Please help with this DVD+R and DVD-R business...

[ibex333]

I have a LITEON-SOHW1673S. This is the 1st time I decided to burn my 1st DVD. I have been only using CDs before. 🙂
As far as I know my drive supports most common formats avalable, and it seems that the best option for me is DVD-R. I dont need to rewrite, and I'm looking for reliability and cheapest price.
Problem is, there too many brands around, and since I'm on a budget, I need you guys to recommend a fairly descent brand with a low price. As long as the disk will last me at least around 5 years, and it's fairly sturdy and reliable, it's good enough for me.
If you know a brand like that, please do share the knowlege. Also please tell me the site where I can order em.


Oh.. and 1 more thing.. anyone know how to break up a data DVD into smaller pieces so that it can be recorded onto several CDs??

 

[mechBgon]

I've been using Ritek at work. They're springy and difficult to break, and unless Nero is a 'tard and tries to overspeed them, they burn fine.

 

[ibex333]

Thx

 

[akugami]

Riteks are a very good brand (may also be called Ridata, same company). I buy mostly Ritek/Ridata for my personal archiving needs and it's very rare that I get a bad burn. About 2 or 3 in a box of 500. I always set it to no faster than 8x burning and they work fine (provided the discs are rated for 8x or higher, if not I set it to 4x). The top brand is Taiyo Yuden but for the price of those suckers...I'm willing to put up with a few bad burns per box.

 

[Venomous]

Boy, you guys really need to get yourself updated... Ritek is considered " cautionary " at this time. A lot of their media isnt true Tayio Yuden.

www.rima.com

buy your media there. Get true TY if longevity is a concern to you.

 

[ibex333]

heh.. you didnt read my post.. I said I'm on a budget and I dont want anything expencive... I never said that longetivity is very important to me. I said at least 5 years.. I dont know. Is that concidered high longetivity for a DVD?
dont want to buy Tayo Yuden.. too expencive..... this is why i made this post. To find out if there are inexpencive, fairly descent DVD media. apparently, ritek fits the bill. thanx a lot for the webpage though. I'll be sure to check it out.

 

[Super56K]

5 years is a good amount of time for a dvd to last. If you buy lower tier media I wouldn't count on it working 5 years from now. Don't be so cheap now. A 100 pack of TY media or Verbatim or Maxell will run you around $40 on average. They can be cheaper with sales. If your main concern is having them last then paying $.40 a disc shouldn't be an issue.

 

[ibex333]

I would like to take my words back and appologise. This www.rima.com site is great.. it has great prices, and TY is not expencive at all.... same price as Ritek.. well almost

 

[n7]

TY is superb media.

You can usually find their media at smaller shops if you live in a city.
Often MIJ (made in Japan) Fujifilm DVDRs (at your local Best Buy, e.g.) are TY media also.
The MIJ Maxell media is excellent as well.

 

[akugami]

One thing I look for is an inkjet printable surface or a matte finish. The reason is because the top layer is where all the data is stored. Not the bottom layer. A matte or inkjet surface provides an extra layer of protection as opposed to the shiny surfaces. Most TY's sold are shiny silver which is why I don't prefer them. The prices for the TY's with inkjet surface compared to the Ritek/Ridata's are usually close to $10 difference. When you compare similar discs from Ritek to Taiyo Yuden, TY's are always more expensive.

And Ritek/Ridata are not rebadged Taiyo Yudens. From what I know they manufactor their own discs and other companies such as Maxell, Fuji, TDK, etc rebadge their discs.

Check link below for who makes what.
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia

 

[Venomous]

I thought a CD stored its data in the middle, close to the top layer and a DVD single layer disc stored its data at the bottom? Hell, these days with all the different formats, who can tell? All i use are the silver inkjet printable. They add a nice touch to your traditional labels.

 

[IeraseU]

I can't recomend Ritek/Ridata personally. I've had a lot of success with them in the past, but the last cache of disks I bought from them was terrible. There are a lot of reviews on newegg discussing this. It made me move to the point where I just want TY, which as stated above is the very best.

 

[ibex333]

I just ordered some DVD-R TYs from www.rima.com. It seems like they have a "shiny silver surface". Can I label them with a Sharpie marker just like I always did on Cds, or that would ruin a DVD?
Sorry for a dumb question, but I never burned a single DVD in my life before.

 

[forumposter32]

I've written on my DVDs with a marker (made for CD/DVDs in a electronics shop, don't know if that was necessary or not).

 

[BigLan]

Originally posted by: Venomous
I thought a CD stored its data in the middle, close to the top layer and a DVD single layer disc stored its data at the bottom? Hell, these days with all the different formats, who can tell? All i use are the silver inkjet printable. They add a nice touch to your traditional labels.

Pressed CDs and DVD store their data in the middle, so should be put label-side down on a table to avoid scratches which would mess up the laser.

CDRs store their data on a top surface of the disc, so should be put label side up to avoid this getting damaged thus making the disk unreadable. It's also the reason to use a felt-tipped marker and never a ballpoint or pencil to write on the label.

DVDRs store their data in the middle (and so are a little thicker than regular CDs) and should be put label-down, unless you were concerned about the label.

There are special 'CD marker' pens available, but I've never had a problem with any-old felt-tipped one (Projector pens are usually thinner.) The concern is that some inks have chemicals which may damage the data layer by seeping through.