Best blank DVD/CD media for new T61?

Which brand of blank media works best for the ThinkPad Super Multi-Burner Ultrabay Slim Drive?

Years ago Verbatim and Imation were supposed to be best. Now, everybody markets their own brand including TDK, Memorex, Maxell, Sony, various house brands, etc.

Any opinions? Thanks

 

I've used SONY DVD-R's and CD-R's with great success. I don't burn a lot of DVDs/CDs but I tend to trust sony and they havn't let me down. No problems with these disc's that I can find.

 

its hard to tell whats good now a days, in general, if the bottom of the media is dark blue, then it usually means its premium stuff. I usually buy imation.

 

I like Fuji's and HP for CD-R and Ritek/Ridata for DVD-R

 

Taiyo Yudens are widely considered to be the best blank discs, both CDs and DVDs. They're made in Japan and of very high quality. You can get them online or if you prefer in-store, FujiFilm discs marked Made in Japan are TYs though they are getting harder to find in stores.

 

The only way to tell who the manufacturer of media is to use a utility that tells you that media code. Unfortunately, those can be faked. http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm has some tables of media codes and one person's classifications along w/a table of brands vs. manufacturer.

The easiest way to remember the above is to go to www.nomorecoasters.com.

 

I always buy fuji or imitation

 

Branding doesn't mean much.
The same Fuji branded (as could be the case with others) blank media could be sourced from completely different manufacturers.
Not long ago, when I was looking for the best (at the time?) Taiyo Yuden TY02 made blank DVD media, the Best Buy used to carry the DVD+R Fuji-branded media made in Japan (TY02's), yet the exact same Fuji packages in DVD-R were made in Taiwan (non TY02s).

Here's a utility to check your media manufacturer (media ID) and rated speeds:

http://www.dvdinfopro.com/

 

I always buy genuine Taiyo Yuden DVD+R from http://www.meritline.com/taiyo-yuden-dvd-plus-r-rw-media-blank.html or http://supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden-dvd-plus-r-media.html I usually get the 8X speed and +R.

Or, if I'm in a pinch and I don't order on-line I get Verbatim DVD+R or Fujifilm, Maxell, or Sony BUT you have to check the label (usually located by the bar code) to make sure it says "Made in Japan". NOT "made in Taiwan". These "made in japan" disks are usually Taiyo Yuden media. They just have a Fujifilm, Maxell, or Sony label stamped onto it. As pointed out by unhooked, you can use dvdinfopro to confirm that you have genuine Taiyo Yuden media.

These are proven to have less errors and better longevity than other media.

 

Reviving an old thread ....

Ok, never had a DVD burner before, but I am getting one with the T61 I am waiting for

42V8172 SBB DVD REC.8XMAXDUAL LAY UB-S

I was just looking at newegg as I am ordering a 2GB memory module from them now

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148087

and I was looking at DVD media.

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=71&name=CD-DVD-Media

There seems to be one type of DVD that stores over 8GB .. but the others seem to store 4+ GB .. can I use either of these?

Some guidance would be apprecited as one of the first things I plan on doing is to create some rescue/recovery disks.

Thanks!

 

Your DVD burner on your T61 is capable of burning to either type of DVD.

If you are looking for the best quality DVD disks, I gave you the advice you would get from the majority of people who have researched this topic.

In general, you will get much better quality "burns" by using single layer dvds (4.7GB) instead of using dual/double layer dvds (8.5GB). It is easier to burn a quality disk onto a DVD that has a single layer than it is to burn to a DVD that has two layers. When burning to a double layer disk the burner will burn to one layer then to get to the second layer it must burn deeper to get to the second layer. So stick with the DVD +R 4.8GB dvds. However, if you ever come across a project that absolutely requires a larger capacity disk then the Verbatim DVD +R DL (8.5GB) dvds are the only ones to consider. ALL the other brands are worthless.

 

thanks Stallen.

Over the last few days I have been reading a *lot* of messages on this forum and come across a few of your postings which have been very useful. I've also bookmarked your links and plan to run memtest as soon as the machine and the ram arrive.

thanks for information posted, much appreciated.

Esmail

 

Yes, Taiyo Yuden is the best. If the media is Made in Japan (as you can see from the cakebox), then it's made by Taiyo Yuden.

Most brands (even though the cakeboxes/packages look the same) can have their discs manufacturered by different countries. So check where they are made in the easiest way to tell.

Generally speaking, I would choose Japan over Taiwan over India/China.