Quality Of Verbatim DVD-R

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#1

I just bought a 50-pack spindle of Verbatim 16x DVD-R on sale at Best Buy for only $14.99 after instant rebate.

Does anyone know the actual quality of these discs?

Here’s what DVD Decrypter tells me about the info:

Disc Information:
Status: Empty
Erasable: No
Free Sectors: 2,298,496
Free Space: 4,707,319,808 bytes
Free Time: 510:48:46 (MM:SS:FF)
Supported Write Speeds: 2x, 4x

Pre-recorded Information:
Manufacturer ID: MCC 03RG20

#2

These discs should be good :slight_smile:

The best way to discover, however, is to do some burn and scan these discs. And, if you have time and your burner support this function, you can post scans :slight_smile:

#3

I hope this is an old 4x or 8x drive reporting 4x speed. A common code like MCC 03RG20 should be supported at maximum speed in all recent drives.

This is very good to excellent quality media, and a very good deal as well at 30 cents a disc.

#4

You are correct. My dvd burner is a bit old, so its max burn write is at 4x.

I am very glad to know the media is good! I should’ve bought another 50-pack but was unsure. I’ve been using Taiyo Yuden for so long, I had no idea what media was good or bad :slight_smile:

I downloaded that Nero InfoTool program to test my burns. How do I use it? I extracted the program and put the wnaspi32.dll (from Nero’s website) into the same dir.

Btw, this is the dvd burner that I own: TDK DVDRW0404N 1.0C (ATA)

#5

It’s a bit “dangeours” to burn these discs at a so slow speed.

Usually high speed media give better results around theyr certified speed. Maybe the best results can be obtained @12x, but @4x is probable that you obtain bad results.

Moreover, an old firmware can lack of the correct strategy to burn these discs.

If you plan to buy other of these discs, I suggest to do first a try with one or two burn and then decide if is worth to buy other boxes

#6

Good news: not with these. :disagree:

Verbatim’s new policy when introducing MCC 03RG20 was “one fits all” and these discs can normally be written at slow speeds without any problem. I even suspect they put more emphasis on their speed compatibility than absolute writing quality, as @16X these discs can’t compete, quality-wise, with their +R version (MCC004).

I personally tested MCC03RG20 in the following drives @4X: Pioneer 109, Nec 3540A and 4550A, Benq 1620 and 1640. Excellent results!

I even tried them in my 1X standalone recorder and the result came out fine. :slight_smile:

#7

Thanks for this information Francksoy :bow: :bow:

It’s a really good thing that owners of old burners will be able to burn recent media also if firmwares are not upgraded anymore :iagree:

#8

That’s exactly what Verbatim had in mind I think… which probably partly explains why these MCC 03RG20 are not up to MCC Verbatim’s standards as 16X discs. They had to make compromises… :slight_smile:

Still very good discs! Never had a problem with these. They also seem to be pretty stable according to accelerated aging tests (for what it’s worth).

#9

I did a firmware upgrade on my burner about 5 months ago IIRC. I don’t think there is a new firmware out yet.

Does anyone know the appx. life expectancy for these discs? I handle mine with extreme care!

#10

That’s anyones guess. Though the ones I get claim a lifetime garauntee (I have moost probably spelt that wrong) I supppose that means verb have faith in their products :slight_smile:

#11

Which means they are expected to have a good lifespan. MCC discs in general are considered as very stable.

Reminder: #1 enemy is high humidity (>70%). :wink:

#12

I burned MCC03RG20 discs and MCC004 discs all the time at 4x, in older drives. Maybe 1-2 coasters per 100 discs, which is about normal for any drive or high quality media. See www.nomorecoasters.com for media quality list.