Inexpensive BD-R Media

[nikknightt]

You can try unchecking "BD-R verify not required" on the "write" tab in ImgBurn's settings for a little help. This will enable the drive's full on-the-fly burn quality checking/adjustment. When burning high quality media, this is unnecessary and should be checked. Clear the OPC. Turn off OPC. A bad disc's optimum laser power requirements will often vary quite widely across the disc, and leaving the drives OP at default is usually better. By all means enable online hypertuning and force hypertuning. And if it burns successfully, consider it a victory and celebrate by returning them and buying something else.
At the very least, run a read speed test on the burn and watch for any read slowdowns before you consider it a good burn.

I'm new to using ImgBurn & BD-R.
If you get a chance could you explain these a little more?

"You can try unchecking "BD-R verify not required" on the "write" tab in ImgBurn's settings for a little help."
--I've always used 'verify' whenever I burn something..

"Clear the OPC. Turn off OPC."
--The only reference I see for OPC is 'perform before write'

"By all means enable online hypertuning and force hypertuning."
--Can't find this setting at all.

[DVDean]

I'm new to using ImgBurn & BD-R.
If you get a chance could you explain these a little more?

"You can try unchecking "BD-R verify not required" on the "write" tab in ImgBurn's settings for a little help."
--I've always used 'verify' whenever I burn something..

"Clear the OPC. Turn off OPC."
--The only reference I see for OPC is 'perform before write'

"By all means enable online hypertuning and force hypertuning."
--Can't find this setting at all.

Certainly. Welcome to the forum :).

1. The "BD-R verify not required" setting is kind of confusing. It refers to on-the-fly burn quality checking and adjusting. It has no relation to the verify after burning function that you wisely choose to use. With a check in that box, on-the-fly write/read verification can be disabled. The effect of this setting varies from drive to drive. Little to no difference with some drives and media, a noticeable improvement or decline with others. Unchecking this option can help at times, but the results are too variable depending on media/burner combinations for me to develop a hard and fast rule. I encourage anyone to find the best choice for their particular situation with this setting. If in doubt, I would probably leave it unchecked. Some of my drives(Pioneer BDR-205 comes to mind) often perform noticeably better with it unchecked.

2&3. Turning off OPC would be unchecking the "perform OPC" of course. OPC is a quick test that a drive can do before burning the disc. A drive simply burns short bursts at different laser power levels within the power calibration area of the disc and examines the result to fine tune the laser power output for the best burn with that disc. Some drives use this more effectively than others. Again there is no universal best setting for this option. It is worth experimenting with on/off to get better burns. There is a "change advanced settings" button on the bottom right in ImgBurn write mode to access "clear OPC history" and "hypertuning".

[RobertM]

B&H (bhphotovideo.com) is now selling Verbatim BD-25 inkjet hub printable blanks (Verb #97339) for $60 for a 50 pack. I started using these discs about 15 months ago, after struggling with several different brands. I've never had a bad burn since. My previous purchases of these discs from B&H were in the $100 range, so this is a great deal, IMO. FYI.

[jfcarbel]

B&H (bhphotovideo.com) is now selling Verbatim BD-25 inkjet hub printable blanks (Verb #97339) for $60 for a 50 pack. I started using these discs about 15 months ago, after struggling with several different brands. I've never had a bad burn since. My previous purchases of these discs from B&H were in the $100 range, so this is a great deal, IMO. FYI.

Awesome thanks for the heads up. I paid $100 for these back in Jan 2012. Rima has then for about the same price $4-5 more.

[A.Fenderson]

I've had good luck with Verbatim as well--in fact for non-RE discs, I've only ever used Verbatim (standard and LTH) and one other brand. B&H is also a great site: awesome service and almost always the best price.

I do want to quickly give my initial experiences with those other discs I tried: they are the Falcon/FTI-manufactured discs previously recommended in this thread. I bought a 25-piece spindle of Falcon-branded BD-RE SL discs (http://www.mediamegamall.com/falcon-bluray-disc-25gb-bdre-falconmedia-branded-25pk-spindle-3161106504000467-p-40080.html) at only US$1.49 per disc, and though I've only used a few of them, they seem great. I also have now bought 5x 25-piece spindles of the Falcon-manufactured SmartBlu BD-R SL discs (http://www.mediamegamall.com/smartblu-bluray-disc-25gb-branded-25pk-cakebox-sbr4br25-p-28554.html) at US$0.79/disc and I've burned 50+ of these discs: not a single unreadable burn or other issue detected thus far, though I don't have any quality-scan software that works with my drive. These are also *not* LTH but standard BD-Rs. For anyone else considering SmartBlu, I don't know which (if any) of their other types of discs are actually made by Falcon/FTI, but I don't think they all are (probably not the DLs, for instance).

[jfcarbel]

I've had good luck with Verbatim as well--in fact for non-RE discs, I've only ever used Verbatim (standard and LTH) and one other brand. B&H is also a great site: awesome service and almost always the best price.

I do want to quickly give my initial experiences with those other discs I tried: they are the Falcon/FTI-manufactured discs previously recommended in this thread. I bought a 25-piece spindle of Falcon-branded BD-RE SL discs (http://www.mediamegamall.com/falcon-bluray-disc-25gb-bdre-falconmedia-branded-25pk-spindle-3161106504000467-p-40080.html) at only US$1.49 per disc, and though I've only used a few of them, they seem great. I also have now bought 5x 25-piece spindles of the Falcon-manufactured SmartBlu BD-R SL discs (http://www.mediamegamall.com/smartblu-bluray-disc-25gb-branded-25pk-cakebox-sbr4br25-p-28554.html) at US$0.79/disc and I've burned 50+ of these discs: not a single unreadable burn or other issue detected thus far, though I don't have any quality-scan software that works with my drive. These are also *not* LTH but standard BD-Rs. For anyone else considering SmartBlu, I don't know which (if any) of their other types of discs are actually made by Falcon/FTI, but I don't think they all are (probably not the DLs, for instance).

I have also tried other brands with no issues, but it is my understanding that the true issue is with age. Many have gone back to discs after 6 months to year and found a drastic change in quality of media doing verification tests. This is where I believe a quality media like Verbatim would differentiate itself from the others. See this post (http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1559493&postcount=488) here.

I will need to scan a few of my 10 month old Optodisc and Ri's and report back. I have some Verbatim burns about 3-4 months old as well.

[DVDIT]

I've had good luck with Verbatim as well--in fact for non-RE discs, I've only ever used Verbatim (standard and LTH) and one other brand. B&H is also a great site: awesome service and almost always the best price.

I do want to quickly give my initial experiences with those other discs I tried: they are the Falcon/FTI-manufactured discs previously recommended in this thread. I bought a 25-piece spindle of Falcon-branded BD-RE SL discs (http://www.mediamegamall.com/falcon-bluray-disc-25gb-bdre-falconmedia-branded-25pk-spindle-3161106504000467-p-40080.html) at only US$1.49 per disc, and though I've only used a few of them, they seem great. I also have now bought 5x 25-piece spindles of the Falcon-manufactured SmartBlu BD-R SL discs (http://www.mediamegamall.com/smartblu-bluray-disc-25gb-branded-25pk-cakebox-sbr4br25-p-28554.html) at US$0.79/disc and I've burned 50+ of these discs: not a single unreadable burn or other issue detected thus far, though I don't have any quality-scan software that works with my drive. These are also *not* LTH but standard BD-Rs. For anyone else considering SmartBlu, I don't know which (if any) of their other types of discs are actually made by Falcon/FTI, but I don't think they all are (probably not the DLs, for instance).

I have extensive experience (3+ years) with verbatim BD-R, model # 96769 and I have never had a single coaster nor any backup that has failed in the last three years. All read,s can and play very well. I do some of my backups with Smart blu's as well and they do burn quite well, and do better than Verbatim on disc quality scans. They also seem to be very, very consistence, as burn quality scan shows very slight difference from disc to disc. Can't say much about longevity however, since my experience with Smartblu's is limited to a few months. But going forward, I've decided to buy nothing but these two, whichever is cheaper.

[varekai]

Can anybody explain what's the difference of these Verbatim mediacodes:
VERBATIMe
VERBATIMu
VERBATIMc

I used to buy 25GB VERBATIMc with excellent burn and read results but I can't find them anymore.

[Video Dude]

Can anybody explain what's the difference of these Verbatim mediacodes:
VERBATIMe
VERBATIMu
VERBATIMc

I used to buy 25GB VERBATIMc with excellent burn and read results but I can't find them anymore.

VERBATIMb = 2x
VERBATIMc = 4x
VERBATIMe = 6x
VERBATIMu = 6x LTH

[jfcarbel]

I have extensive experience (3+ years) with verbatim BD-R, model # 96769 and I have never had a single coaster nor any backup that has failed in the last three years. All read,s can and play very well. I do some of my backups with Smart blu's as well and they do burn quite well, and do better than Verbatim on disc quality scans. They also seem to be very, very consistence, as burn quality scan shows very slight difference from disc to disc. Can't say much about longevity however, since my experience with Smartblu's is limited to a few months. But going forward, I've decided to buy nothing but these two, whichever is cheaper.

Those 96769 Verbatim's are the lower quality LTH media. Many have had issues with LTH media. The 97339 are the regular ones.

These test results here (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=29942&PageId=34) would also agree with what you see with Verbatim LTH media in your disc quality scans, but the regular Verbatim's are in a whole different league.

Those SmartBlu discs sound interesting, but the low price makes me wonder about long term quality. I have had DVD-R media in the past that burned all 100 no issues (meritline brand), but then half are unreadable now 4 years later. So it would be interesting to see some disc quality scans on these after several months and later.

[varekai]

VERBATIMb = 2x
VERBATIMc = 4x
VERBATIMe = 6x
VERBATIMu = 6x LTH
Thanks, will order VERBATIMe = 6x

regards

[RobertM]

Those 96769 Verbatim's are the lower quality LTH media.

I think they are HTL, based on the product photos and descriptions that I can find.

[DVDean]

I have extensive experience (3+ years) with verbatim BD-R, model # 96769 and I have never had a single coaster nor any backup that has failed in the last three years. All read,s can and play very well. I do some of my backups with Smart blu's as well and they do burn quite well, and do better than Verbatim on disc quality scans. They also seem to be very, very consistence, as burn quality scan shows very slight difference from disc to disc. Can't say much about longevity however, since my experience with Smartblu's is limited to a few months. But going forward, I've decided to buy nothing but these two, whichever is cheaper.
I've started testing my oldest Smartblu discs. I've scanned a number of them from 16-19 months old. I thought you might appreciate hearing that they are holding their quality very well.

LDC averages at that age still down in the 2-6 range. Better than most of my Verbatim burns straight after burning. :)

Verbatims are showing a little higher rate of degradation, but still readable.

[abbadon]

I am about to buy something other than Verbatim for the first time in over 5 years: SmartBlu. I do not see the fabled 79 cent media, only 81. Not a big difference, but I'm wondering if I have the wrong link or something has changed in the media. Has anyone bought at the new price and can confirm they are the same? Again, I don't care about 2 cents, but I was going to order 200 to get the free shipping, and thats alot of coasters if I'm wrong.

[RobertM]

I am about to buy something other than Verbatim for the first time in over 5 years: SmartBlu. I do not see the fabled 79 cent media, only 81.

I would be tempted to try them too, except they are branded at that price; jumps to $1.50 or so for inkjet hub-printable.

[jdobbs]

I would be tempted to try them too, except they are branded at that price; jumps to $1.50 or so for inkjet hub-printable. Yeah, me too. I've heard nothing but good things about them, but I just don't think $1.50 is "inexpensive" for the inkjet printable when compared to other brands. Can it really cost 70 cents per disc to put an inkjet friendly coating on it?

[DVDean]

I am about to buy something other than Verbatim for the first time in over 5 years: SmartBlu. I do not see the fabled 79 cent media, only 81. Not a big difference, but I'm wondering if I have the wrong link or something has changed in the media. Has anyone bought at the new price and can confirm they are the same? Again, I don't care about 2 cents, but I was going to order 200 to get the free shipping, and thats alot of coasters if I'm wrong.

Yes. Smartblu 25GB 4x BD-R still = Falcon 25GB 4x BD-R. Perhaps inflation? Mediamegamall sells primarily to professional large quantity buyers, and their support has been equally professional in my experience. I once got the wrong media in my order(1 silver in an order for 4 IJP) from them, and they promptly shipped the correct item. NC. One of the better sellers I've dealt with.

@ RobertM and jdobbs: I know they don't fall into the "cheap" category. Unless you look at the prices of the other BD-R that score high in longevity testing results and are still manufactured with high-end Japanese materials and machinery. Panasonics really don't come cheap :). In my case, its a matter of confidence that I'm getting what I paid for that makes the cost bearable.

A fairly new arrival to the "inexpensive BD-R media" scene that continues to look really encouraging is Melody(INFOMER30) inkjet printable BD-R. Melody changed to these from CMCMAG BD-R about a year ago, looks to have been a wise move. Google or Amazon will get you to them. My own tests, and quite a lot of others I've seen put these as one of the cleanest burning BD-R currently. No accelerated aging longevity testing data available, unfortunately. My own oldest burns at 10 months show almost no degradation, look encouraging, but I'm not ready to commit burns to these that I want to see lasting at least 5-10 years. Best used with burners from the 10x generation and newer. Best burned at 4-6x. A few older 8x BD burners have updated firmware to include them, but you would want to check. The INFOMER30 BD-R's MID started making it's way into firmwares around the beginning of 2010.

[Video Dude]

I have noticed that Verbatim BD-R DL 50 GB Hub Printable discs have gotten cheaper and can be found for about $2.80 per disc.

Has anyone used these and can comment about reliability? Is there a layer break pause like there is with DVD+R DL?

[A.Fenderson]

I have noticed that Verbatim BD-R DL 50 GB Hub Printable discs have gotten cheaper and can be found for about $2.80 per disc.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and all that. ;-)
Could you please share where you're seeing this incredible deal?

[Video Dude]

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and all that. ;-)
Could you please share where you're seeing this incredible deal?
http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-Blu-ray-Disc-pcs-Spindle/dp/B0056DV0L4/


$140 / 50 = $2.80


Do you think it's worth it?

[A.Fenderson]

Well, it is worth it to me, so I just ordered a spindle. The reviews for that product were great, and I've always had good luck with Verbatim discs on my Pioneer BDR-205, so I don't anticipate any problems. I'll update once I've gotten them and tried a burn or two. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

As for layer-break issues, I think that was done away with in the move from DVD to BD: I've never had a commercial Blu-ray disc pause during the layer transition on any Blu-ray player, so I don't imagine this would be any different for burned media; those DVD players that had this problem tended to do it on both factory-pressed and burned dual-layer discs. I believe the way BDs buffer from the disc prevents this from happening, but maybe someone else who is in a unique position to confirm or disconfirm that suspicion could comment.

[abbadon]

That a nice price, I only buy verbatim, and now will pick some DL. My understand is that while the layer break still exists as a technical matter, in actually usage it not an issue. I would love to know if this applied to triple and quad layer BD-XL . My biggest quandary is the quality of longevity issues of multi-layer recordable discs, as two-layer DVD recordable has issues compared to single, do/will current/future multilayer BD suffer or solve this issue?

[A.Fenderson]

Well, not exactly a scientific test, but I burned a full BD50 rip to one of the Verbatim BD50s mentioned above (http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-Blu-ray-Disc-pcs-Spindle/dp/B0056DV0L4/). ImgBurn, using my Pioneer BDR-205, had burn strategies for, I believe, 2x, 4x, 6x, 8x, and 10x burning with these. I didn't want to push my luck too much on media rated for 4x by the manufacturer, so I chose 6x. It burned and verified with no issues, and played back just fine on my PS3 and my Panasonic DMP-BD45. I don't believe Opti Drive Control works with the Pioneer BDR-205 for whatever reason, but if anyone else can suggest any (free) methods of testing the quality of the burn, I'd be happy to try it and then post the results.

[CV91913]

Resurrecting an old thread to pass along something I have just discovered about reliability of Optical Quantum write once discs.

I have been watching some BDs I backed up a couple of years ago. They were backed up to 25gb OQ discs. They are basically disintegrating. The outer edge where there was no data has faded and has kind of a "orange peel" look. And, about an 1/8 of an inch of the darker recorded area starting at the hub has also faded to the point that discovery with Imgburn shows the disc is empty.

I had been using these discs for a while getting them from Meritline. I ran out of them and re ordered another cake box of the same item#. This time the discs were slightly different. Although Imgburn showed the same ID, the outer coating of the disc smudged and picked up finger prints which the previous batch did not. Also, the word "Value" was printed below the OQ logo. I stopped ordering these from Meritline and started getting them from Amazon and have not seen the "Value" logo since.

3 out of the 4 I have watched failed. Looks like I may have to dig out about 25 originals and back them up again. These backups are all stored at room temperature in individual cases.

[A.Fenderson]

@CV91913:
Thanks for the info. Sorry to hear about such massive disc failures you're experiencing.

[Ghitulescu]

Nevertheless I fail to see the reason why this thread is in "DVD Rebuilder" pool :) :) :)
The BDR only look similar to DVD (like the latter looks like a CDR), and the price of the media seems to be unaffected by the tools used to compress the video.

[Groucho2004]

The BDR only look similar to DVD (like the latter looks like a CDR), and the price of the media seems to be unaffected by the tools used to compress the video.
Whatever you're smoking, I want some.

[Ch3vr0n]

the only similarity they have is the disc shape lol. Thats about where it ends :p

[RobertM]

I have been watching some BDs I backed up a couple of years ago. They were backed up to 25gb OQ discs. They are basically disintegrating.

This prompted me to test the very first BD-R disc that I made; Star Trek 11, burnt on Apr 27, 2011. Just re-watched it tonight; flawless from start to end of credits (and what a great movie!). It was on a Verbatim BD-R disc.

[Ghitulescu]

This prompted me to test the very first BD-R disc that I made; Star Trek 11, burnt on Apr 27, 2011. Just re-watched it tonight; flawless from start to end of credits (and what a great movie!). It was on a Verbatim BD-R disc.

I would say this is not unexpected.
The built quality of the early media is exceptionally good - whether CDR, DVDR or BDR. I have CDRs for 20 years now, which are pristine. On the other hand, CDRs of recent batches I use only for car :)
I also have DVDRs that are 10 years old. Also very good, yet I am careful about the new batches, even if they are labelled Verbatim.

[jdobbs]

This prompted me to test the very first BD-R disc that I made; Star Trek 11, burnt on Apr 27, 2011. Just re-watched it tonight; flawless from start to end of credits (and what a great movie!). It was on a Verbatim BD-R disc.I've been using "discount" BD-R discs for years (like Ritek, Titan, and Optical Quantum). I've gone back to the first discs I did back in 2008 -- and haven't found any that have any issues. Of course I would always recommend high-end discs like Verbatim over the discount discs -- but when you're doing a lot of backups that can get pretty expensive over time. To me the secret to good backups is the "Verify" checkbox. If the disc verifies, it is rare that you will experience any future issues.

Sometimes it's not just a matter of what quality of disc you would like to use -- it's the quality you can afford to use.

[Ghitulescu]

To me the secret to good backups is the "Verify" checkbox. If the disc verifies, it is rare that you will experience any future issues.
That's a good check, yet it only says the burned disc is playable (if :) ) in the burner. Since it doesn't harm I always let the software do a VERIFY, and this for 20 years or so. To the people that say this is lost time, I can only say, since the reading time is shorter than the burning time, I actually save the difference, if the first burn is not successful :), but I also have the data on the HDD.

There are some dozens of errors that might occur during burning, and depending on the reader, these may or may not occur. Most of these errors appear as reading errors - and different readers are more tolerant with some errors (say asymmetry) and less tolerant with others (like jitter), or vice-versa.

Therefore, while WRITE+VERIFY is a good procedure, it is not sufficient. The real test would occur at playing time.

[CV91913]

To me the secret to good backups is the "Verify" checkbox. If the disc verifies, it is rare that you will experience any future issues.

I always "Verify" burns to -R. I don't bother with -RW. I also generally watch the disc after burning and have seen problems with content even though "Verify" was on but that, generally, turned out to be a problem with source or rip content. The issue I was reporting was a deterioration in the disc. I have now watched 12 of the backups to Optical Quantum "Value" discs. 7 of them were bad. I think I bought a 25 cake box of them in 2011 so I have looked at about half. I have done 100's of backups to Optical Quantum BD25 discs without the "Value" logo and have not seen the problem with any of those discs...yet.

[RobertM]

In my mind, the most telling point of your observations, CV, was that you could actually SEE - with your eyeballs - that something had changed on the disc surface. It's optical media, therefore visual, and our eyeballs would be hugely less sensitive than the lasers in our drives/players. I would bet than any disc where you can visually see a problem will be toast. The good news is that it sounds like only one spindle of yours was bad.

[CV91913]

In my mind, the most telling point of your observations, CV, was that you could actually SEE - with your eyeballs - that something had changed on the disc surface. It's optical media, therefore visual, and our eyeballs would be hugely less sensitive than the lasers in our drives/players. I would bet than any disc where you can visually see a problem will be toast. The good news is that it sounds like only one spindle of yours was bad.
This was an old discussion but I have an update. To avoid confusion, there was no visual signs of deterioration before the disc was burned, only after the passage of time. I finally reviewed my entire collection and found that I had 125 of the Optical Quantum "Value" discs. 18 of them were unwatchable. Could have been 1 25 pc cake box that was bad.

Here is a picture.

[jdobbs]

Wow... that looks terrible.

[Ch3vr0n]

holy crap. Looks like someone took an eraser marker and went to town on the disc looks like an mountain imo. Even my oldest discs don't look like that on the cheapest TDK media

[jdobbs]

It looks like something you might have left in the basement before it flooded.

[CV91913]

It looks like something you might have left in the basement before it flooded.
Yes, it's pretty wierd. These backups are stored at room temp in individual cases. Maybe should try flooded basement...wait...no basement. :)

[Ghitulescu]

Now you can better "value" the recordables :)
Hopefully it had no personal, unique and irreplaceable, memories.

[laserfan]

Now you can better "value" the recordables :)
Hopefully it had no personal, unique and irreplaceable, memories.
For those we use M-DISC with (I guess only) LG drives. Last 1000 years.

:)

[jdobbs]

LG drives... I've gone though 5 of them -- and never had one that lasted over a year. The only reason I kept buying them is because they were the only thing I could get at Best Buy. I switched to Pioneer, and ordered online.

Undoubtedly I do a lot more burns than most people -- but a year? LG for me, never again.

[gonca]

LG drives are okay for ripping, saves the wear and tear on my PIONEER which is used 99% of the time for burning only.

[Lowpro]

Your results may vary naturally, but I purchased a LG BE12LU38 (http://www.lg.com/us/data-storage/lg-BE12LU38) (...using eSATA connection) back in October 2012 and since that time have used the drive to rip and back up 810 out of the 1,053 discs in my Blu-ray collection. Once re-authoring (...never allow audio/video to be encoded, no exceptions) I'm burning to BD-25 or BD-50 for playback in my Sony Blu-ray changers, the original discs being stored in their respective packaging and serving as my backup copies. Considering the performance I've gotten I now coin my LG as the energizer bunny of Blu-ray drives which has no signs of letting up quietly purring like a kitten with every burn. In fact, it's performed so well I purchased a second one come the day this one ever gives out on me for whatever reason.

[jdobbs]

I hope it works for many years to come. But you're talking about one -- I'm talking about five, count 'em, five failed drives. The latest one was a WH14NS40, I can say so because the useless boat-anchor is still laying under my desk after I replaced it two weeks ago with the Pioneer. It was manufactured in October, 2013 according to the label.

I have a couple of others still in use -- they will read but won't burn without errors. That's the same problem I've had with all of them.

I have a Pioneer external BDXL drive that has worked for a long time now. That's why I decided on Pioneer for the internal replacement.

[Lowpro]

I hope it works for many years to come. But you're talking about one -- I'm talking about five, count 'em, five failed drives. The latest one was a WH14NS40, I can say so because the useless boat-anchor is still laying under my desk after I replaced it last week.

I have a couple of others still in use -- that can still read but won't burn.

That's why I opened my remarks with "your results may vary" and who knows, perhaps the particular model I purchased has a lower failure rate than other models. That being said, if I had your experience I'd switch brands too.

[jdobbs]

Ok, I vented on LG -- but we're off-topic so I guess we'd better get back on track.

[laserfan]

Nah, this is fun. I got a WH16NS40 this spring to burn M-DISCS and it's worked-out just as well as the other 4 or 5 LG drives I have here going back to 2007, most of which include HD-DVD capability though not BD-writeability of course until more recently. They've all been (and remain) perfect so I think you must either be really hard on them or otherwise have just had bad luck.

[CV91913]

Nah, this is fun. I got a WH16NS40 this spring to burn M-DISCS and it's worked-out just as well as the other 4 or 5 LG drives I have here going back to 2007, most of which include HD-DVD capability though not BD-writeability of course until more recently. They've all been (and remain) perfect so I think you must either be really hard on them or otherwise have just had bad luck.
I guess I must have bad luck with LG burners as well. Have burned 300-400 BDs in the last 3 years and am working on my 3rd burner.

[Kerry56]

I have an LG GGW-H20L that has never given any problems. Of course, it was an early model, and cost $200 when new. Using a Pioneer 207MBK most of the time now.

On the topic of poor media, all of my Ritek discs became unreadable after a few years. The Memorex Riteks lasted three years, and my only Ridata disc lasted four. All were stored in individual cases within a cabinet I built to hold media, so no direct sunlight or poor conditions of any kind.

None of my Verbatim or FTI/Falcon BD discs have deteriorated.