Media Compatibility and Vendors

[ruler]

Hey guys.. I'm ordering a Pioneer 106D, and I need to know what would be some really reliable 4x media to get for it (I'm getting a 100 pack).

Also, could someone please point me to some cheap/trustworthy online vendors of dvd media? I've read some reviews on www.resellerratings.com about some of these companies that got me a bit worried.

Any help will be greatly appreciated, cause I'm gonna order this by the end of the week

[burninfool]

Where do you live?

I wish people would at least say what country they live in by their name.

[ruler]

That's the whole problem: I live in Brazil.

The choice for dvd-+r media in here is pretty limited, so that's why I have to choose very carefully what to get, since I'll just order a 100-pack.

I'll use it mostly for burning data, but I'll also want to burn a movie or two.

[TheWizard]

Oi, como vai?

I hate to dampen your spiritis, but if you plan on shipping 100 DVD-/+R's to Brazil then you will pay an arm and a leg just for shipping and taxes/duties alone. It all depends on which vendor you buy from, and in turn it depends on which shipping carrier the vendor uses. I know that UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. will most likely charge you additional taxes/duties. The only way you can avoid such fees would be to find a vendor that ships internationally via the US Postal Service. Unfortunately, not many vendors use USPS for international shipments.

[ruler]

Olá

I know about those issues. However, I have some friends who live in the US and will be visiting me in a couple weeks, and they'll bring me the media free of charge.

I just need some indications on the best 4x media to use with the 106d (reliable stuff for important back-ups), and some good online store in america for ordering them from... I'll probably be ordering the drive from Newegg, but they don't seem to be very cheap when it comes to media.

[TheWizard]

The good news is that the 106D can burn just about any media without trouble, as opposed to other burners that choke on some media. Take a look at this thread for evidence of this and for mentions of Princo and Prodisc media burning well in the 106D:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=11673

I'm afraid I don't know which branded spindles package which DVD discs (e.g. Do Memorex spindles contain Prodisc DVD-/+R's?), but at least now you have a good idea that pretty much any 4X media will burn fine in the 106D.

I always thought Ritek and Taiyo Yuden made good DVD-/+R's, but they can be rather expensive, especially Taiyo Yuden. Princo, on the other hand, are significantly less and supposedly will work well in the 106D. All Media Outlet is selling 100 Princo DVD-R's for $84, which is a very good price. I've ordered from All Media Outlet before and I was pleased with their service. Coincidentally, All Media Outlet has some of the best prices around on a variety of DVD-/+R discs, not just Princo.

http://www.allmediaoutlet.com/listProdu ... goryNbr=59

[ruler]

Thanks a lot for the info..

I've been doing quite a lot of reading myself, and media compatibility is just the feature that attracted me to the 106D (that and the ability to hack its firmware to rip movies at 12x).

However, I kind of want to avoid Princo discs for my back-ups, since I have to get something pretty "definitive" (at least for a few months, because bringing media from the US can be troublesome to me). I'm considering Ritek G04's for those back-ups..

I think I could get 50 Ritek's and 50 Princo's, if the latter really works perfectly at 4x with the 106D (and still play fine in standalone players, cause I'd use the Princo's for movies).

It's pretty hard to know these things without testing yourself, but that's just what I gotta accomplish right now, since I gotta order the media remotely

[TheWizard]

Yup, it's very hard to know how discs will work with you drive until you actually get the discs. Then, if the discs don't work well, it's sometimes tough to return them...depending on the vendor you purchase them from. As you have read, you shouldn't have too many problems with the 106D and good blank discs, even with Princos.

Some other vendors to check out are Meritline and Shop4Tech; although, All Media Outlet still has lower prices than Meritline or Shop4Tech.

http://www.meritline.com/dvdr4x.html
http://www.shop4tech.com/z/DVD_R_4X_4.7GB/1_88_248
http://www.shop4tech.com/z/DVD+R_4X_4.7GB/1_88_285

[dolphinius_rex]

Do *NOT* buy the Leda 4x DVD-Rs from Shop4Tech, they SUCK. The first half of the disc will play, but the second half has a lot of errors, that a lot of DVD-ROM's will not play through.... oddly enough, 2 out of 2 stand alone DVD-Players will play them though

[ruler]

dolphinius_rex: thanks a lot for the info, I'll avoid that one.. do you have a 106d yourself, and some personal experience with more 4x - or +r media brands?

TheWizard: tnx once again for the help, Im doing some research on those sites right now

[TheWizard]

In case your American friends want to buy DVD's in a brick & mortar store such as Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Staples, OfficeMax, Office Depot, or the like then look at this thread for an idea of which brands package which DVD-/+R's. For example, Memorex +R's seem to be Ricoh and Memorex -R's seem to be CMC. There are usually weekly sales at the above stores, both with an without mail-in rebates. So, it's possible for your friends to get a better deal on branded media as opposed to silver-topped, generic media at All Media Outlet, Meritline, and Shop4Tech.