Recommended brand and type of writable DVD media

[Jim Hawley]

Another newbie question...

Just bought a Sony DRX-810UL and want to know the best media to use with it.

Thanks,

Jim

[John Harmon]

Stick with Ritek, Memorex, or TDK. I usually use the Memorex printable whiteface discs. Maxell isn't too good, and I've never tried Sony. Avoid the house brands.

[Jim Hawley]

Great, thanks for the help John

[Jonathan Jones]

I researched this a couple of years ago, and found that a number of short-run production houses were writing to Verbatim Datalife Plus DVD-R media - one of the higher grades of manufacture with broad-base compatibility.

I myself have been using the Verbatim Datalife Plus hub printable DVD-R discs for some time and have been quite happy with them (I print the label side with an Epson R300, and the quick-dry label on this particular disc looks great, IMO.

Be sure to avoid cheap online discount outlets that have poor rating....they often hawk 'faked' media that often give you a high coaster ratio when burning.

I often buy my stuff in bulk from www.supermediastore.com When shopping there, know what you want and go there to get it...don't get suckered by 'great deals' on inferior stuff - they hawk the cheap stuff like everyone else, but they have great deals on the good stuff too. One of their shipping warehouses is out of South San Francisco, so considering your location, orders should arrive pretty quickly.

Try this site
http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

for more info on DVD media than you will ever want to know.

Hope this helps.
-J.

[Emre Safak]

Anything Made in Japan; typically Sony and Fuji. Check the label before you buy. Verbatim is good too (Singapore, I believe).

[Jim Hawley]

In fact I did order from supermediastore.com, so I hope I get legitimate media and not fakes. I went for the Verbatim 2.4X to 8X Double Layer DVD+R which I had ordered before I started getting replies on this question. I only ordered 10 to start with though to see how I like them.

I am still not even too clear on when to use -R or +R.

Thanks again for the help guys,

Jim

[Emre Safak]

Verbatim makes the best DL media, to the best of my knowledge. I may be mistaken, but I think it does not matter whether you use -R or +R if you bit set the DVD to DVD-ROM. See if your DVD writer supports bit setting.

[Chien Huey]

In my research on this, apparently, most manufacturers like Verbatim, Memorex, etc. just repackage discs from OEMs. Supposedly, the best batches of Verbatim discs are made in Japan by a company called Taiyo Yuden. Interestingly, you can just buy Taiyo Yuden discs straight up. With the branded discs, they change suppliers between batches so there's no hard and fast rule (i.e. Verbatim = TY). I just ordered some Taiyo Yuden -R discs from supermediastore.com. Will see if they live up to their reputation...

Ditto what was said previously, had good experiences w/ FujiFilm and Verbatim. Someone bought me CompUSA brand discs to replace the Fuji's I lent him (jerk!), those exhibited high failure rates (non-UE-related).

[Devlyn Hukowich]

Just to fill you in there are not that many makers of DVD-R media, probably only a dozen or so. Everyone else has one of those makers OEM discs for them.
Taiyo-Yuden were one of the designers of the DVD-R spec and make some of the best media.
Where companies have media made for them you have to be careful. Even media from the same company can be made by different manufacturers. So one batch might be Ritek the next T-Y and so on.
Remember with all media... "Your Mileage may vary" even with the same brand name.