Cheap media- cons?

[Jman999]

I have backed up several movies on AN31 DVD-Rs that all seem to work fine. They play without any problems on my Apex AD-5131 DVD Player as well as on my computer. Are there still negatives to using this cheap media?
What I mean is - will these backups still work in a few years? The DVDs that I burned using the same media a few months ago still play fine.

What about the crappy DVD+RWs media code INFODISCA10 that I'm using for hard drive dumps (not for important backups)? Will those still work in a few years? Why would using more expensive media be better when the DVDs I'm using now appear to work fine.

Thanks,
-Jonathan.

[steve2713]

I've used AN31 discs, they are 'marginal'. Usually didn't burn coasters, but they were not far from it and I'd prefer not to have to trust them for important burns. They'll burn with higher PI/PO errors (recoverable errors) vs. better media. Those errors can and do increase over time, so if they are high to begin with, the discs may become difficult to read over a much shorter period of time vs. better media.

Please list your burner model in your user profile, it helps us out (I'm getting tired of asking people this ). Some burners can test for 'PI/PO' errors, which will tell you the quality of the discs burned. If that cannot be done with your drive, you can do a 'transfer rate' test with Nero CD-DVD Speed, it will give you at least an idea of whether the burns are good or not.

[GKar]

It ain't the price or the brand its the make. This is old info for most people here I know, and the info may be a little dated but it's still ok, go here:

http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm