Hello--
I'm new to this forum, but just browsing cdfreaks.com over the last few days has taught me a lot and has saved me from buying the wrong media. I'd like to thank you all.

I just got back from BestBuy (in Crestwood, Illinois if it matters) returning two 100-disc spindles of Taiwanese-made Fujifilm (one each) DVD+R's and DVD-R's. The price was killer (and still is, if you want to take the risk): instant rebate gives you 100 DVD-R's or DVD+R's for $29.99US. As I said, before, however, they are made in Taiwan. I did not open them or test them, so I don't know who the mfgr was.

While perusing the media aisle and checking country of manufacture, I found that only one type of disc (at this store) was still made in Japan. Those are the Fujifilm 80min CD-R's. The price is pretty good, for a retail store, I think: a spindle of 50 for $17.99. They had a lot of them, so I would guess that perhaps all BestBuy's have the same batch.

Now for my question:

I have searched high and low for Taiyo Yuden DVD+RW discs, but have been unable to find them. Am I looking for a type of media that TY doesn't make? All the DVD+RW I've found are made in Taiwan. So, what brand would you recommend among the Taiwanese DVD+RW's? I find mostly Memorex and Verbatim. Mailorder is fine.

Thank you again very much for saving me from buying unreliable and/or short-life media.

Al.

The only rewritable media TY makes is DVD-RAM. Verbatim DVD+RW is probably your best bet.

There are also Sony DVD+RW made in Japan.
Excellent stuff.

There were Sony DVD+RW discs at BestBuy, but they were all made in Taiwan. I fear that whatever I buy, I'm going to get Taiwanese DVD+RW's.

After reading about codes on these forums, I looked at my Nero directory and found that I have two tools that will allow me to identify and/or test my media. I ID'd every type of media I had in the house and found that EMTEC brand CD-R's I bought a few years ago for very cheap a few years ago and they turn out to be Taiyo Yuden (hurray!). The OfficeDepot CD-R's are Ritek (boo!) and the Hi-Val CD-R's and CD-RW's are from some place called "CMC Magnetics" or maybe "CWC Magnetics." Some Pioneer CD-R's I bought a few years ago were reported to be made by Pioneer, but these are the worst CD-R's I've ever used. Only weeks after burning many of them were unreadable, despite being stored cool and dark. The cheap DVD-R's I bought on ebay (like $30 per 100) were some unpronouncable brand like "RND AMTLV 000." 3 out of every 5 of those are coasters, which makes the price actually $75 per 100...

Thanks for your input.

Any other suggestions?

Al.

I agree with the advice to get Verbatim DVD+RW, they are good quality rewriteable media [made in Taiwan]. Other +R and -R Verbatim media from Taiwan is also top notch. Which brings me to the point... You seem to have summarily discounted a vast, vast universe of media that falls in between shady media flogged on Ebay and Taiyo Yuden. My suggestion is to lighten up on the made in Japan requirement; Verbatim/Mitsubishi branded media [most of it coming from "the place called CMC Magnetics"] is just as good as TY.

Lies. DataLifePlus is FAR better than the standard line, and always has been.

Sony DVD+RW in the green packaging made in Japan is absolutely stunning, verbatim/mitsubishi DLP +RW isn't half bad either, MIT.

Really? FYI, Verbatim hasn't sold any DVDs under the DataLife brand in a while. They correctly thought it had tarnished their reputation. I don't believe I've seen any in the US or Japanese stores since the 2.4x CMC MAG R01 days, and that was a looooong time ago. The only recent or current Verbatim products that carry the DataLife brand are floppies and tape cartridges. So, what are you talking about?

Well technically the professional line Verbatim media is still called DataLifePlus (shiny silver/hub inkjet printable/thermal printable media available online) but most stores don't carry those. You're right about retail though, no more DLP, but if you buy US retail package 95101 (50 disc branded 16x DVD-R) they're the same discs as 95079 (DataLifePlus 16x 50 disc hub inkjet printable DVD-R), just as an example.