When your backups begin to skip, stutter and freeze, LQQK to your media. Too many times it is in fact the cause.
I've compiled some general information on the confusing topic of DVD media. Trying to keep yourself from falling through the cracks is a full time job. Unlike everything that else that you burn, DVD Video files are unbelievably picky. When your burns fail OR when your discs begin to skip, stutter and freeze, many, many times it is the poor quality of the disc that's the cause. Buying a "Name Brand" isn't always the solution. Piracy is so rampant; the government is looking into it as we speak.
Eliminating errors and going for the "Best burn" ~ Tips ~
When attempting to achieve the best burn, consider reducing that burn speed to the 4X area. Iffin you have a new 16X, DL burner, you'll probably do well at 6X. It is my feeling that 8X and over leads to occasional coasters, even when using top grade stuff such as Verbatim DataLife Plus media.
The second part of the solution is to always use a decent grade media. I suggest something like those discs made by Taiyo Yuden, Ritek, Mitsubishi or RICOH. Unfortunately they are also the discs most plagued by pirate Mfgrs. and for that reason I like dealing with Mertline OR Newegg who have a great return policy on their products. I have had great luck with RiData and Verbatim DataLife Plus discs and their prices are extremely reasonable.
In today's market, now more than any other time, beware of pirated fakes.
DVD-R market plagued by fake media and inconsistent quality. fake Taiyo Yuden media, and discuss the current quality of RITEK products. Is the quality of Verbatim affected by the fact that they are now outsourcing production to CMC, and Moser Bayer?
http://www.cd-rw.org/articles/archive/dvd-r_media_report.cfm
The DVD recordable media market: What's up with RITEK?
What a convenient timing - few days after we publish articles about the quality issues on the DVD recordable media market, RiDisc promises to start delivering premium quality. They use strong words in describing their new RiDisc Xtreme products - "Grade AAA+ RITEK G05" and "zero tolerance quality control".
http://cd-rw.org/articles/archive/ritek_dvd-r_quality.cfm
DVD-R market plagued by fake media and inconsistent quality.
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/6090.cfm
DVD Video media quality notes;
Memorex is an excellent example as DVD media goes, 90% of Memorex, made by CMC, is sub-standard as far as DVD backups are concerned, figures as high as 50% coasters have been reported (One member bought a stack of 50 and got 23 good burns.), not what I would call an impressive record. Memorex made a name for itself with their magnetic tapes (VHS and audio cassettes) and have been living off it ever since. There are 4 different companies that manufacture Memorex DVD's BTW and product quality varies widely as you might imagine. Only 10% of the Memorex out there, those are discs manufactured by Mitsubishi in the 25 pack spindle , and they're the exception - they are the good ones. It's easy to see now why the quality of a big-named company can't be trusted - " Who's making your Memorex tonight ?"
1. * Cheap media freezes, skips, pixelats and may refuse to be recognized by both burners and players :-( Besides "Freezing", "skips" many times you'll get a "Cyclic Redundancy error" or an "I/O error". This message can mean that your discs are scratched or dirty, it can also mean that your burner won't accept your "cheap" media :-(
Another problem which, "Pops up" is a "*Power Calibration Error". This can stop you right in your tracks and most often is caused by, Yep, you guessed it, inexpensive media. *A "Power Calibration Error" can also be attributed to the Optical Components of a DVD Writer, though this isn't usually the case.
Orange Pack, Princo, Great AZO and 90% of Memorex plus many others are just not that good for DVD burning. Those same discs however, are quite good for your MP3 music, picture archives, Spread sheets and Data..Even DataSafe G04's made by Ritek have been reported as an inferior quality media and are evoking that "Oh no, I shouldn't have gotten those."
What we are suggesting is to download this DVD Identifier to find out who manufactured your DVD and if it's a decent quality.
http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com/
Once you have your disc identified, click the "More information" icon and see what information you're given. if you're not sure of the quality, come on back and we'll check it out for you -
2. A good grade, Hi-quality media is needed for DVD reproduction ! RiData, Phillips, Sony, "Branded" Ritek G04's or "Branded" Verbatim Data Life, Verbatim DataLife plus, Taiyo Yuden's and generally, almost any discs manufactured by Mitsubishi or RICOH are excellent bets. Among the better discs we're looking for, any media boasting "Advanced Metal AZO" - BUT it must say "METAL" AZO !, this indicates a superior dye and dye application on a good composite disc, while they are sometimes a bit "pricey" they are just the type of media we're looking for to do our DVD backups, Prices online from Meritline.com OR Newegg.com have gotten Ritek G04 starting at about a $ .45 (USD) a disc-
For DVD backups, purchasing inexpensive media or even average media is a gamble, some people win BUT the majority lose, they lose varying amounts true but, they still lose :-(
Using good grade media can guarantee you one thing to an absolute certainty; it surely cannot hurt.
In an effort to clear the air, when I speak of "Cheap" or "Inexpensive" media, I'm not referring to the price you pay at the counter - I'm referring to poor quality control used during manufacturing and the quality of the dye, dye application or composite type used. I'm not saying it won't burn - Some may burn, some may not. It's quality is inconsistent, meaning it's not dependable. To make matters worse, many times the discs that you do burn may play in your PC BUT your standalone player may not accept them- what good then is a backup DVD that cannot be watched on a DVD player ?
When I say "Branded," that means that when you pick up a disc in your hand, it says "Ritek" or "RiData" on the disc itself. The monetary cost of the media we recommend many times is cheaper than what you are purchasing now.
We like to verify our information prior to recommending things. There are certain things we look at. For instance, when their dye and dye application are listed as unknown, this almost guarantees us they are using whatever they can get at a cheap price. Companies that use quality materials like to BRAG about it, naming names and staying with quality manufacturers who produce their media.
Using DVD identifier and MediaMatch can help you find out a lot about what you're using. Purchasing your DVD media online can insure that you're getting quality merchandise at a good price. Shopping wisely will save you time, aggravation and money.
DVD Memory ?
How long will your backup discs last ?
FAIR WARNING. . . Using that "Cheap" quality media, your backups might not last all that long
One thing I haven't addressed is the life of a backup made on an "el cheapo" disc. We all know that data, music and video backups on CD's and DVD's will last forever, well, if not forever for at least 100 yrs or so - That's what we've read and I believed and that's why we backup our treasures to disc, so that they'll be safe. "BLAaaaT" (the bone chilling sound of an emergency air horn), Wrong, Dead Wrong ! Don't throw the originals away, you may very well need them. Your video camera tapes and family picture CD's and DVD's, may not be there the next time you want to look at them. "Point of fact," inferior discs have a tendency to "Break down" in time. In a very short time, we're talking disc breakdown in less than a single year, in as little as 6 to 8 months.
This article was written about CD discs but DVD discs are exactly the same. I was miss-informed and this opened my eyes. Perhaps you'll find it as important as I did.
Though this piece speaks much about CD-R's DVD's are in the same boat so this applies to them as well ~> Read the Article here.
My personal observations on this subject -
I have had about 40 backups that have refused to play after being stored for a year or more. I test all of my backups when they are burnt to be very sure that there are no problems. "In the Golden, Olden times," before I knew any better, the Memorex, Maxell's and professional "Store Brand" discs (and any thing that was on sale) was what used before I switched to Ritek, RICOH and Verbatim (Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.).
It is the poor quality stuff that I have been experiencing my trouble with. I noticed that backup DVD's I had, refused to play in my standalone player and on my PC. VOB files wouldn't play either and other discs that I backed up about the same time would "Freeze" part way through the movie. After switching to Verbatim and Ritek's, mostly the Ritek's because the price was right, I've not had 1 go "Flat" in over 1 ½ years. I still have some backups about 90 of them done on the "cheap stuff" and, as time wears on I lose a few more as I attempt to check them. I say to you, why did a backup play fine the end of "02"and "03" then "fail" in "04 ?? Some that were done in "03" never made it till "04" (it took me some time to learn, lol) Most of my backups from around March of "03" were done on the "good Stuff" and they still work fine today - not a single failure ! What about now ? Well, in a very short time, before when the calendar changes to 2006, I'm going to run the rest of them through. It's been too long and I don't want to run the risk that I've lost an original OR one has been borrowed and never returned (like that's never happened, Huh ?). I want my discs back and 006 is the year -
Don't go through what I did - protect your investment.
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