Media for Plextor

[tikki_timbo]

I'm about to get a Plextor PX-850SA. I'm mainly going to be making family videos to DVDs, so I want to get discs that will playback in most DVD players. Does anyone have a list of DVDs that they would recommend using?

 

[lordsmurf]

Yes, sure do. You are wise to seek more information on good discs, as not all discs are created equal! Some are very poor quality. For more information on the best DVD blanks to use, and help on finding good prides, see http://www.digitalfaq.com/reviews/dvd-media.htm

 

[jaguarskx]

For DVD+R I use Verbatim, Sony, and TDK (in order of preference).

For Dual Layer (DL) DVD+R I use Verbatim (2.4x speed) exclusively and I only buy the ones made in Singapore. I used to order these online (Newegg), but I got two 20 Disc cakes made in India. I never had a failed burn until I tried a Verbatim DL DVD from India. I buy these in Best Buy when they are on sale for $30 (like this week) for a cake of 20 Discs so that I can check for myself that the Discs were indeed manufactured in Singapore.

While the Verbatim DL DVD+R 2.4x can be burned at up to 8x speed, if you want a standalone DVD player to read the disk, I highly recommend just burning at the rated speed of 2.4x. I burned a couple of these DVDs at 4x and 6x speeds and while my HTPC never had a problem playing back the video, my Sony DVD player did have problems.

 

[tikki_timbo]

Thanks for the feedback! But how about the difference in DVD+R and DVD-R, I heard there isn't much difference these days. My DVD player says it can play either, but is one format better (in terms of quality, longevity, etc) than the other?

 

[jaguarskx]

I would go with DVD+R, I think (and I could be wrong) that they have better compatibility with standalone DVD players than DVD-R; at least that was the case in the past. I haven't used DVD-R in the last 4 years.