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[Trooper2821438]

Hey guys, I have read through the forums, done a quick search, and from what I read, most people swear by Verbatim Media. I wasnt able to get my hands on Verbatim DVD +R  DL 8.5GB in the shops here in australia on my first purchase, but was able to get some TDK's which I thought i would give a shot.

I got the TDK's on two shopping outings, and being 5 packs, that was 10 games I was able to backup. The TDK's worked really well, and I had NO read errors, unrecognised disc problems WHATSOEVER...

The next time I needed to get some new media, I got my hands on a 10 pack of Verbatim's for roughly the same price as the TDK's, maybe $1 cheaper. For the first few games I backed up to the new Verbatims, I didnt really have any problems apart from the fact that the Laser was making a new noise like it was trying harder to read the disc. Toward the end of the 10 pack is where the troubles started that I have been having with my DVD drvie..

The drive is just not picking up the Backup at all well... on the 8th disc of the 10 pack, when I backed up an older game (Guitar Hero 5.. dont think it has anything to do with AP25 or anything... and being a Samsung it doesnt have those troubles really I dont think) I tested the laser by loading the game onto the 360's hard drive. Halfway through, the box said that it couldnt read the disc... As I had no problem with this occuring in the past, I was at a loss, and the fact that I thought that the Verbatim's were a better option has left me scratching my head!!

Now when I put a backup in, inevitably with the Verbatims it does not pickup the disc straight away, having to eject, and close repeatedly the disc tray as a result of the disc unrecognised error at the dashboard. With the TDK's however, It has a better rate of reading them first time, without any problems. Also the drive doesnt sound like it is under anywhere near as much strain trying to read the media. whereas the Verbatims really make the laser work, it is quite audible.

After thinking about this situation I have come to some conclusions that I would be really happy if people could comment on, or give their opinions about. I am here to learn, and I am hoping this doesnt start a fist-shite (Sh%tfight) or cause any upsets. Upon actually looking at the discs themselves, the TDK's look a much better quality then the Verbatim's. The Verbatim's I have have really really rough edges, like jagged little notches all the way around, whereas the TDK's I am getting for the same price, and am not having as many problems with are very smooth. I really really think the TDK's are a better option (at least for me, in my case) and when I put the new drive in with new laser, I think I will stick with them.

Maybe we are getting a really shite batch here in Australia, or the really base lowest level media that Verbatim has to offer is the stuff that I am picking up. I saw some different looking Verbatims in a shop, but they were $50 Aus for a pack of 20 and I couldnt justify buying them when I have had a bad experience already.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I just want to know if anyone has had media cause a laser to fail like I think I have?

Here's some pics of the different types of media.

The TDK's which are made in Taiwan, and from reading others post, are probably Richo's or Ritek's and the Verbatim's which are made in Singapore:

Verbatim and TDK packaging in Australia

Cheers guys,

TPR


This post has been edited by Trooper2821438: Sep 9 2011, 03:56 AM

[Trooper2821438]

Ok, upon research TDK is now owned by Imation... the American company who also bought memorex... so that probably makes that side of things clearer..

Still any comments would be appreciated.

[tomthumb666]

Verbatims never falied me. So need for a change.

[Trooper2821438]

Cool, whatever works for you is the most important.

From what I can deduct, our forum has the most in depth information, and info that i think I could trust, and the Stickies and FAQ's are all well written so I have basically stopped looking for info from other forums.

I would be silly to state that from what I have read - that Verbatim isnt the media of choice. I didnt realise until looking into it further, that TDK was basically Memorex, which gets mixed reviews throughout our forum. BUT...

Imation/Memorex/TDK call them what you will have a few different media codes. The TDK's im using are: RITEK s04-66 which is a different code from the D01 which I have read that people have had trouble with.. So it seems that when you say you have Ritek media, there are a few different codes that it could possibly be.

Has anyone else used Ritek that come up with the code s04-66? if so what result did you have? I think I should probably grab one of the Verbatims throw it in the burner and see what code it comes up with...

The Verbatims come up as: MKM-001-00 which is the same as what the majority on here use I believe.. I guess Im just getting a crap batch..

If anyone knows a bit about DVD media can they answer this question please??: Is it possible that I am getting a crappy made media, which uses the same dye?? hard to explain what I am asking really... but is it like I am getting Verbatims that are bottom of the bunch in terms of quality.. and missing out on the good stuff, but they are still branding it as MKM-001's..

thanks...

[dangerouseddy]

well verbatim dual layer should be of good quality unless theyre fake.  try cd freaks forums they should be able to tell you if you discs are fake or not, or it could be your burner that doesnt write the discs properly although thats unlikely.

[tomthumb666]

Djeeez, my spelling was way off. What what was I thinking?

I meant: So far Verbatims did the trick for me. No need for a change. In combination with an old NEC 2510A burner they work like a charm. On my laptop (WIN 7 64Bit) it's a different story. The discs fail to finalize and just produces coasters.

[steveo1978]

Well if TDK works for you then just stick with those.

There are a few factors to look at when you try to find the best disc to use to make backups. Just because one person tells you that one brand is the best does not mean that it will work for you. The burner you use is just as important as the brand of disc you use, because some burners just do not like certain brand of disk. Verbs may work better for more burners but like you have proven it's not the best media to use for all burners.