DVD -R Quality

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DVD -R Quality

I have a question regarding the relative quality of DVD -Rs. In the past I never had any problems with CDR whether they were some of the higher quality in individual boxes (SONY, Imation, Kodak) or no-name brands on a spindle. I never encountered any problems even after several years of storage.

So I didn't think twice when I went for the cheapest DVD-R (I think they are cheap RiTek on 50pcs spindle). I haven't had any problems with them playing in my G4 (933MHz) and initially they played fine on my TV with a Panasonic DVD player. Now, after about ~1year they have serious hickups on the Panasonic while they are fine on the computer.

I also send some homemovies of the kids to both grandparents and one pair has a nice Toshiba player and they don't have problems but the other pair has some cheaper player and they always have problems.

My guess is this is due to poor quality of the DVDs. Right? Any good recommendation regarding good quality/price ratio DVD-Rs? Note that I'm using the stock Pioneer 104 drive which I think only can burn DVDs at 1x so I don't need fast buring blanks.

Thanks

IC

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I've found DVD+R media to be

I've found DVD+R media to be much more compatible with standalone DVD players than DVD-R media. For example, my PlayStation 2 will play +R media without a problem, while it can't read -Rs. Computer drives are generally more forgiving.

In terms of actual media quality itself, my experience is more along the lines of the computer having problems burning the disc, not with players not being able to read it. Generally, name-brand media is best -- I've been buying 50pk spindles of Imation 8x DVD+Rs at Target for about $20 a spindle. Way back when DVD burners were new, I had some trial-and-error problems with media, but that was before the big manufacturers (Sony, Imation, Memorex, etc.) started making the media in big quantities, so the only way to not pay through the nose was to buy generic/cheap discs.

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