DVD dual layer media ~ thickness/price

[Micker_C]

As I bought a couple of large cakes, I have not had the opportunity to experience multiple brands of blank media; so I have two questions and the first is I bought cakes at .60 a disk, has anybody else found the price rising, can't seem to find any under .95 a disk?

The main part of the question is here, I bought a 25 cake of Office Depot disks as a 'Filler' after all it made perrfect sense at $14.00/25. Not had any issues at all, but I was taken with just how thick these disks are and I use a PS3 to watch movies, it loves the thick disks. Then I had an emergency buy of Memorex, these disks are paper thin, the PS3 and myself don't like them. I remember when the first regular DVD media became available the same thing happened there as well, went from solid 'Plates' to 'Paper kits'. I know they both work.

Does anybody know of the the 'Thick' DVD dual layer media, right now the Office depot 25 cake is $59.00 and that's a resounding no. I wonder who makes the solid thick dual layers?

Thanks

[fritzi93]

Find out the manufacturer's ID (MID) yourself with DVDinfoPro, Nero DiscSpeed, or similar. As to wanting to save money on dual-layer discs, maybe not a good idea, they're problematic enough as it is. Only Verbatim dual-layer discs (MCC- Mitsubishi Chemical Corp) have a good reputation. Have a look here:

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

Good luck.

[Micker_C]

Well apparently the Office Depot are the 'Don't' get on the list as they are Ritek, after 50 [Two 25 cakes], not a single problem. I have to wonder if folks actually have problomatic hardware/firmware. I still have some of the original single layer RiData that were most excellent, I have heard over the last two years or so they have degraded in quailty.

Mainly dual layer use now, but I'm not about to pay almost $2.00 a disk when I have had a perfect run record on the apparent bad brand @ .60-.75. I was not really looking for comparisson between brands, rather anybody that understood and new of the thick platter DVD dual layer media beside Office Depot; I guess indirectly as those are apparently Ritek that sort of answers that. I know I'm not inclined to buy thin DVD dual layer if I can avoid it.

Fact is I have not any issue from any dual layer as yet, of course this may have jinxed me. I use an ASUS dual layer burner.

May as well add this, often the question comes up if for video does it matter if it's burned on single or double layer media, there are many people that state ~No, single is fine. I would like to add if anybody happens to use high end digital equipment it really does matter; dual layer gives a far superior quality end result over single layer media. Hense, I still have single layer disks sitting. Compression always degrades quality.

I do appreciate the interesting link, made for some reading and I'm not knocking the experts, when I get bitten I'll be smart enough to change my habits.

Cheers

[lordsmurf]

Media is all supposed to be the same thickness. Some are indeed "heavier" because of the crap stuck to the top or weight of the materials used, but thickness is regulated by the DVD spec, like anything else.

Ritek made media is real hit-and-miss. Often times, discs that somebody thinks are good really do have errors that can be unseen under certain conditions.

Actually, most "high-end" equipment fails on DVD+R and DL media. It is more rigid than cheap equipment, in most all cases.

"when I get bitten" is the correct statement, not "if". It will happen, if you have enough media and give it enough time.

Single-layer media can look plenty fine. Image quality is determined purely by the length of the material, and thereby the allocation of bits to pixels (bitrate/resolution).

[Micker_C]

Media is all supposed to be the same thickness. Some are indeed "heavier" because of the crap stuck to the top or weight of the materials used, but thickness is regulated by the DVD spec, like anything else.

Ritek made media is real hit-and-miss. Often times, discs that somebody thinks are good really do have errors that can be unseen under certain conditions.

Actually, most "high-end" equipment fails on DVD+R and DL media. It is more rigid than cheap equipment, in most all cases.

"when I get bitten" is the correct statement, not "if". It will happen, if you have enough media and give it enough time.

Single-layer media can look plenty fine. Image quality is determined purely by the length of the material, and thereby the allocation of bits to pixels (bitrate/resolution).

I understand the thickness does not in any way have anything to do with the standards related to the usable side and I agree there is rigidity in high end, at the same time though, if it's successful, then there is real success. I do use high end equipment, if I had an equipment weak spot it would have to be the PS3 I use to watch movies; got that to enjoy blu ray mainly. I'm sure it will happen, probably sooner than later; particulary as manafactures find ways to cut corners/cost in a world wide economic crises.

The consensus is Verbatim then?

Cheers

[turk690]

to Micker_C, I'm interested to know how you found out some of your disks are "thicker" than the others. All CDs, DVDs, and BDs are 1.2mm thick (little tolerances apply of course), which is a standard set in stone. Did you actually get a caliper to measure it? If indeed it were thicker (or thinner) then this could be a real issue.

[jman98]

Micker_C - Let us know in 2-3 years if your cheap DL media still works without problems. The fact that it works now means nothing. Either you care enough to buy reliable media or you don't and it seems you don't. Many people who buy whatever's cheap find out in a few short years that those "bargain" discs can't be played anymore. What kind of bargain is it if you pay 95 cents a DL disc now and 2 years from now it won't play at all?

[Micker_C]

Turk I didn't measure, one against the other, felt marginally heavier and the PS3 had trouble pulling the thinner disks in. When I say thicker it's not a huge difference.

But, to answer you and jman I started out in the mid 80's building systems and had a company. In the early 90's (95 I think) I bought the first Plextor CD writable and used various and sundry disks for years, all are still playable. If it writes I have never heard of anybody in all those years that stated "It's gonna die in three years" or/ have I ever seen that happen. I was not looking for anything that's "You just wait, idiot" kind of response. Though I had to smile when I read the link, that Countries where confused. I do absolutely agree that anything out of Japan is by far superior to anything out of China.

I have had disks go bad from extreme temperatures, or because of scratching; but not ever if they sat in their little cover at home. That's with thirteen year old disks I burned.

It's relative, but I program and use a 50" plasma sometimes to work off sometimes I don't game but my kids do a bit, the PS3 was for blu ray watching, $80.00 extra and more realistic than buying a stand alone blu ray DVD reader. I would not have really noticed until the PS3 had trouble taking the Memorex disk in.

I don't know why this became a problem question. Are there blank media DVD's that come out of Japan, that's avialable in the USofA?

Cheers

[Seeker47]

I don't know why this became a problem question. Are there blank media DVD's that come out of Japan, that's avialable in the USofA?

Taiyo Yuden (TY) -- though not everything they make is available here. But there is a good selection of their single layer media, via online vendors such as Rima.Com.

Lordsmurf is right. I've had to rip and re-burn plenty of discs made 2 - 3 years ago, on "major brand" media, and I'm sure there will be many more instances of that as time goes on.

[VegasBud]

For general information purposes...the specifications say the thickness of a dvd disk must be between 1.14mm and 1.5 mm (from .06mm less than the ideal of 1.2mm, to .3mm more). The spread between the permissable limits should be enough for the human senses to be able to roughly tell there is a difference without the use of any equipment.

Micker_C,

For dual layer media, I have never found anything that is as consistently reliable (stack after stack after stack) as Verbatim. Every other "brand" is either consistently crap, or gives inconsistent results (in the long run).

The problem with inconsistency (besides the expensive scrap and wasted time/energy) is that dvds have a limited amount of error correction capability. The less it's spent on offsetting borderline burns, the more it's available for real (and inevitable) damage. As far as I'm concerned, a disk that appears fine when it's fresh out of the burner, but in reality is just one speck of dust away from catastrophic failure, is in fact a bad burn, even if it appears otherwise.

The best indicator of probable burning success is most likely the reputation of the media, which is earned by virtue of large numbers of people, using equipment with widely varying capabilities, over a long period of time consistently producing disks that work as expected in a broad assortment of players. Only Verbatim dual layer has that reputation.

By the way, just doing a quick "Newegg check" with no bargain searching, Verbatim dual layer are readily available at $1.30 apiece. If you're looking at $2.00/disk prices, you're looking in the wrong places. Personally, I stock up when there are good sales...most recently for about $1.00 apiece. Going with the highest quality doesn't have to be expensive.

[Micker_C]

Alright, I'm convinced. Verbatim dual layer, it is.

I appreciate the heads up, just could not find any DVD dual layer media that was made in Japan; so I had to ask

Cheers