ScubaPete, What are the best DL discs to buy?
Dual-layered (DL) discs have been out for just about a year and, the cost has gone way down from $18.00ea (USD) to slightly less than $5.00ea. (USD) still, because of the cost, many of us haven't used that many different DL's to be able to form an opinion Recently however I was given 2, 3-packs of Memorex DL discs so I thought I'd try them out ~ ~
(Why, Ooohhh why, do pple always buy Memorex for gifts ?)
Ooohhh well, I can hear it now, "WoW, ScubaPete is going on a Memorex bashing kick again."
With the cost of dual-layered discs today I wish I had something positive to add, and then again, most everyone was expecting something negative, Imagine that ?
I'm sorry to tell you this BUT, you're correct-a-mundo, . . . . .
Well, I fired up my trusty Pioneer 109 and prepared to do battle, my brand new DL Memorex in one hand along with my favorite Verbatim DL in the other, just in case a comparison was needed. What are the rules ? Easy enough, all DVD's were in a VOB format, on my HD in a VIDEO_TS folder, ready to go. Using my trusty DVD Shrink with the Target DVD Size set to DVD-9 or 8124MB the backup set to burn with Nero.
(For those taking notes, I recommend setting your "DVD Target Size" for DVD-9's at "Custom" and type in 7890MB. :)
I'm ready, let's do it, . . . . .
First on deck in the starting position:
The Exorcist, ~ The Beginning (Which was burned without gremlin to be found giving me a perfect 1:1 copy)
Pearl Harbor ~ (Again, no bombs or anti-disc devices to stop me from getting another 1:1 copy - 2 in a row, should I should buy a lotto ticket ? :)
Alien Vs. Predator ~ (Run for the hills, I'm the man with the golden arm, Memorex delivered another good backup, God is in his Heaven and all is right with the world.)
My next project was to burn was the full (flipper) version of that classic, Goodfellows. About 14GB plus a bit between both sides. Could I have gone too far ? ~ at approx 47% my Pioneer spit out "Goodfellows" about the same point as the bartender was shot dead during a Wise-guy poker party. Could it be a problem burning violence ? I put both halves on my HD and then joined them together using DVD2One ~ it should work, right ? I tried the exact same task with a trusty Verbatim DL in hand and clicked, "OK". it burned flawlessly. Perhaps a fluke ? (No. not the fishy kind, the kind that seems more quirky :)
Let's do one I had on my shelf for awhile, Steven King's, Rose Red, a 2-disc TV Special presentation. Again, close to the same size as Goodfellows. Once again, Memorex shut down about where I would expect the second layer transition to begin. So, once again, I inserted a Verbatim and once more, I was rewarded with a picture perfect burn from beginning to end.
What's up with this ?
What is the problem with Memorex ?
Again, let's go back to the non-compression, 1:1 backups.
For my last Memorex I chose to backup National Treasure, again from my HD.
Finally, Memorex went from start to finish without a burp.
Could it be it has trouble with a compressed backup ? No, that's ridiculous, coincidence at the most. Memorex is merely demonstrating its well-deserved reputation, its inconsistent quality.
Out of the 2, 3-packs, I got 4 good burns and 2, yes 2, very, very expensive coasters. Just for the record, both DL discs failed at the 47% - 49% mark of burning process. Both quit around the layer break transition. (What's up with that ?) . A 3-pack of Memorex DL discs costs about $15.99 (USD) including 6% sales tax) Man am I glad it wasn't my $$$$. Though the prices have dropped in the year since DL became available, this stuff is still too expensive to gamble with OR to suffer that high a failure rate. In case you didn't do the math, though the discs are less $5.00ea. (USD), it still comes out to be a 33% failure rate costing about $10.60 (USD) for both discs. One word for that, it's UNACCEPTABLE !
Yes, it's only 6-discs ~ not much of a test but then, I'm not made of money. How many $10.00 bills can you afford to waste ? As I said, this is more of my opinion than a test of any substance However, I would like to state that I've burned over 70 DL discs to date. Not counting the past 2 evenings.
My 2-cents, forget Memorex for either regular OR DL discs. They just can't seem to get the media thing right. Sorry, but IMHO, they just aren't worth it !!
Others I've used are:
Verbatim ~ I've used about 70 so far and I think they're excellent !!
RiData ~ They've burned well also, though I have gone through less than 25, I haven't had a dud to date and they read the same as the Memorex. Go Figure, Huh ?
and That's my 2-cents.
ScubaPete, I've got this neato DVD DL burner BUT the DL discs are so expensive, what should I use them to burn?
IMHO, I've done over 80 Dual Layered discs to date (recently a test of Memorex vs. Verbatim's) and solely because of the cost factor, I suggest using DL discs for "flippers" OR 2-disc DVD's. With the excellent programs we have today it makes the job not only possible and easy, it allows us to do it with no noticeable loss of quality. I have also put over 6 hour of DVD quality movies on a DL disc without a hitch. Yes, I know, it was advertised as being able to do that BUT I don't trust advertisements, they lie !
Among my other trials, I've placed 6, 2-hour + movies on a single DL disc and I must say, yet again, I was delighted with the results. The first time I did it, I used DVD2One in the "Join", Non-Seamless - Put in the next titleset Mode. The second time, I used my trusty Nero Recode2. I did not use DVD Shrink as I was adding movies together and wanted to keep the menus. Other than that, DVD Shrink could be used without a problem. Again, as always, I suggest the Deep Analysis and Maximum Sharpness - with Recode2 I used the Advanced Analysis and Recodes "High quality Mode" (slow encoding) for the best results. Again, my results were nothing short of outstanding.
So, for Dual Layered DVD recordings, on those $5.00 a piece DVD's, I suggest you use them for your 2-disc "Flipper" DVD's, and your multi-DVD discs for those long car trips. It's just so much easier to run movie after movie rather than shift through a stack of DVD's in a moving vehicle, all the while trying to keep them from becoming scratched.
My final thought, I don't know why, other than out of just plain habit, BUT I set my DVD-9 Size to "Custom", 7890MB will it protect the edge of the disc ? I honestly don't know.
Of course setting your burn speed to 4X or lower is now automatically taken care of for you so, for some things I'm thankful. At least I won't have to preach to all those Newbies, to whom speed is the only thing, errors be damned, the benefits of burning at a reasonable speed. Thank you Burning Gods, where every you are. . . . :D)
Again, that's my 2-cents.
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