Which Media? A burning question!

[Quadophile]

We all use some kind of media and sometimes end up with coasters! Even the burn Proof will not help in the case where there is substandard media. Sure they are cheap but in the long run you actually end up paying through your nose (Time is also money )

Why not buy the media that is good in the first place? It may cost you a bit more to begin with but in the long run it turns out to be cheaper. The best tips you can get about media is not from the salesman but from a reliable manufacturer. In my case there is no better burner manufacturer than Plextor.

What do they recommend?

Here is the list of media that is having the stamp of approval from Plextor

DVD+R (4.7 GB) 8X, 4X, 2.4X Verbatim/Mitsubishi Chemical, Taiyo Yuden, Ricoh
DVD+RW 4X, 2.4X Verbatim/Mitsubishi Chemical, Ricoh
DVD-R 1X-4X Verbatim/Mitsubishi Chemical, Taiyo Yuden, Maxell, TDK
DVD-RW 1X-2X Verbatim/Mitsubishi Chemical, TDK, Victor
CD-R (74 min or 80 min) 40X Verbatim/Mitsubishi Chemical, Taiyo Yuden, Maxell
CD-R 4-32X Verbatim/Mitsubishi Chemical, Taiyo Yuden, Mitsui Chemicals, Ricoh, Maxell
CD-RW (74 min) 24X Verbatim/Mitsubishi Chemical
CD-RW 4X-10X Verbatim/Mitsubishi Chemical, Ricoh

I hate coasters and I am sure you do as well. I have always used the media from the list above and never had any problems.

Taiyo Yuden (Japan) is probably the finest media manufacturer there is as far as my research is concerned spread over a few years. You will also come across media from companies like Fuji and HP, I have, and both were manufactured by Taiyo Yuden. It is not easy to check on the packaging of such companies but if you have tiny software like CDIdentifier or some other similar utility/software you can check the actual manufacturer of the disk.

Taiyo Yuden or Ricoh invariably always manufactures the bundled disks with the Plextor drives. That has been my experience so far with all Plextor burners that I purchased for myself or for friends.


Happy burning!:spin: :spin: :spin:

 

[floppybootstomp]

With CD-R's, I've always found anything branded is good, only problems I've had have been with cheapie unbranded disks. Some just had errors on initial burn, others developed problems weeks, months, even years later.

I use two Liteon 40 x CD burners. My first Liteon drive, btw, a 32 x, packed up after 15 months, so although they're reckoned to be good burners and good value for money, in my experience so far, not exactly reliable. Although the other two are now 18 months and two years old respectively (or thereabouts).

As for DVD-R's, I haven't been using them long, I've had my Pioneer A106 a couple of months now, it handles both -R & +R.

I initially bought some cheapies, a ten pack, and had two coasters out of ten. So I read around and the common opinion seemed to be that Ritek discs, with the purple dye, were the best value for money.

But it has to be Ritek's own brand, as apparently the discs they make for other manufacturers aren't up to the same standard.

I bought a 50-pack spindle of these, worked out at around 90 pence each, and they've been fine, no problems at all so far, and I've used about 15.

I also bought a case of DVD black plastic cases, 100 worked out at just 12 pence each. Also bought twenty double DVD cases at 20 pence each.

I use DVD Shrink, free software, and Nero 6.0 to back up my DVD movies, and Nero 6.0 to store data on DVD's. All I've used so far have been -R format.

I've heard nothing but good about TDK & Verbatim, but they're both more expensive than Ritek, particularly the Verbatims.

 

[Quadophile]

You know well when the Lite-on drives were getting great reviews and everyone seem to be wanting one. I was on the other side of the fence. I have been using Plextors since last 3+ years at both office and home besides having recommended them to my friends none have had any problems. Talk about reliability, they sure are, sometimes only time will tell.

I do not hear about folks talking about Lite-on as much as they used to nowadays, Plextor is still there and as reliable as it used to be.

Your personal experience with various disks is good information for all. Thanks for sharing it in such detail.

 

[floppybootstomp]

liteons & plextors

aye, aye, it does seem, sometimes, you only get what you pay for.

I must admit the Liteons seemed almost too good to be true, only time will tell how my surviving pair fare. And I'm not alone in having had a failed Liteon drive, I've read of several instances where they've failed, usually just out of warranty.

Plextor drives, I know, have always been good, but at the time you are talking of, they cost anything from 33% to 50% more than their Liteon counterparts.

So, a Ford Mondeo or a Saab?

But, I think I'm OK with my Pioneer DVDRW, lots of good reports about this drive. It's dropped in price a helluva lot now, I saw it for £90.00 (OEM) at Scan recently. I think it's dropped in price as it only has 2mb cache whereas newer models have 8mb.

 

[Quadophile]

Premium on Plextor Drives

Originally posted by floppybootstomp
Plextor drives, I know, have always been good, but at the time you are talking of, they cost anything from 33% to 50% more than their Liteon counterparts.

So, a Ford Mondeo or a Saab?

Yes I cannot agree with you more on that point the Premium is there but a bit higher than it should be.

By the way, I am about to place order for the Plextor 708A