Maximum PC

Over the last several months I’ve had a lot of fun burning my own DVD’s and have amassed a collection of several dozen. Recently, I tried playing one and my DVD player gave me an error message saying, “The DVD is dirty.”

No problem, I used my ‘wet’ DVD cleaner that has worked in the past, but I got the same error.

No problem, I then used my ‘wet’ laser lens cleaner… Again, same error, “The DVD is dirty.” The use of both has never failed me in the past, but that has been with commercially produced DVD’s.

Frustrated, I re-burned the DVD from a saved file and it plays flawlessly.

I know it can’t be the software used for burning. After all, once the ones and zeros are burned, and the DVD plays, it is up to the media to retain that information.

The DVD media I have been using is Memorex DVD+R. Yeah I know, but at $0.25/disc in bulk is a cheap way to learn the burn. lol



My question is this: What brand of DVD media has lasted the longest for you guys.

I would like to find a brand that can last at least a few years or… at least more than a few months. Memorex ain’t gonna cut it for me anymore!

What is the best brand of DVD media for home use?

I've got some seven-year-old Memorex DVD-Rs and +RWs that still work fine.

For now, that is.

That said, everyone has a favorite, and everyone has something they hate. I could say that I love TDK, and someone else will say that TDK sucks. I refuse to use Sony media, yet others will say it's great.

If you have some Memorex media that's only a few months old and it's failing already, I'd be hitting them up for warranty replacement. I had to do that for some of their CD-RWs and they sent fresh ones right out, and they work fine.

You’ve actually had some Memorex media last several years, eh? That is reassuring since I have several dozen in my collection.

I’ve often heard that Memorex is the ‘bottom-basement’ of recordable media which is why I kinda freaked when one failed after only a few months. You’ve helped to restore my confidence in them.

As for the warranty thing, that was so below my radar I hadn’t even considered it… after all, the postage would cost more than the disk! lol

Thanks, OM. Your post helped me to put things into perspective. If I were to burn a hundred DVD’s of any brand, their one to five percent failure rate would surely show up sooner or later.

I've used CompUSA brand media without any issues, I've used just about every brand without issues...

It really depends on the burner, too. Some seem to like certain brands of media better than others. When I got my Samsung drive to replace my LiteOn 12x burner, I had trouble with TDK media. Got some Memorex and Sony to try out, and had no issues - though a firmware update made the remaining TDK's fine.

First of all, my pleasure. Glad to help. I mean, let's face it. NO media maker makes 100% reliable products, not even Taiyo Yuden.
Second, I've got maybe 150 or so by Memorex. So far, so good. It was their VCR videotapes that I truly hated... dropouts galore.
And third, there was no postage cost; all I did was phone them toll-free and they sent replacements out at no charge.
For bargain basement stuff, CompUSA's store brand discs (and other no-name stuff) were made by Princo, generally considered the worst on the planet. I remember buying a hundred on a spindle. I had two coasters. Two!

Now, if you ask me about Sony media...!

I think you may have clarified something for me. Memorex’s legacy reputation has clouded my memory.

You mentioned Princo, which has an experienced failure rate of 2%. I consider that to be pretty good. My experience with Memorex is <1% as of this post.

I’m glad I created this thread and I’m glad you joined in, OM. It has helped to dispel stereotypes that I, myself, have harbored!

...so exactly how many places are there that actually make media today??

I know that sounds like a tangent, but I was always under the impression that there was only like two, maybe three places that did this and every brand you see comes out of one of those places...

http://www.digitalfaq.com/reviews/dvd-media.htm

Take a look at this page to find out the crappy manufacturers, and then note the section marked "Blank DVD Branding Data".
That said, I've had PERFECT luck with HP and Philips-branded discs.
Zero coasters out of hundreds of discs, both DVD and CD, write-once and re-writeables.

Cool find!

Looks like I'll have to spend some time on that site!

If you want to learn about optical disc tech look at some old threads on the http://www.myce.com/ forums.

The best quality discs? Taiyo Yudens. Nothing else compares.

I've been using Verbatim Cake-box DVD's for years now. No coasters, never had a problem ripping above rated speeds (18x or 20x on 16x media/ Samsung 203B), and some of my first burns are still playable. Since printing w/ an Epson R340 since 2005, I've souly used Verbatim 95079 cakebox and they've been perfect as well.

Since you don't need inkjet printable, give THESE a shot. I use that "Advanced AZO" stuff on the Dual-Layer media, just not a whole lot since DL's pretty pricey. Godfather and long movies like that, or TV series' I really like and want to get a season on one disc instead of 3 or 4 (Rescue Me). Either way, media with MCC02 or 03 is generally considered some of the best, if not the best.

(Taiyo Yuden use to have a huge following of fans, but I hear it's fallen drastically for whatever reason. Hard to find? JVC? Don't know...)

Added:
Here's a scan of a Star Trek 2 recorded with a 203B ("SW-S183N" is a glitch) when it was new, which is about 4 years ago?

Creation benches test the drive more than the media, but can do that too I guess.

Verbatim DVD-R, DVD+R or DVD+R DL, made in India, UAE, Singapore or Taiwan. (Do not buy the "Life Series" or "Value Series" discs.) Good Version is getting harder to find.

Everything you need to know about DVD Media http://www.digitalfaq.com/reviews/dvd-media.htm

You can find out what the Manufacturer's Media ID is by putting a disk in and launching DVD Decrypter. It will be labled "Disc ID".