Cheap DVD for data storage

[Gaskan]

I know that it is not advisable to use cheap media for DVD backups, because of the choppy video playback and other non desired flaws. But, is there any risks or drawbacks of using this kind of media, to store data, mp3's or doc's just for storage and retrieval? Any and all opinions are welcome.

[Hardcoreruss]

No not really, yoiu just run the risk that what you save will be un-accessible after a shorter period of time.

You may also be prone to more errors while burning.

I use cheap discs all the time and I dont have any problems (generally)

[Cole]

'Cheap' media is a moot point.

Some very good branded media can now be bought at cheap prices. I use DVD-R from Infiniti and the price is really low now for the white top brand (about £10 for 25 from highstreet outlets). Therefore, to use 'cheap' media is a false economy as far as I am concerned.

However, just to echo Hardcoreruss' message about risk; I recently had some DVD-Rs sent to me which were cheap looking and unbranded. Four out of the eleven were unplayable/unreadable and the disc looked like there were fingerprints under the plastic. This would have affected video or data as the faulty discs would have been unreadable whatever was stored on them.