Recommended recordable blank media

Verbatim or Maxell for BD-R
Maxell or Tayio Yuden (JVC) for DVD.

The reason I don't personally recommend Verbatim for DVD is that recent batches have proved incompatible with our older Panasonic DVD Recorders. They work fine in everything else.

We use SVS Media for discs - phone orders only but great service - no good for small orders.

Hi Gavin

Thanks for that, there's that much out there I thought I'd ask here as many of the forum members would use both types of media on an everyday basis as opposed to my occasional use.

Verbatim have been around a while, I can even remember buying Verbatim 5¼" floppy disks ... showing my age now :( I don't think I'll be buying in the kind of quantities you would use Gavin so SVS may not be the place I'll head for but I can take a look and see who else supplies these. I'm guessing there are different flavours (product codes/names), I don't suppose you can tell me these can you Gavin, it will help narrow down the search if I have a product code. As long as I can print onto the whole surface that will be great.

How strange, maybe a change in manufacturing process which effectively works great on newer technology but isn't backwards compatible? Just guessing of course :D

Thanks again Gavin

Ron

Hi Ron,

We always use Verbatim DVD-R discs. We've Never had a client say they cannot play any of our discs. So I would definitely recommend them.

We get most of our blank media from APR Media. Here is a link to the Verbatim discs on APR's site - http://www.aprmedia.co.uk/products-2422-verbatim_dvd-r_16x_full_face_inkjet_printable_43533_pod_of_50_white_inkjet.html

All the disc we buy are inkjet printable.

Verbatim 16x photo inkjet in pods of 50.
Verbatim Archival Gold inkjet in pods of 25.

Something has definitely changed at Verbatim - the recent Archival discs no longer have the knurled type edge seems - although they do now claim to have a tougher data surface.

Maxell 16x - plain inkjet
Maxel 16x photo inkjet

I should point out that we've neve had any other issues with Verbatim discs - just the snag with our older Panasonic recorders - they work fine in Newer Blu-ray recorders.

This past few months I found that quite a few Verbatims gave me a bit of bother.
In playback they would become all blocky in places.

Never had this problem in the past with them.

Thanks for all the feedback. I've checked out APR Mark, they seem to have a wide selection including the ones Gavin mentions.

The Verbatim problem doesn't sound too good and from what Tony and Gavin say it seems to be a recent problem. I wonder if anyone else has had similar issues.

Thanks again guys

Ron

Verbatim for Blu-ray and Traxdata(Ritek) for DVD and for really suberb quality Taiyo Yuden weathershield. Suppliers APR or Total Blank.

Thanks Roy. I'm about to trawl through the sites mentioned in this thread.

Hopefully I'll get some delivered for Monday/Tuesday next week which will be just about right for when I'll need them.

It's interesting to note you also mention Taiyo Yuden as Gavin did ... maybe those for the DVD's.

Cheers

Ron

I will always use and wil continue using any Ritek dye based media. Over Ten years now since the first use something in the order of 12,000 discs produced. Only 5 Complaints throughout and that`s because of the players / Kidded rather than media.

RON. be careful when buying Taiyo Yuden if they are offered cheap, there's a lot of fakes about.

I would always use TY discs for the Bride & groom's copies and Verbatims for anything after that but Verbatim gave me too much bother I'm back to Ritek again.
I get my TY's from Totalblankmedia.

I get Verbatim/Mitsubishi (same thing) 50GB BD-R from JapanGift on eBay they have always been excellent and much, much cheaper than over here. Dominic

Thanks for the heads up Roy, I've only looked at APR, Total Blank and SVS, I assume I'm on safe ground with these suppliers?

Dominic, I have only just read your ebay JapanGift suggestion, I will take a look as soon as I've finished this reply.

Thanks to all again, at least I've now narrowed the field down both in media and possible suppliers.

Ron

Have used all of the above suppliers, and can add DVD-and-Media, and Riviera Multimedia to the 'good' list. Stopped using APR after they refused to take back an order which was clearly badly described on their site. I've found DVD-and-Media, and Riviera Multimedia to be faster and cheaper anyway. I use Verbatim BD-R, DVD+R, and DVD+R DL. Very few problems. Used TY for quite a while, but suddenly got lot's of problems (About 2 years ago). Went back to Verbatim, and stuck with them since.

Do you mean this guy Dominic? http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/japangift Doesn't appear to have anything for sale.

no, this one http://stores.ebay.co.uk/From-Japan-Gift?_rdc=1. loads of crap, but excellent for blank media and very swift delivery too. D

Apparently a seller in ebay going under the name 'buyfromjapan' was suppose to sell real good blank DVDs and blu-ray discs.

If you fancy using injet printable BD-R that cost less than 80p a disc delivered to your door, then try Aone from 7dayshop. They've all worked a treat for me. Pretty sure they're Philips discs in disguise.

I started to use cheaper BD-R Tom (Traxdata) because of the full face printing - Verbatim wern't at the time. They all burnt and played without a fault. Then saw horror stories re the discs being 'blank' after about a year. I've hustled back to Verbatim, and await the first birthday of one of my Traxdata discs, when I'll nervously play the copies I keep. :eek:

My very early (2002?) Zero Defex (Ha!) DVD-Rs don't play any more, but surely burning pits (however many squillion/second) is a mature technology by now? BD may hold more pits than DVD, but the emulsion is the same stuff, isn't it?

Not sure it's the burning pits Tom, more the dye of recordable discs that fails. All my copies are kept in boxes in the dark. How many client do that I wonder?? :eek: I've seen a recent thread (can't remember where :rolleyes: ) that recommends even blank discs should be stored in the dark.

I've just played back Traxdata DVD's I made five years ago. No problems I'm glad to say.
ARTHUR- I bought a single Verbatim BD-RE from APR and no burner or player would recognise it. As It cost £8 at the time I tried to get it exchanged by APR and they didn't want to know, result they lost a £100 order I was going to give them. I've had no bother with the DVD blanks I bought from them. The funny thing is that that Verbatin disc is now working OKAY after six months of being unrecognised. The troubles you had with Taiyo Yuden may because they were cleverly disguised fakes. They were two years ago many warnings about the fakes.

Out of interest, I also popped one of my oldest DVDs in (2002). Played perfectly. Coincidence; I used to buy all my stuff from them, so my TYs almost certainly came from APR.

Noted those other two suppliers Arthur ... thanks.

I didn't mean to open a can of worms here :D Non the less, interesting reading ... which made me take a quick change in course to look at CD/DVD wear/breakdown. It was news to me I admit!

What made it more interesting was a problem I had with a CD I played last weekend. I had recorded some vinyl stuff I have and popped it onto CD a few years ago. This same CD I played last weekend had what I can best describe as swooshing wave like sounds towards the last few tracks which I was mystified about. Maybe this thread as solved that problem. A quick search on google and I noted this post on a forum thread:

So, is this true? And is the gold 'reference' CD recording media better as suggested and does this follow through to BD and DVD?

Ron

I have nervously just purchased a spindle of 10 Panasonic Bluray discs from APR media, the case says long life, with an archive life of 50years, should be long enough for me! Always used Verbatim before.
I did have a problem with a DVD I made in 2002, stopped playing on the DVD player, but I managed to copy it in my PC.

To be on the safe (as far as possible) side, I make copies of all my self made videos onto Tape, DVD and harddrive. Also for added assurance I re-copy onto fresh DVD's every twelve months. I also keep all original camera tapes. just in case. You may think this is a bit over the top, but I think that work I have spent hours of my life creating is worth preserving( worth it to me anyway).

Here's an interesting page: http://www.blurayjukebox.com/blu_ray_archiving.html

On the question of fakes, if Imgburn tells you that they are TY discs does that mean they're genuine?
Mick

Interesting that the claim is that Blu-ray discs recordings will last 50 years but current drives etc will only be available for 10-15 years. Unfortunately I won't be around to know if this is so, or wether like all other EXPERT pronouncements, it is optimistic guesswork. I seem to remember such wild predictions were made for tape and DVD's when they first appeared.

My Dad still has some tapes made on his Grundig reel-to-reel recorder around 55 years ago that still plays fine. He also has (loved by the Grandkids :o ) footage of myself taken on his 'wind up' film camera from around 45 years ago.

I also have musical tapes made with the first Philips stereo recorder. The one where the lid was the second speaker. I still have that recorder and it still works, the sound is still richer than a lot of modern ones. These old tapes still play well. The danger with old tapes is Print through, unless you rewind or play them often. That goes for video tapes as well. I still think that video tape is better than DVD's for storing. Admitted you can get drop out on tape but I think that is better than complete failure of a DVD.

Roy, Arthur, I still have and use from time to time a Revox B77 HS, nice beasty :D I was scratching my head trying to remember where I bought the last lot of tape from a few years back ... still scratching :eek: Anyway, all still play fine, I re-spool the tape every 2 or 3 months to help prevent print-through and it seems to have worked so far.

BD-R and DVD. I've tried to find a compromise between numbers bought and quality. I don't see me turning out vast amounts of BD or DVD as it is really only a hobby for me as some of you already know. That said I've ploughed through the suggested suppliers (good to see SVS do reel tape :cool: ) and have come up with what I hope is at least a good first attempt:

Taiyo Yuden watershield DVD-R

and not sure on the BD-R but either:

Taiyo Yuden BD-R LTH or Verbatim BD-R SL both on this page

The Taiyo Yuden BD-R LTH is a 25 spindle but is the price low given possible fakes? and the Verbatim BD-R SL is also a 25 spindle but has no code?

Thanks guys

Ron

Ron. There is no way of knowing about fakes but a guide is the price, normally Taiyo Yuden DVD blanks are considerably dearer than others. However I remember,( just about), last year I enquired of a supplier wether he would gurantee that the T-Y dics were geniune and he said he would because he bought them direct from the factory. Unfortunately I have forgotten who the supplier was. I suggest before making a purchase you enquire as I did. Cheers Roy

Thanks Roy. I've dropped just dropped them a mail. Will let you know the reply.

Ron

http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/BEWARE-OF-FAKE-Taiyo-Yuden-CD-R-DVD-R-Discs_W0QQugidZ10000000001423203

Ron have a look at this site. Roy. PS If your HD videos are no longer than 30 mins. you can put them onto a standard DVD and avoid the extra expense of a Blu-ray disc. Then of course they can only be played back on a Blu-ray player

Thanks for the link Roy, interesting. I took a look at the Taiyo Yuden site and it had this: [URL=http://www.yuden.co.jp/ut/info/070426.html?__utma=1.1457380697.1311527647.1311527647.1311527647.1&__utmb=1.6.10.1311527647&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1311527647.1.1.utmcsr=google|utmccn=%28organic%29|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=Taiyo%20Yuden&__utmv=-&__utmk=203724304]Notification regarding imitation of Taiyo Yuden products[/URL]

Under normal circumstances that is the case to be honest. It's the one off ... I think :eek: wedding I did that has cut down to 1hr 20mins. That said I don't mind a few BD-R's because I can put a few shorts on one BD disk with menu options.

Thanks again Roy

Ron

Optomistic guesswork is all it can be. Nobody will know for 50 years

Just a quick update.

I ended up with TY DVD-R media and Panasonic BD-R. Ordered Tuesday, arrived Wednesday.

Thanks again for all the feedback and pointers.

Ron

Well, it's looking like I'll have to change my recommendation for Riviera Multimedia. I'll give them another couple of days to respond before posting reasons why.....but watch this space. :mad:

Interesting post Arthur ...

watching ;)

In another development of which I've posted elsewhere on the forum, the Panasonic BD-R's didn't work well on a couple of players (Samsung and PS3) though they worked fine on Sony 370 and 380's. I ended up buying some Verbatim which worked on all the above and made the bride and groom and grooms parents happy bunnies :)

Ron

Good news on the Verbatim discs Ron.

Looks like Riverview are still one of the good guys. :) The problem I had with damaged cases has been put right.

Sure is Gavin. It does leave me wondering why so much difference between major manufacturers though for something that, as a 'standard', should have been ironed out by now, at least at BD-R level.

Glad to hear it's sorted out Arthur, a refreshing change nowadays to deal with a company who care a bit.

Ron

Ron. Glad the Verbatim worked for you and yours. Roy

Which BRay disks does anyone think look the 'prettier' (a technical term LOL) when printed? Ones I bought looked very 'cotton woolly'on the disk faces, which is disappointing compared to either silver metallic or Tayo Yoden watershield for SD disks.

Which Blu-ray disc are you referring to. On SD DVD discs there are differences in the way Printing looks.

I couldn't find any printable BluRay discs except for matte finish, which I never use normally as they look so dead. Seem to have mislaid the label from the BR disks at the moment!:o

Cheers Roy

Ron

Agreed. You need to spray them with lacquer to get a half-decent finish. Why they don't make Watershield Blu-rays I have never understood.