DVD -R Media (1 Viewer)

[StevenF]

1. I recently purchased the Panasonic DMR-HS2. Can anyone out there give me their opinions as to what are some of the better blank DVD-R recording discs that are out there. Obviously the cheeper the disc the better for budget, but quality is an important factor.

2. Since the machine can record to both DVD-R and DVD-Ram... does DVD-Ram produce a better looking picture or quality disc? I really haven't noticed a diffrence.

3. I am currently using Memorex DVD-R 4.7gb discs. Does different DVD-R media (discs) produce a better picture with less pixelation breakup or grainyness?

Thanks for all your help.
S

 

[Brajesh Upadhyay]

The cheapest (& reliable) DVD-R media I've seen is just 69 cents/disc if you buy 100 (using coupon code 1113, until 11/30): Go here
I've also tried esbuy.com Apple & PrimeDisc brands -- all of which work well.
Re: DVD-R vs. DVD-RAM quality, all the Panny DVD recorders suffer from a 'black-level bug' on finalized DVD-Rs. They add 7.5IRE to the recordings, making them look a little washed out/brighter on some DVD players. This problem, however, isn't as bad as some would have you believe. DVD-RAM recording are perfect, but of course only very few players support DVD-RAM.

 

[Jay Blair]

Steven

I agree completely with all of Brajesh's comments and just want to give my personal experience with the DVD-Rs from atdiscount he's recommending. I regularly use these discs and have had very good results; I would say the failure rate is a little less than 5%, but considering the cost of 69 cents each, who can complain (I paid 89 cents each for my current batch of 100). I use them with both the Panasonic E20 and the HS2. You can get close to 100% reliability from some of the more expensive discs, like the Apples that I've used quite a bit. But the name brand discs start at about $2 each and go up from there (Apples are selling for $5 each last I saw).

The only concern some people have expressed with the cheaper discs is long term reliability; they've said that over the course of a year or two (which is about as long as they've been out) some of the cheaper discs fail. So far, with just a few months use, I haven't found that to be a problem with the atdiscount discs. Once they record properly, they haven't failed me down the line. But you never know. Personally, I'm not that concerned.

In addition to Apple discs and atdiscount discs, I've also used Memorex discs and find them to be less reliable than the atdiscount discs. I've read other posts saying the Memorex discs are not a good match with the Panasonic burners and they are usually not recommended, though my experience has not been bad enough to say I would absolutely not recommend them. The only name brand I've had nearly a 100% failure rate with are a second batch of 15 Princos I purchased after a first batch of 5 was fine. I noticed that the second batch had a purple/blue ring around the hub that was not on the first batch. I also had a 100% failure rate with generic double-sided 9.4 gig DVD-Rs (I don't recall right off hand where I'd ordered them from). I just got another brand of double-sided discs from a different company, shop4tech.com I'm hoping to have better luck with since they claim they'll work with Panasonic burners.

 

[Brajesh Upadhyay]

Jay, if you want reliable double-sided DVD-R, go for PrimeDisc. I got mine here. They're also available here.

 

[Jay Blair]

Brajesh

Thanks for the links. I placed an order for 25 more. The ones I just got were PrimeDisc (only bought 10 to try them out) but factoring in shipping costs I paid nearly 50 cents each more than using your first link. Even though the cost per side is almost double the cost of single-sided media, the space savings for me make it worthwhile, especially with the 25 disc discount and free shipping .

 

[StevenF]

Jay,
Can you use the double-sided 9.4 gig DVD-Rs in the Panasonic HS2 or am I limited to the 4.7 gig? What size do you recommend using?

 

[Jay Blair]

Steven,

Absolutely you can use the 9.4 gigs in the HS2 (or any other DVD-R burner). The disc is double-sided, you just have to flip it over. Each side will record 2 hours in the SP mode.

As far as what size to use, it really doesn't make any difference. The down side to the double-sided discs is that they cost more than twice as much as single-sided discs (more like 3 and 1/2 times the cost, but you only get twice the capacity). The benefit is that you can record, for example, a two hour film in the highest quality mode and use only one disc (having to flip it after 1 hour) and put it in a single disc case, or if you have say a 3 or 4 hour film (like my 4 hour long laserdics of Napoleon) you can record it in the SP mode (what I consider the normal mode) and only need 1 disc, which for myself and others is more convenient than using two separate discs. I also want to use the double-sided media for laserdiscs with extra supplements (like using side 1 for the film and side 2 for the film with commentary track or the documentary) so that I can keep everything on 1 disc and use only 1 DVD single-disc case. I will probably also use the double-sided discs for recording 2 different films from the same director or with the same actor, etc. etc.

 

[Ernest]

I have been using PrimeDisc purchased from www.shop4tech.com. They sell for $124.00 for 100 blank discs plus the DVD Amray case. I have converted well 100 VHS, SVHS and Laserdisc as well as recorded from Turner Classic and Fox Movies without a failure. Don't worry about the washed-out look of finalized DVD-R's. It takes just a simple adjustment of the video within the DVD player, not your TV, to make the picture look real colorful and dark. All the DVD-R's I have recorded look and sound great.

 

[StevenF]

Thanks for all your help everyone. New to all this scene. It looks like the majority of everyone recommend the PrimeDisc for both the 4.7 gig and 9.4 gig. It seems they are the best for keeping your movies with the ultimate in best quality and archiving purposes. Unless someone can recommed anything better, I will go with them.

 

[Barry McCarthy]

Re: DVD-R vs. DVD-RAM quality, all the Panny DVD recorders suffer from a 'black-level bug' on finalized DVD-Rs. They add 7.5IRE to the recordings, making them look a little washed out/brighter on some DVD players.

Correction: US NTSC versions of the DMR-HS2 exhibit this issue, PAL European models do not.

As for media, I have tried BulkPaq Gen 3 1x (lilac topped) and they work fine in the HS2, but provide some compatibility issues in other players. Cost me around £0.43, but probably would cost US customers $0.43! I have also used DataWrite (formerly DataSafe) Classic discs, which work fine and provide better compatibility in other players (still some gen 1 players dont like them).

As for PQ, as we are talking digital the media shouldn't make much difference to PQ, but with cheap media you may get more break-up, especially towards the edge of the disc if the player cannot read the data well.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Thought I'd bump this thread up, as I'm looking into getting a Panny E30 very soon. I want to order some DVD-R media before I buy the recorder, so I'll have something to work with when the player arrives in the mail. The info already provided here is very helpful, but I have some further questions.
In searching the Shop4Tech and Meritline sites, I see they both offer Primedisc and Ritek DVD-R media. Looks like Primedisc is a line of media from Ritek. However, Meritline only seems to offer the Primedisc 9.4 double-sided DVD-R media, and regular Ritek 4.7 GB discs, while Shop4Tech has Primedisc in both 4.7 and 9.4 DVD-R formats. The double-sided 9.4 GB discs from Primedisc seem to be quite worthwhile, although I'd like to do my initial testing of recording capabilities of the Panny E30 with some 4.7 discs, before I buy a batch of 9.4 media.
Is there any difference in quality between the Ritek and Primedisc 4.7 GB discs, even though they are from the same manufacturer? Meritline has a good price on Ritek "high quality Silver/Purple" DVD-R discs in various bulk quantities, is this a new line of DVD-R media, or just their "plain vanilla" 4.7 blank discs?
Anybody have any experience using "2x" and/or "4x" DVD-R media, and do they offer any real advantages or drawbacks over "regular" DVD-R media (or are they designed more for computer DVD-R burners)?
Ernest mentioned that the "washed-out" look of DVD-Rs burned on the Panny recorders can be easily fixed with some video adjustments within the player... are these adjustments made for playback, or for recording?
Has anyone here find any other good (yet cheap) DVD-R media lately, apart from what has been already mentioned?

 

[Barry McCarthy]

Anybody have any experience using "2x" and/or "4x" DVD-R media, and do they offer any real advantages or drawbacks over "regular" DVD-R media (or are they designed more for computer DVD-R burners)?

2x and 4x wont be any use on the E30, as it will only burn at 1x. This is not to say that 2x and 4x discs wont work, but they'll only be burning at 1x. 4x discs are attracting a price premium at present, so probably not worth getting for the E30. I am currently using Datawrite (formerly Datasafe) Classic branded discs, which cost me around £0.90 each for 25 (probably less in dollars). These have been reliable when burning and provide good compatibility with other players. Note that the newer Datawrite Gen 4 2x discs without the 'Classic' branding do not work with my HS2. I have no experience of the Ritek discs you mention

 

[Thomas Newton]

Apple-brand DVD-Rs just dropped from $5 each ($25 a box) to $3 each ($15 a box).
Right after I stocked up on a bunch, in hopes of completing several photo album and home video projects in time for Christmas.

 

[Larry Bevil]

I have the Panasonic E-30 dvd recorder. I've had terrible luck with Memorex dvd-r discs. I've had mixed results with the K Hypermedia dvd-r discs. On the other hand, I've had good luck with Primediscs, Optodiscs, Verbatim, and Maxell 4.7GB discs,both 1x and 2x. I just pruchased some Imation discs, but have not checked them out yet.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Thanks much for the input so far, guys. I just put in my order for the E-30 unit today, plus a pack of 25 single-sided 4.7 Primediscs to start off with. Can't wait to experiment with this stuff, and move on to double-sided 9.4 discs. Any further tips would be, of course, most welcome.