Seeking archival DVD-DL for my Plextor PX-716A

[swsnyder]

I need to buy a spindle of DVD-DL disks, for use wih a Plextor PX-716A drive. The intended use is long-term archiving, so quality is critical.

Given how pricy these disks are I am very concerned about making an expensive mistake.

Can anyone recommend or warn against particular DVD-DL disks on the 716A? Or, if not, can anyone suggest a method where I could make that determination myself? It doesn't seem practical to buy one of each brand at Best Buy for diagnostic purposes.

Thanks.

[MonsterMan]

Verbatium is the only company that actually makes good quality DL discs - +R or -R.

I haven't tried any DVD-R DLs yet, but my Plex does very well with the 2.4x DVD+R DLs - and it burns them at 6x. The 8x ones don't do as well with the Plextor.

As for checking quality; the PX-716 comes with the PlexTools suite which can do it.

However, I prefer Nero's CDSpeed (available free at www.cdspeed2000.com). However, it doesn't work with the Plex. Personally, I like BenQ's DW16xx drives for scanning. I use my DW1620 for just about every scan I make, although the 1625/1640/1650/1655 are just about as good...

[[buck]]

You're going to be using them for long-term archiving? Do you really need the extra space afforded by them? If not, I strongly recommend just using quality single layer discs. DL is a bit flakier and unproven compared to SL.

If you *must* have DL, I'd suggest Verbatim 2.4/8X DVD+R DL.

[MonsterMan]

I second what [buck] said; single layer discs will have MUCH better quality than DLs. Not to mention they burn alot faster.

Tayio Yuden 8x DVD+R/DVD-R & Verbatium DVD+R 16x discs, when burned at 8x, offer some of the best quality you can get with a wide variety of drives...

[dolphinius_rex]

If you're absolutely stuck on DVD-RDL, the ONLY choice is Verbatim. Anything else is pointless and a waste of money. If you're only stuck on capacity, then I really recommend Verbatim DVD+RDL media instead of DVD-RDL. Why? Because DVD-RDL is only ~49-50% compatible with drives/players, whereas DVD+RDL is much MUCH more compatible (check videohelp.com's database!).

Like the other posters in this thread, I would still recommend single layer media over dual/double layer... although Verbatim's DVD+RDL has shown excellent lifespan abilities in my own personal lifespan tests. For single layer media, I would recommend Maxell Plus Series DVD-Rs, or Verbatim 16x DVD+Rs (burned at 12x). At this point I'm not recommending Taiyo Yuden, as I've seen too many issues with them degrading, just sitting around for 1.5 years in my room (not to the point of being unreadable, but more then I'm comfortable with considering it's Taiyo Yuden!).

[swsnyder]

Thanks for all the replies, eveyone.

I hadn't realized that DL was less reliable in addition to being more expensive. Hmm.. Now I'm re-thinking that decision.

Burn time isn't an important factor, but reliability is.

Thanks again.

[Scour]

I agree, buy good SL-media. Much cheaper and more reliable, but use good media like MCC and Ty