Dual Layer Media Deals (1 Viewer)

[Mark_TS]

are Verbatum the 'good' ones?

 

[Patrick Sun]

Yes, they are.

 

[Holadem]

Good question. I remember thinking back in Sept-Oct that I would wait till the new year to get into DL media, as I was sure prices would drop to ~ $1 apiece by then. Thank goodness I didn't wait...

At least the Verbatim are ROCK SOLID. I made the mistake of buying Ritek/Ridata DL media from Newegg some months ago, for about ~1.60 a piece. I burnt 8 coasters (not a single good one) before I sold the rest to a friend whose burner was compatible with them.

--
H

 

[Dave Scarpa]

What's Happening with DVD-R Dual Layers, they're still pretty expensive no? Is the Compatibility better on those without having to change the bitsetting of the unit

 

[JohnRice]

I haven't used any DVD-R DL media, but the compatibility I have gotten with + DL media has been even better than the DVD-R single layer discs I have burned. The only player I have which won't play most burned discs is a Sony from 1998, but it does play the + DL discs I have burned. No bitsetting, just using a Pioneer 109 with Toast (still on version 6) on a Mac and that's it.

 

[TonyTone]

Are those Verbatim DL disks the ones that are rated at 2.4x DL but can burn as high as 8x? At least that's what I've read about them, in which case the Verbatims are the ones to get, for now...

 

[JohnRice]

All the Verbatims I have gotten say 2.4x but then in small print say they can go up to 6x. They've been very reliable media.

 

[JohnRice]

50 pack of Memorex for $100 at Best Buy. Of course, if their defect rate hasn't improved from other Memorex spindles I have gotten, that comes out to about $5 per usable disc.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Verbatims at Newegg...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817130997

 

[Valerie G.]

Are the Verbatim Printables as good as the regular non-printable DVDs? I don't have a printer that supports disc printing, so I've never bought printables before.

I'm assuming you can still just use a Sharpie marker on the printables?

 

[JohnRice]

There should be absolutely no difference. I have used single layer Verbatim printables with no problem. Yeah, you can use a sharpie.

 

[Dave Corder]

I've been using a stack of TDK printable 16x DVD-R discs (on sale at Costco a few weeks back). They've been great. Almost makes me want to go out and get a cheap disc printer, since I bought 200 of these discs. I was looking around and saw that Epson had a refurbished, low-end printer capable of printing on these for about $60.

That said, that's a great deal on Verbatim DVD+R DL discs at Newegg. I've got a fairly large stack of Verbatim DL discs already--every time Best Buy has had them on sale for $20 for a 10-pack, I've bought one or two. But damn, I might just have to get in on these discs for $1.50/disc after rebate.

I bought the FujiFilm DVD+R DL discs that were on sale this week at Best Buy for $30 for a 15-pack. Rated at 2.4x and only burn at that speed in my NEC-3550a (which will burn the 2.4x Verbatim discs at 8x). I burned one disc successfully, but I haven't watched it yet--running a disc quality scan in Nero CD-DVD Speed as I write this, but from the looks of the first 500 MB or so of the scan, I probably won't be buying this media ever again. I have a new Lite-On SHM-165H6S burner that I picked up last night, but I doubt it will fare any better on this media. Gonna stick to the Verbatims and hope that the $1.50/disc price at Newegg after rebate soon becomes the standard price for Verbatim DL discs.

Also, with regards to Sharpies, been using them for years, never had a problem on any of my discs that could be traced back to the Sharpies. I happened to glance at the jewel case for some of my HP DVD+RW media earlier today, and it specifically says "Write only on the label side using a quick-drying, permanent felt-tip marker."

 

[JohnRice]

Dave, do you have the software to find out what manufacturer the Fuji DL discs are? I'd like to know.

Reagrding printing on discs, I have the Epson R200, whih is a discontinued cheap printer, and it does a nice job. Unfortunately, the separate ink cartridges are not a good deal, but that seems to be the direction Epson has gone. I get replacements on eBay and have been pleased, particularly since a full set of Epsons cost almost as much as the printer and these run about $20.

 

[Dave Corder]

John,

The Fuji discs are Ritek, media code is "RITEK...D01".

VideoHelp.com DVD Media info for these discs

Videohelp.com DVD Media List for this media code

Still had those tabs open in Firefox, and the reviews seem, well somewhat odd. Some brands of this media are good, some brands of this media are poor, most are somewhere in between. A little bit of Googling suggests that some burners do a much better job with this media than others.

Here's the Nero Disc Quality Test Statistics from the disc I just finished:

General Information
Drive: _NEC DVD_RW ND-3550A
Firmware: 1.05
Disc: DVD+R DL (RITEK D01)
Selected speed: 8 X
PI errors
Maximum: 2182
Average: 480.62
Total: 12621013
PI failures
Maximum: 76
Average: 5.71
Total: 120019
PO failures: n/a
Jitter: n/a
Scanning Statistics
Elapsed time: 18:33
Number of samples: 28937
Average scanning interval: 8.00 ECC
Glitches removed: 1

 

[JohnRice]

OK. It's odd. Ritek single layer media is top notch, but the DL stuff is spotty at best. The Ritek, Memorex branded discs I have gotten in spindle had been total garbage, but the ones in jewel boxes have been OK. I also got some Dynax branded Ritek in spindle that seem OK. The Verbatim, both spindle annd jewel box, have all been fine, plus they have higher burning speeds.

FWIW, this is all with a Pioneer 109 with v.1.5.7 firmware on a Mac with Toast 6.12.

 

[Dave Corder]

Yeah, I remember when I first got a Pioneer DVR-105 (for $100! after massive discounts! and that was a kick-ass price!) for my old G4 and I would hold out for Ritek media to be on sale. Back then, there were a lot fewer brands and manufacturers, and it was much easier to figure out what you were buying. Was that really only a couple years ago?

Verbatim is pretty much the only brand I'll buy these days without question--doesn't hurt that they're a subsidiary of Mitsubish Chemical Corporation or that they were the ones who were providing the first test DL media to drive manufacturers when the first DL drives came out. I still have some old 1x Verbatim discs that I burned on that 105 that still read back fine.

 

[Linda Thompson]

From this morning's Buy.com e-mail flyer:

Verbatim DVD+R Double Layer 8.5GB 2.4X - 8X 10-pk Spindle
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$14.99 After Rebate (expires 4/2/06)
Buy.com price: $24.99
List price: $60.00

http://enews.buy.com/cgi-bin5/DM/y/e...XK0Hwb0BpEi0Gx

 

[Don Lindbergh]

Hey does anybody remember seeing a free shipping option for the newegg Verbatim printable dual layer $30 deal with rebate? I could swear I saw one before I ordered and then it came up $4.98 shipping.....

 

[JohnRice]

Don, I think it was, but that may have just been a weekend special. They do that often.

 

[Valerie G.]

I ordered some of the Verbatim's from NewEgg on Sunday, and I don't remember seeing a free shipping option. They did have a 0.99 UPS shipping deal though, which I took advantage of.