DVD brands (good vs bad)

[funkydude74]

Hi all. Been having some MAJOR problems with some DVDs I've bought recently.

I went on a spending spree and bought 3x 25 packs of +R Laser brand DVDs and when I put a TV show I captured to my hard disk to DVD it kept pausing and jerking only a few frames and scrambling :angry: :angry: :angry: !!!!! It did that right away or it played good for a minute then it paused and jerked. I know it's not my writer as I've written to TDKs, Sony and Fortis and maybe a few other brands and had no problems there.

So I returned them to the stores I got them from and luckily got them all refunded. Then I went to Big W and bought Emtec brand +R DVDs and they did the EXACT same thing as the Laser brand. That is like a coincidence or something and it's weird because Emtec/BASF use to be a top notch brand.

I've tested the same show I put to those other two bad DVDs on a Sony brand +R DVD and it played fantastically without a glitch!

I just talked to my mate on MSN about these and he told me Laser are crap and Emtec seem to have lowered their standards.

I was also told that a lot of these brands are made by the same factory so it makes me wonder if Laser and Emtec come from the same printing factory and I wonder if that factory has made a bad batch of a large quantity???

Now I've looked at Lord Smurf's site in the section of quality of brands and it answers a lot of my questions of what is good and what is cruddy but there are a few brands I'm not so sure of.

For me I've had a real problem with Laser and Emtec brand DVDs but can anyone here give their opinions on these two brands so I know whether they are universally crap or not?

And I need an opinion on these following brands of DVD:
Imation
Teac
Ridata
Hewlett Packard
Fortis
Melody
Media Cache

I also wonder if it's the speed I'm writing my DVDs at as it seems my +R/+RW writer locks at 2.4x for most brands of DVDs.

Anyways looking forward to some opinions.

[The Geek]

I was also told that a lot of these brands are made by the same factory so it makes me wonder if Laser and Emtec come from the same printing factory and I wonder if that factory has made a bad batch of a large quantity???

That is very likely. In my experience, almost all brands (Emtec and Imation included) I got were made by Ricoh, and therefore good.
Well, Philips used MCC but now uses CMC, which is crap.
Get DVD Identifier (http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com/) and let it read the media code off your DVDs. Please tell us the media code of the ones that are problematic, and also the code of the working ones.

For me I've had a real problem with Laser and Emtec brand DVDs but can anyone here give their opinions on these two brands so I know whether they are universally crap or not?

The Emtecs I got used Ricoh at that time (it was 2 years ago). I don't know and I don't think that they use the same dye all over the world, so I'd say you should see for yourself, using DVD Identifier.

And I need an opinion on these following brands of DVD:
Imation
Teac
Ridata
Hewlett Packard
Fortis
Melody
Media Cache

Ridata is Ritek. The rest is something else. Can be good, can be crap, can and will change in time. Hence, no real answer can be made. Check the Media Code using DVD Identifier, and then we can tell you which ones are good, and which ones not.

The Geek

[therealjoeblow]

If your DVD writer or ROM support error reporting (PIE/PIF), then you can load the disc and run Nero CD/DVDSpeed, from the 'Extra' menu select 'Disc Quality Test...', and it will tell you the manufacturer in the 'Disc Info' box at top-right. See the picture I posted 1/2 way down the page at:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=86645

In this case the DiscID was RitekG04. Check if the 2 no-name brands you bought were both made by the same manufacturer and just rebranded. Likely they were if they both give same results.

Ritek +R's work the best in my Lite-On SOHW 832S. -R's not so good. Other brands (just about any no-name) are no-no's!

Also, just to be sure, make sure you burn within rated speed (ie, don't try to burn 4x media at 8x, not sure if you're trying that or not.)

Finding the right combination of Burner and compatible media is a real crapshoot. The general rule is once you do, don't change! I regularly pass up super sales on noname media or even brand name media that I haven't tried before, and would rather pay full price for Ritek +R's (also sold as Maxell +R in the purple-wrapped cakebox) to ensure I know what I'm getting.

[valnar]

I've found the best to be Taiyo Yuden DVD-R media. They make the best CDR media too, so it makes it easy to remember. As always though, YMMV depending on your burner.

-Robert

[theReal]

Verbatim are very good. Most Verbatim are manufactured by Mitsubishi Chem. some by Tayo Yuden, both very good.

You don't want to buy Verbatim on spindles or in Video-DVD cases because they might be of less quality (manufactured by CMC) than the normal ones in jewel- and slim cases.

Good site that tries to keep track of all media released is
www.cdr-forum.de (http://www.cdr-forum.de)(it's in German only)

[Rober2D2]

Verbatim are the best ones for me. I don't know anyone who has had problems with this discs in any kind of burner, although it may be that they are so widespread that every hardware manufacturer makes there burners compatible with verbatim media. I have even found them better than more expensive media like TDK's, which gave me more problems (anyway I haven't bought the most expensive trademarks like panasonic)