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Verbatim DVD media deals

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 7:05 pm
by Xenu
Hey all,

So it turns out that Staples stores are having some sort of unadvertised clearance sale on Verbatim DVD media (fatwallet thread http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?start=0&catid=18&threadid=523541). It was able to snag just a few, but it's well worth it, as even the "regular" media 10-packs (for $2.50) have a good reputation.

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:31 pm
by J_Partyka
Brilliant ... I just ran out of discs too. Thanks!

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:32 am
by Matt
Thank you. Dual Layer media at $5.50 a 3-pack is the best I have seen so far!

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:05 am
by Matt
Also worth mentioning, it appears Fuji 50/Pack 700 MB Color Tower CD-R's are on sale for $8.94. I found a few Japanese-made (Taiyo Yuden) spindles mixed in with Tiawan-made.

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:28 am
by lukpac
Matt wrote:Also worth mentioning, it appears Fuji 50/Pack 700 MB Color Tower CD-R's are on sale for $8.94. I found a few Japanese-made (Taiyo Yuden) spindles mixed in with Tiawan-made.


Is there a difference?

I remember back in the day (1998 or so) Verbatim blanks (at the time dark blue) were made differently around the world. I *seem* to remember some being better than others - or at the very least some seeming nicer than others. These days, though, I've just been using whatever happens to be available (pretty much Imation and Verbatim). I can't remember the last time I had an issue with bad media.

Strange thing the other day, though. One of my burners goes up to 48x, and I've burned at that speed before. The other day, though, it was only showing up to 32x in EAC. Anyone seen anything like that before?

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 10:07 am
by Matt
At this point Luke, I don't know. I admit, I have used Japanese-made Taiyo Yuden blanks for a few years now and never had an issue. Maybe it doesn't matter as much, or at all, anymore.

I've seen the same thing with media rated higher that burns slower. The Fuji's I usually burn with will only burn at 32x on one of my (48x) drives. With another drive, it will burn at the full 48x. I figured the difference was in the drives firmware.

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:03 pm
by Rspaight
Yeah, that's usually an issue with media, firmware or both (firmware not recognizing media). A firmware update might fix it.

Ryan

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:45 pm
by Patrick M
lukpac wrote:I remember back in the day (1998 or so) Verbatim blanks (at the time dark blue) were made differently around the world.

The PS pirates used to swear by those.

Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 11:24 pm
by Xenu
Patrick M wrote:
lukpac wrote:I remember back in the day (1998 or so) Verbatim blanks (at the time dark blue) were made differently around the world.

The PS pirates used to swear by those.


That was for a specific reason, though: Playstations (at least some models) *hated* lighter colored discs. The dark blue Verbatims, consequently, were far more to the PS's liking.

Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:16 am
by Patrick M
Xenu wrote:That was for a specific reason, though: Playstations (at least some models) *hated* lighter colored discs. The dark blue Verbatims, consequently, were far more to the PS's liking.

As always, thanks for your edification. The Internet would be a sad and lonely place without people to set the record straight.

Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:40 pm
by Xenu
Patrick M wrote:As always, thanks for your edification. The Internet would be a sad and lonely place without people to set the record straight.


Aww, c'mon. I owned a PS, attempted to copy some discs on those old, Ricoh gold-colored blanks, and the thing threw up on me. After I cleaned myself off, I went and used some of those dark colored verbatims, and it THREW UP ON ME AGAIN, but played the game regardless.

Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:42 pm
by damianm
To anyone who knows- are those DL discs you guys can get for $5.50 a 3-pack at Best Buy +R or -R?

DL media is still about $10 per disc locally, and I'm not going to risk a coaster at that price (I've never used DL media with my burner yet).

(is the BB deal still up, in the first place? Thanks!)

Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:42 pm
by lukpac
Xenu wrote:Aww, c'mon. I owned a PS, attempted to copy some discs on those old, Ricoh gold-colored blanks, and the thing threw up on me. After I cleaned myself off, I went and used some of those dark colored verbatims, and it THREW UP ON ME AGAIN, but played the game regardless.


Was it due to the color, or just because the Ricoh blanks were crap?

Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:44 pm
by Matt
damianm wrote:To anyone who knows- are those DL discs you guys can get for $5.50 a 3-pack at Best Buy +R or -R?

DL media is still about $10 per disc locally, and I'm not going to risk a coaster at that price (I've never used DL media with my burner yet).

(is the BB deal still up, in the first place? Thanks!)


The Dual Layer media is +R. Newegg.com has 3 packs for $11 or so.
I have burned 6 DL discs so far, and no problems at all.

Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 3:32 pm
by Rspaight
Here's a stupid question. If you burn a >4.7GB movie to a DL disc, will you get an automatic layer change like with a factory DL disc?

In other words, can a video file span the layers?

Ryan