Maxell 4X legit or not?

[lordsmurf]

Send them to me. I'll test them. I'll pay too. Then go buy yourself something else. PM me back.

[ROBERT BLACK]

also saw both those brands at a couple computer stores in Montreal. Both are pretty well known in the top Canadian markets.

Do you mind PMing the computer stores that sell Riteks in Montreal.

Thanks
[/quote]


Matthew it was back in early August,while on vacation, so to remember the exact names is somewhat difficult. One was in the Verdun area, which would be the suburbs? Wellington Rd, I believe. The other in the financial district. If I recall the names I'll post them.

[ROBERT BLACK]

so I used the yellow top Maxells. Flawless burn.

If I find these yellow discs,(I'll ask around) I'll test them and post the results. If they burn well with the Pioneer A05/105, they might be worth looking into. Even if just for curiosity.

[oldfart13]

Wal-Mart Canada just got the yellow 4X in to replace the 2X discs they had. Regular price is $12.97/5 pack before tax. This will make Futureshop lower their price...

[aggies11]

A little late on this one, but it came up in a search.

Did anything get found out about this situation?

As far as the yellow top discs go, it looks like (at least up here in the great white north) the 2x MXL rg01's are being replaced with 4x MXL rg02's. They come in 5pk jewels, blue and white packaging, and have horrid yellow tops. (I am a big fan of the 2x blue/green tinted tops).

I like the newer speed, but not the new label design :/

Glad I saw this thread though, cause I've decided on Maxell as my current brand of choice, and would have probably jumped at the oppurtunity to buy a few spindles.

Aggies

[aggies11]

Well this is strange:

Currently Futureshop(Canada) has a "web exclusive" sale of 15 maxell 2x media for 29.99 ($2 per disc). The graphic on the site is the same as 5jewel variety. So I assumed they were trying to get rid of their 2x stock to make way for 4x (and that 15pieces = 3 5packs). Since I liked the 2x MXL RG01's so much, I decided to order 2 of them (30pieces).

They just came today. They are in spindle form . The spindle looks exactly like the one lord smurph photoshop'd. Blue packaing (no speed indicator), 15pk, 2hrs, and made in Taiwan.

I instantly remembered this thread and wondered if they were indeed new "fakes". (After reviewing the thread, my package is NOT the same green as oldfart.)

The discs are indistinguishable from the jewel MXL RG01 2x's.

However, quite the shock I got when I popped one into DVDInfoPro:
RITEKG03
Media Id Code Speed 1.0x 1385KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 1.0x 1385KBps
Write Strategy Speed 1.0x 1385KBps

Yes thats right, they aren't mxl and they aren't 2x.

I could handle the fact that they are just outsourced Riteks, I didn't want a spindle, but that doesn't instantly mean they are no good. But the fact that they are single speed is a bit much.

So looks like they are the legit maxell, but definitely not what I ordered *doh*. Lets hope futureshop has a good returns policy. :/

Aggies

[MadCat]

I normally buy the Maxell 15-pack DVD-R spindle from London Drugs, they come in the Blue and White packaging and do have 4x printed on them, just like the 5-pack jewel case 4x media.

They are made in Taiwan, and after reading this post, I decided to check mine to see if it was just FutureShop that had this media, or if it was also being sold elsewhere.

Well, I checked mine and every last one of them came back as being Ritek G03 media 1.0x - 2.0x write speed!! Yet the package says they are 4x media. I never noticed the speed difference before as I only burn at 2x speed, but was surprised that they are only rated up to 2x when the package says 4x.

The good thing is, its cheaper to buy them from FutureShop if they are the same product, as everywhere I look, the 15-pack spindle goes anywhere from $34 - $54 CDN, so $29.99 is a good price if its the same product.

[bluebird]

This is the information from 4X yellow top Maxell DVD-r I just brought from OfficeDepot last week. It is a 15 DVD-r cake for about $26 plus tax. I have burnt one and everything is fine. I think it is legit.


Media Information
Region information N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Manufacturer ID MXL RG02
Format Capacity Not Formatted
Free Blocks 412352512
Free Capacity 4.38GB(4.71GB)
Book Type DVD-R
Media Type DVD-R
Media Id Code Speed 4.0x 5540KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 4.0x 5540KBps
Available Write Descriptor CLV 2.0x 2770KBps
Write Strategy Speed 4.0x 5540KBps
2x Speed OPC beta 0A
2x Speed OPC power 0E
2x Write Strategy field 1 15 87 78 90
2x Write Strategy field 2 88 80 00 00 00 00
4x Speed OPC beta 05
4x Speed OPC power 16
4x Write Strategy field 1 0D 0F 0B 08
4x Write Strategy field 2 00 00 00 00
4x Write Strategy field 3 00 00 00 00
4x Speed OPC beta multi-pulse 00
4x Speed OPC power multi-pulse 00
4x Write Strategy field 4 00 00 00 00
4x Write Strategy field 5 00 00 00 00 00 00
4x Write Strategy field 6 00 00 00 00 00
Data area starting sector 30000h
Linear Density 0.267um/bit
Track Density 0.74um/track
Number of Layers 1

[bluebird]

Forgot to add: this 15 DVD-r 4x yellow top Maxall was made in Japan.

[aggies11]

Bluebird: That from a Canadian Office depot? *eyes light up*

Yellow topped 4x Maxell, code MXL RG02 are the same ones from the 5pk jewel cases. The cheapeast I have seen them is 5pk 9.99(CAD) on sale at walmart (regular price 12.99). So definitely legit there.

They are pretty much my favourite media at this point. I have found that they are *slightly* more compatible then 2x Maxell code MXL RG01 (which also are great media). A friend has an ancient DVD-ROM drive which has choked on everything I've thrown at it, except the RG02's. The only thing not so great about the 4x is that they went with that putrid yellow colour top, and abandoned the cool mint green/blue frosted labels of the 2x media. I guess you can't have it all *doh*

What colour was the packaging of your spindle? I'm not so much worried about fake discs (I figure oldfart's experience was quite the fluke) however what does concern me is that it looks like (according to what I"ve seen, and what others have reported) that Maxell are outsourcing their spindles/cakes. I'm not interested in the Maxell name brand, only their media code! . So although a spindle may offer the better deal, I am leery of going for it cause it's not a guarantee you'l get genuine Maxells.

Maybe the trick is to look for only "made in japan" spindles? But that strategy doesn't work to well for online purchases, heh.

Aggies

[bluebird]

Aggies,

It is from US Office Depot (Memphis). The package is standard blue-white shrink plastic and not very neat one too. This really gave me doubt about it might be fake. However, I can always return it. So, what the hell.