DVD-R brand suggestions?

[Desmond]

Hello Everyone,

I'm looking for DVD-R's that play well in a variety of set-top boxes -- does anyone have any suggestions?

I've had some luck with:
- Taiyo Yuden
- Ridata

... however I inevitably run into set top boxes that either don't recognize the disks, or that play them poorly (eg skips -- either just in the audio, or video as well). So any suggestions would be appreciated!

Also -- on a related note -- anyone have any suggestions for DVD encoding? I typically put the source movie together (usually pictures sync'd with music), and end up with either compressed or uncompressed AVI that I then encode.

Thanks a bunch!
Desmond.

[Lorne]

It can be tough to get inexpensive TY's these days that aren't fake rebrands.

Taiyo Yuden hasn't been as good with their DVD-R media as they were with their CD-R stuff, in my experience.

I would recommend Verbatim for DVD-R and DVD+R.

If you're getting skips/sync issues, it could be the bit rate -- some players have trouble with high bitrate streams.

[longedge]

Have you seen this guide which is fairly informative.

I've been thinking about buying a transcoding/cut editing tool and am trying out TMPGEnc 4.0 Express which so far has resolved problems for me that previously had me beat i.e. getting rid of interlacing artifacts when re-encoding vob's. I'll probably buy it in due course as it fits my budget. I'm sure there's much better available.

I'm sure Eric'll have some input here

[rhosk]

I would recommend Verbatim for DVD-R and DVD+R.

Ditto.

Lengthy discussion here - http://muvipix.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=273

[Desmond]

Thanks guys -- I'll give Verbatim disks a try. Keep the suggestions coming!

[RizlaUK]

one of those everything-a-pound shops had these "Memorex" DVD-R's 10 in a pack for a pound, needless to say, after testing a few disks i went back and cleared them out, never had a problem with them

i have some Signalex, Ridata and Ritek disks that sometimes fail to burn, the Memorex never fails and even play in my 4yo's dvd player thats fit for a skip so even if i have to pay over the odd for them i will go hunting Memorex disks, thay have served me well

[eric_darling]

Late to the thread - been deep in projects down here...

TY media is really the best on both CD and DVD fronts. It's the most consistent I've found, and suffers the least from "disc stick," where multiple discs stick to one another in the original packaging. This is a big problem with some printable media, and really gums up a robot/bulk printer.

I've used them all... Verbatim, Ridata, ProDisc, Maxell... None of them are as consistent. FWIW, we go through about 2,000 discs a month around here.

Disc playback problems are typically related to encoding issues. Keep your total muxed rate (that's the total data rate of both your video AND your audio together) under 9 Mbps for the best global performance. I never exceed 8.5 personally, since I don't think it's necessary with today's encoders and software. Further, ensure that your audio is not in an uncompressed (PCM) format! Convert to AC3 for the best performance, compression and compatibility. I find that 224 Kbps is all you'll need for 2.1 audio.

[Desmond]

Great -- thanks eric!

One question about encoding / burning -- is there any value to filling up the DVD with blank data (and how woudl i do that -- blank video?)?

I have a set-top box which doesn't play many DVD's at all ... but I did find that it would play a full burnt DVD, but would not play one with an 18 minute video -- same disk brand and encoding -- wondering if packing the disk full would fix that. AND ... packing the disk full would get rid of that 'burn ring' that's visible on the bottom where data meets blank space ... a nice side benefit i suppose.

Desmond.

[eric_darling]

Hmmm.... I've actually never heard of a player that works like that. What brand is it? Some manufacturers just shouldn't be making DVD players....

I'm not sure why a disc of identical make wouldn't play when only part of the media is used. I would think the opposite would be more likely. That's a "go figure" one for me.

I agree about the burn ring - looks cheap to me. But, in the big picture, it's not a major beef point, I guess. When something HAS to be perfect, there's always replication!

[Desmond]

Heh -- ya, but if I don't need 500 units ... glass masters are expensive!!

Brand is Sanyo -- not even no-name! It's a great player for pressed discs ... but it hates burnt ones.

Though on the plus side ... in my experience if a disc works in that player, it works in everything.

I'll pay close attention to your encoding suggestions -- thanks a bunch for those!

Desmond.

[longedge]

I do almost anything to avoid having to duplicate DVD's and try to transcode and burn to CD whenever I can. A 500 CD run causes me no probs at all whereas a 5 DVD session means the loss of even more valuable hair.

[Desmond]

TY media is really the best on both CD and DVD fronts. It's the most consistent I've found, and suffers the least from "disc stick," where multiple discs stick to one another in the original packaging. This is a big problem with some printable media, and really gums up a robot/bulk printer.

My DVD's just arrived today -- I went with Eric's suggestion and bought TY's. Ran one through DVD Identifier, came back as TYG03 -- made in Japan according to this guide.

So here's hoping these puppies work!

Thanks again for the suggestions.
Desmond.