Blank Media & Quality FAQ

[LT. Columbo]

yw noels, as far as i know you can only buy the ty's online. if you can do it, it would be a great choice as would sony and the verbatims

[noels]

LT Columbo and all others who responded to my post - thanks for your help. I'll order the Ty's online for my next buy. I plan to copy all my backups to new media, and I'll do that with Ty's. noels

[Taelon]

Beware of Fake Media, especially TY media. Some online stores have been known to sell fake TY Media, I'm not going to mention names but the old adages, "if the deal seems to good to be true, it probably is" and "buyer beware" certainly apply.

You can buy genuine TY media in brick and mortar stores. Sony, Fuji Film and a few other brands are known to be TY Media, but only if they are labeled "Made in Japan". If you want to keep up on the latest deals, CD Freaks Bargain Basement is usually up to date on where the best deals on quality media are.

[LT. Columbo]

noels

"LT Columbo and all others who responded to my post - thanks for your help"

glad we could help, like taelon says be careful of fakes!

[noels]

[quote=Taelon] You can buy genuine TY media in brick and mortar stores.

Taelon, I went to Best Buy today to see what they had and when I asked the clerk in the computer department if they had Taiyo Yudens, he looked at me as if I had a hole in my head, then he asked, "What's that?" Needless to say, I didn't get them there. Nor in Staples. And the Sony's I saw were made in Taiwan, and didn't see any Verbatim. So, I'll look in town once more, then go online. But... how can you tell on-line if they're real Tys? How's $39-48 for Ty DVD+R 8x (reflects 2 different on-line stores)? Problem is you can't tell by the code until you open the packaging, then it's too late to return

Thanks again to all for the advice, the URL's and the warnings.

[jm1647]

The last verbatims I bought were 16x and made my MCC. As mentioned in the past the only way we will know what media were are getting when we buy brand names, Sony, Fuji, or whoever is if they put the media code of the media on the packaging or disk. Until they do that, it is a crap shoot.

[Taelon]

But... how can you tell on-line if they're real Tys? How's $39-48 for Ty DVD+R 8x (reflects 2 different on-line stores)? Problem is you can't tell by the code until you open the packaging, then it's too late to return

One way is to check the ratings at resellerratings.com Or read some of the comments at CD Freaks forums. I've heard that Rima.com is the best for guaranteed TY media, and supermediastore should be good. Or simply type it into Google and see what comes up

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=fake+TY+media&btnG=Google+Search

[Chewy]

I am on my third 200 of these, they are the real THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well actually I cheated and ordered the last batch way before I ran
out of the 2nd one, they are going up in price.
Nope they are gone! Too late! TY 4x dvd-r
600 pack only free shipping I got 200 free sleeves for this price

http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden-4x-dvd-r-media-silver-matte-spindles-600.html

deal of the day but shipping kills it

http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden-silver-thermal-8x-dvd-r-media-100.html

[jm1647]

The link I gave him was a search from supermediastore.com for all TY media.
In the past I have ordered the shiny silver top Value -R 4x TYG01 and received -R 8X TYG02's instead. I am not the only person this has happened to.

[noels]

Thanks rbrtpl and jm1647... I went to the supermediastore and checked, the free shipping was still available, but only for DVD-Rs, I need +... I finally cut to the chase and ordered 100 Ty DVD+Rs for 39.99 plus 8.88 for ground shipping. I also got 100 sleeves for 3.99, no shipping charge... so I think I'm through for awhile. I'll use my Maxell and other DVDs for new and test backups and save the Tys for my long term savings. Thanks again, noels

[LT. Columbo]

if you don't have one already, get at least one RW disc for testing or if problems arise. i can't believe it when i see people burning 30 coasters in a row and then decide to ask for assistance! (not that you would do this, but an RW disc is smart to have)

[Chewy]

The link I gave him was a search from supermediastore.com for all TY media.
In the past I have ordered the shiny silver top Value -R 4x TYG01 and received -R 8X TYG02's instead. I am not the only person this has happened to.

Mine were TYgo1's but can burn at 8-12x in my NEC burners(not that I would),
but 4x in my LG(used to be 8x till I upgraded the firmware). I really can't
believe the 8x's are any better, my quality scans are always around 98.

[rsclark]

All this info is amazing, but i'm confused by the fact a brand uses various different dyes. for instance according to http://www.dvdshoponline.co.uk/Bulkpaq.html
they have 8XDVD+R that uses PRODISC3 at 16p each
and 4XDVD+R that uses IDO001 at 14p each

Now Prodisc is at top of 2nd class media whereas ISO001 is near bottom of 4th class media. I am interpreting this correctly ?

This brand, Bulkpaq seems to use different dyes in every item.

Is there any particular brand that consistently uses good dyes, without having to trawl through all the data e.g. do Maxell, Sony, TDK consistently use their media only. On one site it suggests TDK often use MBI (3rd class)

All i want is to be able to buy a particular brand and know it is good quality, whatever speed or format (+/-) i buy.

[Chewy]

Verbatim seems to be the only brand left that uses only top quality
manufacturers. I used to use Maxell, Sony, Fugi, TDK, etc until
they entered the Tawain crap shoot, all I know is I have had
excellent results and service with media made in Japan.

[noels]

LT> Columbo "if you don't have one already, get at least one RW disc for testing"

LT. Columbo, just want to assure you that I do all of my initial back-up burns on RW media, then use DVD Shrink to trim it at the beginning and end, then transfer it to an R+ disk. I got over the coaster phase a long time ago - it turns out coasters happened only because my music program MusicMatch would start after Shrink called up Nero, then MusicMatch would start and interrupt the burn and cause a coaster. I started using DVD Decrypter to burn an ISO image from Shrink and no problems since. I got that advice here at the forum, so I feel I can trust all of you who help us here. Thanks again to all! noels