Not all media is good. In fact, with the high influx of cheap media from Taiwan and Hong Kong, most media is bad. This guide is meant to shed some light on the how and why of DVD media quality.
This guide also gives examples of what generally works as the best media, but your mileage may very, depending on the burner and how that batch of media chooses to cooperate. While some cheap media may work for you, it’s a gamble that often loses.
Who makes the disc: Brand vs. Media ID
Most blank DVD media is produced by a relative small number of factories, located in several different places. These factories are present in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Mexico, Hong Kong, India, and Ireland… maybe a few more, but not many. The best media generally comes from Japan and Singapore. The worst typically comes from Taiwan (in stores) and Hong Kong (online).
The media brands means nothing. Apple is a great brand, but they do not make their own discs, instead outsourcing to MXL (Hitachi/Maxell), MCC (Mitsubishi Chemicals), and PVC (Pioneer). Verbatim became infamous by switching from high-quality MCC to ultra-cheap CMC (CMC Magnetics) media, although they have since returned to using MCC. Companies like Memorex, Fuji and Imation all outsource to media vendors.
Always be aware of fake media too. Fake media is normally sold in flea markets, on eBay and online. This fake media normally has no brand markings and the company being faked normally only sells branded discs.
It is the Media ID that is important, as it reveals the disc maker.
Media ID Quality Guide
The following list is in preference order. The best discs are near the top of the list. The discs at the bottom of the list are suitable only for a landfill. PVC is the best of all, LONGTEN is the worst of all, etc. Note: Some codes may be listed twice, done because a -R, -RW, +RW and +R by the same company may not be the same quality. The format is listed because of this.
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
Download this free utility that can tell you the media id to make sure the blank DVD you purchase is what you ordered.
- Find and download the free version web. They keep changing the URL so we have to direct you to their web site and you need to browse around to find this. Otherwize, purchase the pro version. It’s worth it..
- Once installed, put a blank DVD in your DVD Writer/Burner click the “Media/Info” icon (top toolbar) to see something like the image below:
Are there exceptions to this list? Sure, but not many. LD01 inkjet media and RITEKG04 inkjet media has proven to be almost flawless media for many users. But those are the only two we’ve seen as consistent exceptions. Use this list as a guide. This list is a “sure bets” kind of list, and is pretty reflective of the media market as a whole.
What do the % numbers mean? This list is constructed from many tests on many burners from a handful of experienced people that use a lot of media. These numbers reflect the number of discs in a spindle that will give good results. For example, out of a 100 spindle of media, 1st class discs may kick out a few bad discs (0% to 5% of the media may have playback imperfections or be outright bad burns). The 2nd class media may have a dozen or so bad discs. The 3rd class discs could give you a half-spindle of duds. And the 4th class stuff can be pure trash. These are mean averages too, simple statistics math, meaning best tests and worst tests are discarded, and the middle range of tests is the basis for these numbers. You may sometimes find the rare instance where a CMC spindle will be perfect and a Taiyo Yuden spindle will be completely flawed, but those times are the exception rather than the rule (and are not part of a mean average).
Testing procedures: Burns are subject to playability/reflectivity tests (usage tests), as well as software verification. Test equipment is under controlled hardware/software environments to eliminate user variables. Burns are at least 4GB or more to test the entire length of the media.
Branding Guide
Although this will change on a regular basis, the following brands are known to use the following media makers for their outsourced discs.
Be careful for CMC and PRINCO discs, as those are becoming more common in those “special sales” seen almost every week since early 2004. Some companies prefer dollars over quality, so be careful. Also be especially careful of “house brands” or no-names. Stores like Fry’s and CompUSA have horrible return policies too, so if you end up with an unfavorable media ID, do not burn a test, just take it back for a refund and take your business elsewhere.
Accu = LEADDATA
Americal = RITEKG01, PRINCO, LEADDATA
Apple = MXL, MCC
Arita = RITEKG03, RICOHJPN
Bulkpaq = PRINCO, PRODISC
CompUSA = PRINCO, OPTODISC, LD
Datawrite = PRINCO, PRODISC, AN31, RITEKG03
DupEZ = PIODATA, LEADDATA
Esbuy = RITEK, LEADDATA, other budget IDs
Fuji = TAIYOYUDEN, MCC, RICOHJPN, PRODISC, FUJIFILM
GQ = PIODATA, PRINCO, RITEKG03, RITEKG02, LEADDATA, LD
HP = CMC, RICOHJPN, MCC
Imation = RITEKG03, CMC
KHypermedia = CMC, TTG01
LiquidVideo = OPTODISC
Matrix = MATRIX, LONGTEN, YIJHAN, MUST
Maxell = MXL, RITEK, RICOHJPN, TYG01
Memorex = CMC, RICOHJPN, PRODISC, INFODISC
Meritline = Various budget IDs
Mirror = AN31, ONIDTECH, PRINCO
Optodisc = OPTODISC
Philips = CMC
Pioneer = PVC
Princo = PRINCO, Fake TDK
Prodisc = PRODISCS03, MCC
Ritek = RITEKG01-04, RICOHJPN
Samsung = TYG01, BEALL, RITEK
Sonic, Shop4tech = LONGTEN, MATRIX, MUST, YIJHAN, various budget IDs
Sony = SONYD04, RICOHJPN, MCC
Supermedia, Linkyo = Various budget IDs
TDK = TDK, RITEKG04, RICOHJPN, MXL, CMC, MCC
Verbatim = MCC, CMC, YUDEN, RICOHJPN, RITEKG03
For unusual brands and media IDs, check out the www.videohelp.com media section. In most cases, unknown media IDs would be re-branded or ID-hidden discs, often of dubious quality. Some unknown brands are overstock from other media companies. This is often the mark of very cheap media. Buyer beware .
Where do I buy the best quality dvd blank media?
Trusted USA companies, suggested by digitalFAQ
Rated #1. Supermediastore.com. Favorite from 1/1/2004 to present (as of this writing, 1/17/2005). In recent months, this store has begun to stock many great items, especially when it comes to blank media. And the prices are among the best around. Shipping is lightning fast, and real people answer the phone if you need to call for anything. Not one single “out of stock” problem to date! A division of Linkyo.
Rated #2. RIMA.com. Cheap and somewhat fast. Great prices, and the discs arrive within mere days. They have a large inventory, and have some of the best deals for 100-, 200- and 500-disc spindles. Excellent return policy on defective media. Has been known to send samples on request, free of charge.
Rated #3. AllMediaOutlet.com. Another favorite place to shop.Cheap and fast. Great prices, and the discs arrive fairly quickly, in about a week or so. They have many deals that include free shipping, have been an authorized seller of Ritek (may have changed at some point), and are rarely out of stock on their media.
Rated #4. DVD-RWmedia.com. Was always a great to place to buy media. Came fast, had great deals. Used them for Princo and Ritek media for thousands of discs. A division of Linkyo.
Warning! Be careful dealing with these companies:
Americal.com. Expensive and not always honest about their products. They exaggerate about the quality of their discs, cases, and stickers, and I was disappointed several times before I quit using them. They are also known to pull a bait-n-switch and send you products different than what was ordered.
Meritline.com. Although this seemed to be a good company a year ago ,we’ve recently had complaints that they have Consistent delays, deliver the wrong Items, and have nearly “non-existent” Customer Service.
Shop4tech.com. This review is only about their blank media, not hardware or other products: Their in-house discs may be cheap (Matrix, Sonic, etc), but the quality has historically been some of the worst media around. You have to dig through the site to find mainstream media, and it often has high pricing. Individuals claiming to be shop4tech employees have been banned from online video sites more than once for immature behavior.
Yesbuy.net. Terrible customer service, not great prices, and the discs are normally fake. This company has sold TDK, Maxell and Pioneer fakes. Many of the “2x” and “4x” discs were actually 1x discs with forged media codes.
Esbuy.com. The products pictured are not what they have available. The discs were completely different when received, and getting a refund took weeks. Prices are extremely high. Most of the media was LeadData, Princo and Ritek. Customer service reps were quite clueless.
CompUSA.com. This store (both online and brick-n-mortar) has one of the worst return policies on the face of the planet. Avoid them at all costs, no matter what you plan to buy. Even if the media is bad, you’re stuck with it.
QtcCDR.com. Extremely high prices. Site difficult to manage. Most of the media is low grade. Has been known to sell fake MXL and TDK media.
Naked-Geek.net. Never in all my days shopping online have I come across such a vile, filthy-mouthed individual. Not much is known about this company except that it’s owner, Alexander Hanff, has been banned from video forums numerous times due to his unsavory behavior. His “magic” DVD-R are simply cheap AN32 media, well-known coaster material.
Offline USA stores that carry media
Rated #1. Walmart, walmart.com. A store that is open 24 hours a day and carries Maxell (MXL/TY) and SONY media at low prices. What more could you ask for?
Rated #2. Fry’s Electronics, outpost.com. Huge selection of media, and often the best prices you can find in stores. Excellent selection of DVD-RW and DVD+RW. Sells lots of video hardware too.
1. Office Depot, officedepot.com. Carries most brand-name media using first/second-class Media ID codes, typically at very good prices, especially when on sale. Has had many good sales on Maxell media.
2. Staples, staples.com. Carries most brand-name media using first/second-class Media ID codes, typically at very good prices, especially when on sale.
3. Best Buy, bestbuy.com. Carries most brand-name media using first/second-class Media ID codes, typically at very good prices, especially when on sale. Watch for CMC products made in Taiwan. Has had good sales on TDK and Verbatim (MCC) in the past.
4. OfficeMax, officemax.com. Carries most brand-name media using first/second-class Media ID codes, typically at very good prices, especially when on sale. Carries FUJI brand media. Avoid the Arita/Ritek deals.
5. Walgreens, walgreens.com. Carries Maxell (MXL/TY) and TDK (TDK) media, often with decent prices and sales.
6. Circuit City, circuitcity.com. Mostly sells LiquidVideo (OPTODISC) media. Has a few other brands.
7. RadioShack, radioshack.com. Has a little bit of media, has been known to have nice sales in the past.
8. Target, target.com. Always has a nice selection of major brands like TDK (TDK).
9. K-mart, kmart.com. Blah. Mostly carries Memorex (CMC) media. Cheap store with cheap stuff.
What makes a blank DVD good or bad?
Why discs are “bad” or “go bad”
Background: DVD media is somewhat new, and methods for creating faster and better discs are always being perfected. Discs are created in an interesting manner (note that this is a basic description). Plastic is laid down, then metal reflective foil, then dyes are poured onto the foil. Another plastic is laid on top, then the disc is spun at high speed to spread out the dye, hopefully evenly. It even sounds like an unstable method!
Dye imperfections. Bad foils and dyes, as well as bad dye spread are the most common issue that causes bad media. If the dye is uneven or does not reach to the edge of the disc, it is often bad. CMC is known for bad inner-disc spread (dye thinning) and Princo is known for not reaching the edge (short spread).
User error. A common “error” with “bad media” is actually user error. Even I’m guilty of this. For best quality burns, leave your computer alone while burning. Using your computer while burning takes CPU from the burner and can cause the burn to fail. You should also test your copies and keep the source DVD in a safe, dust free place if possible.
Balancing is also a side effect caused by faulty plastic, foils or dye spread. A disc spins faster on the outside than it does on the inside (ask any college physics professor). And round objects tend to be most unsteady at the outside. While DVD media allows for some degree of error (data is written in a “wobble groove”), exaggerated wobble will caused the laser to spew data in areas not meant for writing. It thus disappears, and the data comes up as missing on the disc, resulting in freezing, blockiness and other odd visual errors (caused from the decoder attempting to compensate for material that is missing).
Fake media.Fake media is often bad. If you ever acquire good media like TDK, RITEK or MXL, and the results are bad, check to see if the media is legitimate. Many of these top-tier media companies only have branded discs, not plain white-top or silver-top ones. TDK, MXL, and RITEK have been spoofed before. These discs often are cheaply-made unbranded 1x media with fake 2x or 4x Media ID speeds and maker ID codes.
Dye melting from excess burn speed. Some discs simply cave in under high speed burns. Optodisc 4x DVD-R media is known to corrupt on 4x burns. Some recent April 2004 RITEKG04 media are reported as doing this too. The dye simply cannot handle the write speed. Poor production is to blame. This happens mostly on bad discs, but can also happen on good discs due to user error. Many hacked firmwares and poorly-written firmwares will allow a user to burn a disc faster than it’s write strategy and media ID speed. The side-effect of these illegitimate burns is ruined dye. The dye appears discolored or otherwise unusual.
Not a media error. This is another very frequent “problem” with discs. The simple fact is not every player or DVD-ROM will read a burned DVD media. Some players were not made to play anything other than official to-spec pressed metal discs. Non-media errors may also include players that have a weak laser or a dirty laser. A non-playing disc is not a sign of a “bad” disc, but rather just means that particular player/ROM cannot play it. Run real tests to see if the disc is truly a coaster. Also be aware that some formats are more compatible than others (with DVD-R being most compatible of them all for DVD-Video content). This is often call a reflectivity error. This is not necessarily the media’s fault.
Will poor quality media really break down in as little as six months?
Life of a backup made on poor quality disc is questionable. We’ve been told that data, music and video backups on CD’s and DVD’s will last forever. Wrong. Don’t throw the originals away, you may very well need them. Your video camera tapes and family picture CD’s and DVD’s, may not be there the next time you want to look at them. “Point of fact,” inferior discs have a tendency to “Break down” in time. In a very short time, we’re talking disc can breakdown in less than a single year, in as little as 6 to 8 months.
This article was written about CD discs but DVD discs are produced nearly the same way, and if anything, are more complicated and more likely to fail. Perhaps you’ll find it as important as I did.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=513486
My personal observations on this subject -
I have had about 40 backups that have refused to play after being stored for a year or more. I test all of my backups when they are burnt to be very sure that there are no problems. “In the Golden, Olden times,” before I knew any better, the Memorex, Maxell and professional “Store Brand” discs (and any thing that was on sale) was what used before I switched to Taiyo Yuden and Maxell. It is the poor quality stuff that I have been experiencing my trouble with. I noticed that backup DVD’s I had refused to play in my standalone player and on my PC. VOB files wouldn’t play either and other discs that I backed up about the same time would “Freeze” part way through the movie. After switching to Taiyo Yuden and Maxell , I’ve not had 1 go “Flat” in over 1 ½ years. I still have some backups about 90 of them done on the “cheap stuff” and, as time wears on I lose a few more as I attempt to check them. I say to you, why did a backup play fine in “01″and “02″ then “fail” in “03 ?? Some that were done in “01″ never made it till “02″ (it took me some time to learn, lol) and others done about the same time and “Failed” time, we’re talking disc can breakdown in less than a single year,
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