Taiyo Yuden CD-R’s & DVD-R’s

[uncleB]

Taiyo Yuden CD-R’s & DVD-R’s

I’ve always been told that these are the best media for receiving the best all around results. I’ve noticed on a few of the Sites that sell them that they range in price and that the color of the disks very also. I also noticed that there are different speeds in both CD-R’s & DVD-R’s as well. Also I’ve been told that they need to be manufactured in Japan to insure that you receive the highest quality disks. Here go the obvious questions. What is the best all around DVD-R & CD-R Disks by Yuden? Is there a preferable speed or color that tends to have better results? How can you be sure if they were manufactured in Japan, & what internet store offers the best all around deals on Taio Yuden for burning CD’s & DVD-R’s? These are all probably subject to personal preferences and maybe Types of Burners (I just got a new Gateway and it’s listed as a TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-H552D). Maybe you can be good enough to tell me all that I need, or what is best, what you use and why to and or all of the above.

Thank ahead of time you guy (and gals) always pull me through
Uncle Bob

[CrayonEater]

Supermediastore.com and meritline.com have $33/100 w/ free shipping in the US. I prefer the cakeboxed stuff rather than the shrinkwrapped. I've burned about 300, no coasters and they play in all my equipment. I use the TYG02 (8x DVD-R), but some people say if you order the TYG02 you might actually get TYG03 (16x DVD-R). I can't say anything about their CD-Rs and they only just announced a DL media (DVD-R DL, no less!)

All TY is made in Japan AFAIK. I suppose it's always possible that they can be counterfeited but I'd think counterfeiters would pick a brand sold in mainstream stores, not one that's sold only mail-order and then only to people who really know what to buy. Supermediastore and Meritline have a good rep though.

I believe that burner of yours is a Samsung but I won't swear to it. That's what Gateways use, apparently. Seems troublesome from what I've read here but we'll see. I hope that's a 16x DVD+/-R and +/-R DL burner. If so, all you need is the TY media from one of the aforementioned stores and you're set.

[Habby]

Experience has taught me that it's not one disc is better than another. The magic word is compatability. Every burner has it's favorite disc. I have 2 plextor 716A DVD burners in an AMD powered machine. They simply hate imation discs. I thought I had gotten a bad batch and was about to trash them, I tried them in an old 4x sony and they burned perfectly with excellent results in plextools utilties testing software. I have found that my Plextors love Tygo, and Verbatim. Check around till you find one your burner likes.

[piano632]

The TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-H552D drive is definitely made by Samsung. Check for firmware updates for Samsung drives here:

http://www.samsungodd.com/eng/LiveUpdate/FWDownload/FWDownload.asp

Along with TY discs, Mitsui/MAM-A discs are also highly rated, but a bit more expensive.

[FulciLives]

I think the Taiyo Yuden 8x DVD-R discs are a tad bit better than the 16x DVD-R discs they make. I will continue to buy the Taiyo Yuden 8x DVD-R discs as long as RIMA.COM continues to carry them.

As for CD-R I buy FUJI packs that say MADE IN JAPAN as those are Taiyo Yuden. Another decent alternative are the MAXELL PRO CD-R discs.

The FUJI CD-R "MIJ" are easy to find at BEST BUY and the MAXELL PRO CD-R are sold at WALMART.

As for a retail store alternative for DVD-R discs ... I do like the Verbatim 16x DVD-R discs ... although I tend to burn them at 6x instead of 16x since 6x is the fastest burn speed that is "constant". I also tend to burn the Taiyo Yuden 8x DVD-R discs at 4x. But hey that's me LOL

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[lordsmurf]

Experience has taught me that it's not one disc is better than another. The magic word is compatability. Every burner has it's favorite disc. I have 2 plextor 716A DVD burners in an AMD powered machine. They simply hate imation discs. I thought I had gotten a bad batch and was about to trash them, I tried them in an old 4x sony and they burned perfectly with excellent results in plextools utilties testing software. I have found that my Plextors love Tygo, and Verbatim. Check around till you find one your burner likes.

Compatibility comes AFTER disc quality. A bad disc will always be a bad disc, and nothing can change it. A PRINCO disc is not going to burn consistently well in any drive anywhere ever.

Imation is a brand name. It could be any number of discs.

Burner quality comes into play too, and unfortunately, Plextor burners have quirks.

Scanning software like Plextools is of limited value in the overall determination of disc quality.

While it's good that you've found a combination of media/drive that works for you, your reasoning is not entirely correct.

Taiyo Yuden CD-R’s & DVD-R’s
I’ve always been told that these are the best media for receiving the best all around results.

Taiyo Yuden makes really good discs, some of the best. But "the best"? Not really, no. Mitsubishi media has a greater compatibility amongst burners, and has a greater reflectivity in DVD players and reader drives.

This does not lessen the quality of TY, but MCC/MKM does beat it in these two areas. So for "all around results" you'd want to look at MCC media before TY.

A lot of the "TY is best" comments from the past year or two is mostly due to price. Good media, amazing low price. But after you see past the undeserved hype, MCC will edge it out.

[Habby]

The only reason I or anyone else posts a question on a forum is because we have run into a problem and need advice. There are three types of people who answer. Those who really want to help, those who want to ridicule the question and those who want to ridicule someone's answer. I don't claim to know everything but what I have found to work for me, I will share with others who may be scratching their heads. regardless of bashers.

[lenti_75]

nobody was bashing at you, is just you answered wrong.

It's all about media, then burners, and Imation it;s not one of the best media, it;s good if they use ricoh media, but most of the times they use cmc and other crap.

it's true that some burners like more some media, but a good media should be good for any burner.

TY and Verbatim are among the best media, not the best, but I don't think there is any THE BEST media out there right now.

[jtoolman2000]

Since MCC has the "Edge", what is a good reliable source for MCC coded discs? I normally burn all the work I sell on TYs. I've had like 1-2 returns per / 1000 sold but don't mind a change for the even the slight better.

[SCDVD]

I suppose it's always possible that they can be counterfeited but I'd think counterfeiters would pick a brand sold in mainstream stores,

One of the mail reasons that Taiyo Yuden DVD media is counterfeited is to have a recognizable Media ID. When a disc is placed into a burner, the burner checks the Media ID to determine the proper setup info needed to burn the disc. Write speed and laser power are among the info the drive needs to know. If the drive reads a Media ID that is in its internal firmware table, it sets itself up to use the media in accordance with the preset info in its firmware table. The noname brands have a fundamental problem if their noname Media ID is not recognized by the drive. Either the drive will use a default configuration to burn with or, in some cases, it may not burn it at all. If it uses a default configuration to burn with, the results are often bad. So in order to provide a means for their media to work in burners, the media manufacturer uses a popular Media ID. If confronted, the media counterfeiter usually responds, " We buy stamper from Taiyo Yuden". This is a total lie. Taiyo Yuden doesn't sell stampers - especially to sleeze-balls!

One thing I have wondered and have never received a meaningful answer is - Is the Media ID copyrighted? Can it be copyrighted? The Media ID is just a code number; it doesn't actually say the media brand. For example, the Media ID might be TYG02, not Taiyo Yuden.

[CrayonEater]

One thing I have wondered and have never received a meaningful answer is - Is the Media ID copyrighted?

That's a very good question to which I do not have an answer. I'd think it's possible, though, since the purpose of copyright (well, actually, trademark would be more fitting in this case), is to prevent others from impersonating or profiting off of your name.

[Gen-An]

Well, the deal is, that media is very rarely sold as "Taiyo Yuden" media, so it's not really a case of impersonation. Most people who buy DVD media don't know that Taiyo Yuden exists and they know nothing of media codes. The ones who are in the know, know where to go to get genuine TY discs.

[Gen-An]

Since MCC has the "Edge", what is a good reliable source for MCC coded discs? I normally burn all the work I sell on TYs. I've had like 1-2 returns per / 1000 sold but don't mind a change for the even the slight better.

Just buy Verbatim DVD media. You're in the US so it will without fail be MCC.

[RonBoy]

The last 50 pac of Verbatim I bought were Prodisc.

I've been getting Maxell CD-R Music since I found out they were TY.

The Maxell CD-R Pro are TY also.

I've not had a problem burning either of the Maxells in my computer so far.

[Gen-An]

RonBoy, you must be speaking of Verbatim CD-Rs. The DVD media is always MCC in the US since the 4x days.

[SCDVD]

RonBoy is correct. A substantial amount of 8X Verbatim in the US market is made by Prodisc and had the Prodisc MID.

[Gen-An]

RonBoy is correct. A substantial amount of 8X Verbatim in the US market is made by Prodisc and had the Prodisc MID.

http://www.meritline.com/verbatim-8x-dvd-plus-r-media.html
http://www.meritline.com/verbatim-8x-dvd-r-media.html

I'd like to know exactly which of those Verbatim 8x products is supposedly Prodisc MID, since Meritline pretty much lists all of the available packaging of them for the US market. I've bought tons of Verbatim 8x on the US market, and while some of it is made by Prodisc or CMC, it all had MCC codes. DataLifePlus thermal and inkjet printable discs sold online is never anything but MCC-coded. The retail 50 and 100 disc spindles were always MCC coded; Verbatim even started putting a paper label on top of the discs that specifically mentioned the Azo dye because people were worried they might not be MCC since Verbatim was no longer using the DataLifePlus brand name at retail. The ones in the jewel cases often said DataLifePlus, or if not that they always mentioned Advanced AZO and again, they were MCC codes. If there was any Verbatim 8x media sold in the US with Prodisc codes then surely there would be instances of that mentioned on the major CD/DVD forums, and specifically the DVD Media list here.

[Habby]

I buy Verbatim 16X DVD-R Media in the 100 Pak inkjet printable tops at Sams club. The code on the media is MCC 03RG20 . I get great burns with these. I pay about $43.00 for a 100 pack. I don't burn at 16 speed though. I burn simultaneously on 2 plextors so I have dropped back to 4x. Any faster with 2 burners and I get a error about every 20 discs or so. But at 4x I haven't had a booboo yet. I tend to agree Mitsubishi does put out good media.

[Gen-An]

Can't do 6x simultaneous?

[Habby]

I tried it but 6 speed seems wierd on my plextors. Actually 8 does better than 6.

[FulciLives]

I tried it but 6 speed seems wierd on my plextors. Actually 8 does better than 6.

Seems that 6x works best with my Pioneer. That's the fastest I can burn and get a "constant" speed. When I go faster than 6x the buffer and speed goes up and down ... up and down ... and although I've been told that that is normal (and is called "ramping") I don't like it!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[lordsmurf]

ZCLV and PCAV are used beyond 4x (sometimes 6x). The 8x and above discs are variable speed burns. It really doesn't make much difference in terms of quality.

[NiteLite]

RonBoy, you must be speaking of Verbatim CD-Rs. The DVD media is always MCC in the US since the 4x days.

I assume you are only talking -R / +R and not including RW +/-

RonBoy is correct. A substantial amount of 8X Verbatim in the US market is made by Prodisc and had the Prodisc MID.

surely there would be instances of that mentioned on the major CD/DVD forums, and specifically the DVD Media list here.

The DVD Media list is not up to date. I recently purchased Verbatim Branded -RW and the media code is "Ritek"...not listed on the media list. That's what shocked me; when I paid the high price for them only to find a Ritek media ID.

I will try to update the list with the info since all the list states are MCC for Verbatim -RW.

At least I know that 8X TY from Rima are 8X TY. An excellent product.
NL

[lordsmurf]

The list is up to date, it's just hard to track things like this.

[NiteLite]

The list is up to date, it's just hard to track things like this.

The list was not up to date. I just updated it.
Check again.
NL

[RonBoy]

RonBoy, you must be speaking of Verbatim CD-Rs. The DVD media is always MCC in the US since the 4x days.

Correct. They were the Verbatim CD-R, not DVD.

All of the Verbatim DVD I've had were MCC coded.

The last MIT Fuji and Maxell CD-R I bought were Prodisc also. They seem to burn OK and Office Depot had the Maxells on sale for 50 @ 5.99 a few weeks ago.

I've been getting the MIJ TY Maxell CD-R Music for 75 @ $16.33 at Sam's Club.

[Gen-An]

Ritek being sold as Verbatim DVD-RW eh? That's rather disturbing. I never buy RW so I've never run into it (the sole Verbatim 4x DVD+RW I have was part of that Dual Layer pack).

[NiteLite]

Ritek being sold as Verbatim DVD-RW eh? That's rather disturbing. I never buy RW so I've never run into it (the sole Verbatim 4x DVD+RW I have was part of that Dual Layer pack).

I agree, Gen-An, very disturbing due to the $1.00 per disc in a 15pack spindle. I had also never used RW until I got my standalone. I would have been suspicious if not for the disc being branded and buying from rima.
But to be fair they have worked ok with the Pioneer standalone. I was really looking forward to trying out some trusted MCC coded. Oh well...
Anyway, enjoyed the dicussion.
NL

[Christian_R]

I, too, have heard only positive reviews of Taiyo Yuden and followed the advice of many to purchase at Meritline. I ordered:

- 100 Taiyo Yuden DVD-R 16x
- 100 pack slim CD/DVD cases
- 100 Taiyo Yuden CD-R 40x

On Meritline -

One of the cake boxes of media arrived crushed and open, as did many of the slim cases, many more of which were scratched. javascript:emoticon('')

To its credit, Meritline includes a return authorization code with deliveries, and in fairly short order exchanged the crushed DVD package and slim cases... though three of the replacement cases were also crushed. (Yes, snapped into pieces as they were in the original order: not just surface cracks.)

On TY DVD-R 16x (Japanese manufactured) media (burned on the TY-recommended Pioneer DVR-110D) -

Every one of the 14 burns I've done thus far - from five files of differing origins - has been plagued with artifacts, freezes, and sound anomolies. javascript:emoticon('')

Each of these files was then reburned on Ridata DVD-R 16x media on the same burner with no sound anomolies and without any artifacting whatsoever. I checked configuration and tried reduced burn speeds with the TY media, but got the same results. Verrrrrry disappointed!

Perhaps I just just received a bad batch of TY media, but the waste of time in trying to sort it out has soured me from purchasing any more, and certainly not from Meritline.

Sorry, just *had* to vent.

[FulciLives]

Next time order from RIMA.COM

They are reliable and package things up very nicely.

Some people love Meritline but some people (myself included) consider them to be a bit on the "shady" side if you know what I mean.

For instance they have been known to sell "fake" or "substandard" Taiyo Yuden discs.

On the other hand it is actually hard to say anything but praise about RIMA.COM

One last note ... I would order the Taiyo Yuden 8x DVD-R discs instead of the 16x DVD-R discs as I feel the 8x discs burn better than the 16x discs. Not to mention the 8x discs are a tad bit cheaper than the 16x discs.

RIMA.COM also sell pretty decent DVD cases whereas a batch I bought once from Meritline (to save a few bucks) were not very good.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman