Maxell +R and -R (MIJ) 50-pack spindles for $12.99 at Sears

Living Room Bargain Basement
#1

I thought this might be of interest to a few of you as I stumbled onto some older 8x DVD-R Maxell media at a local Sears store that is on sale for $13 per 50-pack.

The side of the package states “Fabriqué au Japon” and the MID is MXL RG03 Hitachi Maxell LTD. The DVD+R was Made in Taiwan. I bought a 50-pack of the -R based on some rave reviews in a couple of threads while searching these forums.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=197673&highlight=mxl+rg03

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=134028&highlight=mxl+rg03

Odd thing about these media is that out of three different burners only one burner (Lite-On 160P6S) would burn them at 8x and 12x. The other two burners (BenQ 1650 w/BCIC & NEC 3550A w/Dee’s firmware) only wanted to burn them at 2.4x. If anyone has any suggestions as to what’s up with this please let me know (TIA).

Attached are two scans which were burned at 8x and 6x respectively.

EDIT: The sale began Sunday Jan 7th so it will probably end Saturday evening.

#2

WOW ! This is pretty bloody disappointing for Maxell made in Japan media, even if the scan is well within spec, look at the PIF totals this is Maxell’s signature :smiley: I have VALUE LINE TY that has PIF totals of 300-400 for a full disc, PIF max 2, but 1 most of the time and PI maximums of 10 and totals less 10,000 :smiley: In fact my Maxell RITEKR03 burn a lot better. I wouldn’t worry much about the PIF totals, but in principle, I would expect Maxell to have better scans - ALSO I would steer clear from maxell media - I have 3 batches of both +R and -R made in Japan Maxells, and after a year the PIF totals have TRIPLED and the maximums gone from max 2 to max 6 evenly spread, and those discs were kept under strict conditions - both temperature and humidity is computer controlled and monitored - All of my RITEKR03 and Taiyo Yudens are fine.

#3

I didn’t find any MIJ Maxell media at my local Sears, only MIT.
A couple months ago I did find MIJ at Jewel/Osco and bought a 25 pack for $20. I was very disappointed with the results (similar to yours) using BenQ 1640/50/55/25, PIONEER 108 and NEC 3540.
I’ll try to find some scans.
Like you, I expected better results because I had read very good comments here but, oh well, live and learn.
My DVD players don’t have any problems playing those Maxells, but I expected better PIF and PIE figures.

#4

Maxell’s consumer MIJ media is like that, high PIF totals. Not really that big of a deal.

#5

Maxell’s always seemed to have higher PIF counts (the ones I have burned in the past) but keep in mind they are very reliable discs, I have many that of those ± that are still going strong for years and still play without a hitch in all my DVD standalone players.

#6

Yo-

Stick with Taiyo Yuden 8x +R T02’s -eh!

#7

Not a big deal in terms of readability, but WHY the high PIF counts compared to other cheap media that has 1/10 of the total ? And I’ve seen similar readings with so-called Maxell PLUS series. My old good batch of TYs full disc had total PIF counts < 100, and most of the time in the 2 digit figures :smiley:

#8

Unless the Maxell is made in Japan you should stay away from it.

#9

I still get excellent scans with my Staples CMC DVD +R 8x media although not nearly the scans I consistently get with Sony 8x TY +r’s (and this is on an old Lite-On 1633s@1653s drive).

The only 16x media I see great scans with are Verbatim MCC004 +r.
Both the Verbatim and the Staples disks were MIT.

#10

:disagree:

My TYG03 and OPTODISCR16 scans are consistently excellent :slight_smile:

#11

In the Uk we have experienced at times a very large batch of MIJ Maxells with a ritek MID.

#12

[QUOTE=>:|sh4d0w|:<]In the Uk we have experienced at times a very large batch of MIJ Maxells with a ritek MID.[/QUOTE]

:eek:

I think there had a sticker with MIJ :confused:

#13

I was in a Sears store the other day and the Maxell sale for $13 a 50-pack is still going on if anyone is interested. I saw plenty of 8x -R MIJ spindles which should be MXL RG03 made by Maxell/Hitachi. Of course YMMV. This time I was at the Greenwood store on the south side of Indianapolis. I was there to clean them out of Sony 8x +R MIJ TY02 via the BB price match. :slight_smile:

Frankly, I’m not impressed with the scans of the MXL RG03 media. The scans in the OP were burned and scanned with a LO160P6S. I burned a few in a BQ1650 but they were worse. Had to use overspeed as the BQ only recognized them as 2.4x media. Firmware support for this media must be iffy.

I’m sure it’s decent media, especially with the right burner, but for $13 a 50-pack better can be had. At least this is true in the States. I went back and reread the links in the first post and some of the posters discussing this media were from Australia or England.

#14

@Doctor Morbius
These are scans of the MIJ Maxell X8 I found at Osco/Jewel.
I think they are similar to yours.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showpost.php?p=1573186&postcount=11

#15

These particular discs had MIJ printed on the Actual Paper roll on the inside of the cakebox, i remember many UK users reporting this, some contacted MAxell Uk, bu im not sure of the outcome. Certainly not a pleasant surprise opening MIJ’s Maxells to find Ritek :eek:

I think many of the Maxell Spindles MIJ are 16x RICOHJPN now in the UK.

#16

RICOHJPN media is not made in Japan, but made in Taiwan by Ritek.

#17

^ The 50 Spinle maxells sold at Costco say MIJ on the packet, with RICOHJPN inside.

#18

[QUOTE=>:|sh4d0w|:<]^ The 50 Spinle maxells sold at Costco say MIJ on the packet, with RICOHJPN inside.[/QUOTE]There ought to be a law against that! :wink: That’s definitely grounds for returning them.

#19

If to buy pack of 50 DVD +/-R for $12.99 I rather to buy Verbatim, Fuji, Sony than Maxell.

#20

Agree :iagree:

But Sony could be Sony’s own MID and Fuji would be RITEK :Z