Any 'major' problems with the cheaper DVDs?

[coffeecup-sf]

Hi I bought a small number of those cheap brand DVD-Rs, normal 4.7GB. I think they were made overseas and have some foreign non-popular name. I bought one DVD-RW for $2.50 and I bought two DVD-Rs which were only a buck a piece, obviously cheaper and no name recognition. I think all of them are 1x speed (at least the two DVD-Rs are 1x).

Question: does anyone think there are blatant problems with using el-cheapo dvds as opposed to the name brand recognized ones? Examples of concern I might have are, cheaper dvds offer clearly poorer images (i.e. blurrier, foggier, more pixelated, less 'colorful'), or on the other hand that cheap DVDs might have more physical downsides such as they break down notably quicker, perhaps lock-up or crash during operation, or, perhaps maybe they scratch or damage easier?

I am not at all saying those examples are the truth but am simply asking if anyone thinks such types of obvious setbacks can be frequently encountered with cheap DVD-Rs? I'd like to put these discs to use since now that I have them. Thanks in advance.

(P.S. I burned one movie onto the cheap DVD-RW to test it out and it appears to be "ok." But then I haven't burned the same movie to a more expensive one yet to test it out.)

[Tarbi]

No offence here but you dont need to get DVD-R from overseas to get them that cheap. I use Bulkpaq DVD+Rs, they are very popular for cheap DVDs. You can get them on many sites and they can cost between 90p to 150p. The ones I get are 1 pound excalty. Also I have 17 DVD-R I dont need I am trying ot get rid of so if you know anyone who want 17 DVD-R for about #10 let me know. If you want a site that sells Bulkpaq DVD-Rs let me know

[coffeecup-sf]

Oh thanks for the reply and that info. Actually when I said overseas, I just meant that a few of the dvd-rs looked like they had some Chinese (or other) location written on them and the name was cheap looking as well, at least when compared to say Memorex or TDK, etc.

Actually, all I really meant to ask was, does anyone here use such cheapo DVD-Rs (any brand) for their occasional or regular dvd-writing and dvd-burning, and if so, do you generally get good results or otherwise about the same performance as you do with the name brands? I am not going to buy alot of the no-name dvds, it's just I have 4 of them I'd like to put to use but just a 'bit' concerned the quality might be less than the name brands.

Again, these no-name brands were sold at computer chain stores so there may be some reputability. One of the DVD-Rs is a CompUSA DVD-R and says 1x speed, 120 Minute Video, and says "General Use" which has me a little concerned "general" might mean "not as trustworthy" or "at your discretion"(?).

Replies much appreciated.

[LanEvo7]

It really depends on the manufacture of the DVD-R. There are many manufacturers that make "cheap" DVD-Rs. Some make great quality dvd-rs and other really just stink.

The most common with cheap Rs include(according to reports):
- video snaps, crackles and pops
- burning over 4gb causes video to freeze/pixilate
- higher coaster rate

These are just the most common problems. Not all brands have these problems and some have all three.

Ratings most common brands of cheapo DVD-Rs based on my experiences and readings (these are NOT FACTS, JUST OPINIONS, so nobody jump on me):

Best -
BeALL- Seems to be the best according to reports, I am still using them in test phase

Ritek- Highly recommended by most people. I've bought a spinde with the 4gb problem though...

Good -

LD(Accu, DupEZ)- I've used over 100 of these, first 70 nearly 100% success rate, new spindle has the dreaded 4 gig problem. According to reports, seems to work well with most drives

Optodisc- I've had issues with the video breaking up and audio crackling, but usually lasts less than one min. Generally good discs.

Bad -

Princo- Many users report they are fine. However an equal number or maybe even higher have reported high coaster rate, problems with burning over 4 gigs, and degradetion. I tried two, one failed during burning, the other just didn't play. Seems to be hit or miss. I stay far away from them.

LongTec(HQ, Caldisc, variety of other brands)- Users report high coaster rate.

[disturbed1]

The major problem with cheap media is the outer edge is weak.

Although in the first day or so, all data is 100% readable, due to cheap manufactoring, the dye towards the end of the disc is not as high quality as the rest. This can cause data corruption, and unrecoverable sectors.

If you keep the data under 4gig, most of the cheaper discs will last a while. I personally have many Princo's from late 2001, that are all fine. I also have a stack of Princo that are dead past the 4gig mark.

My personal thought on Princo, they are an ok temporary data disc under 4gig. The construction is actually pretty good. The dye layer towards the end is almost always unreadable past 4gig.

With cheaper discs, they usually cheap out on the quality of the plastics and glue. A DVD has 3 layers, top plastic, middle dye layer, bottom plastic. In the really cheap media, the plastic layers can seperate.

If your worried about loss of data, don't look for cheap media. It's better to spend the $2 on one disc, then it is to spend $1 for every disc you need to re burn.

[coffeecup-sf]

Ok this clarifies some things. It offers sort of a physical picture of the discs as well, the idea of 'outer edge' being less reliable and poorer.

It might be of interest to you that I test used one of my DVD-RWs tonight, it is a label-less DVD-RW disc that came with my DVD-RW drive when I bought it. No label, no name.

So I burned a whole lot on it, actually it says 4.22 GB worth (or something like 4,555,000,000 bytes). Sure enough, I play the whole way through, and right close to the end mark of the movie that was burned, the DVD-ROM drive just spins away, the video presentation is like locked-up (or frozen-like), the DVD program (tried both InterVideo4 as well as RealPlayer) seems also conjested or frozen.

I don't know if it was the quality of the no-label disk that caused that or maybe it's my computer, but it sounds like it.

Oh yah, one of the DVD-RWs I have is a Princos. Haven't really tried it out too much.

And Disturbed1, what you were saying also that discs tend to lose their structure over time makes it only more of a concern. Maybe it's better I just go ahead and use these cheapos for some smaller writes, and I'd better go out and get some name brands stuff for my full writes.

I am think I will get Memorex with jewel cases, but then those too might have heard some problems about them not burning at all. I dunno.

Thanks much!!

[coffeecup-sf]

Oh I might add that when I played that cheap dvd-rw in intervideo4 just now, towards the end of the recording, not only does the DVD-ROM drive go into spin in what seems like forever, but also my main C: hard drive goes in spin and the red LED light stays lit without stopping, so both of them spin alot. I'm lucky if I can hit ctrl+alt+del and get out of it. Sometimes I have to shut off the comp.

I wonder if it's related directly to the quality of the dvd in the drive..

[Mxbubs]

$120 buy it now off ebay for 100........RITEKS, cheap as dirt. They work everytime. 100% playback on playstation 2!. ....DVD+R

Ill buy the cheapest they make.

[thayne]

You won't go wrong with Ritek. I won't buy any other brand cheaper or more expensive.

[coffeecup-sf]

Hey thanks alot for the advice MxBubs and Thayne...

I just bought a 5 pack of TDK DVD-R 2x (made in Jpn) the other day. DVDInfo says "Mxlr..." something which I guess means Maxell. Anyways burned two, went through smooth, good play.

Oh, so Ebay lists some discs sometimes? Will check it out. But actually for now all I am needing are little 5 or 10 packs, just taking it slow. That being the case it looks like I am stuck with just buying from the local grocery store and paying ~$2.75 to $3.00 a disc for quality. (Am avoiding Memorex because of comments, even though a good sale price is tempting. But not for now!)

Thanks.

[LanEvo7]

Don't buy off ebay. You are usually better off buying DVD-R at an online store or something. Ebay sellers tend to charge extremely high shipping prices.

[coffeecup-sf]

Regarding sellers on EBay, how about any common or occasional experiences with either:
1) Bad or lower quality products than originally thought (i.e. disc name=good but disc manufacturer=worse) even tho it wasn't disclosed in the listing
2) Down right scandalous sellers even though they might have an excellent "reputation" (i.e. they something of a "nightmare")

Of course the above could be rare instances, but I am asking are they rather common or something of a worry?

[BJ_M]

You won't go wrong with Ritek. I won't buy any other brand cheaper or more expensive.

100% agree

[Robert Simandl]

Don't be so quick to jump to Memorex....

I've had the freezing near the end of the movie problem (often seen with no-name discs) with expensive Memorex discs, too!