Ritek Reliability....What the

[Mack the Ripper]

What is going on with Ritek?
Having had great success with DVD-R GO4 (4x)discs...as in 1 or 2 failures out of a spindle of 50.
I've gone to 20 or so coasters with my latest spindle.
Problem is skipping,freezing.It usually starts off as a skip here and there then increases to a freeze,usually towards the end of the disc.
Originally thought it was my DVR-105 burner so I bought an 8x LG but the problem was still there.
After many frustrating hours experimenting I have achieved reasonable success burning at 2x.But at 30 mins on a 4x disc this is not acceptable.
Originally I was using Ritek branded purple top,but am using Ritek DVD-R 4x pintables now.Is this the problem?Are Ritek palming off inferior discs in the printable spindles?
I am burning in the same fashion as before(Clone DVD)Compaq 3.2 Ghz 512 Mb ram Laptop with external burner and HDD.
Do I have to proof each disc to prove its reliability,I shouldnt think so.....
So what is going on?
Please any feedback would be appreciated as I dont believe this is acceptable.
It also begs the question do I buy 8x discs and burn at 4x....
I have browsed these forums and have found a few similar problems with Ritek but in a whole they get a good wrap.Is this problem just starting to creep in or am I missing something?
Thanx in advance for any suggestions/feedback..

[theReal]

It's an old problem with DVD and CDR media...

You can never be sure you'll get the same quality with the next spindle. I heard that even Verbatim are selling inferior DVD-Rs on spindles. Not always, but you might be "lucky" to get a bad one.

Have you checked the manufacturer code of the discs? Are they "RITEKG04" or maybe some of the older G03 (2x) labelled as 4x ???

[Joergen]

There was a major drop in the quality of Ritek Printables around the new years, but they've bounced back to their old quality again unless you buy from ~3 month old stock, which can easily happen.

When the printable riteks were at their worst, it was usually the 100pcs spindles that had the bad ones but the 25pcs spindles were better.

[Mack the Ripper]

Yes I checked the code with DVD Identifyer.. come up as Ritek GO 4

Its a shame to have such a lucky dip with CD/DVD media.

Just got hold of some Ritek Branded purple top,I'll se how they go and post a reply.

Also was given some DGM DVD-R media that was labeled 4X but was identified as 2X.Seems like a bit of a trap for young players.....

Haven't seen Ritek in 25 spindles here in Australia,makes you wonder why there would be such a gap in quality!

Thanx for your swift reply

[Mack the Ripper]

Well I just finished burning a number of the Ritek branded purple top 4X discs.

Very impressed with the quality.Not one coaster out of 40 so far.

Done a random check every 4-5 burns (played the whole movie through)seems to be ok so far.....fingers/toes crossed.

Well there u go, that seems to have ironed itself out......must have been a real bad batch (still not sure we should accept this blatant disregard for consumer rights)

Other manufacturers have protocols in place for sub quality products.....press releases/recalls/product replacement.


Seems like its suck it and see attitude when it comes to disc media.

Anyway once scared twice shy.....I'll be staying away from the printables

Thanx again guys ....If anybody has a similar experience please dont be shy let everyone know so the impact on us the consumers is less.

[ralphthedog]

A little bit of info. that might interest you @Mack the Ripper, have encountered some 50 spindle white top RitekGO4's that were bought here in Australia on Ebay (by a particularly stingy friend who couldn't pass up a bargain). They burn OK, but if you actually verify them or test 'em on Nero CD-speed they seem to be much lower quality, even a couple with read errors.

I have been buying unbranded blank DVD's (including GO4's) from PCX.com.au and haven't had any such problems myself.

[sarahjh69]

there are some very bad quality ritek printables around
they have no serials (always a bad sign) and a "clear" ring round the centre
the better quality ones have
serials and a "frosted" ring in the centre
serials and a "white" ring in the centre

[Joergen]

I received my 100pcs spindle (two 50 spindles) of ritek G04 printables and they've been great so far. At 65c a piece.

Only difference to the older ones is that the center hub is clear, and not matte. This makes spraying them a bit harder since the clear plastic doesnt look so good after spraying, so you have to mask them with something. Luckily the printable surface is the same good ritek.

btw. Traxdata has started selling the Ritek DVD+R DL discs, like here http://www.lynxdv.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=256&ref=3

6.9£ is too much but better than 9£. Perhaps there's hope for a sub 10€ disc sooner than I thought.