Same media code, wildly different reviews

[richapple]

Rather than dig deeper into the depths of info on these fine pages, I think I'll just ask my question and no doubt someone in this forum will be happy to educate me.

I purchased Taiyo Yuden ink jet printable white 8X DVD+Rs from supermediastore, and the media code is YUDEN000T02. I'm thinking that I "get it" that just a few manufacturers make these things, but all with the same media code will be the same, but when I look for comments about discs with a media code of YUDEN000T02 I find perhaps the worst batch of reviews. The reviews for that media code by Taiyo Yuden are good, but the same code is there for so many other brands, and for a lot of those I see "mixed" and "poor".

Aren't they all the same disc when the media code is the same?

Also, for any Taiyo Yuden aficionados, there is a note at the top of the reviews for the Taiyo Yuden brand of this (their) media code, and it says that there should be a serial number near the hub that shows "TG********" with the *** being numbers. Mine show "FF********"... I don't see a date on that heading on the reviews page, but the reviews go back to 2004. So is it likely that the serial numbers were TG then, but could be FF now? I hate to think I paid all those bucks for fakes!

Hey, thanks,

Apple

[aedipuss]

the characters in the center have to do with the plastic on which the blank was created. they change all the time depending on the source. as long as decent blanks and real t.y. dye was used they should be ok.

[redwudz]

Looking through a few of those reviews, I also see wildly different specifications given in some of the comments. You should also realize those are unsubstantiated comments. Some may have misread their media manufacturer code and others are likely having similar problems with all discs they are using. And maybe there are bad TYs out there.

But, in general TYs are very reliable. I would also only buy TYs that are labeled as TYs and stay away from generic brands, even if TY were the manufacturer.

[OneSickPup]

Genuine Taiyo Yuden 8x DVD+R should always have a batch code in this format - batch code: TGxxxxxx

No exceptions that I know of to that rule. Here is a link to all the info you could ever want to know about Taiyo Yuden media:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/f33/taiyo-yuden-faq-178622/

Here is a link to a thread showing how to find the proper location of these batch codes:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/f33/do-i-use-dvdinfo-find-if-my-ty-qenuine-178363/#post1406131

Good Luck.

[richapple]

Wow, thanks for that info. Yes, I was looking at the innermost etched letters/numbers that you see on the label side, and as per the first reply, that's just from the maker of the plastic. With the link showing the photo it's clear where to look and yes I can make out the nearly invisible TG##### on the read/write side of the disc. Wild.

Thanks much for the info and the links!

Rich Apple

[MysticE]

I think both Supermediastore and Rima can be trusted to supply the real thing.