Best (and cheap) DVD-R Media?

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I just got a Pioneer DVR-A05 (supposedly it was an A05 and all the stickers on the drive say "Pioneer A05", but the firmware tells me it's a 105, but that's another story). I bought a 5-pack of DVD-Rs from CompUSA (house brand) to try it out. I've burned the same image twice (this is in a debian linux box, using mkisofs/cdrecord-prodvd) and both my PC (linux box) and my parents' PC (HP 800MHz Windows ME) read the 2 Discs that I have burned (1 disc is iso9660/joliet and the other is udf) and but my PowerBook won't read the discs at all. It just spits them back out. I'm going to have to say that this is due to the discs themselves not being compatible with my powerbook (667MHz G4, DVI) DVD-ROM. (Even though my IRC friend claims that he burns CompUSA brand all the time on his Pioneer A03 aka SuperDrive in his PowerMAC) So here is my question :



What is the most compatible DVD-R brand without paying through the roof per DVD? I know there are lots of DVD-Rs that are sub $1 / Disc. I'm only looking for 1x media here since it's cheaper, not 4x stuff.



(side note) : The CompUSA DVD-Rs are purple dye on the bottom. Anyone think/know that those types are incompatible with slot load drives/PowerBook slot load drives?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    709709 Posts: 2,016member
    I've had pretty good luck with the 1X White-Top DVD-Rs from Americal.com. For demos, client proofs and general 'send-out' stuff they're great. For data backup I use Apple's 2X DVD-Rs.



    Americal has pretty decent prices as well. A 50 Pak spindle is $52.50, and 100 Pak is only $82.00.



    [edit:] I should also say that lately I've been buying the '2X Ultra DVD-R 2.0 Gen 4.7GB' discs. They burn faster (2X), and are listed as 'more compatible' with the Pioneer drives. A little more expensive, but still about half what an Apple disc costs.
  • Reply 2 of 11
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    I'm looking for ones that work with (are able to be read by) the slot-load on my PowerBook. I can burn and read the CompUSA discs fine ... except on the DVDROM/CD-RW combo drive. :-\\
  • Reply 3 of 11
    wagneritewagnerite Posts: 174member
    i'll second americal, good stuff.



    i got 4x white top, 100 pack for $100, arrived quickly, pretty nice service. i will order from them again.
  • Reply 4 of 11
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    Apple



    works with everything, may be a bit more but still cheaper than nearly any 5 pack I have seen in retail
  • Reply 5 of 11
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    For cheap DVD's and related accessories look here



    (http://www.yesbuy.net/)



    I can't verify they work in everything though, haven't tried many.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    "- For use only in DVD-R General drives, such as the Apple SuperDrive





    Note: These discs are not compatible with DVD-R Authoring drives (i.e. Pioneer 201). "



    What does this mean from Apple's site? What difference does a 'DVD-R Authoring Drive' have from a "DVD-R General drive".
  • Reply 7 of 11
    longhornlonghorn Posts: 147member
    I use Verbatim discs for all CD-R work, and have used Verbatim DVD-R discs exclusively so far with excellent results.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    I have recently found that it might be my combo drive model that is picky ... anyone have a Mitshita CW-8121 combo drive in their PowerBook and have success reading DVD-Rs? If so, then I want to know which brand of DVD-R you used. =) Thanks.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pyr3

    "- For use only in DVD-R General drives, such as the Apple SuperDrive





    Note: These discs are not compatible with DVD-R Authoring drives (i.e. Pioneer 201). "



    What does this mean from Apple's site? What difference does a 'DVD-R Authoring Drive' have from a "DVD-R General drive".




    They are two completely different formats that just happen to have very similar names. DVD-R Authoring DVD's are slightly smaller (3.7 gig), but can go directly to duplication houses. The drives are quite a bit more expensive. This is an older standard used for creating profesional DVDs.



    DVD-R General is a newer format, and what Apple and every other consumer DVD-R uses. It is larger, but cannot go directly to duplication houses.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pyr3

    I just got a Pioneer DVR-A05 (supposedly it was an A05 and all the stickers on the drive say "Pioneer A05", but the firmware tells me it's a 105, but that's another story). I bought a 5-pack of DVD-Rs from CompUSA (house brand) to try it out. I've burned the same image twice (this is in a debian linux box, using mkisofs/cdrecord-prodvd) and both my PC (linux box) and my parents' PC (HP 800MHz Windows ME) read the 2 Discs that I have burned (1 disc is iso9660/joliet and the other is udf) and but my PowerBook won't read the discs at all. It just spits them back out. I'm going to have to say that this is due to the discs themselves not being compatible with my powerbook (667MHz G4, DVI) DVD-ROM. (Even though my IRC friend claims that he burns CompUSA brand all the time on his Pioneer A03 aka SuperDrive in his PowerMAC) So here is my question :



    What is the most compatible DVD-R brand without paying through the roof per DVD? I know there are lots of DVD-Rs that are sub $1 / Disc. I'm only looking for 1x media here since it's cheaper, not 4x stuff.



    (side note) : The CompUSA DVD-Rs are purple dye on the bottom. Anyone think/know that those types are incompatible with slot load drives/PowerBook slot load drives?




    Since you live near a CompUSA, I assume you live near an OfficeMax as well.



    I purchase kHyermedia DVD-R (2X) discs everytime they are on sale. There cost is usually 25 for $25. They work great.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Toast 5.2.1 gives me HARDWARE SENSE ERROR 0x003 on every DVD I burn. The credits crash my set top and Apple DVD Player. Is this perhaps because I bought brand x media? Does anyone else see this on 12" PBG4s SuperDrives?
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