[ideas]

The best quality DVD media

1ST CLASS MEDIA
Almost flawless burns with 95-100% reliable results:
TAIYOYUDEN, YUDEN, TYG01, TYG02 = Taiyo Yuden = (-R)(+R) ... be aware of fakes
MXLRG01, MXLRG02 = Maxell = (-R)(-RW) ... be aware of fakes
MCC = Mitsubishi Chemicals = (-R)(-RW)(+R)(+RW)
TDKG02, TTG01 = TDK Corp = (-R)(-RW) ... be aware of fakes

2ND CLASS MEDIA
Decent discs, though not perfect, about 80-95% success rate:
PRODISC = Prodisc Media = (-R)(+R)
INFODISC = Infodisc Media = (+RW)
SONYD04 = Sony = (-R) ... be aware of fakes
RICOHJPN = Ritek or Ricoh = (+R)(+RW)
RITEK = Ritek = (+R)(-R)(-RW)(+RW)
OPTODISC = Optodisc = (-R)
FUJIFILM = Fuji = (-R)(+R)

3RD CLASS MEDIA

Quality can be very questionable, about 50-80% success rate:
LEADDATA, LD01, LD, LEDA = Lead Data = (-R)(-RW)
BEALL = Samsung BeAll = (-R)(+R)
MBI = Moser Beaur (India) = (-R)(+R)(+RW)
PRINCO, fake TDK = Princo = (-R)(-RW)
ONIDTECH = Unknown OEM = (-R)
MUST = Unknown OEM = (-R)
GSC001, GSC002 = Unknown OEM = (-R)(+R)

4TH CLASS MEDIA
Pathetic garbage media, landfill material, about 0-50% success rate:
RITEKG01, RITEKG02 = Ritek = (-R)
CMC, CMCMAG = CMC Magnetics = (+R)(-R)
PIODATA, PIO = LeadData, Ritek = (-R) ... once sold as "Pioneer" but that's false
Fake SONY, MXL = Fake Sony/Maxell from Hong Kong OEM (Infosmart?) = (-R)
OPTODISC = Optodisc = (+R)(+RW)
AN31, AN32, ANWELL, AN30 = Hong Kong OEM (Infosmart?) = (-R)
INFOSMART = Hong Kong OEM = (-R)(+R)
VANGUARD = Unknown OEM = (-R)
YIJHAN = Hong Kong OEM = (-R)
MATRIX = Hong Kong OEM = (-R)
VDSPMS = Unknown OEM = (-R)(+R)
LONGTEN = Hong Kong OEM = (-R)

ANYTHING ELSE = Unknown OEM or NEW
New medias to watch for: MXLRG03


and to check if its a genuine or fake brand use DVDInfo Pro


digitalFAQ

[dirtwarrior]

Good write up. Did you test these?

[Evanhoe]

Hi Ideas,
This can be useful info,when buying CD DVD Disks.Thanks

VAN

[tain]

The best media for me is whatever actually *works* on the target device

Where did you get this analysis?

[ideas]

http://www.best-dvd-burning-software-revie...k-dvd-media.asp

[Rob00GT]

I've had decent results with a box of Philips +R media. Not sure of the specific model, but the closest I can find says it's a DR4S8B25F/17 made in Taiwan.

[jcarle]

World class best media are Verbatim DVDs. (Manufactured by MCC)

I have 4 Pioneer DVR-212Ds in my box with over 2,000 DVD burns per year to prove it.

[nitroshift]

I don't see TraxData in your list. I must have burned over 500 discs over last few months, only 2 or 3 flopped (IIRC )

[spacesurfer]

Hummm... I bought some Windata DVD-r's from Micro Center. The DVD Info program says they are:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD-R:TYG02]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc & Book Type :	   [DVD-R] - [DVD-R]
Manufacturer Name :	  [Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd.]
Manufacturer ID :		[TYG02]
Blank Disc Capacity :	[2,298,496 Sectors = 4.71 GB (4.38 GiB)]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ DVD Identifier V5.0.1 - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

and thus they are good quality. However, my real world experience tells me they are crap as I had backed up a lot of data on these and now they are no longer readable.

I have stopped using them except to burn something and give to other people.

[specialbao1]

I use fake maxell dvds and cds.Those are cheapest available but are a bit poor quality