thrown them at. I love them and thats all I will buy!