Best DVD Media

As every classic movie fan knows there are many wonderful oldies broadcast on TCM, Fox Movie Channel and other networks and many of us like to record these films so we can watch them later. But what's the best media to use that ensures you will get a good quality, long-lasting recording? Below are some tips LTC has compiled to help you choose a better quality of media.

These are the most important things to know about blank DVD (or CD) media:

• The best media can have a 95%-100% success rate. We've found #1 Taiyo Yuden (JVC) to be the best so far.
• The worst media we've tested can have a 0%-50% success rate.
• The best media will ensure your copies will last for years, and have the most successful burns.
• The brand printed on the disc package tends not to make much difference

What is the best quality DVD media?

Blank CD and DVD media is quite different. Most people assume it's all just about the same, and purchase it based on price. Do NOT do this! We've learned that not all blank media is good. In fact, a large portion of it is bad. There are a lot of companies that import cheap blanks from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other locations that have poor production standards. These days, blank media is fairly low cost. It's not worth the few cents you may save on cheaper discs since you never know what your getting if you switch brands a lot. Most people don't realize how much difference there is in blank CD or DVD media

Brand does not necessarily indicate who actually produced the discs. However, you can look for a media ID to determine the origin. As it turns out, the media brand means very little. Interestingly, there are few factories that actually make blank CDs and DVDs. To find the origin of a sample blank CD or DVD, you can check the Media ID. This show the disc maker.

Media ID and Quality

This chart shows several blank media and their associated media ID. #1 Taiyo Yuden JVC is the best (they invented CD disc technology). We've compiled this list from several sources:

Highest quality media: Very reliable:
Media ID	Maker
TAIYOYUDEN, TYG01, TYG02, YUDEN	Taiyo Yuden (JVC)
MCC	Mitsubishi
Medium quality - Its Acceptable:
sonyD05	Sony
FujiFilm	Fuji
RICOHJPN	Ricoh
Ritek	Ritek
PRODISC	Prodisc Media
Questionable to low quality
MBI	MBI
CMC	Pioneer
CMCMAG	Pioneer

Where do I buy the best quality blank cd and dvd media?

We trust these sites and have personal experience buying and using media from all of these sites:

• Rated #1. Supermediastore.com. 
• Tied #2-4. tapeonline.com.
• Tied #2-4. meritline.com.
• Tied #2-4. cdrom2go.com.
• Others: You're safe purchasing from the big box stores whether online or at the physical store. Try Best Buy, Target, WalMart.

Curious about what makes blank media different?

Improvements in Technology: Manufacturing methods are always improving. However, the basic process is as follows;

1. Plastic is put down on a mold
2. A metal reflective foil is placed on that
3. Dies and ink are then added. Usually, you'll see DVDs are purple, and CDs are green, and Blu-ray discs are bluish
4. Finally, the disc is spun at high RPMs to spread out the dye.

What can go wrong:

• Disc Balance: when a circular object spins, it's moving faster on the outside compared to the inside near the center. The disc is most unsteady on the outside, so burns with large data amounts tend to fail more often because the disc becomes worse the further out you get from center.
• Burning too fast: Try burning at 1/2 the speed you blank media is rated for. It may take a little longer, but you can rest assured you'll have the least burn errors.
• Player compatibility: We recommend purchasing CD-R or DVD-R blank media.
• User Error: Yes, even you can help improve the burn process. It's best to burn on a computer that's not running a lot of other programs. store your burned DVDs CDs in a dust free place out of the sun 

Information courtesy of http://www.best-dvd-burning-software-reviews.com