please don't kill me!! total newb looking for a start......

[brick]

I know i need to read a million things on this site.....i just want to get some blanks and want to start out on the right foot!

please humor my noobness and let me know what are the highest rated brands for durability and compatibility

also.....should i use +R or -R?


hmmm....i've pretty much read that the -r is the most compatible...but i have also seen a couple sources that are saying the opposite...either way your word here is def respected in my book!

details::

-have a pretty basic sony dvd player purchased about a year ago....i know it plays -r...never tested a +r

-my burner is the newest plextor and def supports both formats

-the copies will be played on my xbox as well as this sony dvd....


thanks for the info so far...i really appreciate it!

i see Ritek listed often....not very familiar with them at all

i'm a heavy live music trader (legal) so i do know about cdrs and the brands that i've found to be the best are sony, tdk, kodak, fuji, mitsui, tayo yuden and some of the verbatims........discs i've found to be poor are memorex, maxell, imation, nashua etc.

my assumption is that just because a company can make a great cdr doesn't necessarily translate to dvdr....



man....i'm sure you peeps get asked this WAY too many times so i'm apologizing ahead of time!

thanks much!

[fritzi93]

You worry too much. Nice intelligible post, nobody gunna bite your head off for that. Fill out some comp details, and tell us where you are. Are you going to buy discs from the local Wal-Mart or online? Fuji and TDK have wide distribution and would be pretty safe if you're buying at the mass-market stores. If online, many say Taiyo-Yuden are tops, although Riteks are good value for money.

If you really want to get into it, buy a variety, download DVDinfoPRO and start making comparisons. Your Sony definitely plays -R? Good place to start 'til you get the hang of things. But the very first test burns ought to be on a rewritable. Good luck to you and have fun with it.

BTW, lots of comments on media, players, you name it, over there <-

[brick]

well, i come from an xbox modding site that doesn't take kindly to newbies at all!

thanks for your input!


here's some more of what i got going::
my computer?? uhh....i'm SO computer illiterate....yet manage to teach myself this kinda stuff through help from people like you!

i have a dell dimension probably about 5 years old now...pent III 866
have 512 of RAM
80 gig HD
?

live in nj.....TOTALLY will be purchasing online or wherever the cheapest spindles of 100 are of the brand I am seeking....

all i know so far of compatibility::
memorex-r works in the dvd
memorex and fuji-r work in the xbox....

i'll surely be buying 10 packs and the like in the beginning to make sure they are working ok....but as soon as i'm confident i'll switch to the spindles....

as for dvd backups....i know NOTHING yet......I got DVD X Copy Platinum thinking it was the ultimate.....come to a site like this to learn about the media and then i see plenty of negative reviews about this software.....

haven't got to read much on this site yet......that will be a a HUGE adventure this weekend! i'm an accountant so the weekdays give me ZERO time!

anyhoo - i'm skimmed through and read blurbs about programs like DVDshrink and alcohol....

the thing is...coming from music....I know that most forms of compression are lossy and I'm kinda anal about that......

my opinion was that if I have to put the movie on 2 discs I will just to ensure that I am making a perfect clone....

haven't used the dvd x at all yet....just got it like a week ago

so what of these compressing programs to put it on one disc?? there is zero loss???


crazy about ritek.....i never got any good impressions about them when it came to cdr media?

[Red96TA]

Sounds like you're starting to get the hang of things....welcome to hell! Once you're here, you'll never leave.

Pick up DVDShrink and Smartripper (DVD Decryptor has a slightly higher learning curve. Once you've gotten both free proggies, check for a guide on the left to give you specific directions on how to get going.

eh...dumb question. You said that you don't know anything about computers...did you install the drive yourself, or have someone do it?

As for your processor speed, I guess it's alright to burn at 1x-2x, but 4x might be out of your systems league. Check for a local PC-Club store, they should be able to hook you up.

[brick]

yeah i had a friend put the dvd drive in my dell.....although it seemed easy enough....


those two programs you speak of.....there is zero loss of data in the compression????

[coyote]

welcome to the forum......

Ok....well...there is no such thing as compression which has 0 percent loss.....but we can keep things at a minimum at least

All the programs which compress a dual layer to a single layer do good jobs, but with varying degrees of quality.

If you were to ask which one was the best you would probably get about 5 or 6 different answers (I personally use instantcopy)

Once you get rid of the audio tracks you don't need (do you really need the french track?) The video is not compressed that much. I have played movies on my 50 inch without a noticeable difference.

[porphyra]

To add to what Coyote said:
Its true that there is no 0 percent loss compression. Simply doesn't exist.

I know where you are coming from. The live music traders are *VERY* anal about quality and will never go the mp3 route (usually shn or ape formats are used).

If that your story with the DVD's too (as no matter how good the encoded video is, it is never 100% of the original), then you want to make DVD9-->2 DVD5, perfect backups. There are numerous guides and programs to help you with those. Also, this is a media forum so I wont get into it anymore.

In the end, you have to be happy with the final result.

Cheers.

[Kingnog]

If you're gonna play on an xbox...use dvd-r's instead of +. I've had more problems with xboxes reading +r's. Or...you could not listen to me, and then see what happens

[brick]

hey now!

i have no reason to doubt you all!

would like more opinions on brand if you all could though
8)

[indolikaa]

Sounds like you're starting to get the hang of things....welcome to hell! Once you're here, you'll never leave.

Amen.

@brick,

Media is one of the most unpredictable arenas of this hobby. What was good yesterday may suck tomorrow. Generally speaking, there are certain media 'brands' that are reliable (Ritek and Ricoh are usually trustworthy) but there is only one brand that has a reputation for absolute quality: Taiyo Yuden.

They are expensive; I pay about $1.65 per disc. But I've never seen one of their DVD-Rs fail to play in a DVD player that claims to support DVD-R discs.

Riteks are good if you get good Riteks. There are specific discs you are looking for, other members can point you in the specific direction.

[brick]

up and away!

thanks much for the info - keep the suggestions coming

[porphyra]

ANother option you can try is Maxell media for DVD-R. They are usually cheaper than TY, a little more expensive than Ritek, and great quality.

In fact they are right up there with TY's. Make sure that the discs are Maxell branded, and not sold as generic or bulk non-branded maxells as these have fake maxell codes.

You will also learn that not all companies sell their media equally. A jewel-cased 4x DVD+/-R from Fuji, TDK, Maxell, Memorex is usually not the same as the a disc from a 4x DVD +/- R spindle pack (25,50, 100 etc.).

For absolute quality, go with Taiyo Yuden DVD-R. For me, Maxell MXL RG02 (even RG01) hit the sweet middle of price and quality (DVD-R). Some people think even maxells are too expensive and Riteks would win any popularity contest here (although i don't favour them myself personally). However i hear the G04 DVD-R are quite good.

For +R media, RICOHJPNR01 is excellent, with newer burners burning it at 8x. Various companies sell ricoh media (tdk, memorex, maxell, ritek, philips etc. etc.). Of course TY also makes +R media

Good luck searching and hopefully buying.

[samdha14]

I use cheap compusa brand, but hey, they work and thats al i care. Once u got ure media i would go here www.expage.com/howtocopydvds4free to show u how to copy the dvds that u want to, it uses dvd shrink which barly has any quality loss in the movie

[brick]

man....so much to account for!


so how do you peeps stay on top of what is what made by who??

like you say.....this brand could be made by so and so now....but tomorrow it could be made by someone else or made in a crappier factory etc....


how are you staying updated on stuff like this? just hanging in a forum like this to get heads up???

[indolikaa]

Maxells are good, too. That's my preferred DVD-RW choice.

[Hawseman]

ANother option you can try is Maxell media for DVD-R. They are usually cheaper than TY, a little more expensive than Ritek, and great quality.

In fact they are right up there with TY's. Make sure that the discs are Maxell branded, and not sold as generic or bulk non-branded maxells as these have fake maxell codes.

You will also learn that not all companies sell their media equally. A jewel-cased 4x DVD+/-R from Fuji, TDK, Maxell, Memorex is usually not the same as the a disc from a 4x DVD +/- R spindle pack (25,50, 100 etc.).

For absolute quality, go with Taiyo Yuden DVD-R. For me, Maxell MXL RG02 (even RG01) hit the sweet middle of price and quality (DVD-R). Some people think even maxells are too expensive and Riteks would win any popularity contest here (although i don't favour them myself personally). However i hear the G04 DVD-R are quite good.

For +R media, RICOHJPNR01 is excellent, with newer burners burning it at 8x. Various companies sell ricoh media (tdk, memorex, maxell, ritek, philips etc. etc.). Of course TY also makes +R media

Good luck searching and hopefully buying.

100% my view...nice post, porphyra