Prodisc Verbatims...opinions wanted!

I bought a spindle of Made in China 52x Verbatim CD-Rs from my local Staples (call me a sucker, but I was curious to see what they ID'ed as! - they ID'ed as Prodiscs)...now I have a choice:

Use them for one set of backups (I keep two sets, the other set is TY unbranded), or pass them on to my mother, who needs some CD-Rs for everyday use anyway...

So what do you guys think, are they suitable for archival purposes?

Why don't you try burning a couple and see how they work before deciding whether to keep them or give them to your poor unsuspecting mother?

Some of my best CD-Rs are Verbatims Made in China, but they are not Prodisc - they are Verbatim DataLifePlus Crystal Super AZO CD-R 52x (MCC type 3).

Where's my crystal ball.. ?

Uh. No idea. I thought Prodisc was a taiwanese company, btw. I tend to look at made in China media with suspicion, but I guess there's simply not enough info around about these discs (yet) to tell. Personally, I'd pass. For archiving on CDR, nothing else than TY, MCC, premium Ritek and Maxell for me.

Good thing you told me to burn a couple, DrageMester! I burned one on each of the two burners in this PC, and the second one had a C2 spike.

Luckily, it turned out to be something on the disc (not visible, mind you)...a second scan of that disc showed no such error.

First glance, the two I burned did quite well (can't remember exact numbers without looking at the saved scans)...but I'm not sure I'd trust them for backup purposes - as Francksoy said, I think I'll stick to my TY media for that! Oh, and I was under the impression that Prodisc were Taiwanese as well.

I originally asked because, since a lot of folk on here buy Verbs, I thought someone may have come across the Prodisc variety. I wasn't being lazy, honest!

I think I'll split the pack between me and my mum, for everyday purposes (doesn't matter if everyday discs go belly up).

Thanks, guys

I've never come across made in China Verbatim CD-Rs. There are quite a few types out there, though and a new kind seems to appear every now and then. I've seen made in Malaysia Verbatim CD-Rs as well (Daxon MID).

I also had no idea Prodisc had a factory in China.

verbatim = quality? no more. i'm done with those kind. looking for a substitude right now, which isnt easy as everywhere there's made in taiwan in the eu.

so THAT's what prodisc cakeboxes look like.....

I was at officedepot yesterday to pick up some cheap Memorex cdr's (which turned out to be crapass CMC), and i saw a bunch of Maxell and Verbatim cdrs on the shelf. They have the smooth lip at the top of the cakebox. I was wondering who manufactured those. I was guessing Ritek, but i guess i'm wrong.

Meh, they're CDRs. They're probably fine. DVDRs are so much harder to get right.

Also, I'm pretty sure the smooth lip is Ritek. Maxell uses Ritek exclusively for CDR, I do believe.

Maybe not exclusively, but all the ones I've came across recently were Ritek, indeed. They're excellent, BTW. Most are good old 97m15s17f, which has been around for quite some time.. no complaints.

I'm hoping so, too! I guess I was just flabergasted to find MIC Prodisc Verbs.

I think they'll be OK for everyday use, as long as I back them up to good ol' TY.

And yeah, most (if not all) the Maxell CD-Rs in my local supermarket are Ritek-made. While I wouldn't touch Ritek +/-R now if you paid me, the CD-Rs seem to be very good (MID: 97m15s17f).

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Last edited by Arachne; 05-02-2006 at 15:22.

I just purchase 50 pack of Verbatim Printable CD-R's at MicroCenter for $9.99
Turned out to be MIT (not MIC) ProDisc 97m32s19f.

They scanned OK, but like Arachne suggests I wonder about how long they will last.
Curious, the label on The Verbatim label states an Archival life up to 100 years.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showpost.ph...6&postcount=11
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showpost.ph...65&postcount=4

Usual marketing claim.. and the "up to" part, actually meaning more or less the same as "of maximum", leaves much room for interpretation! *LOL*

It's kind of hard to predict with Prodisc. I have some Prodisc CDs (unbranded gold) which were burned in 1998 and still read fine. These defy conventional wisdom because they are nearly transparent - you can see right through them. I also have Smartbuy (Prodisc's own house brand) CD-Rs dating from 2002 onwards which also read fine. On the other hand, I have some other unbranded Prodisc discs from around 2001 or 2002 which are near totally unreadable now.

These are all MIT Prodisc, I believe.

Last time I bought a 10pcs box of Maxell CD-R (around July last year), they were Prodisc(Made in Taiwan). The box is also a little different.

Anyone have comparisons between prodisc and newer cmc cd's?

office stores don't carry quality media anymore

I can oblige with scans of the aforementioned Prodisc Verbs if required, but unfortunately, I don't have any newer CMC CD-Rs to test - the only CMCs I've received recently have been DVD+Rs.