Inexpensive BD-R Media

[jdobbs]

I just ordered a Sony BWU-500S and a bunch of Verbatim SL-25 based on this (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=29942) review. It looks pretty good, see the summary of quality tests (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=29942&PageId=34).
I'll be using "Opti Drive Control" as my "sonar". Let's hope I won't hit any cliffs. I used to have a Sony BWU-200S. It was a great drive. After a few years it finally gave out, but it's fair to say I'm not your typical user and that meant a couple of thousand successful burns.

[Ghitulescu]

I just ordered a Sony BWU-500S and a bunch of Verbatim SL-25 based on this (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=29942) review. It looks pretty good, see the summary of quality tests (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=29942&PageId=34).
I'll be using "Opti Drive Control" as my "sonar". Let's hope I won't hit any cliffs.

That's a LiteOn iHBS112 clone, despite NEC-like bezel. Even the tests are striking close -> http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=28230&PageId=36
I have the LiteOn and it failed a Panny (it burned the BDR ok, just wrong - it can be read on PC and mediaplayers but not on real BD-players).

But it's a good news that it will burn verbatims ok. I have some, too.

[Groucho2004]

That's a LiteOn iHBS112 clone, despite NEC-like bezel.
Yeah, I knew that.

I have the LiteOn and it failed a Panny (it burned the BDR ok, just wrong - it can be read on PC and mediaplayers but not on real BD-players).
Could you elaborate a bit? Which Panny did it fail on? What media? Which authoring tool?

The Sony apparently has a better firmware than the Lite-on, let's hope this also improves compatibility.
I'll be playing the disks exclusively on a Sony BDP-S350.

[Ghitulescu]

Could you elaborate a bit? Which Panny did it fail on? What media? Which authoring tool?

The Sony apparently has a better firmware than the Lite-on, let's hope this also improves compatibility.
I'll be playing the disks exclusively on a Sony BDP-S350.

Sure, I repeat an earlier post.
I own a LiteOn BDR burner and it failed to correctly write a BDR (I can use that disc only on PC and mediaplayers but not on most BDplayers) - exactly the same project has been written with an LG on a BDR from the same batch and its burn works just perfect. That probably explains the decline of liteon and the outsource of Sony to Panasonic (all business laptops from sony use matsushita drives) and all sony media I've used do far were all panny (MEI). I feel the need to remember that all Sony DVD writers were LiteOns.

I managed once to get a batch of Panasonic BD-R 25GB for Data (see this post too -> http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=157750) and did a backup of a 23GB movie onto one disc. I own a Pioneer, quite old, but I've chosen it for it could play almost everything (all codecs on all media - a fact that is not granted). It refused the disc, an identical disc was played flawlessly. Both discs have no problems in terms of quality, so I assume it has something to do with the format data was written.

[GaPony]

I don't think it would be correct to say that, though, seeing as myself and at least one other person with an LG burner have said we are having no problems with Optical Quantum discs.

I have two different models of LG drives and have had no problems with the Optical Quantum. I've only used about 500 of them, but feel thats a pretty good quantity with which to form a reasonable conclusion.

This isn't really that much of a revelation though, since I have used several different brands and haven't had any problems from any BD-R media that I have used.

I also only burn at 4x and don't overclock my PC.

[Rich86]

I have a Lite-On iHBS112 in my system. It has worked just fine since I installed it in January, 2011. I've been using Merax branded 25gb BD-R media (Opto media code) and Ritek. I burn using Imgburn. They seem to work just fine and are readable everywhere (including my primary blu-ray player - a Sony BDP-S1000es). I expect these burned BD-Rs play fine on a S350 or S550 also.
I'm about to pick up a 5 pack of Fujifilm BD-RE media. Has anyone tried these out?

Update: My 2nd stack of Merax (Opto media apparently) won't even write the lead-in in my drive. They fail 100%. Meritline blew me off when I contacted them. What a waste.
The Riteks (currently a spindle under the Imation brand name) continue to work perfectly.
The Fujifilm BD-RE media works fine.

[Ghitulescu]

Both Sonies are extremely tolerant, don't worry. And the drives come from Panasonic, one additional reason not to worry.

[Rich86]

I have a Lite-On iHBS112 in my system. It has worked just fine since I installed it in January, 2011. I've been using Merax branded 25gb BD-R media (Opto media code) and Ritek. I burn using Imgburn. They seem to work just fine and are readable everywhere (including my primary blu-ray player - a Sony BDP-S1000es). I expect these burned BD-Rs play fine on a S350 or S550 also.
I'm about to pick up a 5 pack of Fujifilm BD-RE media. Has anyone tried these out?

I've used a couple of the Fuji BDRE media I mentioned in my previous post. So far, they seem to work fine (although slow, as they are 1-2x media and the drive insists on 1x). I'm using a Lite-ON iHBS112 BD drive. They burned without a problem and played back on my Sony BDP-S1000es perfectly. We'll see how they do after being erased and rewritten a few times.
Update: The Fuji BD-RE media are continuing to work just fine after a number of erasures/rewrites.

[Capsbackup]

@Rich86;
If you do a full format, rather than a quick format, with ImgBurn, then you will be able to get 2x write speed. You only need do this once, and it will take quite some time ( 45 to 90 min. :( ) but it will be worth it! ;)

[Rich86]

@Rich86;
If you do a full format, rather than a quick format, with ImgBurn, then you will be able to get 2x write speed. You only need do this once, and it will take quite some time ( 45 to 90 min. :( ) but it will be worth it! ;)

I'll give that a try. Thanks.

[laserfan]

Newegg has the inkjet hub-printable RiDATA 25 packs (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817132071) on sale for $21, no coupon needed. Last year I paid $60 for this same cake. Not a single coaster yet with my LG burner.

The 30-disc Memorex are also on sale for $26.99, though you need a coupon.

I'm amazed at these as it wasn't too long ago we thought Ritek made crappy discs...

[setarip_old]

@laserfan I'm amazed at these as it wasn't too long ago we thought Ritek made crappy discs... It seems to go in cycles. Even further back, for the first two years or so of available writeable DVD media, Ritek/Ridata was far and away the most reliable brand/MID (Brand and MID were one and the same at that time)...

[Rich86]

I have been slowly working my way through a 25 pack of Ritek inkjet printable BD-R media with no problems whatsoever, so far. Burning them at 4x in my Lite-on 112 burner using imgburn.

[techno1]

I'm an avid RiDATA BD-R user but could not resist a recent sale @ FRY's for a 50 Pack for $39.99. I burned a test disk with Nero Speed Disk and it passed without any errors. However, I've had skipping problems on my standalone LG player with Optical Quantum of the same Disc ID. Tonite I'm "backing up" Dexter S5 D2. Wish me luck. :eek:

BD Disc Information:
Disc ID: PHILIP-R04-000
Disc Type: BD-R
Disc Size: 120mm
Disc Class: 0
Disc Version: 1
Number of Layers: 1
Layer Type: Writable
DVD Layer Present: No
CD Layer Present: No
Channel Bit Length: 74.5nm (25GB Per Layer)
Push-Pull Polarity: Positive
Recorded Mark Polarity: HTL
BCA Present: Yes
Maximum Transfer Rate: Not Specified
First PAA of Data Zone: 131,072
Last PAA of Data Zone: 1,658,494

[techno1]

I have been slowly working my way through a 25 pack of Ritek inkjet printable BD-R media with no problems whatsoever, so far. Burning them at 4x in my Lite-on 112 burner using imgburn.
Does the label say Ritek or RiDATA? I use RiDATA 1-4x and have never had a problem burning or playing.

[Rich86]

Does the label say Ritek or RiDATA? I use RiDATA 1-4x and have never had a problem burning or playing.

RiDATA BD-R 4x (it says 1-4x below the label quoted above). However, my Lite-On drive and Imgburn only see 4x as a valid write speed. So far, I've had 100% successful burns with perfect playback.

[Video Dude]

Is it true Verbatim discontinued BD-R discs?

Many online media stores have posted discontinued notices on Verbatim BD-R disc pages. I also saw a discontinued notice on B&H and in customer reviews on Newegg.

I looked for an official Verbatim statement but could not find one.

[Ghitulescu]

They discontinued the 4x only. 6x is still manufactured.
Learn how to read an announcement ;)
That's a normal process, it happened to CDRs (they "discontinued" everything but 52x) and to DVDRs (only 16x are to be found), too.
Why would one manufacture 4x DVDRs when everyone cries I WANT 24x, including magazines and internet?

[BassPig]

I bought some of the Blaze BD-R media a while back, maybe late 2009 or early 2010 and burned a few video productions to them on my LG burner. The burns went fine, but I found that the discs' longevity were not good. One of the discs played flawlessly for 7 or 8 plays, but by the 9th, had trouble reading the menu. Intermittent problems recognizing the disc in my Oppo BDP83. By the 11th play, the disc was not recognized at all. I had left one of these discs in the player all weekend, just looping the menu. Apparently, the dye layer was affected by the read laser over that period. As a result, I am careful not to leave my BD-R productions in any player except while being actually watched.
I don't know if there is a problem with other media, but the Blaze so far are the first BD-R media that I've seen go bad with play.
I'm using Panasonic and now the latest Verbatim media, and waiting to see if they all get past a dozen plays and still remain useable.
BTW, I discovered that in order to burn 6X media at more than 1X, one has to turn off the defect management in Nero. Now I get 5.8X by the end of the burn and discs take about 15-18 minutes instead of 2 hours to burn. I think this defect management option is advisable for questionable media whose surface might not be up to the quality standards of a major brand.
Time will tell as to how this plays out. I burned nearly a half dozen BD-R titles last night and this morning and will be evaluating them in the next few days.

[Ch3vr0n]

Verbatim is quality media mate, they'll last for years. I know it isnt exactly the same but i've got DVD's i burnt in the early 2000's and that have been stored in 200CD boxes in paper/plastic kinda sleeves and they still play perfectly. Oh and about that 1X burn issue, that's the write/verify option. Hate that kinda thing too, though if i can give you a piece of advice. Drop nero alltogether for burning blu-rays. It sucks compared to IMGburn (wich is free, not nearly as bloated with crapware and a 100x better), that and the closer you get to the edges of a disc burning, the higher the tendancy is nero tends to have to fail to complete the burn. Wether it's cd/dvd/blu-ray. Something it tends to do. I've pretty much completely replaced nero by other stuff that's just as good or even better and free (and in most cases free).

standard CD: iTunes
mp3 cd's: iTunes
video dvd: imgburn
data discs: imgburn
blu-ray: imgburn
1:1 copies for anything except blu-ray: CloneCD (slysoft)

[jdobbs]

I have to agree with that. I really don't know why anyone would use Nero when ImgBurn is free, complete, and does everything. More importantly it does everything very well.

[BassPig]

Now that I'm able to obtain the Verbatim at good prices, I'm stocking up on it. I opened a new spindle of them this week and like the way they burn and play. No glitches.

Nero has been a solid performer for me, though I will say it has one annoying flaw: if the folders have been moved or deleted, and the disc to be written is a BD, Nero won't warn of the missing files until it starts burning! As to what it burns to the BD-R, I have no idea, but, due to a hard drive failure last month, I lost a bunch of stuff. Went to burn a compilation, not realizing that the source files were on the drive that had been replaced, and Nero happily loaded it and offered NO warning of the missing folders! I hit the burn button and went away. Came back 20 minutes later and noticed a bunch of stuff scrolling in the status window--it was a bunch of missing folders. "There goes a coaster!" I said.

For DVD video, Nero makes a lot of visual noise if anything is missing or replaced in the source folders. Why it does not for BD is a mystery, but given the cost of the media, one would expect more care be taken to detect missing files before allowing a burn session.

I have ImgBurn, but seldem played with it because Nero generally works fine, caveates noted above.

Oh, that reminds me... back in '05, I bought some Meritline unbranded DVD-R, cheap. Wrote a bunch of MP3s to them. Stored in jewel cases on my shelf. 4 years later, I tried to grab some MP3s off those discs.. after a long wait, Windows produced a BLANK Explorer window. I tried a data recovery program, and it was unable to recover any of the disc. Over 90% of it was unreadable. Lesson: Cheap discs are for throwaway demos only, no archiving.

[JJB]

I have ImgBurn, but seldem played with it because Nero generally works fine, caveates noted above.



Imgburn always works great that is the exact reason it is the software of choice!:D

[Ghitulescu]

I have to agree with that. I really don't know why anyone would use Nero when ImgBurn is free, complete, and does everything.
Maybe because it comes with the drive. And also because it does a little more, especially for people that do not care about the result.

[DVDIT]

If you want trouble free burn, always use Imgburn, nothing but Imgburn.

[BassPig]

If ImgBurn were proven to make BD-Rs that statistically were readable in a greater number of set top Blu-ray players, then I would run--not walk--but run to it immediately. But I have yet to read that ImgBurn makes a more compatible BD-R.

I use Nero because Prassi Primo DVD stopped working years ago when I upgraded my hardware and they no longer updated the program to support the latest DVD burners of the time. Then I switched to Nero 6 at the time, which everyone raved about as being THE software of choice to burn DVD-R. Now, two whole versions later, and with BD-R media and burners, I am pretty happy with Nero's results. They fixed some little bugs about not storing the volume label of the project and so I really have no reason to switch, unless someone can show me scientific test results that the BD-Rs from ImgBurn will read in players that won't read the same BD-R content burned in Nero. Compatibility is my biggest concern, because clients return discs that don't play and suddenly it's MY problem and I'm somehow the villain, not the companies that made BD such an unfriendly format for indie video folks. :-\

[Ch3vr0n]

If they're player won't recognise the discs, it's not always due to a lousy burn but often the player just doesnt "see" the disc or doesnt "like" it while technically the disc is just fine. This sort of behavior is usually to blame to the use of crappy brand of blank media such as memorex etc. The reason alot of use prefer imgburn over nero is because

1) imgburn isnt bloated and filled with stuff ppl hardly ever read/use. You tell me, is an RSS stream needed in burning software? is a backup agent needed that takes backups of cd's/dvd's/flashdrives, ... in burn software. that's the exact opposite of its true purpose
2) IMGBurn is less prone to burn errors near the edges of discs. Especially for blu-ray's and 1:1 (on-the-fly) copying
3) IMGBurn is FREE, nero isnt.

[setarip_old]

@BassPig

Hi! Compatibility is my biggest concern, because clients return discs that don't play and suddenly it's MY problemAs a businessperson, I'm sure you maintain records regarding these failed returns.

What have you determined to be the primary cause of these failed returns and what have you done to correct the problem(s) going forward?

Is it media quality related? Burn speed related? Player related? Creation software related?

[laserfan]

setarip's right--we don't know WHAT kind of problem you have; there are a number of links-in-the-chain that need to be examined. As one example, there are some set-top BD players that won't play burned BD-REs PERIOD! Indeed you're likely barking-up the wrong tree with just the burning step.

[BassPig]

We're not 100% certain of the cause, but it appears to be that various players do not like to play non-AACS encrypted discs. The manufacturers have been largely mum on the issue, but Sharp Electronics said that their players do not support burned media as an anti-piracy measure and that it's by intent.

We regularly conduct surveys by sending someone out to retail stores that have BD players on display as demo units. Our guy puts in a burned disc and notes the model number, date and playback result. Admittedly, the last survey was 2 years ago, and at that time, 53% of the players available on store shelves were unable to play our test disc.

That said, I've spent a good week getting familiar with ImgBurn. I like it. Although it lacks templates for various types of projects, so I'm not confident that the file structure of the disc I'm burning is correct for a given type, except for BD and DVD, where ImgBurn will pop up a dialog that it thinks you're trying to burn such a type and to confirm so it will make corrections to file and disc type info.

I've also found some nice options to tweak the speed of writing. Just burned a Blu-ray disc on the new LG burner with Verbatim's best media at a record-breaking speed:

19:10:49 Operation Successfully Completed! - Duration: 00:12:35
19:10:49 Average Write Rate: 30,027 KB/s (6.7x) - Maximum Write Rate: 36,365 KB/s (8.1x)

That was very impressive. What's more, the disc played all the way through on the Oppo BDP-83 that we use in our screening room. No glitches. In the past, this particular disc title took about 2 hours to burn with Nero. That alone makes ImgBurn worth using. I've spent hours reading through the online instruction manual and FAQ. Still trying to wrap my brain around certain things. Then I have to train staff on how to use it, or make templates for them to use for each given type of project.

I had to replace a hard drive in one of our editing boxes last week and the floppy disk with the WD setup utility was 'bad media' after many years. I downloaded a new disc and made a new floppy, but though, wouldn't it be great to make a bootable CD with this software that doesn't loose it's magnetic flux over time... I found out that I could easily extract the boot image from this floopy, save it as an ISO and burn a bootable CD. I tested the CD and it works.

So, despite the complexity of ImgBurn, I like the new capabilities very much. I'm sold on it. Thanks to everyone who recommended it!

[setarip_old]

@BassPig Compatibility is my biggest concern, because clients return discs that don't play and suddenly it's MY problem and I'm somehow the villain, not the companies that made BD such an unfriendly format for indie video folks... We're not 100% certain of the cause, but it appears to be that various players do not like to play non-AACS encrypted discs. The manufacturers have been largely mum on the issue, but Sharp Electronics said that their players do not support burned media as an anti-piracy measure and that it's by intent.
Do I correctly infer from these statements that people are willing to pay your firm for BURNED (not pressed) Blu-rays?

[Ghitulescu]

We're not 100% certain of the cause, but it appears to be that various players do not like to play non-AACS encrypted discs. The manufacturers have been largely mum on the issue, but Sharp Electronics said that their players do not support burned media as an anti-piracy measure and that it's by intent.

That was true with their first two models. Like JVC 10 years ago, Sharp found out, too, that the customers didn't like "very much" players that play only originals (especially at the MSRP they quoted) and released FW upgrades to make even them to read burned BDRs. Newer models from Sharp (and those from Pioneer that were manufactured by Sharp) do read BDRs.

[BassPig]

Re: compatibility, we're seeing an increasing number of event video clients who are requesting the BD version after having seen a demo in our screening room. About 80% of clients to whom we show the DVD sample and then a BD sample, say they'll pay a little extra for the BD version. Usually, we're talking 3-25 copies, not enough for a replicated BD and certainly not the kind of budget where BD's AACS licensing would be covered.

It's good news to hear that Sharp learned their lesson from angry customers. I would be very angry if I'd found out my player was intentionally crippled, too. Frankly, my wife bought a new Sony BD player for $109 at Costco and for kicks, I tried one of our discs in it and, delightfully, it played. So it appears that the tide is turning. Now to hope that the first gen of $500 BD players gets purges from owners real soon so I don't have to deal with them anymore. :)

[ruva]

Anyone has found a good deal on BD-R DL ?
Since there is no way to reencode a 3d Movie to make it fit in a 25gb disk, I see no other option than o DL support.
thanks,
ruva

[jdobbs]

Anyone has found a good deal on BD-R DL ?
Since there is no way to reencode a 3d Movie to make it fit in a 25gb disk, I see no other option than o DL support.
thanks,
ruva

Really? I would think 3 movies would look fine. That's almost 8GB per movie -- which is plenty unless you are keeping HD audio (which isn't recommended because HD audio serves no real purpose).

[JJB]

Really? I would think 3 movies would look fine. That's almost 8GB per movie -- which is plenty unless you are keeping HD audio (which isn't recommended because HD audio serves no real purpose).

I think he was referring to 3D movies....

[jdobbs]

I think he was referring to 3D movies....Haha... :) I guess I need some reading glasses. Unfortunately I haven't see any cheap DLs. Hmmm... I may need to get a DL BD-RE for testing. I'm not sure whether creating an ISO image would actually work on a 3D disc. I've never tried.

I think you can get a 25 pack spindle for about $180 at Meritline -- that's about $7 a disc. Not too bad I guess.

[ruva]

Yes, I meant 3D movies.
I found on ebay, from Japan, deals on Verbatim: 50 disk for eur 168.9 ( $ 213) or 20 disk for eur 72.9 ( $ 92 )
Free shipping.

[JJB]

Haha... :) I guess I need some reading glasses. Unfortunately I haven't see any cheap DLs. Hmmm... I may need to get a DL BD-RE for testing. I'm not sure whether creating an ISO image would actually work on a 3D disc. I've never tried.

I think you can get a 25 pack spindle for about $180 at Meritline -- that's about $7 a disc. Not too bad I guess.

I have 50" Samung and a 40" Sony and for the life of me all DVD5\9 movies work outstanding for me. I do some DB25 but only keepers such as Bond Movies (And I can't tell the difference}, etc.
But again this is on an Oppo BD-93 which makes everything perfect....

[jfcarbel]

Getting ready to order some more media. Had no issues with any coasters at all with either my last batch of RiData or the Optical Quantums.

But I am now seeing on newegg with recent reviews that folks are complaining that latest batches of RiData being problematic.

What worries me is one reviewer mentioning had no problems with any burns, but then checked his RiData burns a year later and they are no all failing after multiple plays.

What I do not understand, is why high quality manufacturer like Taiyo Yuden is not producing any BD-R media.

I am now wondering if I should go back to Verbatim to be on the safe side, but there inkjet printable media is at $2 a disc versus half that for RiData and Optical Quantum.

[DVDIT]

Getting ready to order some more media. Had no issues with any coasters at all with either my last batch of RiData or the Optical Quantums.

But I am now seeing on newegg with recent reviews that folks are complaining that latest batches of RiData being problematic.

What worries me is one reviewer mentioning had no problems with any burns, but then checked his RiData burns a year later and they are no all failing after multiple plays.

What I do not understand, is why high quality manufacturer like Taiyo Yuden is not producing any BD-R media.

I am now wondering if I should go back to Verbatim to be on the safe side, but there inkjet printable media is at $2 a disc versus half that for RiData and Optical Quantum.

Hate to say if but you get what you pay for. That is exactly what happened to me to all the DVD's. I then switched to Verbatim and never experienced a single failure after many years. When BD-R came around, I decided to stick with what I know is the best. I have used Verbatim BD-R since 09 and all are readable today. They even scan excellent in Opti Drive control. I have recently found some Smartblu ($1.49 per disc for printable) or $.79 for non-printable and they do seems to burn and scan just as good as the Verbatim. They are TDK MID and are made by FTI in U.A.E. Check them out here >>>http://www.mediamegamall.com/smartblu-bluray-disc-25gb-branded-25pk-cakebox-sbr4br25-p-28554.html

You can get user feedback here>> http://club.myce.com/f142/smartblu-media-322979/index5.html#post2620776

[jdobbs]

I thought I'd add that I've been using MERAX BD-25 discs from MERITLINE (DISC ID: OTCBDR-001-000) for quite some time with no issues -- but be warned, I got a spool of 25 recently that have been nothing but headaches... now I'm forced to go back through my backups to try and guess which are good and which are hosed. Unfortunately I also have another cakebox of them staring at me from my shelf. Ughh...

[DVDIT]

I thought I'd add that I've been using MERAX BD-25 discs from MERITLINE (DISC ID: OTCBDR-001-000) for quite some time with no issues -- but be warned, I got a spool of 25 recently that have been nothing but headaches... now I'm forced to go back through my backups to try and guess which are good and which are hosed. Ughh...

The problem is even if some are readable now, they may go bad in a year or two. Granted, there is no data regarding longevity of the Verbatim, but I feel confident they would last long, given their history. I cannot say the same about their LTH discs. The TDK MID discs made by FTI/Falcon, has released some documents showing the test done for these discs and they state that the discs are of archival quality (100 years). I am suspect about that too, but at least they have done some controlled environmental testing.

[BassPig]

I'm guessing it's a licensing issue, but I could be wrong.

The Verbatim are inexpensive enough now at $2/disc and work well. I've burned some at 8X and they play fine.

[jfcarbel]

Did a search and the only BD-Rs Taiyo Yuden produces seem to be these LTH ones that I have heard bad things about.

Still confused why a leading Japanese media company like them is not producing some high quality BD-R. Is this company now run by new leadership perhaps that cannot see the market for BD-R media? Perhaps a result of the JVC merge.

Rima has a good deal (http://www.rima.com/prod/97339.html) on Verbatim DataLifePlus Inkjet's for $2 disc in a 50 cake bundle for $99.
So I think I am going to give these a try

[jfcarbel]

I'm guessing it's a licensing issue, but I could be wrong.

The Verbatim are inexpensive enough now at $2/disc and work well. I've burned some at 8X and they play fine.

By licensing issue, what were you refering to? Was this regarding Taiyo Yuden's lack of BD-R media?

[DVDIT]

Did a search and the only BD-Rs Taiyo Yuden produces seem to be these LTH ones that I have heard bad things about.

Still confused why a leading Japanese media company like them is not producing some high quality BD-R. Is this company now run by new leadership perhaps that cannot see the market for BD-R media? Perhaps a result of the JVC merge.

Rima has a good deal (http://www.rima.com/prod/97339.html) on Verbatim DataLifePlus Inkjet's for $2 disc in a 50 cake bundle for $99.
So I think I am going to give these a try

I have read somewhere that TY has stopped making LTH BR-R disc. Maybe they are switching to HTL ?

[jfcarbel]

I thought I'd add that I've been using MERAX BD-25 discs from MERITLINE (DISC ID: OTCBDR-001-000) for quite some time with no issues -- but be warned, I got a spool of 25 recently that have been nothing but headaches... now I'm forced to go back through my backups to try and guess which are good and which are hosed. Unfortunately I also have another cakebox of them staring at me from my shelf. Ughh...

According to this article (http://blog.consumerpla.net/2011/01/blu-ray-media-brands-and-manufacturers.html), the Merax could be made by Philips or Optodisc. I bet the crappy ones you have a Optodisc ones.

[Rich86]

I thought I'd add that I've been using MERAX BD-25 discs from MERITLINE (DISC ID: OTCBDR-001-000) for quite some time with no issues -- but be warned, I got a spool of 25 recently that have been nothing but headaches... now I'm forced to go back through my backups to try and guess which are good and which are hosed. Unfortunately I also have another cakebox of them staring at me from my shelf. Ughh...

I am in the exact same situation - the first 25 spindle worked 100% perfectly (same internal code as jdobbs posted). The 2nd spindle fails 100% immediately. It won't even write the lead-in. I also have an unopened spindle on the shelf. Meritline just blew me off when I contacted them. :mad:

[jfcarbel]

I am in the exact same situation - the first 25 spindle worked 100% perfectly (same internal code as jdobbs posted). The 2nd spindle fails 100% immediately. It won't even write the lead-in. I also have an unopened spindle on the shelf. Meritline just blew me off when I contacted them. :mad:

That's why I always buy from Rima :)

I decided I am going to spend the extra $1 per disc an go with the Verbatim's.

I went back and play some of the RiData discs with no issues, but they are only about 4 months old will test again in another 4 months and report back.