Advice on media choice

[dragpeace]

I have a Panasonic DMR-E30 which I picked up to transfer VHS home movies to DVD-R. I'm not interested in fancy formatting, or anything of that nature - I just want these archived so the video will be around for the foreseeable future (as opposed to quickly degrading on VHS tapes).

My question is - what DVD-Rs are recommended for longevity and quality recording? On eBay, generic DVD-Rs can be found for .50 a piece, if not less. Taiyo-Yuden DVD-Rs can be found on the web for around $2 a piece. Knowing the quality of their CDRs (which is certainly superior to generic CDRs), I'm tempted to shell out the extra bucks, just to be sure I'm getting quality products. No sense taking a risk with family memories, IMHO. However, I wondered what others with more experience and technical expertise felt.

Any advice?

Graham

[Mark Madness]

Generally with my experience the better the media the more variety of burners and players it's compatible with. I feel that generic or cheaper discs aren't necessarily going to be worse but some of them can be really picky of what they play on. Plus on the other hand some players are really picky of what they play even the well know brands. In terms of longevity they all probably last longer than you'll live if you take good care of them. My advice is to try different brands if you can and see which ones will burn on your panasonic and play on whatever players you will think you will use the most. It's all about finding what's right for you. Just remember, some generics are cheap for a reason but some can be a treasure in disguise.

[dragpeace]

Thanks for the response. Any comments on how to store the DVD-Rs? I was planning on thin jewel boxes.

Graham

[Batman]

You can purchase "dvd covers" (akin to the covers the accompany major Hollywood film dvd's).

Generally, brand-name dvd-r's are better. You might want to search the doom9.org and www.dvdrhelp.com forums for details on what media is loved and loathed.

Taiyo-Yuden, Verbatim's, and Ritek's are good.