Media deals this week - Page 17

I just found something out about PlayO blank DVD's over at "CDFreaks", here is the link:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=156935

It seems that the DVD-R's have a Media ID of: UME01
Where the DVD+R's have a Media ID of: AML002

The bad news is that according to this site:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

They are BOTH pretty poor in quality. They have a 1st to 4th class rating at the link above, and in the fourth class (worst class) they have 14 different sections rating all the brands that are in fourth class (the further down you go the worse the quality).

The PlayO DVD+R (ID: AML002) rank at #6 of 14
The PlayO DVD-R (ID: UME01) rank at #13 of 14 (meaning only one Media ID is worse of all ID's).

Now in the interest of fairness that was not the information about the PlayO DVD+R DL discs that I found at Meritline.com for $49.99 per 50-pk.

But I don't imagine the +R DL's could possibly be much better.

Weird. I've done about 120 burns with PlayBoys so far and not a single coaster yet.

I don't care what the Id says on these, I'd still take them over MemBlurex any day.

I will say that I use the P-Os for unimportant and watch-once DVDs only so far. They're like disposable DVDs to me at 4 cents each.

Junky RITEK D01, though. You've got a MicroCenter up there in the Bay Area, they tend to have Verbatim +R/DL (the much-better quality MKM001) at 10 for $20, and Best Buys (everywhere) nearly "always" have the 20 for $40.

Hey spyder:

That one link I give (where you can go and see what Media ID is ranked in what class) even says something to the effect that you can have situations where media that is supposedly poor will work out ok for you. I remember when CMC media was considered the worst (now it's actually improving) and they said something like: "You might get a pack of CMC discs that work just fine".

So I guess, based on your success with PlayO (PlayBoy...lol) you have probably gotten your hands on either a good batch, or been in the higher end of the 0 - 50% success rate.

Another thing too is based on your useage of them I might try them out myself (just because I can get a 50-pk for $49.99). And like I said before I don't know the Media ID of the +R DL discs, just the +R and -R single layered.

What I have heard though about Memorex is nothing but bad no matter who talks about it. This strikes me as odd though because of their cassette tape quality, remember their slogan: "Is it live, or is it Memorex?". Why isn't that same quality in their CD/DVD media?

I do all my DVD-R burning on my PC burners and burn at no greater than 4X regardless of media speed. Back in the days when I was using different low-end brands like Memorex and Ritek, I recall almost never seeing a disk that did not burn and verify successfully. The problems with low-end media always arose with playback in different DVD-players and got progressively worse as the recording aged. Many of them are not playable any more after 1.5 yr.

So that is the caution I would offer. Low-end media (which is often not really "cheap" in price compared to tier 1 media) is exactly as Spyder has characterized it -- throw-away disks.

I have next weeks Best Buy ad:

Sony 50 PK DVD+/-R for 14.99. I saw some MIJ +Rs there the other day, probably not TY. And Walmart has -R MIJ TYs with the octagonal spacer, may be good for a price match.

My old Toshiba DVD player. It won't play any DVDR I have tried, burned by me and others. No +Rs had booktype however. Yesterday I got Memorex +Rs that were burned by someone and it worked, and they are not booktyped either. The first ones to work....strange.

All the MIJ +R Sonys (in spindles of 50) I've gotten from BB have been TY.

FutureShop (Canada) has Fujifilm DVD+/-R media on sale this week. 100-pack for $29.99, 16x with Lifetime warranty. Does anyone have any opinions - good / bad on these? Thanks...

I happened to have a CD-R by FujiFilm lying around and I checked the Media ID and it says: "Taiyo Yuden Company Limited".

So if the same holds true with FujiFilm DVD's, I would tend to think they would be just fine.

I think with name brands like Sony, TDK, Maxell (not the dreaded Memorex) etc..., FujiFilm are up there with the good ones.

Fuji DVDs are all over the place. I have some that are T-Y, and some that are Prodisc F01

Prodisc F01 is another good Media ID. I have had Prodisc brand DVD's that were MCC, and others that were Prodisc F01.

So I guess if any given Fuji is either TYG01 (or any other Taiyo Yuden ID) or Prodisc***, it's a safe bet they are ok.

What spacer did the +Rs have on the top? The -Rs has the white octagonal one. Some think the spacer dictates who made the DVDs.

About Fujis, mine are Riteks. Fuji TYs haven't been around for a long time. You should probably avoid them.

Well I don't even know why I am posting this...out of disbelief maybe.

But Meritline.com has a deal on Ten Thousand ProDisc brand DVD-R's.

"10,000 Pack ProDisc 8X DVD-R Blank Media Silver Clear Coat Top 4.7GB DVDR Discs, FREE STANDARD SHIPPING"

The price is $2,799.99, but hey...at least there is Free S&H!!

Here is the link:
http://www.meritline.com/prodisc-8x-...ia-shiny2.html

On a lighter note...and on that same link...there is a 100-pk with a $7.00 instant savings for $19.99. The Media ID for that, and the Grand-Daddy 10-G pack, is: Prodisc F01.

There is no one on Earth that would agree more. Welcome to the LameOrex Hater's Club. Assimilation is happening already. Resistance is futile!

I got a MIJ +R today for 14.99 and they have a Sony ID.

Ok, I can't believe I have to ask this, but I have seen it about three times now and I simply don't know what it means.

What does M I J stand for?

Made In Japan

Nah, the Tri-Color 30pks ($10 at Frys), if you get MIJ, are T-Y. I've just bought a couple of sets this year (but they are harder to find).

Sad. Just plain sad.

Yet, you can walk into any store anywhere and find MemOrSux.

Spyder, YOUR resistance is futile!

They are EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME, because Memorex is one of the "4400" and has been sent back to earth to procreate and eventually become the sole focus of our every waking thought...you are the only first to be Memorexed, Kelson is next!

LOL! That's how I feel sometimes. Or that the CrapOrEx are built on the same design as the T-3000 Terminator. No matter how many I destroyed, they would just melt down and reform into new discs.

I went to Staples today and they had TDK multi-colored cases that held 10 discs each for $15. I'd never seen those before. You get 20 cases, so they hold a total of 200 discs (albeit 10 per case).

You'll never guess what brand of discs were "on sale".

I just picked up some Sony MIJ at Staples. The media codes for the 1-16x -R's is [DVD-R:TYG03] and for the 1-8x +R's is [DVD+R:YUDEN000-T02-000]

You can now use up to 3 of the $3 ink coupons at a time, so with the price match from Best Buy (14.99) + the staples additional 10% match (2.50) the cost is $12.50/50. If you then use 3 coupons or bring in 3 ink cartridges, the cost is $3.50/50

Doesn't 10% of $14.99 work out to $1.50, not $2.50? Or did I miss something? Even $4.50 is great.

If anyone is interested in trying out some +R DL discs, you can get a 20-pk at Meritline.com for $23.99 with FREE S&H.

"20 Pack PlayO DL DVD+R 2.4X 8.5GB Double Layer (PDLPR2410C) in Cake Box, Free Standard Shipping".

http://www.meritline.com/playo-dl-dv...ank-media.html

I just discovered something else at Meritline.com. They have a 100-pk of "Meritline" brand (something that usually triggers a "stay away" sign [generic/store brands]) DVD's on sale for $39.99, now I know the price can be beat, but here is the odd part...They list the Media ID as: MCC 02RG20.

That ID usually goes hand-in-hand with top brands like Verbatim as it is one of the best Media ID's out there.

Here is the info:

100 Pack Meritline 8X DVD-R Media Silver Shiny Blank DVDR Disc, $0.40 Each, FREE STANDARD SHIPPING

Here is the link:

http://www.meritline.com/8x-dvd-r-me...meritline.html

PS: In referring to SAH's post (about the deal he found at Staples), TYG03, and YUDEN are both very good Media ID's as well.

Sorry, I forgot to explain that the extra 10% discount is on the difference between their normal price and the other ad. So in this case it was an additional $2.50 (the normal Staples price for these is R$40 and the BB sale price was $15). The Staples price match policy is one of the best and my local Staples is always very good about matching anything.

AMLs based CDrs (Matrix) are the best ones I've got!!

And I placed many brands on my dashboard in the sun until failure.

AML - Advanced Media Limited - out of Taiwan lasted the longest. they also burn a full 4.4 gigs without failure.

you can give links to so called expert DVD sites all day long, but I suspect they are not all that helpful in the real world (just my feeling on the matter - esp. DVD media).

Office Depot 16x, should still be RitekF1
100 for $20

Take care,
Mike

Another week, another incredibly weak Staples ad. No smokin' hot deals on media, but Office Depot had some really cheap monitors (with the obligitory rebates, of course.)

OfficeMax has 10 pack Verbatim DL's for 19.99