Kodak DVD+R Blank Disks.

[Randa]

I've read about generic media degrading and becoming unplayable in as little as 6 months. Does anyone have any experience with Kodak Brand DVD+R media? Any suggestions?
Thanks
Randa

[setarip_old]

Hi!Any suggestions?Verbatim or Taiyo-Yuden media...

[Randa]

Thanks for the reply and information. I have heard of Taiyo-Yuden media but have not seen it as a brand, is it a manufacturer supplier of many brands, or a brand on it's own.
Also Regarding Verbatim, I have seen these offered in the dollar stores for a dollar each, but have noticed that the country of origin is different in some of these, some of these say tiwan, and others china. This leaves me to wonder if these are a cheap knockoff and a fraud.

[setarip_old]

Regarding Verbatim, I have seen these offered in the dollar stores for a dollar eachAre you sure they weren't DOUBLE-LAYERED (DVD9)? Single-layered Verbatims sell fro approximately 30 cents each in the US. What part of the world are you in?

[Randa]

I live in Canada. Dollarama sells verbatim DVD 4.7Gb DVD in a case for $1.00 each. I thought that this was very cheap considering the price of 5 packs, 10 Packs and the like. This, as well as the country of origin discrepancy caused me to wonder if they were fakes.

[jshumate]

The only completely reliable makers of DVD media are Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim. Other brands may be complete crap. Sony and TDK used to use high quality manufacturers but for the most part now outsource to unreliable 3rd party companies. You can find out about DVD media quality at http://www.nomorecoasters.com

Taiyo Yuden are only made in Japan, but they are sometimes faked. You have to mail order them. In North America, reliable sources for TY discs include:
http://www.rima.com
http://www.supermediastore.com
http://www.newegg.com
and a few others I can't remember.

Verbatim outsources their discs all over the place. In Europe, they actually sell Taiyo Yuden made discs under the Verbatim name. Discs made in Taiwan by Verbatim are excellent. Singapore is another good site. They use China for some CD-R work and these seem fine. The only Verbatim media anyone complains about is the newly outsourced DVD+R DL discs that are now made in India. Quality reports are all over the place on them, with some saying they are OK and others saying that they are garbage. Single layer Verbatim DVDs, whether + or -, are universally excellent wherever they are from. Verbatim's India plant does have to meet Verbatim's standards, but in truth the India made discs are of a little lower quality than the Singapore made ones. I find the India made discs to be fine, but your opinion may vary.

[Randa]

thanks to all for your experience and assistance.
Randa

[fibbingbear]

Just to throw in my two cents:


The best way to ensure that your media doesn't degrade is keep it in a plastic (or glass) non-acid case, out of sunlight, with slow changing humidity and temperature (i.e., in an insulated house).

That being said, some brands are better than others, as are some formats. I hear DVD+R is better than DVD-R.

I've only had DVDs go bad on me after ~4 years, even with some of the worse brands. You can checksum your files to detect if they're corrupted, or rely on the DVD to do so. I always do a backup checksum anyway --- end-to-end principle and whatnot :-p

[Big Barn]

I bought those a while ago at the dollorama, they are
MCC 02RG20 with a hard coat. they are good media.
If you live in Canada try Blankmedia.ca, they have all the
tayo's and verbs that you can handle. Sorry for my english