Where to get DVD DL disks cheap?

[Jorge]

Hey all
I hope this is the right place to post this. I would like to get some dual layer disks to backup some of my family guy dvd's. I was wondering, whats a good place to get some dual layer disks at a cheap price. I know there not that cheap to begin with, but I know there are some cheaper than others. I was thinking of getting about 40 to 50 disks.

Your recommendations are appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[guns1inger]

The only dual layer discs worth buying are Verbatim, so it really comes down to who is selling Verbatim DLs cheap. Buying any other brand because they are cheaper than Verbatim is a false economy. You end up throwing most of them out. If you want cheap, split the originals across two single layer discs instead.

[redwudz]

Three popular online stores to check;

Rima: http://www.rima.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv
SuperMediastore: http://www.supermediastore.com/index.html
Meritline: http://www.meritlinemedia.com/

[lacywest]

If you have a Best Buy in your area ... Verbatim is there.

I've also bought FujiFilm DVD+R DL and have not been dissappointed.

But using a good program is also important too.

I have good luck using Cyberlink Power2Go and CloneDVD.

I make a DVD-9 Dual Layer Image with CloneDVD and burn it with Cyberlink Power2Go

[victoriabears]

Never skimp on these discs, dl discs are much more prone to errors, and yes Verbatim +DL seem good, do not go wirh the - variety.

[Jorge]

Ive heard good things about verbatim. I will probably use nero to burn them. Probably dvdfab decrypter platinum or dvd shrink to rip the image. Ive used ridata but they were single layer, I'm not sure if that brand is anygood. If you guys got links to sites with specials on Dual layer verbatims let me know. I really want to get some.

[guns1inger]

DO NOT use Nero to burn. Use Imgburn. Nero cannot correctly set the layer break point and you will just end up with coasters that play the first layer, then stop. If you are burning DL discs then Nero has no place in the process.

[Jorge]

whoops, did I say nero, I meant imgburn. Thats what I use by default when I make my img's with dvdshrink.

[Marvingj]

DVD-DL has never been cheap, if anybody can find them cheap let me know....

[oldfart13]

Depends on what you call cheap. 10 cents a disc would be cheap. A dollar a disc for DL is cheap. I usually buy them at Futureshop or Staples when they go on sale at $30 for 20. I don't use them that often so I don't have to buy a lot of them...

[Jorge]

If you have links to sales please post them.

[JohnnyBob]

If you have links to sales please post them.

Hmmm...
I've been waiting for sales on Verbatim DVD+R DL (#95310) since January 2007 and there have been none. I monitor the prices and Rima is usually the cheapest source, but just slightly. I usually buy in 100 disc lots and they're about $1.79 each, including shipping. That's cheap! If you find cheaper, let me know.

[oldfart13]

Ah but you're in the USA. I have seen Staples and The Futureshop compete head-to-head on some stuff like this as they carry some of the same lines. I made Staples give me the 110% price difference deal when I pointed out that the Verbatim single layers that Futureshop had on sale that week for $35CAD/100 were still listed at $63CAD/100 in their store. I think I paid $30CAD for a spool tax included. The Verbatims usually go on sale at least once every other month between the two of them so I seldom run out of either SL or DL. And the DLs are 8X as well so that's a premium. No need for using web based outfits unless you need really big quantities. Fuji DL is also good. I think I bought some 3 packs a couple weeks back for $6 each. Haven't used them yet though...

[nwo]

DO NOT use Nero to burn. Use Imgburn. Nero cannot correctly set the layer break point and you will just end up with coasters that play the first layer, then stop. If you are burning DL discs then Nero has no place in the process.

I guess you know the blackcurrant song bull***t bull***t bull***t, i burned over 200 Mirror DL disc's with nero 6 & 7 and never had a bad burn yet, unlike imgburn will not burn my Vegas DL ISO's.

[Seeker47]

If you have links to sales please post them.

Hmmm...
I've been waiting for sales on Verbatim DVD+R DL (#95310) since January 2007 and there have been none. I monitor the prices and Rima is usually the cheapest source, but just slightly. I usually buy in 100 disc lots and they're about $1.79 each, including shipping. That's cheap! If you find cheaper, let me know.

There have been threads here mentioning sales on the Verbatim DLs, but the sales tend to be for less than a week, except at Micro Centre (which has fewer and regional locations), where their sales may go for 2 week periods. Other B&M stores, like OfficeMax, use deceptive ads, because they may only have a few pieces of the item per sale per store. I've usually bought the Verb DLs at Best Buy or Micro Centre, where the sale items tend to be in more plentiful supply. There may be deals as good or better online. The best price I've seen on a store shelf is the $30. for a 20-disc spindle, mentioned in another post here.
[Update: just saw these at that price in today's Best Buy circular in the Sunday paper.]

Another place that may be worth monitoring for sales on items like this is techbargains.com.

[zoobie]

Weird...
You end up paying dearly for convenience of DL.
To me, guns1inger's advice seems best using two single layer discs but to each their own.

[JohnnyBob]

There have been threads here mentioning sales on the Verbatim DLs, but the sales tend to be for less than a week, except at Micro Centre (which has fewer and regional locations), where their sales may go for 2 week periods. Other B&M stores, like OfficeMax, use deceptive ads, because they may only have a few pieces of the item per sale per store. I've usually bought the Verb DLs at Best Buy or Micro Centre, where the sale items tend to be in more plentiful supply. There may be deals as good or better online. The best price I've seen on a store shelf is the $30. for a 20-disc spindle, mentioned in another post here.
[Update: just saw these at that price in today's Best Buy circular in the Sunday paper.]

Another place that may be worth monitoring for sales on items like this is techbargains.com.

Thanks Seeker47, that's useful info. If I had known it a few days ago, I could have saved myself about 20 bucks on my last order. Next time...

[jman98]

The bottom line is this - if you want them to work, you buy Verbatim DVD+R DL discs and you pay whatever you have to pay. If you want to save money and foolishly don't care if your discs become coasters, then you buy whatever crap brand is cheapest and you don't complain when your burns fail. There are several good suggestions for online stores if you want to get Verbatim discs.

[Seeker47]

[Update: just saw these at that price in today's Best Buy circular in the Sunday paper.]
If I had known it a few days ago, I could have saved myself about 20 bucks on my last order. Next time...

It turns out this is a good news / bad news situation. I went to BB yesterday, and nearly all of the Verbatim DLs they have now are Made In India. You can tell right away, because the plastic shrink wrap is a bit different, covering a bit more of the top of the spindle pack. By digging around at the back of the shelf, I found a couple boxes of the Made in Singapore spindles, and bought them. The India-made ones were formerly seen mostly at Sam's Club, IIRC. Regardless of source, these were listed as "up to 6x." I still have some spindles -- probably purchased at Micro Center some time ago -- that are listed as "up to 8x." And they were the same price. If you absolutely had to have the "up to 10x" ones, they are still MIS, seem to come only in 5-packs, and run about $4./ea. (Youch !)

I typically burn the Verb DLs at no more than 1/2 the max. rated speed, so it probably does not matter. I think I'll save the 8x ones for the computer, and use the 6x ones in the Pioneer 640, which likely burns them no faster than 2.4x anyway. Anyone who wants to experiment with the Made in India ones, have fun and let us know how you make out. But I'm gonna say "El Paso" on that one.

[JohnnyBob]

[Update: just saw these at that price in today's Best Buy circular in the Sunday paper.]
If I had known it a few days ago, I could have saved myself about 20 bucks on my last order. Next time...

It turns out this is a good news / bad news situation. I went to BB yesterday, and nearly all of the Verbatim DLs they have now are Made In India. You can tell right away, because the plastic shrink wrap is a bit different, covering a bit more of the top of the spindle pack. By digging around at the back of the shelf, I found a couple boxes of the Made in Singapore spindles, and bought them. The India-made ones were formerly seen mostly at Sam's Club, IIRC. Regardless of source, these were listed as "up to 6x." I still have some spindles -- probably purchased at Micro Center some time ago -- that are listed as "up to 8x." And they were the same price. If you absolutely had to have the "up to 10x" ones, they are still MIS, seem to come only in 5-packs, and run about $4./ea. (Youch !)

I typically burn the Verb DLs at no more than 1/2 the max. rated speed, so it probably does not matter. I think I'll save the 8x ones for the computer, and use the 6x ones in the Pioneer 640, which likely burns them no faster than 2.4x anyway. Anyone who wants to experiment with the Made in India ones, have fun and let us know how you make out. But I'm gonna say "El Paso" on that one.

Thanks for your observation Seeker47. I didn't notice where the Verb DLs were made, but have saved all my empty spindles and checked. All purchased in June 2007 and before were made in Singapore. My last purchase from Rima about a week ago were made in India. I've always used the #95310 which say up to 6x. I haven't tried burning any of the made in India kind, but will open one of those spindles and burn some today. Somebody who knows how to evaluate disc quality should test both kinds (made in Singapore/India) and let everybody know. Considering their high price, I'll definitely want to know before buying my next batch.

[Jorge]

Lots of good info here, I will have too take into consideration.

I found these. I used there single layer's before and never had a problem.

http://www.meritline.com/ritek-ridata-4x-dual-layer-dl-dvd-r-disc-silver-shiny.html

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PRIME-85GB-DVD

[Seeker47]

[Thanks for your observation Seeker47. I didn't notice where the Verb DLs were made, but have saved all my empty spindles and checked. All purchased in June 2007 and before were made in Singapore. My last purchase from Rima about a week ago were made in India. I've always used the #95310 which say up to 6x. I haven't tried burning any of the made in India kind, but will open one of those spindles and burn some today. Somebody who knows how to evaluate disc quality should test both kinds (made in Singapore/India) and let everybody know. Considering their high price, I'll definitely want to know before buying my next batch.

I can see where Verbatim's stock # might not change, as between sourced MIS and MII, but 8x max. is significantly different from 6x (if you're asking me). I just checked my older spindles of these, rated max. 8x, and they are also stock #95310. That ain't right.

[JohnnyBob]

The quality of Verbatim DVD+R DL discs has recently come under scrutiny, based on whether they're made in Singapore or India Traditionally they've been made in Singapore, but now the India kind are starting to show up in various places. Many people are depending on this brand, which has the reputation of the #1 best DL discs available anywhere, so I think it merits investigation. Here's everything I know to date...

I've confirmed that Rima.com now only stocks Verbatim DVD+R DL made in India. I recently ordered several spindles, unawares, and that's what they sent me. Orders from Rima.com in June 2007 and before, and from various other sources, were all made in Singapore. It tells where they're made on the label on the side of the spindle. Otherwise I can see no visible difference, except a prior poster said there's a difference in the spindle's shrink wrap.

I called another major online supplier on the telephone (who shall remain nameless herein) and confirmed that their discs are made in Singapore. However I have no idea whether that's simply their old stock on the shelf, or if they're still buying new stock made in Singapore. The pregnant question is whether Verbatim has stopped producing in Singapore entirely and switched to India for all current/future manufacture, or whether both of those locations are now producing these discs.

I've only tried to burn 5 made in India discs, so far...

In the first package I opened, the top disc on the spindle had some serious scratches on the recording surface near the outside edge, extending about 1 cm. into the area where the disc in burnt. I didn't try to burn it, although it might be OK for a 6-7GB(or less) recording.

The next 2 discs on the spindle burned OK.

The 4th disc made a coaster when I tried to burn it. Inspection of the recording surface showed a clearly visible blemish about midway between the outside edge and the center of the disc. That's where the burn stopped & aborted, so obviously that was the cause. It is about 1-2 mm. in size, semicircular in shape, and has the appearance of a water spot. I attempted to wash the spot off the disc without success, so the blemish is imbedded in the disc - in the plastic coating or the reflective azo dye layer.

The 5th disc burned OK.

I've inspected 13 more discs in this spindle visually and did not see any more blemishes in the recording surfaces, but there are several noticable scratches or blemishes near the outside edge of the discs. I'm not sure if they are inside the burnable area, or not, but they're very close - it's a toss-up.

I also spot-checked 4 other spindles of these India discs. I can't draw any advance conclusions therefrom, but based on borderline scratches and blemishes near the outer edge, I'm expecting some more coasters. I'll know better when I get around to burning them in the coming months. I'm stuck with them. They're too expensive to throw away, and the packages are already opened so not returnable.

Naturally I would prefer the made in Singapore discs because I have a long history of success burning them, only 1 coaster in 200+ burns.

[lordsmurf]

DO NOT use Nero to burn. Use Imgburn. Nero cannot correctly set the layer break point and you will just end up with coasters that play the first layer, then stop. If you are burning DL discs then Nero has no place in the process.

I guess you know the blackcurrant song bull***t bull***t bull***t, i burned over 200 Mirror DL disc's with nero 6 & 7 and never had a bad burn yet, unlike imgburn will not burn my Vegas DL ISO's.

I have a hard time believing this one. I bet there are many bad burns in there, and that you've simply missed them. You may also have the one player in thousands that will allow playback of a disc with a fubar layer break.

[Laddydaddy]

Bestbuy has them on sale this week. $29.99 for a 20 pack. That's $1.50 each before taxes.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7642562&st=verbatim&type=product&id=1134697746286

[ScorpioDragon]

Hey all
I hope this is the right place to post this. I would like to get some dual layer disks to backup some of my family guy dvd's. I was wondering, whats a good place to get some dual layer disks at a cheap price. I know there not that cheap to begin with, but I know there are some cheaper than others. I was thinking of getting about 40 to 50 disks.

Your recommendations are appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

MicroCenter has 20-pack spindles of Verbatim +R DL disks (Singapore) on sale for $29.00+. I bought 2 spindles yesterday. The sale ends Sept. 2nd.

DO NOT use Nero to burn. Use Imgburn. Nero cannot correctly set the layer break point and you will just end up with coasters that play the first layer, then stop. If you are burning DL discs then Nero has no place in the process.

I guess you know the blackcurrant song bull***t bull***t bull***t, i burned over 200 Mirror DL disc's with nero 6 & 7 and never had a bad burn yet, unlike imgburn will not burn my Vegas DL ISO's.

If you've burnt so many DL movie DVDs using Nero, you're certain to have errors on them due to incorrect layer breaks. Guns1nger's suggestion is a wise one and highly recommended. If you are burning DL data DVDs, then Nero may do the job. However, if you are burning DL movie DVDs (containing menus, chapters, etc.) with Nero, then your comments are dubious and questionable.

Also, I'm not aware Sony Vegas is able to produce ISO images, so it seems you've made images of your video [.mpg, .avi, etc.] files using Imgburn in "build" mode and are trying to burn data DVDs(?).

[Seeker47]

LordSmurf,

I'd be interested to hear your comments on JohnnyBob's 8/31 post, above. I'm sure you've been following this situation with the India-made Verb DLs.

[Seeker47]

MicroCenter has 20-pack spindles of Verbatim +R DL disks (Singapore) on sale for $29.00+. I bought 2 spindles yesterday. The sale ends Sept. 2nd..

Were these the 6x or the 8x rated ones ? If the 8x ones are going away, and the Made in India ones taking over, I wouldn't mind picking up a couple more spindles of the 8x MIS . . . even though it's a major pain in the rear to drive to the nearest Micro Center..

[ScorpioDragon]

MicroCenter has 20-pack spindles of Verbatim +R DL disks (Singapore) on sale for $29.00+. I bought 2 spindles yesterday. The sale ends Sept. 2nd..

Were these the 6x or the 8x rated ones ? If the 8x ones are going away, and the Made in India ones taking over, I wouldn't mind picking up a couple more spindles of the 8x MIS . . . even though it's a major pain in the rear to drive to the nearest Micro Center..

These are the 2.4X (up to 6X speed) dual-layer ones. Here's the link:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0236597
You can get them online for $27.99, but will have to pay (at least $5.99 for standard) shipping.
Also, I didn't see any Made-in-India DL media when I was at the local MicroCenter store, but they did have the MII SL ones.

I am really curious about the MII media (both DL & SL), so I may buy a spindle of SL soon, and will probably also buy the DL to test once I find it in the stores.

[Jorge]

Are these ridata disk any good? Ive used there single layer disks before, which someone recommended.

50 disks for 69.99

http://www.meritline.com/ritek-ridata-4x-dual-layer-dl-dvd-r-disc-silver-shiny.html