Bought a bunch of Verbatims, but first spindle scans are bad

[Justin42]

Hi all,

I recently replaced the burner in my set top DVD recorder with an LG H22L. Due to restrictions of the unit, it can only use DVD-R media at 4X, which is fine. I am trying to figure out the best media to use in this situation. I had some Verbatim MCC03RG20 left over and it burned spectacularly well. It had all the standard CMC-made signs (hub number, cakebox style, etc)

I saw that Best Buy was "clearing out" 25-packs of CMC-looking Verbatim for $10.99. Not a great price but I was getting such spectacular scans I picked up a few packs. The discs have Copyright 2005 on the label, so they're definitely older stock. (the original spindle was copyright 2006 on the label)

However, these discs are burning quite bad for Verbatim media. Even when burning them on my LG H10 the scans aren't looking very good.

I am attaching PIE scans (done on a Plextor 760) from the 'awesome' discs and the new spindles. The PIF scans are similar in shape (not attaching for space-sake but am reporting the totals) in that there aren't many PIF errors on the outer edge after being solid on the inner edge.

Obviously, the new spindle discs aren't HORRIBLE but much worse than Verbatim should be. I've burned some TYG01 on the H22L and they look fine, so it's not the burner.

I did buy a newer 2006 Verbatim DVD-R 50pack spindle at OfficeMax yesterday, and the results are somewhere in the middle -- they also start bad (but peak in the 40-60 range) but get better as the disc goes on.

So, my questions:

1. These are from one spindle. The rest of the spindles are unopen. Is there a chance the other spindles could be any better? I've heard of Verbatim media quality varying, but I have NEVER seen it in the DVD+R media I normally buy. (normally look for CMC only) Or was the first spindle The Best Spindle Of Media Verbatim Ever Made?

2. Does anyone know what Best Buy does about returning open media? Should I even bother to open the other packs, or just return all of the unopened packs at this point?

3. Would it be worth contacting Verbatim? I don't want to have to burn EVERY disc and scan each of them. I've never dealt with Verbatim customer service but when dealing with a few other companies they won't take them back until they're all burned.

PIE total=14985
PIF total=153 (!!)

[Justin42]

Here's one of the "new" 2005 discs from Best Buy... sorry the scales are different, I normally max out Plextools at 50 since that's all I ever need...

PIE total = 272523
PIF total=2472

[Ian]

2. Does anyone know what Best Buy does about returning open media? Should I even bother to open the other packs, or just return all of the unopened packs at this point?

I dont' think they'd understand what you were talking about in regards to writing quality. I had a hell of a time returning some discs at CompUSA once and those were of such poor quality they coastered like every other disc.

You might be better off returning the unopened packs and use the opened pack for unimportant stuff.

[evilboy]

Do you have a PIF scan picture?

[Gen-An]

Here's one of the "new" 2005 discs from Best Buy... sorry the scales are different, I normally max out Plextools at 50 since that's all I ever need...

PIE total = 272523
PIF total=2472

That burn pattern shows up on CMC-manufactured media from time to time. From what I've seen though, the PIF levels aren't elevated like the PIE is and the discs are still perfectly readable. That's nowhere near a bad burn.

[Justin42]

Well, this is interesting, and may be an answer (although a sucky one) -- people over on CDFreaks have noticed a marked drop in quality on Verbatim DVD+R media, now using a serial number starting with "PAP6" instead of "PAPA".

Well, guess what-- my awesome burning original DVD-Rs have a serial starting with "MAPA" and the new ones start with "MAP6".

Seems like there's been a dye change...
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=206028

(yes, I have pointed both threads to each other, but it seems like this is a Big Deal as suddenly Verbatim media isn't as safe a buy as it used to be)

It's not a bad burn, but it's not the kind of result I'm used to getting from Verbatim. I'll post up some PIF scans (I've done them, just haven't posted) when I remember to dig them up.

[Gen-An]

This phenomenon has shown up for years, I don't think there has been a dye change with MCC004.

MCC03RG20 example: http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=206395
old MCC003 example: http://hhg.sakura.ne.jp/cd-dvd/px712a/m ... aiwanc.htm

[evilboy]

dakhaas mentioned that the 6 in PAP6 means that it has been made in a different building, and a different line. So this is line and/or batch variation.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showpost.php?p ... stcount=76