I have a re-badged LG DVD Player (Rebadged by NEOTEK) and have been happily backing up my DVD films to verbatim DVD-R media for a while now, however recently I have noticed that my DVD player has had problems loading some disks, now the problems seem to coincide with the last batch of DVD-R's I bought which sport the badge for some new technology layer called SUPER AZO..

has anybody else had problems with these new verbatim disks and if so any reccomendations for other brands that may get me around this problem.

Slug

ps the verbatim disks eventually load after about 5 ejects, the older disks work everytime and the AZO disks work fine in my PC.

Never bought Verbatims, but if you go to http://www.121cdr.co.uk you can put yourself together a set of media to test out and see what works - try the DataSafe Gen3 (also available in 2x), the WhiteLabel GOLD Edition, and the FWS discs if you want quality ones. Steer clear of Bulkpaq.

Cheers,
Rolf.

Try using a lens cleaning DVD m8 that cleared up mine.
Also do visit the above site they are tops !

White Label are good and cheap too they work on my m8s player which wouldn't play verbs properly (Sharp DV6000) don't know if they were the version you are talking about. Like FWS too never tried the datasafes but have heard they are also good.

Thanks for all the info guys, I'll order a range of different dvd-r's from 121cdr and see what happens.

Does anybody know if the recording speed makes a large difference when recording to dvd-r, I use an A03 to record using prassi software and have never changed it from the MAX setting.. perhaps if I record at 1x I may have a more reliable copy.. comments?

Slug

2x burning is a no no. In the early days I burned loads of Apple DVD-R at 2x (about 200 of em) They all turned out pretty much useless. Havent burned 2x since and my error rate (with good quality media) is virtually zero.

I dont know why people are saying 2x are a no no, I have been burning my apples/tdks/verbatims at 2x and not one has messed up yet and there has been over 150 working just fine still in every dvd player i try. :)

Meth, believe me I burn more in a week than you've burned all together, whilst it's true many DVD players will play media burned 2x, you should see the pile of returns I had in the early days. At over £4 a DVD it was enough to make a grown man weep.
I'm glad so far you have been lucky with 2x, your opinion is valid but your limited experience (150) does not give you the right to refute my claims.
I ended up giving stacks away as being PC DVD-ROM only as they just were not performing in a broad spectrum of players, this included PS2, Sanyo, Pioneer, Phillips etc etc. These was not burned in a single drive on a single PC so I can rule out rogue software/ hardware. This was from a combination of PC A03/A04 and Mac superdrive (rebadged A03 I believe)

I bought Bulqpaq, not really burned that many yet! But im reading bad reports on them. What bad experiences can u share on this media?

Ive burned loads of DVD's at 2x and never had a problem either

BULKPAQ = ABSOLUTE ****!

Well I ordered some new media from FWS and re-copied a movie to one and hey presto it works everytime, I had to write at 1x speed so i am unsure if its the difference in media or difference in speed or perhaps both that have fixed my problem ... i'll have to try some 1x writes on verbatim medium to test my theory.

many thanks for all the advice

Slug

danman you sound pretty silly saying you burn more in a week than I burned all together, because you dont know me, If you burnt more then 150 2x dvds in a week then come over so I can shake your hand. Because you are having bad 2x burns dont mean everyone has bad 2x burns. I know many many people who would laugh hearing all your 2x burns are bad. I have yet see a 2x apple/tdk/verbatim branded not play in a dvd player, stop using cheap 2x.

Re burning at 2x ..... ive been burning at 2x for quite some time with verbatim dvdrs with fantastic results - never a coaster. I used to but generic no name stuff - its pot luck - they well you what ever brand they get cheapest. My pioneer dv414 happily accepts 2x verbatims - but only 1x with generics.

BTW - for any one who needs to know - Apples dvdrs are the same as Pioneer's - and both are made by Khypermedia (we sell them so I know). Try to find the khypermedia's they are great at 2x and cme in really nice jewel cases.

why does everyone keep saying bulkpaq are crap ive used them and the only ones which had probs with was genaration 1 no probs with generation 2 havent tried generation 3 yet but will be i think they are good discs for the mony about 43p each at http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/

O.K m8,
You SAID you had burned about 150, I burn 1 or 2 spindles of 100 a week, do the maths. I use several DVD writers hence being able to burn so many. In the early days I ordered big on Apple as they were cheaper than Verbatim and Pioneer though basically the same disc. I brought in bulk and burned off about 400 all told (still got some lying around). As I say I use a combination of Panasonic standalone (naturally this doesnt write at 2x) AO3/A04 and a Mac with Superdrive (rebadged A03). I have a huge customer base and hence am equiped to notice paterns in the various media that may or may not come back as unsuitable for play. Pretty much all came back (apple 2x) that were not played on players such as Yello, Dansai, Cyberhome, Scan etc. These players are widely regarded as having a good laser and as such you would expect them not to struggle with anything but the cheapest nastiest DVD-R.
I would say that theese were the most troublesome discs I have ever come across next to Bulkpaq and Infiniti. I wouldnt bash a product without having properly tested it. I am not the sort who buys 2 of each disc and makes an opinion based on that. You have to look at the bigger picture and see how the land lies across a broad spectrum of players. I ofter give samples out to people who i know have fussy kit just to get feedback. Also I trade/buy a lot off other traders, I see a lot more brands than most and again if it's something I havent tried before I will pass it round to people to try... again asking for feedback. I like to taylor a DVD to a certain person knowing what their particular player prefers. From Verb Apple TDK etc I would personally NEVER burn at 2x again with the eqipment currently availiable. They (Verb Apple etc.) are great DVD-R and I would still burn at 1x though if you are going to do that you may as well get a decent 1x DVD-R for around £1.
I will say again, not all 2x DVD-R were done by me (so I'm not basing it on my personal writing experience alone) that people had problems with many came from other traders who I had brought/traded with/from.
pace306, with regards to generics only burning at 1x this is because they are not licensed by Pioneer, it's all sown to firmware on the drive nothing more/less. So it is no reflection of how good or bad they are. By my understanding if your disc is good enough (tested by pioneer) and you are willing to pay the fee to Pioneer (again I'm in a grey area here but I think you pay Pioneer a set fee per DVD-R, this in turn bumps up the cost of your blank). If you dont pay the fee it doesnt mean your disc is not capable of burning at 2x, (but it does mean Pioneer firmware will not allow) it just means you dont want Monopolistic Pioneer getting their greedy mits on a cut of your action.
My first CD burner was a 2x drive, I didnt hang on to that like a flat earther as soon as technology was good enough to go faster I jumped onto the next level, have been doing so ever since my current crop of CD burners are some 40x some 48x. I move with the times when quality/reliability allows. I dont like doing a replacement simply because the first time i cocked up.
I take no sides on the matter and I dont care much who does/doesnt burn at 2x and I dont care if Pioneer get royalties from a DVD or not, though I do think it stinks. My goal is to burn discs as cheap (I'd like to say quickly as well as I'm not against 2x in theory) with the minimum returns. I look out for number 1, my opinions are unbiast and based on experience, I would never look through the forums and see what everyone else is using and then go with the flow. A lot of people are currently using White Label, again I have stated that I have had too many returns on the couple of hundred I brought. On this particular product (Gen 3 Gold Edition) I would buy no more. If/When they do a gen 4 I will probably try them again to see if they improve. FWS gen 2 have yielded best results for me so far but they are in short suply (come on Nokianeeds sort it out...). The Datasafe gen 3 (1x) are a good gap filler for the moment. I am awaiting Datasafe 2x for testing, i'll see how they go.