Verbatim DL media

[JohnnyBob]

I looked around and newegg is the cheapest for Verbatim (95484) 8X DVD+R DL (presumably MKM003 made in Singapore), link given in post above. Next cheapest is Meritline if you buy 4 spindles:
http://www.meritline.com/verbatim-8x-dl-dvd-plus-r-branded-media-spindle.html
and they could be slightly cheaper after shipping if you live in a newegg-taxable state.
So maybe there is hope after all

[Seeker47]

I looked around and newegg is the cheapest for Verbatim (95484) 8X DVD+R DL (presumably MKM003 made in Singapore), link given in post above. Next cheapest is Meritline if you buy 4 spindles:
http://www.meritline.com/verbatim-8x-dl-dvd-plus-r-branded-media-spindle.html
and they could be slightly cheaper after shipping if you live in a newegg-taxable state.
So maybe there is hope after all

This won't be useful info for most of us -- other than those who wouldn't flinch at $4/disk prices -- but I have yet to see any 10x rated Verb DLs that were not MIS. These are in orange & white 5-pack boxes -- with individual jewel cases inside, I would assume.

[terryj]

I buy the Verbatim DVD+R DL's in five packs at Best Buy.
Usually $18 a five pack.
Rarely do I have a project that needs to be burned to DL Media.

If I get a coaster or two out of them, I call up verbatim,
report them as Medium Errors in Toast ( which is what I get
when the pioneer 112D decided to make a coaster)
give them the reorder # on the back of the box,
and they replace them for free.

I'd love to get DL media that can burn reliably at 8 to 12x,
and cost as little per unit as a 100pk of Verbatim SL 16x,
but until then, I'll burn on SL media for most projects,
and save the hard jobs for the DL media.

[bbanderic]

Those look like the ones, but I don't enjoy shooting craps. They are non-refundable, so if they decide to ship you "made in India", you're up the creek without a paddle.

The only DL media Verbatim has outsourced to Moser Baer India (MBI) is MKM 001 production. Currently all MKM 003 production is in Singapore. These can be identified by the 8x - 10x packaging (new style or old style packaging). Now obviously this is subject to change at any time but currently that is a true statement.

The info above seems to be accurate, at least in my recent experience (yesterday). I've been to several B&M stores and all of the 20 packs (2.4X - up to 6X) I've seen were made in India while all of the 15 packs (8X - up to 10X) and 5 packs (8X - up to 10X, new and old style packaging) were made in Singapore with the MKM 003 media code.

Most, if not all, posts I've seen on this subject seem to indicate that the inferior "Made in India" Verbatims have been the 20 packs only, with the lower rated speeds (2.4X - up to 6X). I have yet to see or hear of any of the newer 8X - up to 10X rated Verbs coming from India.

[JohnnyBob]

I took a chance and ordered 10 spindles of the 8x Verbatim DVD+R DL #95484 from Newegg (link above). I just received them and all say "made in Singapore". I checked a disc and it's MKM003. I note that the discs are identical in appearance to MKM001 made in Singapore (made in India is significantly different), except they have "8x" printed on the inner hub. So are they just re-labelled MKM001, or is there any real difference? I suppose I'll find out soon when I burn some...then quality scan the burns with Nero CD-DVD Speed.

My concern is the shipping slip enclosed which says: non-refundable, and non-replacable. So if you buy them, you're stuck with them, no matter what! There's no mention of being able to recover in advent of damage during shipment, so I assume that's not possible either. However the packaging was extraordinarily good, so damage during shipment would be a remote possibility. That's in contrast to the slipshod packaging for shipment from Rima.

[Seeker47]

However the packaging was extraordinarily good, so damage during shipment would be a remote possibility. That's in contrast to the slipshod packaging for shipment from Rima.

Are we talking about the difference between retail packs and bulk packs ? I've ordered several shipments of the BIG spindles (TY 8x) from Rima, and their packaging survived transit quite well. I can't really say I liked the "taped up" style of their white top media. It comes with no cakebox, not even a base: just a separate spindle that seems fairly useless this way. But that may be the way TY provides it to them . . . .

The price you paid for DL 15 spindles from Newegg is just a couple bucks less than the price I paid for MIS 20-spindles from BB. The main difference seems to be an 8x rating vs. a 6x. I still have a couple of their 8x DL spindles -- the old packaging. However, I've never burned a DL at more than 3x speed. With a 10x I might take it up to 5, but the difference is probably not enough of an advantage to bother with, esp. at a higher price.

[JohnnyBob]

However the packaging was extraordinarily good, so damage during shipment would be a remote possibility. That's in contrast to the slipshod packaging for shipment from Rima.

Are we talking about the difference between retail packs and bulk packs ? I've ordered several shipments of the BIG spindles (TY 8x) from Rima, and their packaging survived transit quite well. I can't really say I liked the "taped up" style of their white top media. It comes with no cakebox, not even a base: just a separate spindle that seems fairly useless this way. But that may be the way TY provides it to them . . . .

My last shipment from Rima had a spindle of 100 discs laying on its side, not standing up as it should be, without any buffer packaging to the outside. So a crush from the next box above in the UPS truck broke the spindle and the discs arrived askew. Several were damaged, as well as other items in that box.

The price you paid for DL 15 spindles from Newegg is just a couple bucks less than the price I paid for MIS 20-spindles from BB. The main difference seems to be an 8x rating vs. a 6x. I still have a couple of their 8x DL spindles -- the old packaging. However, I've never burned a DL at more than 3x speed. With a 10x I might take it up to 5, but the difference is probably not enough of an advantage to bother with, esp. at a higher price.

In the past I've burned most of my DLs at 4x because that's the only(!) speed possible with my best drive on the MKM001. That gave good results with the MKM001 made in Singapore, less good with the made in India. I'd have to patch and reflash to allow faster or slower burns.

I'll try different speeds with these new 8-10x DLs, starting with the fastest. My best results in the past have been with faster burns according to Nero CD-DVD Speed. I burn my single layer discs at 16-18x because that gives the best quality scans. So the old adage to burn slow for better quality seems not to be true anymore with the newer faster burners. They seem designed for fast speeds, not slow ones.

[DVWannaB]

Help me out here as there may some confusion on my part.

Did Verbatim pul a fast one on consumers? Seems that I remember that I use to buy the "Made In Singapore" DL with the yellow/blu-ish wrapper and they worked great. Now it seems the yellow/blue rapper DL are now made in India. Looks like a definite attempt to fool buyers who are used to seeing one product and expecting the same level of quality. Now the "orange" wrapped DL "Made In Singapore" is what we should be looking out for. Correct?

[bbanderic]

Help me out here as there may some confusion on my part.

Did Verbatim pul a fast one on consumers? Seems that I remember that I use to buy the "Made In Singapore" DL with the yellow/blu-ish wrapper and they worked great. Now it seems the yellow/blue rapper DL are now made in India. Looks like a definite attempt to fool buyers who are used to seeing one product and expecting the same level of quality. Now the "orange" wrapped DL "Made In Singapore" is what we should be looking out for. Correct?

Forget about the wrappers, it's not that important as I've seen the "Made In Singapore" in both wrapper variations. You should be looking for 8X-10X "Made In Singapore" Verbatims.

The lower speed, 2.4X-6X, Verbatims have been found to be "Made in India" and should be avoided.

[DVWannaB]

Ok, thanks.

Relating my own experience, I bought two 20-pack "Made In India" with mixed results, which mirrors what many of you have said previously. The first 20-pack had 4 burn failures or DVD Recorder would not accept. The second 20-pack all were accepted and burned without problems. So its definitely a mixed bag. This was my first and hopefully last of the "Made In India" Verbatim DL. Previous to this experience I had burned at least 400 "Made In Singapore" Verbatim DL with maybe 5 coasters.

[somebodeez]

Forget about the wrappers, it's not that important as I've seen the "Made In Singapore" in both wrapper variations. You should be looking for 8X-10X "Made In Singapore" Verbatims.

The lower speed, 2.4X-6X, Verbatims have been found to be "Made in India" and should be avoided.

I picked up 2 20pk Verbatim DVD+R DL at Best Buy (I made a point to pick them up in person as it's the only way to be sure to get the MIS DLs, AFAIK) 2.4X up to 6X, purple and blue wrappers and both say "Made In Singapore".

[bbanderic]

Forget about the wrappers, it's not that important as I've seen the "Made In Singapore" in both wrapper variations. You should be looking for 8X-10X "Made In Singapore" Verbatims.

The lower speed, 2.4X-6X, Verbatims have been found to be "Made in India" and should be avoided.

I picked up 2 20pk Verbatim DVD+R DL at Best Buy (I made a point to pick them up in person as it's the only way to be sure to get the MIS DLs, AFAIK) 2.4X up to 6X, purple and blue wrappers and both say "Made In Singapore".

Excellent, so there are still some of the 2.4X up to 6X "Made In Singapore" 20 pk's floating around, they're not all the "Made in India" variety.

My point with the statement above is that I've yet to see a post or hear of anyone purchase any 8X up to 10X DL Verbatims that were Made in India, they've all been Made in Singapore up to this point. Subject to change of course

[somebodeez]

Excellent, so there are still some of the 2.4X up to 6X "Made In Singapore" 20 pk's floating around, they're not all the "Made in India" variety.

My point with the statement above is that I've yet to see a post or hear of anyone purchase any 8X up to 10X DL Verbatims that were Made in India, they've all been Made in Singapore up to this point. Subject to change of course

Actually, I didn't know they've bumped up the speeds.
Thanks for the info!

[jman98]

Excellent, so there are still some of the 2.4X up to 6X "Made In Singapore" 20 pk's floating around, they're not all the "Made in India" variety.

My point with the statement above is that I've yet to see a post or hear of anyone purchase any 8X up to 10X DL Verbatims that were Made in India, they've all been Made in Singapore up to this point. Subject to change of course

I believe there is some info on this earlier, but just to clearly state it for everyone, at this time it appears that all 2.4X DVD+R DL Verbatim media is made in India. At this time it appears that the more expensive DVD+R DL greater than 2.4X media (6x or 8x) are still made in Singapore. This has been my personal experience. Just this week I bought some Verbatim DVD+R DL 8x discs and they are still made in Singapore. In fact the only DL Made in India Verbatim discs I have are all the cheaper 2.4X ones.

[Seeker47]

I believe there is some info on this earlier, but just to clearly state it for everyone, at this time it appears that all 2.4X DVD+R DL Verbatim media is made in India. At this time it appears that the more expensive DVD+R DL greater than 2.4X media (6x or 8x) are still made in Singapore. This has been my personal experience. Just this week I bought some Verbatim DVD+R DL 8x discs and they are still made in Singapore. In fact the only DL Made in India Verbatim discs I have are all the cheaper 2.4X ones.

In the MII vs. MII situation, I think it is all pretty clear. What I'm wondering is whether all of the MIS comes out of the same production lines ? Does the speed rating then just reflect how well various batches of discs pass some quality control tests ?

[rayden54]

What DL burner do you have? MKM 003 may not be as well supported on older burners as the MKM 001 has been.

Sorry it took so long to reply.

My burner's a PBDS DVD+-RW DS-8W1P. I'm not sure what brand that corresponds to (Philips & BenQ Digital Storage?). Someone on the afterdawn forum (I think) said that it was a crappy drive. I'm not even really sure that it supports DL discs. I figured I'd get one to try it out.

[SCDVD]

I often hear people make the comment, "I got so and so coasters out of ten". So is that supposed to be some sort of rating of quality - or not? It's funny to hear people say that as if it is some sort of definitive statement. The ONLY thing that means is that so and so out of ten were so horrible they wouldn't even burn. That's utter nonsense. What about playability? The only reason the discs are being burned in the first place is to play them - later. As for me, I think we should "encourage" some of these contrarions to use their favorite brand of slime DL media. It won't hurt us any. There is nothing like a personal negative experience to do a good job of drilling through thick cranial skull.

[shirasuwanum]

About a year ago, I purchased 3 of the boxed 10-DVD spindles of the 2.4x DVD+R DL Verbatims. The box (light purple and dark blue) said MIS. DVD Identifier says MKM 001. In appearance, they're pale purplish and embossed with the words "Double Layer." I have only 4 left, and all of the 26 I've burned (at 4x with a Phillips burner) have been successful (no coasters).

This week, I ordered 2 more boxes (also light purple and dark blue) of the 10-DVD 2.4x Verbatim spindles 2.4x from Buy.com. The Buy.com site said country of origin was Singapore. I just received these. The boxes say MIS. DVD Identifier again says MKM 001. But these DVDs look VERY different from my earlier ones: They are silver and don't include the "Double Layer" embossing. I haven't tried burning any of them yet.

Are these new media MII? Does that mean that Verbatim will label packaging "Made In Singapore," yet include MII media?

[JohnnyBob]

About a year ago, I purchased 3 of the boxed 10-DVD spindles of the 2.4x DVD+R DL Verbatims. The box (light purple and dark blue) said MIS. DVD Identifier says MKM 001. In appearance, they're pale purplish and embossed with the words "Double Layer." I have only 4 left, and all of the 26 I've burned (at 4x with a Phillips burner) have been successful (no coasters).

This week, I ordered 2 more boxes (also light purple and dark blue) of the 10-DVD 2.4x Verbatim spindles 2.4x from Buy.com. The Buy.com site said country of origin was Singapore. I just received these. The boxes say MIS. DVD Identifier again says MKM 001. But these DVDs look VERY different from my earlier ones: They are silver and don't include the "Double Layer" embossing. I haven't tried burning any of them yet.

Are these new media MII? Does that mean that Verbatim will label packaging "Made In Singapore," yet include MII media?

External appearances of the packaging and discs may be helpful in identifying good/bad kinds of discs, as may also the media ID code which is electronically imprinted on the discs and can be read with suitable software. But as shirasuwanum suggests, those could be deceptive. Best is some sample scans with Nero CD-DVD Speed or similar software to produce characteristic graph patterns for each type of disc. For example MKM001 made in India and MKM001 made in Singapore are easy to distinguish, and they are easy to distinguish from MKM003. I've posted a few of my sample scans in the thread at:
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic345609.html

Were some MII media mislabeled as MIS? Yes, I believe it happened somewhere around the time when that changeover was being made with the retail suppliers, circa August 2007 in the USA. All of my older MKM001 MIS spindles had a similar graph pattern, with rare exceptions. But some spindles purchased around Aug-Sep 2007 with the MKM001 MIS label are characteristic of MKM001 MII discs. Some of the later MKM001 MIS spindles appear to be intermediate between those two kinds of discs. For example, I've got one MIS spindle which gives a characteristic spike pattern at about 1GB into the burn, but otherwise looks like a traditional (older) MIS disc. I've got another spindle labeled with MIS but produces a burn pattern indistinguishable from MII discs. And yet another spindle labeled MIS appears to be intermediate between traditional MIS and the MII kind.

Does it play OK? Sure that's important too, but fact is, almost everything plays OK. Good burns, bad burns, intermediate burns, most produce perfect output from our DVD players. DVD players are designed that way, to correct for and overlook errors on marginal discs. So that's not a sufficiently critical variable for judging relative quality of discs or our burns.

My best advice is to get a Lite-On burner so you can do your own disc/burn quality scans with Nero CD-DVD Speed (or similar software), allowing you to determine precisely what you've got on your spindles and exactly how it burns. Those graphs can be highly characteristic, analogous to the way an infrared or ultraviolet scan of a chemical compound produces a footprint which can scarcely be fudged. After awhile you too can look at a graph of a burn and say:
Aha! - yes, I recognize that...

[wtsinnc]

Has anyone had problems burning the Verbatim 8x/10x +R DLs (orange label on the spindle) made in Singapore? I bought a 15 pack from Newegg last week and the first four burns have failed. The burners I used (Samsung SH-202G- two failed burns, LG GSA-H42N- 1 failed burn, and a Pioneer DVR-115D- 1 failed burn) have all successfully burned the Verbatim 2.4x +R DLs without a single failure for at least a year and there has been no driver problem or new software installed on my computer, so I'm at a loss to explain this. Any ideas?

[JohnnyBob]

Has anyone had problems burning the Verbatim 8x/10x +R DLs (orange label on the spindle) made in Singapore? I bought a 15 pack from Newegg last week and the first four burns have failed. The burners I used (Samsung SH-202G- two failed burns, LG GSA-H42N- 1 failed burn, and a Pioneer DVR-115D- 1 failed burn) have all successfully burned the Verbatim 2.4x +R DLs without a single failure for at least a year and there has been no driver problem or new software installed on my computer, so I'm at a loss to explain this. Any ideas?

I haven't had a problem but only burned one spindle of 15 and stored the rest. 4 out of the 36 reviews at newegg are negative, like your experience, which makes me wonder if they're reliable. I notice that newegg just lowered the price to $23.99 for a spindle of 15 discs, but I'm not jumping on it. I'd like to hear more...

[CrayonEater]

I have had good luck (knock on wood) with Riteks in the past, specifically, RITEKF01. All worked fine and, as far as I know, continue to do so. I've had about the same number of bad burns with the Ritek as the Verb MIS. I wish I had the money to stock up on good Verbs, and I still favor them, but given the cost benefits of Inverse Stack production over 2P (despite the sharply reduced quality), I think it's a matter of time before all Verbatim DL production goes to India or otherwise uses this vastly inferior method of production. In other words, eventually, Verbatim may not be any better than Ritek or Playo, and I really don't like this trend.

[Seeker47]

Has anyone had problems burning the Verbatim 8x/10x +R DLs (orange label on the spindle) made in Singapore? I bought a 15 pack from Newegg last week and the first four burns have failed.

These are supposed to be guaranteed, so you should be able to return them for full credit or replacement. (Maybe better to do this at Verbatim than at NewEgg ?)

[JohnnyBob]

...These are supposed to be guaranteed, so you should be able to return them for full credit or replacement.

According to the newegg packing slip enclosed, they are not returnable for replacement or refund. So if you bought them and they're damaged or defective, you're just out of luck. Accept the loss, then don't buy anything from newegg again! I was lucky. Mine were OK.

[OneSickPup]

Has anyone had problems burning the Verbatim 8x/10x +R DLs (orange label on the spindle) made in Singapore? I bought a 15 pack from Newegg last week and the first four burns have failed.

These are supposed to be guaranteed, so you should be able to return them for full credit or replacement. (Maybe better to do this at Verbatim than at NewEgg ?)

Contact Verbatim North America
For product support
1-800-538-8589

[jman98]

Has anyone had problems burning the Verbatim 8x/10x +R DLs (orange label on the spindle) made in Singapore? I bought a 15 pack from Newegg last week and the first four burns have failed. The burners I used (Samsung SH-202G- two failed burns, LG GSA-H42N- 1 failed burn, and a Pioneer DVR-115D- 1 failed burn) have all successfully burned the Verbatim 2.4x +R DLs without a single failure for at least a year and there has been no driver problem or new software installed on my computer, so I'm at a loss to explain this. Any ideas?

I have very recently bought this exact media from Newegg. Yes, I am talking about made in Singapore 8x/10x DVD+R DLs with the orange label. I did have to do a firmware upgrade on a new burner before it could burn them, but my burns have all been great. No problems with any of the burns and the discs all looked OK from what I've seen so far. I've been burning at 4x on these discs and all were good.

1) Try a firmware upgrade on your burner.
2) Try burning at a slower speed. I'm not sure I personally trust 8x speed and I sure don't trust 10x speed on any burner for DL media. If you are using 10x speed, try 8x or even 6x.

I have a LiteOn burner, but I don't remember the model number.

[wtsinnc]

I've just gotten off of the phone with Newegg and they are issuing a full credit for the purchase price and told me to not send them back but to keep the discs and try to use the remainder or just throw them away. This is exactly why I continue to do business with them as they have always been more than fair with me. I suppose I'll try to use the remaining eleven as I truly have nothing to lose, but unless they burn and play perfectly, my next purchase of DLs will be the original Verbatim (blue label) 2.4x and I will just have to accept to accept slower burns as I would rather have slower burns than no burns at all ! Thanks to those who posted info and advice.

[jman98]

wtsinnc - I provided 2 reasonable suggestions for your problem. Good luck with the 2.4x discs. They've mostly been OK for me, but I honestly think the 8x ones are better.

[wtsinnc]

jman98;

Sorry, I should have included the information that I am currently running the most recent firmware for each of my burners and after the first two failed burns, reduced the burn speed to 4x. Even with that, I then had a failure using the Samsung SH-s202G and one with the Pionees DVR-115.

[JohnnyBob]

Sorry to be the messenger of bad news, but I've been monitoring this item from newegg...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817130029

According to the most recent reviews on the newegg website for these 8-10x Verbatim DVD+R DL, newegg is no longer shipping MIS discs in the orange colored spindles. They've switched to MII discs in blue and purple colored spindles, despite the picture on their website which still shows orange. So buyer beware of their false/outdated advertising in that regard. Also be sure to read the fine print before ordering. Newegg will not replace nor refund these "OEM" discs.

Furthermore, it's only a rumor at this point, as far as I know, but... I've also read that Verbatim has switched production of all their DL discs to India. So there may be no more produced of the made in Singapore kind. I'm hoping that isn't true, else I may quit burning DL discs entirely.