Best all around Media at the lowest price & how to receive best results

[uncleB]

It seems that most of the people contend that for the most part Taiyo Yuden & Verbatim are probably the most reliable, non coaster producing media (CD-R & DVD-R) around. I know some say it doesn’t matter but like I said most of you seem to agree on that. I Have a Samsung burner that came with my Gateway GT5056 and I want to get the best results on my CD’s & DVD’s. I notice that both of these media have what looks to be speeds (1X52) written on the packaging. Is there a particular speed to write or burn that gives the best results, or does that depend on the Media. Also when I have gone to Sites that sell these Media’s they have different ones for different prices. Being a simple man (Cheap but smart) I would like to know your recommendations for the best quality/most reliable & lowest price media for both CD’s & DVD’s and where to purchase them. If you have any other tips that will help insure great results, well, I’m all ears, and by the way the doctor’s are looking into that as we speak.
Thanks ahead of time
Uncle Bob

[guns1inger]

CDs have been around so long that is really doesn't matter. Buy good discs and burn them at top speed.

DVDs are a different matter, and there are many schools of thought. I don't believe any hold more credence than any other.

1. Burn as slow as you can - 2.4 or 4
2. Burn no faster than the first major acceleration - usually as the 6x mark
3. Burn at the rated speed for the disc or the fastest speed of your burner (which ever is the slower)

I use Verbatim for both, as TY aren't sold in local stores and past experience with them was not all that great. I just pick them up when they are on special and hope I don't run out when they aren't.

[redwudz]

Myself, I burn at one less than the rated speed. May not make any difference, at least I've had no problems with the rated speed or slower. With 8X that would be 6x or 4X and with 16X, 12X. I use TYs most of the time, the silver tops in 16X lately. For CDs, I use Verbatim more often when I do use CD format.

You can look at Rima, Supermediastore and Meritline and see what deals they have. Mail order may be the easiest way and just buy a cakebox of 100.

Of course, JMO.

[Krispy Kritter]

I've had luck with many different brands of CDR discs. Any of the name brands should work just fine. I've only had a few issues in recent years and that was trying to use bargain discs (100 for $10) and after a little investigating, there was obvious flaws in the media.

For DVD media, you need to take into account the final use of the discs. If they are only for PC use, then any name brand media and most generic media will likely work just fine. If the discs are for movie playback on standalone DVD players, then it will be a matter of trial and error finding out which discs work best in your player. For less hassle and the best results, stick with known quality media such as Verbatim and TY.

For DVD+R DL media, Verbatim is the only choice at the moment.

[UC7]

I have had good luck, believe it or not, with Memorex for CDR and single layer DVD.
NOT double layer, of course, but single layer works fine.
For double layer, I have been using Verbatim, but I am keeping my eyes open for something even more stable.

I recommend burning at a slower speed if you plan on archiving your data, or trying to get it to be compatible with as many players as possible.
Let's say that, hypothetically, a person is going to back up a DVD so that they can let the kids have access to it (protecting loss from scratches). I would say burn it at a slower speed as this gives the laser more time to etch into the disc. Fast burns are nice, but slow burns gives greater playback ability on older players.
The same rule follows for CDRs. I have some friends that have CD players that can't play well if they burn at a speed higher than say the 20 to 30 range. 52X is out of the question.

[Rich86]

I am fortunate in that my system seems perfectly happy to burn most anything with very good results.

The current media I use the most is TDK (CMC manufacturer) - 16x DVD+R which was purchased at Costco on a "2 for 1" coupon, which drove the price per disc down to around $.15 or $.16 each, as I recall. I've used quite a few of these so far - with absolutely no problems. These are being burned mostly with a Benq 1655 with the last available firmware and Q-Suite utility. I keep the burner set to burn DVD+R media as booktype DVD-Rom.

I've been using TDK and Maxell cd-r media mostly with fine results.

I generally select a burn speed mid-way in the capability range of my burner and media. So - 16x dvd media in a 16x burner is burned at 8x. 48x cd-r media in a 52x burner is burned at 24x.