What is the best DVD-R media?

[Ervin Farkas]

Originally Posted by Vince Baker

There is two ways to change the bitsetting on a dvd, one by using the software application to burn the disc and the other to permenantly change the hardware setting of a dvd burner drive.

The cleanest and most reliable way is to change the hardware setting.

Hope that makes more sense?

Nope, it doesn't make sense at all, simply because if your theory is applied, then any DVD burner could be turned into a bit-setting enabled burner by simply modifying the software. The burner itself has to be “bit-setting enabled”. I am not sure about the physics behind it, but as I said, otherwise any burner could be burning DVD-ROMs with proper software. Of course the burner’s driver software has to be bit-setting enabled also.

So I respectfully disagree. What counts is the end result, and that is nothing more than a few bits of information on the burned disc – information that “tells” the player what kind of disc I inserted; that’s a series of ones and zeros… I don’t think the player cares how those ones and zeros got there...

Until you submit proof, I don't see how you can "permenantly change the hardware setting of a dvd burner drive".

[Ervin Farkas]

Originally Posted by Scott Jaco

Is there a way to change the bit setting in DVD Studio Pro?

No Scott, your burner has to be bit-setting enabled. Where you change it is the burner's driver software.

[Scott Jaco]

I've just ordered some premium Taiyo Yuden DVD-R's. I got the 8x spindle, I believe this might help my situation since my Imac can only burn 8x anyway.

I also got a spindel of the Dual Layer Verbatim DVD+R since apparently TY doesn't make DL discs. Perhaps there is a reason, because Dual Layer technology is unreliable as hell.

www.supermediastore.com has 100 Taiyo Yuden discs for 35 bucks. Much cheaper than the Taiwan made crap, and hopefully better quality.

[Christopher Lefchik]

Originally Posted by Scott Jaco

Well, the Verbatim is crap too. It freezes in my Toshiba just like the Mermorsux discs.

I looked on the inner label and apparently they are now manufactured in TAIWAN!? I thought this stuff was suppose to be the best! Now it seems it's just cheap crap like everything else. I'm returning these discs because they are only slightly better than what I've got.

Mitsubishi Chemicals - the company which owns the Verbatim brand - manufactures some of the best DVD media available. This includes both single layer and dual layer media. In fact, at least for a while Verbatim had the only good dual layer DVD media available on the market. This may still be the case; I don't know.

And while generally it is a good rule of thumb to only purchase DVD media made in Japan, this doesn't apply to Mitsubishi Chemicals DVD media. (Fair warning: There have been reports of non-Mitsubishi Chemicals DVD media being sold under the Verbatim label, at least in other countries besides the U.S.)

Generally you can't rely on one brand, as most brands source from a variety of manufacturers. You have to instead rely on the media ID. The Blank media quality guide & FAQ is a great source of information on which manufacturers make the best DVD media, each manufacturer's media ID(s), and the manufacturers each name brand sources from.

And as others have mentioned, the DVD media is not the only variable which affects the quality of your burns. Besides the media, your burning software and DVD burner both have an affect on the quality and compatibility of your finished DVDs.

[Vince Baker]

Originally Posted by Ervin Farkas

Nope, it doesn't make sense at all, simply because if your theory is applied, then any DVD burner could be turned into a bit-setting enabled burner by simply modifying the software. The burner itself has to be “bit-setting enabled”. I am not sure about the physics behind it, but as I said, otherwise any burner could be burning DVD-ROMs with proper software. Of course the burner’s driver software has to be bit-setting enabled also.

So I respectfully disagree. What counts is the end result, and that is nothing more than a few bits of information on the burned disc – information that “tells” the player what kind of disc I inserted; that’s a series of ones and zeros… I don’t think the player cares how those ones and zeros got there...

Until you submit proof, I don't see how you can "permenantly change the hardware setting of a dvd burner drive".

Any DVD burner can be turned into a bit-setting enabled burner by using Nero-6 that has the ability to have a flag setting changed to change the bit-setting to 'DVD-ROM' Search on google for all the proof you require.

The advantage of flashing the firmware and having your burner set the bit-setting is that you 1, dont forget to do it in the burning software, 2 do not need specific burning software.

There are only certain dvd burners that allow this to be done. Again, search google for bit-setting and pioneer 111d to see an example.

I have no reason to post this info other than to help others that are having the same issues as I did.

[Scott Jaco]

Hi Guys. I just got the Taiyo Yuden discs and I have to say that I'm impressed! They play very nicely on my 5 year old Toshiba DVD Player.

I only saw one brief pause, which I tried to re-create but it played fine after rewinding it. I made the copy from the original Memorex disc w/ disk utility, so my guess is that some of the same errors were copied onto the new Taiyo Yuden discs. It probably would have been perfect had I burned it straight from original DVD Studio Pro project, but I had already erased the project off my hard drive.

I'm thinking the built-in burner on the Imac is just average quality, and not as good as some of the after market DVD burners.

The Taiyo Yuden disk tested far better with NeroSpeed than any of the other media but it didn't seem to be error free like the webpage commercial suggests. Again, this may be due to the fact that I made this disc using the crappy Memorex disc as the source for the copy.

Thanks for the help guys. I think I can breath calmly again.

[Stu Sweetow]

We have been using the premium Taiyo Yuden and have excellent results. we tried several other brands. this is the brand that Microboards recommends

[Bob Thieda]

I'm going to back Vince on this....
I use a NEC burner with hacked firmware with bit setting enabled.
I use Taiyo Yuden +Rs and have never had a non-playing discs...I know of at least 35 people that have played my discs without a hitch...
I use ImgBurn to burn the discs after rendering and compiling...

You can find info on bit setting and links to firmware up grades at cdfreaks.com

I'm also fairly certain that only "+Rs" can use bit setting....
Vince, correct me if I'm wrong...

Bob T.

[Justin DeAre]

A couple of things:

Memorex DL media is made by Ritek, and it is truly terrible. Instead of focusing on the brand name, I would advise doing a little research (digitalfaq.com and the blank media forum at cdfreaks.com) and find out who is making the discs you are thinking about buying. The only brand that I know of that does not outsource at all is Taiyo-Yuden... even Verbatim, which used to be great, has media made by CMC and Moser-Baer India now, and the quality tends to vary. Other brands, like Memorex, TDK, Philips, etc, will switch manufacturers at the drop of a hat. For example, I bought 2 spindles of Imation 16X +R media at Office Depot not too long ago, and one is CMC while the other is Optodisc. Outward appearance is the same. My highest recommendation is for 8X Taiyo-Yuden DVD-R blanks.

Another thing, +R has some problems with compatibility especially on older players. This is because most burning software doesn't respect the 32kb gap between files in the DVD structure. For some reason, using -R media eliminates this problem. Another option is to write the final DVD files to your hard drive and then use ImgBurn (like Bob suggested) to actually burn.

Also, only +R media can be bitset. Depending on the burner, DL media may be able to be bitset. Software bitsetting (ie with Nero) doesn't always work.

[Scott Jaco]

I just got 5 Dual Layer DVD+R's free in the mail from Memorex today!

I don't know what I'm going to do with them since I don't trust these discs!

I will say they have pretty good customer service. I just filled out a complaint form on their website and in the mail they came!

Pretty cool, I still don't understand why 2 perfectly functioning Dual Layer discs would crap out after 6 months in a file folder?

[Allen Williams]

DVDs that are pressed rather than burned are the only ones that will absolutely play on any DVD player. The DVD+-R,RW formats came out after the original DVD format. The older players will not play DVD+-Rs. Some of the newer DVD players that claimed to play DVDr's will not play some DVDrs' without skipping or freezing up. If you're having a constant problem with different brand DVDs freezing and skipping, the chances are that it is your DVD player.

Almost all DVD players that play DVD-r will play DVD+r. There are some older DVD players that play DVD+r but will not play -R. Many newer model DVD players will play almost anything put in them including DVD, CD, MP3. I would consider upgrading my DVD player.

I've had clients burn a DVD and then find it won't play in their regulay DVD player. They bring it over to me for evaluation and duplication and they play just fine.
I check them on three different make DVD players before I'm satisfied there is no problem with the DVD.

There will always be a problem with compatability with DVD +-R and DVD players but I have used Verbatim for several years and all returns were traced back to the client's DVD player. This is not to say that someone could get a bad batch of discs.
Allen W

[Allen Williams]

Originally Posted by Scott Jaco

I still don't understand why 2 perfectly functioning Dual Layer discs would crap out after 6 months in a file folder?

It could be that the organic material sandwiched in the discs deteriorated , making the discs useless. This has always been a problem with certain brands. Unfortunately you may not find out until months or years later.
Allen W