For those that say TY is number one.......

[brick]

this question is posed to those that say TY is number one.....

if this is the case...what are your number 2 and 3 choices???






also a side question......coming from a cdr background (like a million :P ) I am used to getting 100 spindles of discs and would like to move to the same with my dvd-rs once i get a sense of which discs work best for me.....


::are most of you buying spindles??? i see so many posts about deals at stores etc. for like 10-25 packs with jewel cases and whatnot.

is this a money thing? or is there a lack of quality made spindles out there??

[Stas]

First of all: TY is nothing more than Ritek or Ricoh for example. I had some troubles with Plextor 4x +R (TY) media with my Plextor 708A burner and this is the only media which doesn't work on my drive.

About your second question: I use spindles because I prefer to put my copies in DVD cases (sold separately).

[Hawseman]

First of all: TY is nothing more than Ritek or Ricoh for example. I had some troubles with Plextor 4x +R (TY) media with my Plextor 708A burner and this is the only media which doesn't work on my drive.

About your second question: I use spindles because I prefer to put my copies in DVD cases (sold separately).

How many have you tried? I know that the retail version of the 708A drive comes with a Plextor TY 4x disk. If it didn't work for you, maybe it was damaged in the box. Try not to make a general statement on one, loosely packed 'free' recordable disk.
__________________________________________________ _______

The best media is the media that works best for you....But I'd wager that Maxell -R (MXLRG02), Taiyo Yuden -R (TY01), RICOHJPN +R would have the best chance.

Spindles are where it gets scary....it's like a grab bag of good and crappy media. Just hope you get one of the "good" ones.

PS. Have never tried TY +R...so maybe Stas is right.

[NamDekan]

i get Riteks because they fit my budget and work good with my burner and all my stand alones

i also get spindles and put the finished copies in my dvd book...

[FulciLives]

I usually buy the FUJI 4X DVD-R discs that are Taiyo Yuden brand. Very expensive though. Cheapest is $24.99 per 10-pack.

Of course you can buy Taiyo Yuden direct for as cheap as $1.55 to $1.60 each but then you have to buy in 50 or 100 quantities. So far cheapest price for bulk Taiyo Yuden purchases would be RIMA.COM

Lately I've been buying up the MAXELL 4x DVD-R discs at Walmart since I found out that most Walmart stores lowered the price to $16.84 per 10-pack

These say MADE IN JAPAN are are the MXLG02 media code. Great discs.

Other than that I don't buy anything else anymore. Had too many issues with another brand I tried (Meritline 4x BeAll DVD-R discs) and I don't want to go through that problem again.

So for me it's Taiyo Yuden or MAXELL or nothing.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
I only buy DVD-R discs hence my lack of comments on DVD+R discs.

[brick]

oi!

my impression now is getting good.....seems to me that there are a small lot of the cream of the crop....however even these can be picky with your equipment....

I pretty much hear TY and ritek the most......and actually hear very little of bad TY experiences - especially -R

but like i said....then you have people that live here like fulci and he swears he won't buy ritek anymore...and plenty of people say they are crap....


i posed this same exact question on the afterdawmn forum and there is an "afterdawn addict" that swears by ritek and says that the MXL are crap

so i thank you all for my first mission completed....i'm just gonna have to find some small lots of discs to test out before i get the spindles - and just go with whichever seem to be working for me

please keep the feedback coming though.....as i've still not ordered anything yet and there is still time to sway my first purchase


---see you all in the "NOW what the f do I do???!?!?!" forum

i have dvd x copy platinum....but now i'm investigating whether some of the stuff featured here would be better for me.....

[FulciLives]

but like i said....then you have people that live here like fulci and he swears he won't buy ritek anymore...and plenty of people say they are crap...

I do feel like I live here but just recently I think I pissed off the landlord even though I didn't mean too so my days may be numbered unless I behave a bit hehehe

A few weeks back I did buy some TDK DVD-R discs on sale because I just couldn't pass it up ... something like $7.99 per 10-pack (I bought 2 10-packs).

They turned out to be RITEK G04 DVD-R discs. All burned A-OK with ZERO READ ERRORS using DVDInfoPro

So I was happy but I also consider myself lucky. I don't like being lucky. I like to error on the side of caution. This is why I will never fully buy into using nothing but Ritek and will probably only ever buy them again in maybe small quantities when they are on super sale as before.

Case in point for NOT wanting to gamble ...

I have a small side thing converting stuff to DVD for people and I always use Taiyo Yuden for that. Lately I switched to MAXELL (which I had used before) and feel I am "safe" using either one of these brands.

I never had anyone come back and tell me they had playback issues with a DVD-R

That is a good thing

However I suppose it is true that some DVD burners work better with some media and the same goes for playback as some stand alone DVD players seem to handle some DVD discs better than others.

Having said that I still think you can't go wrong with the quality and compatability of the MADE IN JAPAN discs specifically TAIYO YUDEN and MAXELL

Many poeple also hold this view. There are also many that do not hold this view however it seems to me that most of them don't like Taiyo Yuden or Maxell because they are trying to "get away" with a cheaper solution.

Take care and good luck with whatever DVD discs you use!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[gmatov]

I wish that the seven or so people on this forum would come right out and say they do Video Conversion, either as a side line, or as a business.

It would make it so much easier and more sensible to argue the "perfect" media.

I mentioned this in a post to which lordsmurf responded, "It is a part or your livelihood, of course you need the absolute best you can buy, and if the best cost 10 bucks a disk, that would be calculated into the final price."

Most of us are, supposedly, making child proof backups. Some are making their own backups, simply to reduce the chance of scratching, otherwise making their 30 buck disk unuseable.

The " for hire" people can't afford to have an unplayable DVD conversion of, say, a wedding VHS go out to the public, as one extremely pissed off, vocal client could lose him a hundred or more potentials.

So to try to save a dime is foolhardy.

However, back to the bulk of us. If you have no problem with your combination of burning, disks and player, buy what you think you can afford. To hell whether your pals machines won't play them. That's almost the equivalent of saying I make copies for all my friends, which is against the forum's policy.

You back up your own material for your own use.

Hey, if I can burn an acceptable backup for 40 cents, why the hell pay a buck 60?

Cheers,

George

[jackmac]

but like i said....then you have people that live here like fulci and he swears he won't buy ritek anymore...and plenty of people say they are crap...

I do feel like I live here but just recently I think I pissed off the landlord even though I didn't mean too so my days may be numbered unless I behave a bit hehehe

A few weeks back I did buy some TDK DVD-R discs on sale because I just couldn't pass it up ... something like $7.99 per 10-pack (I bought 2 10-packs).

They turned out to be RITEK G04 DVD-R discs. All burned A-OK with ZERO READ ERRORS using DVDInfoPro

So I was happy but I also consider myself lucky. I don't like being lucky. I like to error on the side of caution. This is why I will never fully buy into using nothing but Ritek and will probably only ever buy them again in maybe small quantities when they are on super sale as before.

Case in point for NOT wanting to gamble ...

I have a small side thing converting stuff to DVD for people and I always use Taiyo Yuden for that. Lately I switched to MAXELL (which I had used before) and feel I am "safe" using either one of these brands.

I never had anyone come back and tell me they had playback issues with a DVD-R

That is a good thing

However I suppose it is true that some DVD burners work better with some media and the same goes for playback as some stand alone DVD players seem to handle some DVD discs better than others.

Having said that I still think you can't go wrong with the quality and compatability of the MADE IN JAPAN discs specifically TAIYO YUDEN and MAXELL

Many poeple also hold this view. There are also many that do not hold this view however it seems to me that most of them don't like Taiyo Yuden or Maxell because they are trying to "get away" with a cheaper solution.

Take care and good luck with whatever DVD discs you use!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

I agree with Fulci,

You can't go wrong with TY dvd-r, they are just top notch. If budget is an issue, then only buy these disc to backup the movies/files you really like.
JACK

[Faustus]

For TOP quality?
TY
Maxell
TDK

but only if theya re the real thing.

For value?
Ritek -R
Ricoh +R

[offline]

Unlike some who claim to be able to buy the best media and cost shift
it to the clients, I have to watch every cent. Because of this I went
and tested media from the bottom end of the market. I ended up
going with the much maligned PRINCO (albiet grade A) brand with
white printable facia 4x -R. So 150 sets of 2 DVD's went out to the "public" (300 DVD's)

I know I was taking a risk but the cost of TDK's, for example, would
have eaten into my margin @ $3 each (Bulk price at the time) compared
to $1.25 each for the PRINCO (Australian Dollars)

The moral of the story is that although you should always do well
with high quality media, there should be cheap media out there
that will work just as well with your burner, but perhaps not others.
Buy a sample of cheap media to test every now and then and
you might be pleasantly suprised.

[lordsmurf]

www.nomorecoasters.com for my info

Bulk at any number of stores, about 80 cents to $1.15 per disc, US funds. Maybe in local stores for $1.00 plus tax per disc on sale.

[Faustus]

www.nomorecoasters.com for my info

Bulk at any number of stores, about 80 cents to $1.15 per disc, US funds. Maybe in local stores for $1.00 plus tax per disc on sale.

Good link, more people should read that.

[Hawseman]

Yes, excellent job LordSmurf. I'm (almost) in total agreement with your media ratings.

I'm glad you moved Riteks to 'B' grade....they have been too hit or miss lately. I've had bad luck with outer edge on both of my spindles.

I think you're a little harsh on the CMC though. I've had some Memorex 4x CMC MAG.AF1's that worked excellent...Full 4.38gb burns played through on 10/10 jewel case. With my Liteon and Pioneer they worked better than Ritek G04's. Never bought them in bulk though, and haven't tried any 1x or 2x CMC's either. PI/PO errors were low too. Maybe they're "turning the tide" with their 4x -R media....to little testing for me to draw any final conclusions....

[DVDDave]

8)

[aggies11]

My current Media 'Favourites' list (remember, Media is always changing, so you have to be able to adapt).

#1 Maxell 2x, 4x DVD-R. Top Quality. "Worry Free". Similiar in quality to the TY's

#2/3. - DVD+R RicohJPNR01. Either in the form of Memorex 4x +R, or Maxell 4x +R.
- DVD-R RitekG04. Shiny or frosted Top.

I use #1 brand for discs that I want to "behave as if they were actually pressed, not burnt".

Discs #2-3 for items that I'd like a backup of that works, but if in 6months they stop working, it's not the end of the world.

One thing you have to understand about the "quality" rating people give these Discs. If someone rates a disc lower, or says that they aren't that great, it does not mean that every single one of these discs you burn, will end up as a coaster. Obviously you can get sucessfull burns out of these discs. The issue is the #of successfull burns (/long storage life) in comparisson to bad burns (/short life). This can be termed the "reliability" of the discs. Not judged on the basis of a single disc, but in large quantities.

A prime example of this, are the current crop of 4x Ritek. They have in the past been the "creme of the crop" of Value discs. You can burn Riteks (and I have) that work flawlessly, play flawlessly, and are lasting long. Individually, a single disc could have no difference in quality between the "best" TY or Maxell media. But the difference becomes aparant when you consider the discs "en masse". The negative aspects of Ritek discs, are the chances of getting "bad batches" or "bad spindles", where some of the discs in a spindle will be no good. When the discs "work", they are fantastic, however, the general trend seems to be that recently, there is becoming a larger chance of them "not working".

So when you talk media quality, it's often not the quality of single discs, that are the issue, but the brand as a whole. Namely: What are your chances of ending up with "not working" discs.

So for the "top quality #1 discs", this reliability is typically 100%. When you burn Maxell or TY (this forum's picks for top media) you don't have to worry about getting the "odd coaster", *ever*. You pay the extra money for not having to concern yourself with "bad batches" etc.

So when you talk about CMC discs etc, it's not that they can't work right ever, it's just that they have a less than perfect reliability rate. Eg (pulling these numbers out of the air) you have a 1/10 (10%) chance when buying a 50spindle that it will be a "bad batch". If it's not a bad spindle, they are great, but 1 out of every 10 you buy, will have discs on their that have problems.

So the subjectivity becomes a matter of "how much reliability do you require". Is a 99% burn sucess rate (1/100 discs will fail) okay? 95%? 90%? 75%?...

So when people talk about CMC or Ritek as "undesirable", it's because they have a reliability rate that they consider as unnacceptable. The chance of a bad burn is larger then some would like.

So obviously, the whole "whatever works for you" bit, is about the fact that you decide on how much reliability you need. If you don't mind 5 coasters out of every 100 discs you burn, then thats no problem. When people want better reliability, it's usually because they want to avoid the hassle of dealing with this, avoid the "risk" of getting a bad batch, bad burn, etc.

Personally for me, I've been spoiled by CDR media, where the idea of bad burns and coasters are all but a distant memory. I expect the same results from DVDR. And I also really don't want to spend the time/effort invovled in handling bad burns, bad batches.

For some, the inconvenience is a small price to pay for the option to pay smaller prices (for discs)

Aggies