Cheapest working DVD-R Media you've gotten & DVD safe labels

[dvd_master]

1)
What is the cheapest working DVD-R media you've found? I'm looking for unbranded type, that has worked well for you (no assumptions please)

2) I see varying topics on this. Which DVD labels are SAFE for DVDs? Aren't those clear one safe... but can you get ink jet clear labels, and can't those bubble?

Where could i get the DVD safe labels.

thanks!

[Doom9]

1) Ritek G03. Accept no less. I've tested pretty much the whole sortiment of meritline (except the major brand discs) and these were the only ones that worked reliably. In any case do not settle for Princo / DVDPro crap. These discs are known to work just fine for some but these are not quality discs.. when they work error correction is usually working at its peak.
2) No labels are safe. Use printable discs if you absolutely must get something on the top of your disc... considering that you see the surface for like 10 seconds in which you take out the disc of the case and put it in your player I'd say it's not worth the price.

[Jafco]

If you absolutely must have something on top of the disc, and you have to go with labels, you could go with "hub labels." They have the smallest chance of mucking up the media, since they are only on the clear plastic hub portion of the disc.

[redfive19]

I just ordered them. I too have heard great things about Ritek DVD-R's. I also like LeadData but can't find them anywhere. One thing, on the meritline site it says burns at 2x with firmware 1.31 for the pioneer 104....I have firmware 1.33 and I wasn't sure if it was 1.31 and any firmware after that or just 1.31. I can't imagine pioneer would take that feature off in later firmwares but I could be wrong. If I am, can I downgrade to 1.31 (i've heard you can't)

tia

-redfive

[Jimmerz]

Ritek didn't work in one of my standalone DVD players (older player) or my PS2, but Beall (Samsung) has worked in everything I've tried it in.

I'm fairly new to all this stuff...so I have to ask, what is the issue with putting labels on DVDs? I have plain old white Avery labels on every one of my DVDs and have never had a problem.

[atreides93]

The labels tend to cause problems later on...like if they get too hot they might start to peal and sometimes they get air bubbles which cause the disk to wobble and makes it unreadable. You can't remove the label without wrecking the disc. Its just not worth it....I might try hub labels though...should be better than my current sharpie method of labeling

[abatis]

I just received my order of:
Lead Data Purple/Silver DVD-Recordable media, 4.7 GB, for DVD-R General 2.0 conformant drives, 1x certified, unbranded, 50 pack, in paper sleeves.
@.$76 each
Hey these are burning 2x on my LG GMA04020B. Cool.
from:
http://www.hypermicro.com/store/index.htm

I was skeptical but I just burned a random selection and it worked great. The DVD center stamp start with A1xxxxxx. I always burn from iso using DVDcryptor and I always create my iso's with imagetools. I wanted the Riteks G03 which I have had 99.9% success with but Hyper was out. I tried these and with a LF-D311 burner with A123 no problems. I am cheap and cheap seems to work.

By the way I ordered from Hyper on Monday and received on Thursday. Not bad. I don't have the tech for 4X and don't really care. Thisa works for me.

[OUTPinged_]

@Doom9

These discs are known to work just fine for some but these are not quality discs.. when they work error correction is usually working at its peak.

What is fast and safe way to measure the amount of error correction level req'ed to read a dvd-r?

I cant trust with nero cdspeed in my 105, it is reading at full speeds even those cdrs that are barely readable in plextors :/


P.S. @everyone: is there a way to measure c1/c2 errors for dvd-r disks?

[sarahjh69]

let me tell you why not to use labels

this week i did a backup of time splitters 2 for a PS2

with a label on it takes 20 mins to get to the game
without a label it takes 20 seconds to get to the game

both disks written at 1x on the same ritek media!
no data errors on either disk!

[FamousPerson]

Originally posted by redfive19
...on the meritline site it says burns at 2x with firmware 1.31 for the pioneer 104....I have firmware 1.33 and I wasn't sure if it was 1.31 and any firmware after that or just 1.31. I can't imagine pioneer would take that feature off in later firmwares but I could be wrong. If I am, can I downgrade to 1.31 (i've heard you can't)
I too am interested if anyone can answer this question. I use these disks on a Pioneer 104. I can't remember the firmware but it's higher than 1.31. They only burn at 1x in Nero. Can anyone tell us if they do indeed burn at 2x with 1.31?

[BassPig]

For a decent cheap media, I have had improved compatibility over Ritek with the Samsung BeAll discs at $1.64 each.

I have been using Neato clear gloss labels for quite some time and none of the discs have come back with any complaints so far. If applied carefully, they seem to work fine, at least for me and my customers.

[Richard Iredale]

Some DVD players seem to be very sensitive to DVD labels, and others not. Our Toshiba won't read Fujifilm DVD-Rs with Meritline labels attached, while our two Apex AD-1500s do just great, label or no label.

About 2 months ago I did a 30-disk project for families with kids in my daughter's choir. Again, FujiFilm DVD-R blanks with Meritline white glossy labels. Five replied that their players couldn't read the disk. I visited each home with alternative DVD-R disks (no labels, different vendors) and the players couldn't read ANY of those disks, either.

As for ruining disks trying to remove labels, it just ain't so. Here's how to do it:

(1) Spray label liberally with WD-40, and let it sit for an hour. The WD-40 dissolves the label adhesive.

(2) Use your fingers and/or a non-metallic scraper to remove the label and adhesive.

(3) Wash the disk with warm, soapy water. You'll have to do this several times to get rid of all the WD-40 solvent.

(4) Dry using a clean washed cotton shirt.

That's it. I've done it a half-dozen times, and the disks are as good as new.

Summarizing, I think labels work great nearly all the time.

[sarahjh69]

richard
thanks for the tip
trying the wd40 on timesplitters 2 now
...........
2 hours later and label came of easily!

thanks

[atreides93]

When you say wash the disk in soapy water, are you drenching the disc or just using a towel/cloth on the label side??

[Richard Iredale]

atreides93:

I scrub the side with the label, though of course both sides get wet. The big thing is to never dry it using anything other than soft (washed) cotton. Paper towels scratch like you wouldn't believe.

I know, I know, a DVD-R is a glued assembly of two halves, and there is always the possibility of the WD-40 attacking the adhesive. But it hasn't happened yet, from what I can tell.

Also, a DVD-R is a very different animal from a CD-R--the data layer is in the middle of the plastic sandwich, not on the top of the disk. One could probably sandblast the label off withough affecting the data layer, though it would be prudent to employ a more gentle approach.

[waldok]

The cheapest DVD-R I've been using with great success are BulkPaq 1x,at 1.5 euros each, burnt 6 of them without a single prob (be it at burning or playback time). Sure takes some time to burn (55 minutes) but result is great for the price.

Waldok:cool:

[malum]

I've been using bulkpaq also, although I have moved over to white label.
Bulkpaq at 47p each were such a bargain that I couldn't pass them up. Have knocked out a few coasters but I think most of them were due to me learning the processes rather than the discs.

[SVCD4Me]

In reference to the DVDPro (Princo) from Meritline...
@Doom9

These discs are known to work just fine for some but these are not quality discs.. when they work error correction is usually working at its peak.

What is fast and safe way to measure the amount of error correction level req'ed to read a dvd-r?

I am interested in the above question about errors. I just started burning(DVDs :))a month or so ago, and have burned about 20 DVDs and they work on 3 different players with no problems. 1 Mintek, 1 Toshiba I think, and my Pioneer DV-434. I know they don't play on a certain Sony player, but don't know which one. My dad let a friend borrow it and he said it gave an error about a serial number or something to that effect?.. Anyway, if the DVDPro are that bad I don't want to keep using them and end up with coasters down the road.