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MEDIA GUIDES -> Blank media quality guide & FAQ
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Blank
DVD media quality guide
Not all media is
good. Buying a good disc is not a simple matter of using a
"name brand" disc, or paying for the most
expensive disc on the shelf.
With the continued influx of
cheaply-made Chinese, Malaysian, Korean, and Hong Kong media
(not to mention a few "bulk-quality" Taiwanese
companies), about half or more of all media is inferior
quality. Bad discs are a complete waste of time and money. This review guide is meant to
shed some light on who manufactures and brands good and not
so good quality DVD media.
Use this list as an assistant when selecting what media
to buy and use. It shows what generally works as the
best media. Individual results may very, depending on the
burner and how the media chooses to cooperate, though
typically not by much. Read the advanced topics guides after
becoming familiar with the basics presented on this page.
While some cheap media may work for you, it's a gamble that
often loses. Try to use 1ST class media, maybe 2ND
class if the situation must budget tightly. Do yourself a
big favor and just outright avoid 3RD class media, if at all possible.
The main guide
DVD Media Quality Guide page located at www.digitalFAQ.com/media
This is only one of several
pages that covers the topic of media quality.
An older version of this page is also available
in French.
Who
makes the disc: Brand vs. Media ID
The thing that must be realized is that most media is
produced by a relative small number of factories, located in
several different places. These factories are mostly present in
Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, some
European locations. There are more, but those are the
largest ones. The best media generally
comes from Japan and Singapore. The worst typically comes
from Taiwan or China (in stores) and Hong Kong (online).
This being said, understand that the media brand
means nothing. Apple is a great brand, but they do not make
their own discs, instead outsourcing to MXL (Hitachi/Maxell)
or MCC
(Mitsubishi Chemicals). Verbatim became infamous in 2002 by switching from
high-quality MCC ID media to the inferior CMC ID media, although they quickly returned to using MCC. Companies like
Memorex, Fuji and Imation all outsource to media vendors.
When buying media online always be aware of fake media too
(see the fakes information farther down the page).
It is the media ID that is important, as it
reveals the disc manufacturer. Unfortunately, this is
not written on packaging or anywhere else. Companies want
consumers to be oblivious to this sort of behind-the-scenes
information. To learn the media ID code, a blank disc must
be put into a computer DVD burner drive and the ID read by a
special utility. Some burning software reads the code by
default (DVD Decrypter, for example, in ISO write mode).
There are also a handful of freeware or trialware tools
available:
For Windows: DVD
Identifier (free), DVDInfo
(free), DVDInfoPro
(trial)
For Macintosh OS X: DVD
Media Inspector (free)
For Linux: dvd+rw-mediainfo
(free)
Media ID
Quality Guide
(1)
The following list is in preference order, arranged in three
groupings. The best discs
are near the top of the list in the first class box. The discs at the bottom of the
list are suitable only for a landfill. PVC is the best
of all, WFKA is the worst of all.
(2) Some companies may have listings in different classes
because quality is better/worse in other disc formats.
(3) Some long media IDs have been abbreviated, and some RW/RAM
codes have been left off the list (too many to list). The
"media ID" column is mostly intended for showing
the DVD-R and DVD+R codes.
(4) Feel free to use the CONTACT US link at the top of the
page, to submit new media IDs or ID corrections.
----- 1ST
CLASS MEDIA - EXCELLENT DISCS: -----
Almost
flawless burns with 95-100% reliable results. These
discs are suited for pretty much anything. They will usually
serve as excellent archival quality media, as well as video
masters. These discs are often the most expensive DVD media,
so be sure to take advantage of sales, when available.
(Trivia: The 5 best discs ever created are probably
PVC001001, PVC001002, MXLRG02, MCC00RG20 and YUDEN000T02,
with exceptional quality burns.)
| MEDIA
ID |
MANUFACTURER |
COUNTRY |
FORMAT |
NOTES |
| PVC001001,
PVC001002, PVCW00 |
Pioneer |
Japan |
DVD-R,
DVD-RW |
PVC
stopped making media in 2003 |
| MCC00RG20,
MCC01RG20, MCC02RG20, MCC03RG20, MCC002, MCC003,
MCC004, MCC00RW, MCC01RW, MCCA01, MKMA02, MKM001,
MKM003 |
Mitsubishi
Chemicals, Mitsubishi-Kagaku Media, Verbatim |
Singapore,
Taiwan, India |
DVD-R,
DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL |
some
outsourcing |
| TYG01,
TYG02, TYG03, YUDEN000T02, YUDEN000T03 |
Taiyo
Yuden |
Japan |
|
|
| MXLRG01,
MXLRG02, MXLRG03, MXLRG04, MAXELL001, MAXELL002,
MAXELL003 |
Hitachi
Maxell |
Japan |
DVD-R,
DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM |
|
| SONY04D1,
SONY08D1, SONY16D1, SONYD21, SONYD11, SONYS11, |
Sony
(from Daxon) |
Taiwan,
Japan |
DVD-R,
DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW |
some
outsourcing |
| TDKG02,
TTG01, TTG02, TTH01, TTH02, TDK501, TDK502, TDK001,
TDK002, TDK003 |
TDK |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD-RW, DVD+R |
|
----- 2ND CLASS
MEDIA - OKAY DISCS: -----
Mixed quality
media,
average 75-90% of discs tend to be good. These discs are not suggested for archival data or
video masters. These are best suited for data that can be
replaced easily, such as secondary backups or data/video
distribution. In bulk, these tend to be less expensive than
1ST CLASS media.
| MEDIA
ID |
MANUFACTURER |
COUNTRY |
FORMAT |
NOTES |
| RICOHJPND00,
RICOHJPNR00, RICOHJPNR01, RICOHJPNR02, RICOHJPNR03,
RICOHJPNW01, RICOHJPNW11, RICOHJPNW21 and others |
Ricoh,
Ritek |
Taiwan,
Japan |
DVD+R,
DVD+RW, DVD+R DL |
some
outsourcing |
| PRODISCS03,
PRODISCS04, PRODISCF01, PRODISCF02, PRODISCR01,
PRODISCR02, PRODISCR03, PRODISCR04. PRODISCG02,
PRODISCW02 and others |
Prodisc
Media |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD+R |
|
| DAXON008S,
DAXON016S, DAXONAZ1, DAXONAZ2, DAXONAZ3, DAXOND42 |
Daxon
(Acer+BenQ) |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD+R, DVD+RW |
similar
to Sony media |
| SONY16D1 |
Sony
(from Daxon) |
Malaysia |
DVD-R,
DVD+R, |
inferior
to Taiwan discs |
| RITEKG01,
RITEKG03, RITEKG04, RITEKG05, RITEKW01, RITEKW04,
RITEK000, RITEKR01, RITEKR02, RITEKR03,
RITEKR04, RITEKF1, RITEKD01 and others |
Ritek |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R
DL |
reflectivity
and degradation concerns, DL has layer break issues |
| FUJIFILM02,
FUJIFILM03 |
Prodisc,
Ritek, CMC, others |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD+R |
outsourced
media ID |
| CMCMAGD01,
CMCMAGE01, CMCMAGF01, CMCMAGM01, CMCMAGR01, CMCMAGAE1,
CMCMAGAF1, CMCMAGAM3, CMC00RG20, CMC00RG30, CMCMAG,
CMCW02, CMCW03, CMCMAGW01 and others |
CMC
Magnetics |
Taiwan |
DVD+R,
DVD-R,
DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL |
wide
quality variance |
| OPTODISCK001,
OPTODISCR004, OPTODISCR008, OPTODISCR016,
OPTODISCW002, OPTODISCW004 |
Optodisc |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD-RW |
|
| PHILIPSCD2,
PHILIPS010, PHILIPS041, PHILIPSC08, PHILIPSC16,
PHILIPSRW |
CMC
Magnetics |
Taiwan |
DVD+R,
DVD+RW, DVD+R DL |
outsourced
media ID |
| LEADDATA01,
LEADDATA, LD01, LD, LDS03, LDA02 |
LeadData |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD+R |
|
| MBI,
MBIPG101R03, MBIPG101R04, MBIPG101W03,
MBIPG101W04, MBI01RG20,
MBI03RG40 |
Moser
Baer |
India |
DVD-R,
DVD+R, DVD+RW |
poor
firmware support, some of the discs are similar to MCC |
| GSC001,
GSC002, GSC003, GSC502 |
Gigastorage |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD+R |
|
| INFODISCA01,
INFODISCA10, INFODISCR20, INFODISCR01 |
Infodisc
Media |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD+R, DVD+RW |
|
----- 3RD CLASS
MEDIA - CRAP DISCS: -----
Quality can be very questionable, sometimes less than 50%
of a spindle is usable. Some of these discs serve no
other purpose aside from filling our landfills. These are discs best suited for small burns
(under 2GB of data). Be prepared for failed burns. Also be
prepared for various DVD-ROMs and players to not see the
disc or freeze up because the player cannot read it very
well (not the same as a bad burn). Many of these are known
for sham marketing ("archival grade" and whatnot)
and can actually cost more than 1ST or 2ND CLASS media. A
lot of these discs are not even made anymore.
| MEDIA
ID |
MANUFACTURER |
COUNTRY |
FORMAT |
NOTES |
| MUST001,
MUST003 |
Unknown |
Taiwan |
DVD-R |
|
| BEALLG00001,
BEALLG40001, BEALL000P40, BEALL000PG0 |
Samsung/BeAll |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD+R |
degradation
concerns |
| MAM4XG02,
MAM8XG01 |
MAM-America,
MAM-Europe |
USA,
Europe |
DVD-R |
remnants
of Mitsui Media |
| ONIDTECH |
Ul
Tran Technology |
Taiwan |
DVD-R |
no
longer made |
| PRINCO |
Princo |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD-RW |
|
| INFOMER20,
INFOMER30, INFOMEDIAT01 |
InfoMedia |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL |
|
| OPTODISCP01,
OPTODISCP02, OPTODISCP04, OPTODISCR04, OPTODISCR08 |
Optodisc
Media |
Taiwan |
DVD+R,
DVD-RW |
|
| DAXONAZ1,
DAXONAZ2 |
Daxon
(Acer+BenQ) |
Malaysia |
DVD+R |
inferior
to Taiwan |
| POMS3A,
3AM0 |
3A
Media |
Austria |
DVD-R |
poor
firmware support |
| NANYACLX,
NANYAA01 |
Nanya
Tech |
Taiwan |
DVD-R,
DVD+R |
|
| PLASMON1C01 |
Plasmon
Tech |
Europe |
DVD-R |
|
| AML,
AML001, AML002 |
Advanced
Media Ltd |
Taiwan |
DVD-R |
|
| LONGTEN001,
LONGTEN002 |
Jilin Qingda
(??) |
China |
DVD-R |
|
| YIJHAN001 |
Yi Jhan
Tech |
Taiwan |
DVD-R |
|
| AN31,
AN32, AN33, AN35, ANWELL |
Anwell |
China |
DVD-R |
see
note ** |
| INFOSMART01,
ISO001, ISO002 |
Infosmart |
China,
Hong Kong |
DVD-R,
DVD+R |
the
#1 supplier of fake media |
| SKCCOLTD |
SKC |
Korea |
DVD-R |
|
| VANGUARD,
VDSPMSAB01, VDSPSAB |
Interaxia
AG |
Taiwan |
DVD-R |
|
| UME001 |
Ume
Disc Tech |
Hong
Kong |
DVD-R |
|
| WFKA11 |
WealthFair
Investments |
China |
DVD-R |
|
Grading
Notes:
- Grading
criteria. The review list presented here is a delicate
balance between the adjacent concepts of usability and
potential burn quality. The ability of the disc to burn in a
wide range of burners and DVD recorders determines a coaster
count. However, because of disc/drive incompatibility issues
that exist (read the advanced concepts guide), potential
quality on a perfect disc/drive combination is also
considered. Finally, longevity and playability/reflectivity
is taken into consideration. This results in the overall
grade. This guide is admittedly harsh when it comes to the
usability factor, but it need be remembered that this was
written to assist the masses, so a disc with generally
poorer disc/drive compatibility will rate lower. Feel free
to contact us if you want specific suggestions for your
make/model of drive.
-
What do the % numbers mean?
This list is constructed from many tests on many burners
from a handful of experienced people that use a lot of
media. These numbers reflect
the number of discs in a spindle that will give good
results. For example, out of a 100 spindle of media, 1st
class discs may kick out a few bad discs (0% to 5% of the
media may have playback imperfections or be outright bad
burns). The 2nd class media may have a dozen or so bad
discs. The 3rd class discs could give you a half-spindle of
duds. And the 4th class stuff can be pure trash. These
are mean averages too,
simple statistics math, meaning best tests and worst tests
are discarded, and the middle range of tests is the basis
for these numbers. You may sometimes find the rare instance
where a CMC spindle will be perfect and a Taiyo Yuden
spindle will be completely flawed, but those times are the
exception rather than the rule (and are not part of a mean
average).
- Can media ever change class?
Sure. But it rarely happens. It is not a quick move either, these
things take much time and many tests. SONY, RITEK, CMC,
DAXON and
LEADDATA have changed grades in the past. Media cannot
change quality overnight or even in a few weeks/months.
-
Testing procedures:
Burns are subject to playability/reflectivity tests (usage
tests), as well as software verification. Test equipment is
under controlled hardware/software environments, and
performed by knowledgeable individuals, to eliminate
user variables. Burns are at least 4GB or more to test the
entire length of the media.
- Anwell Notes:
Anwell
Technologies does not make media. Anwell is a production
equipment supplier that sells blank DVD media creation
technology to media manufacturers. By default, an ANWELL
"test code" or "test ID" is on the
stamper. Anwell is often blamed for making shoddy media, but
in reality, it's the work of a lazy media manufacturer who
bought Anwell production supplies. As with all other
low-quality media of dubious origins, the likely offender is
Infosmart, or some other small Chinese or Hong Kong company.
Fake
DVD Media ID Guide
Luckily, it does not happen often, but it does happen
often enough to be a major annoyance to media buyers
everywhere. Most fake media comes from Hong Kong, as a
general rule. Fake media tends to float around Europe and
Asia more than it does the USA. Fake media is normally
sold in flea markets, on eBay and online. Major brand name
media sold in stores is probably never going to be fake.
| MEDIA
ID |
FAKER |
DATE |
NOTES |
| TYG02 |
Infosmart,
Optodisc,
MAM-America,
MAM-Europe |
2005-
2007 |
The
fakes are rumored to be for "improved 8x media
detection" but low quality media is low quality,
regardless of the media ID. These were found worldwide.
|
| MCC02RG20,
MCC003 |
Infosmart |
2005-
2007 |
Mostly
seen in Europe, not so much in USA. |
| TTG02,
TTH01, TTH02 |
MAM-America,
MAM-Europe |
2005 |
These are apparently
"legal" fakes made by Mitsui, with permission by
TDK to use the code. However the media is quite poor, not
true TDK media. |
| MXLRG01 |
Infosmart |
2002-
2003 |
One
of the first "anonymous" fake discs. |
| Pioneer
brand DVD-R |
LeadData,
Ritek |
2003 |
Pioneer's PVC quit manufacturing blanks
in 2003 (PVC media codes). LeadData and Ritek tried to sell
their PIODATA and PIO branded blanks under the
"Pioneer" brand name, but that was misleading.
|
| TDKG02 |
Princo |
2001-
2002 |
They
wanted to
"improve 2x writing" on the 1x write strategy
media, as well as insure drives would see the media (not all
firmware at the time had PRINCO as a valid media code).
Princo admitted to this faking, never tried to hide
it, though some resellers tried to pawn off the media
as legitimate TDK. |
| SONY |
Unknown |
2003 |
"SONY" is not a valid media
ID used by Sony discs. |
| RITEKG03,
RITEKG04 |
Ritek |
2004 |
This was supposedly faked
in 2004. However, it is the opinion of this author that it
was just a lame cover story by RITEK for providing subpar
quality media, as even the "legit" media performed
poorly at the time.
|
Branding
Guide
Although this will change on a regular basis, the
following brands are known to use the following media makers
for their outsourced discs. Some companies prefer dollars
over quality, so be careful. Also be especially careful of
"house brands" or no-names. Stores like Fry's and CompUSA
have horrible return policies too, so if you end up with an
unfavorable media ID, do not burn a test, just take it back
for a refund and take your business elsewhere.
| BRAND |
MANUFACTURERS KNOWN
TO BE AVAILABLE IN THIS BRAND (at one time or another) |
| Accu |
LeadData |
| Americal |
Ritek,
Princo, LeadData |
| Apple |
Mitsubishi ,
Maxell |
| Arita |
Ritek,
Ricoh(Ritek) |
| BenQ |
Daxon,
Fujifilm |
| Bulkpaq |
FAKES/Infosmart,
Infosmart, CMC, Princo |
| CompUSA |
Princo,
UME Disc, AML,
Optodisc |
| Datawrite |
MCC,
Ritek,
CMC, Princo, Prodisc, Anwell |
| DupEZ |
LeadData |
| Dynex |
Ricoh |
| Emtec |
Ricoh,
FAKES,
Interaxia AG |
| ESA |
CMC |
| Esbuy |
Ritek,
LeadData, FAKES |
| Fuji |
Prodisc,
Fujifilm, Mitsubishi(-RW), Daxon, Ritek(DL), Ricoh(DL),
CMC(DL), Taiyo
Yuden, Ricoh, Ritek |
| GQ,
Great Quality |
Sony,
Princo, Ritek, LeadData, Ume
Disc, Infodisc |
| HP |
CMC,
Ricoh, Mitsubishi, Fujifilm |
| Hyundai |
FAKES,
Infosmart |
| Imation |
Optodisc,
CMC, Mitsubishi, Ritek, Ritek, Fujifilm, Ricoh, Moser Baer |
| Intenso |
Mitsubishi |
| Iomega |
Prodisc |
| JVC |
Wealthfair
Investments |
| KHypermedia |
CMC,
MCC, TDK |
| Kodak |
MAM-America |
| LiquidVideo |
Optodisc |
| Magnavox |
CMC |
| Matrix |
Longten,
Yi Jhan Tech, Must |
| Maxell |
Maxell,
Ritek, CMC, Prodisc, Ricoh,
Taiyo Yuden |
| ME |
Gigastorage |
| Memorex |
CMC,
Ritek, Moser Baer, Mitsubishi, Prodisc, Ricoh,
Infodisc, Moser Baer |
| Meritline |
various
4th class discs |
| Mirror |
Anwell,
Onidtech, Princo |
| MMore |
Moser
Baer |
| MultiLaser |
FAKES |
| Nexxtech |
UME
Disc, Adv Media Ltd, Mitsubishi,
CMC |
| Nipponic |
Interaxia
AG |
| Octron |
Ritek |
| Office
Depot |
Ritek |
| OfficeMax |
Princo |
| Optodisc |
Optodisc |
| Panasonic |
Taiyo
Yuden |
| Philips |
CMC,
Philips, Mitsubishi |
| Phoenix |
Infosmart |
| Pioneer |
Pioneer |
| Playo |
Ume
Disc, Advanced Media Ltd |
| Powerdisc |
Optodisc |
| Princo |
Princo,
FAKES(TDK
ID) |
| Prodisc |
Prodisc,
Mitsubishi
(outsource ID) |
| Radius |
Optodisc |
| Ridata,
Ritek |
Ritek,
Ricoh |
| Rivision |
MCC,
Ritek,
Ricoh, Optodisc,
CMC, TDK, Prodisc |
| Samsung |
Optodisc,
BeAll |
| SKC |
SKC |
| Smartbuy |
Prodisc |
| Sonic,
Shop4tech |
various
4th class discs |
| Sony |
Taiyo
Yuden, Sony, Ricoh,
Mitsubishi |
| Staples |
CMC |
| Supermedia,
Linkyo |
various
4th class discs |
| TDK |
TDK,
CMC, Moser Baer, Philips, Taiyo
Yuden, Ritek, Ricoh, Maxell |
| Teon |
CMC,
Mitsubishi |
| Tesco |
UME
Disc, Advanced Media Ltd |
| Traxdata |
Ritek |
| Verbatim |
Mitsubishi,
Taiyo Yuden (Europe), CMC,
Ricoh, Ritek |
| WinData |
FAKES,
Ume Disc |
If you can add to this branding list, use the Contact Us feature
(top of any page) and
give us the info. We'll be sure to track down some of
the media for our own testing purposes, or request it from
the manufacturer.
For unusual brands and media IDs, check out the videohelp.com
DVD media list or cdfreaks.com
media forum. In most cases, unknown media IDs are of dubious quality.
Some unknown brands are overstock from other media
manufacturers. This is often the mark of very cheap media. Buyer
beware.
Page
last updated and/or content confirmed as up-to-date:
July 1st 2008
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