Brick and mortar available quality media?

ftlion 2008-10-04 23:55:12 UTC #1

is it even possible to find quality dvd+R media at the local retailers? it seems that all the formerly reliable brands are all getting supplied by the same crap sources, and no matter what you buy its all the same product (just like the pet food recall issue) And none of the media code data online appears to be more recent than 2006, so I can't even use that as a guide. Is it simply impossible to find decent media that has some archival life to it at a store I can just walk into and pay cash? I hate waiting and paying for shipping, but I want to be able to retrieve the data I burn at some point in the future with some reliability.

Also, is there any way to go about making some legislation that requires manufacturer data to be determinable on the outside of the packaging? I've returned 2 packages of dvd's in two days after finding out what was really inside!

cd_pirate 2008-10-05 02:55:58 UTC #2

Verbatim? They are most available wherever I go. Apart form that, I’d also pick Sony. Simply these are two very common media in many Brick and Mortar stores. I would trust both their archival lives to be decent enough also.

Wizzu 2008-10-05 07:28:41 UTC #3

In shops, worthy brands for DVDR blanks are Verbatim, Sony and possibly HP.
Fuji no more (unless MIJ), TDK no more , Maxell no more (except BQ line), Ricoh no more, etc… and most of the rest su**s unless you’re lucky.

negritude 2008-10-05 21:46:57 UTC #4

[QUOTE=ftlion;2136701]is it even possible to find quality dvd+R media at the local retailers?

Where are you located? Availability will depend on region of the world you’re in.

In the states:

Verbatim is your main choice for good B&M available media. Almost all the other high-quality media is gone from retail.
We already have legislation that tells you the country of manufacture. That’s as good as it’s going to get. No bill would ever pass that caters to the anal retentive desire of CDFreaks to know the specific manufacturer of a media brand. It’s a waste of time and no one outside of our small circle even cares. Plus, the media industry and their lobbyists would insure it would never even remotely be considered. Like I said, it ain’t a big deal to anyone but us, so just forget about it.

evo69 2008-10-06 05:23:50 UTC #6

Ditto.

In the Asia-Pacific region:
Verbatim verbatim verbatim.
Mitsubishi-branded (MKM labeled) media.
Sony.

Others are too obscure to recommend or even try to find in B&M stores. And once I find media that suits my needs/demands - I hoard it. Samsung Pleomax that’s manufactured by Optodisc are also good and cheap, but that is if you already know what’s inside (which will be after you open the spindle) - and IF you can find it.

SeanW 2008-10-06 06:35:34 UTC #7

[QUOTE=ftlion;2136701]is it even possible to find quality dvd+R media at the local retailers? it seems that all the formerly reliable brands are all getting supplied by the same crap sources, and no matter what you buy its all the same product (just like the pet food recall issue) And none of the media code data online appears to be more recent than 2006, so I can’t even use that as a guide. Is it simply impossible to find decent media that has some archival life to it at a store I can just walk into and pay cash? I hate waiting and paying for shipping, but I want to be able to retrieve the data I burn at some point in the future with some reliability.

Also, is there any way to go about making some legislation that requires manufacturer data to be determinable on the outside of the packaging? I’ve returned 2 packages of dvd’s in two days after finding out what was really inside![/QUOTE]
In “bricks and mortar” stores, look out for any Verbatim DVDs (Single Layer made either in India or Taiwan) (Dual Layer made in Singapore)
for CDs look for any package that says “Made in Japan.”

ftlion 2008-10-12 10:11:14 UTC #8

[QUOTE=negritude;2137088]Where are you located? Availability will depend on region of the world you’re in.

In the states:

Verbatim is your main choice for good B&M available media. Almost all the other high-quality media is gone from retail.
We already have legislation that tells you the country of manufacture. That’s as good as it’s going to get. No bill would ever pass that caters to the anal retentive desire of CDFreaks to know the specific manufacturer of a media brand. It’s a waste of time and no one outside of our small circle even cares. Plus, the media industry and their lobbyists would insure it would never even remotely be considered. Like I said, it ain’t a big deal to anyone but us, so just forget about it.[/QUOTE]

Located in Los Angeles, and surprisingly few stores carrying verbatim media

but to address #2 point: This is far beyond just a cdfreaks issue if you look at the bigger picture. Blank media is just one example of this. The free market has checks and balances in place which no longer function in a monopoly marketplace. I find it very disturbing that comanies are merging or getting swallowed whole every other day, but at the very least I think there ought to be some DISCLOSURE. I am very PO’ed that I can’t trust the brand I buy to actually BE the brand I buy. Brand loyalty (used to) exist for a reason of satisfaction with that brand. This doesn’t even deal with the whole idea of paying more or less money for the exact same product in different packaging - but even your store brand shampoo or what have you will list the active ingredients of something to allow you to make a comparison. I take particular offense to technology being rebadged, as workmanship of a particular brand is often what I trust. (I chose my new products after weeks of researching what chipset was actually at the root of each item but if not for sites like this one, I wouldn’t have thought about it at all, but it saved me from buying a lite-on thinking it was a Sony, and concluding reliability of a brand when they recently switched chipset manufacturers.) Shouldn’t a name like TDK or MAXELL (both of which I used to believe in) actually have to make some kind of contribution to the products they call their own? It’s one thing to have some pieces of the whole be common to other choices, but it hardly seems fair to have the entire identical product being sold at varying costs with the implication of difference! (end of rant)

And btw - thanks to everyone for their input! Looks like I might just have to get over my immediate gratification and start looking for free shipping options!

negritude 2008-10-12 12:02:26 UTC #9

[QUOTE=ftlion;2140140]Located in Los Angeles, and surprisingly few stores carrying verbatim media[/QUOTE]

These days, Verbatim is mainly available at Best Buy and OfficeMax. Office Depot used to carry them, but stopped about two years ago. CompUSA is no longer in business, so that took them out of the picture (they were beginning to carry a select few kinds of Verbatim, just before they collapsed).

As to the other issue, the reason why we have detailed labeling for food, chemical, and other products is because of health and safety reasons, which has broad support. Detailed labeling for non-health or non-safety related issues such as “quality” is too subjective, and there could even be legal issues that prevent disclosure of certain facts regarding the manufacturer of technology or electronics products. The only thing manufacturer’s have to guarantee are that products are built to standard electrical and safety laws, and that the product “works” for it’s intended purpose. If you don’t like what a particular company is selling, then return it and stop buying that brand. Return policies, warranties, and various consumer laws are already in place to protect you against any of these issues, plus, as you have done, if you’re really interested in knowing what is what, you do some research on a site like this.

I’m not a laissez-faire capitalist by any stretch of the imagination, and I sympathize with what you are proposing, but unless we get some kind of upswell of general populace anger about the issue, it’s not going to happen.

ftlion 2008-10-21 13:43:25 UTC #10

Yeah, I see your point.

Too bad. Haven’t really seen any upswells of general populace [U]anything[/U] as of late.

I did canvas Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Radio-Shack, Sears, Circuit City, Office Depot, K-mart Big Lots and Staples only to find the same 4 brands everywhere in various permutations, BUT at STAPLES I did find 100pk spindle of 16x Sony DVD+R on sale for $22 AND - lonely and discarded as the last of the mohicans - a 3pk of VERBS DVD+R DL from Singapore for $2.50!! SCORE!

troy512 2008-10-22 00:05:36 UTC #11

[QUOTE=ftlion;2140140]Located in Los Angeles,

start looking for free shipping options![/QUOTE]

the cdfreaks bargain basement is a good place to start, or if you are like me and do not want to shop around, i purchase Taiyo Yuden Premium Line from supermediastore.
http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden-silver-thermal-8x-dvd-r-media.html