TOPIC: What can I do with crappy DVD media
QUESTION: ScubaPete, Before reading up on various media, I purchased beau-coup tons of CMC discs. Do I have to throw them all away ? Can't I use any of them ?
It seems that this lesson is a hard one to wrap one's head around, especially for newcomers. The bottom line remains, DVD Media is of MAJOR IMPORTANCE when backing up DVDs. Not only will poor quality media provide you with a whole host of problems when attempting to burn with it, not to mention a never-ending supply of coasters between an occasional lucky burn, it cannot be depended upon to maintain your DVD videos in prime condition indefinitely.
To answer your question, No, you don't have to toss them away.
Below, you'll find the following:
First, I've listed some quality media that you should consider purchasing in the future to avoid the problems associated with poor quality media. Secondly, I've assembled several little "Tricks" and "Tips" to help you with poor quality media. Though the following "Tips" are time consuming, they appear to allow more discs to be successfully burned using them than could be burned not using them.
First then is my most up-to-date list of recommended quality DVD media.
We need to use a consistently hign quality DVD media for our backups. Burning DVD videos isn't anything at all like burning CDs where almost any CD discs are fine to use. Likewise, it's not like burning text files, photos, or even music to DVDs. Again, burning DVD videos requires a consistently high quality dye application over a good composite disc and, believe it or not, not that many media meet those requirements.
The following media meet our criteria for quality DVD video media and they are;
Phillips, Sony, TDK, HP, Ritek G05's, G04's and "Branded" Ritek RiData G03's. Beware of other Ritek G03's, their G02's or Ritek's G01's as they are not acceptable. At the top of the heap you'll find, Taiyo Yuden, Verbatim DataLife, Verbatim DataLife Plus and media boasting "Advanced Metal AZO" BUT, it must say "Advanced METAL AZO", this indicates a superior dye and dye application on a good composite disc. Many other discs such as Memorex, "Great AZO", Bulkpak, BeAll, Princo and the vast majority of store brands and no name brands, a no-name media would be along the lines of, "Good Discs "R" Us", they are, in a word, crap. As a general rule, the majority of discs manufactured by Taiyo Yuden, Mitsubishi and RICOH are good bets. LQQk closely at those discs we've recommended, you'll see some dye types not listed as acceptable though they're manufactured by the same company. Again, it's a mater of quality control OR shall we say, a lack of it that makes the difference. That is so important, it needs to be said again ~
When lQQking for media for your DVD Video work, it's a matter of quality control OR shall we say, a lack of it that makes the difference.
Let's speak to the cost of quality. Prices online from SuperMediaStore.com, Meritline.com OR Newegg.com have gotten Ritek G04's starting at about a $ .36 (USD) a disc - and just recently, a "Super Sale" had 100 Taiyo Yuden discs, 4X for $.25 ea.(USD). An added PLUS, the above online stores all have an excellent return policy.
Here are the links for a few excellent online media stores to try -
Shopping around at retail stores can prove worthwhile as well even though exchanging an opened pack of media is next to impossible. ~ Staples, as of this date, offered HP +R DVD's (I LQQked them up using DVDIdentifier and they are made by Mitsubishi) for $18.00 per 50. Verbatim's were on sale offering a $10.00 (USD) rebate on a pack of 25, $20.00 (USD) on a pack of 50 AND Taiyo Yuden where on sale with their 4X, -R, DVD's for $.25 each (USD) ]in packs of 100 just a fortnight (2-weeks) past ~ Think of it, Taiyo Yuden's for $25 ea. Finally, just recently, Verbatim Dual-Layered DVD's normally $5.00 each, were on sale for $1.99 each in packs of 10. A truly unbelievable price for a quality product. There are sales all the time for the "Good" stuff - So you sea, quality isn't always expensive ~
I’d also like to suggest, as I always do when I speak of media, to Download, Install and use DVDIdentifier to check each pack of discs you open to guard against "Bootleg" DVD's.
DVDIdentifier (FREE) is an excellent tool for checking the true identity of your media. See who really made it and help avoid Bootleg discs. A "Must have" tool for everyone.
http://home.scarlet.be/~ping3828/downloads/dvd_identifier_420.zip
~ TIPS & TRICKS ~
Unfortunately, too many pple buy their crap media in bulk instead of buying it in smaller amounts until it proves itself to be of a constantly high enough quality to be used in DVD backups. Hence, I offer some "Stop Gap" methods of working through your pile of crappy media. These "Tips" are some little "Tricks" that we have found that will boost your burning percentage so you won't be so far behind the financial "8 Ball".
In trying to work through your cheap media, here are some tried and proven "Tricks" we can employ to help you over your poor media "Hump":
A good beginning, if your PC cannot see your DVD is to begin playing your DVD on your onboard PC media player. Allow it to run for 2 or 3 minutes so that your DVD software can see it. Once your software has found the DVD, feel free to shut your player down. Should that first step fail, try these "Tips" and "Tricks" listed below.
TRICK 1.
1. Here's a good fix: Reset your Target DVD size to somewhere between 4100 MB to 4200 MB instead of the recommended 4300 MB. I.e., Go into DVD Shrink, "Edit", "Preferences" then, reset the "DVD Target Size" from it's default of DVD-5 (4464 MB) to "Custom" and enter 4100 MB as the new DVD target size. By reducing the amount of disc area to be burned, it will keep your burning away from the disc's outer edges where the dye on poor quality DVD discs tends to be uneven, brittle and flaking OR just plain absent. Nero's Recode2, CloneDVD2, DVD2One, and the vast majority of good burning applications will allow you to easily reset the "DVD Target size" to a smaller size.
TRICK 2.
2. You may reduce the number of errors and "artifacts", (the "freezing", " skipping", pixelation and other picture abnormalities) when burning poor media by burning your discs at a reduced speed. It has been my experience that burning at 2X or 2.4X will likely succeed where faster burns may not. Don't be surprised if you have to burn at 1X. With some discs, you're lucky to have it burn DVD Video at all. It will take slightly longer to burn but, what the heck, we only have to work through a few of them. Isn't it wonderful that you use decent media so you're not forced to play this game with them all the time ? Since you've already reduced your DVD Target Size, you're compressing your movie more Sooo, it might be wise to burn just the movie. The less you burn, the better the quality soooo, movie only, please.
For those new to DVD Video burning, we recommend setting your burning speed at 4X, when using good media. When using poor media, adjust drastically downward. When burning at 8X or higher, no matter what burn speed your media or burner, you'll wind up producing coasters, period ! When discs are rated for their burn speed, that speed is great for text, docs and graphics BUT, when you attempt to burn DVD video projects in excess of 8X, then you run an excellent chance of producing errors. :-(
TRICK 3.
3. "Magical cleaning", is a "sometimes fix" which has been known to sneak a few extra discs into use especially when your PC refuses to recognize the disc. When we say "Magical cleaning", it really isn't, we just clean those new, out of the package, DVD's using a commercial disc cleaner, eyeglass cleaning solution or 99% Isopropyl Alcohol and a soft cotton cloth. Begin from the inside of the hub rubbing towards the outer edge, 'round and around and a rub-a-dub, dub. As soon as you're finished, "Pop" it into your DVD tray and fire up your program. A cleaning of the laser lens also helps. Use either a laser-cleaning disc, IMO, the best method to clean it while it remains in place OR, use a blast of canned air to remove built-up dust from the lens. Either one should do the trick. While we're talking about it, I recommend cleaning your laser lens at least once a month for general maintenance.
After a lens and disc cleaning, you would be surprised how many times your disc is now "seen" and works like a "Big Dog".( :P)
TRICK 4.
4. Many times your DVD work is starved for resources so we need to free some up. First, begin by going to "Start" ~ "Run", type in "msconfig", click "OK". Select the "Startup" tab then "Disable all" then click, "Apply", "OK", "OK" again and then, "OK to reboot". You'll now have 100% of your system's resources to deal with your DVD work. If you would like to set your "msconfig" Startup to run at it's peak, you'll only need to "slide" the "Location" column out of the way to see the programs in the startup list. The only ones necessary to startup when your windows begin are your AV (Anti-Virus) programs and your Firewall. If you have never adjusted this section before, you should notice a nice increase in your PC's performance.
TRICK 5.
5. This last little "Trick" is to "reboot" your PC just prior to inserting your disc into the drive. "Cleaning out" your clipboard and your RAM memory, so to speak. It seems to help. ~ Go figure, huh ~ ?
Finally, I caution you to make backups of your backups. Those backups you did on the crap media, besides being of poor quality for burning, also have been shown to have a "memory" that is substandard to boot. Poor quality DVD's can become totally unplayable within a short period of time. We constantly see reports of Memorex, Princo, Bulkpak, BeAll and others becoming unplayable in as little as 9 months with a much larger percentage of them going "Belly up" in 1 to 3 years are reported frequently.
Remember, a quality media isn't the one that costs the most, it's the one that's made the best.
You can never go wrong with quality. :)
I hope this has been of some help.
Thank you for choosing a ScubaPete Guide!
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