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Memorex is an excellent example as DVD media goes, 90% of Memorex, made by CMC, is sub-standard as far as DVD backups are concerned, figures as high as 50% coasters have been reported (One member bought a stack of 50 and got 23 good burns.), not what I would call an impressive record. Memorex made a name for itself with their magnetic tapes (VHS and audio cassettes) and have been living off it ever since. There are 4 different companies that manufacture Memorex DVD's BTW and product quality varies widely as you might imagine. Only 10% of the Memorex out there, those are discs manufactured by Mitsubishi in the 25 pack spindle , and they're the exception - they are the good ones. It's easy to see now why the quality of a big-named company can't be trusted - " Who's making your Memorex tonight ?"


1. * Cheap media freezes, skips, pixelats and may refuse to be recognized by both burners and players :-( Besides "Freezing", "skips" many times you'll get a "Cyclic Redundancy error" or an "I/O error". This message can mean that your discs are scratched or dirty, it can also mean that your burner won't accept your "cheap" media :-(

Another problem which, "Pops up" is a "*Power Calibration Error". This can stop you right in your tracks and most often is caused by, Yep, you guessed it, inexpensive media. *A "Power Calibration Error" can also be attributed to the Optical Components of a DVD Writer, though this isn't usually the case.

Orange Pack, Princo, Great AZO and 90% of Memorex plus many others are just not that good for DVD burning. Those same discs however, are quite good for your MP3 music, picture archives, Spread sheets and Data..Even DataSafe G04's made by Ritek have been reported as an inferior quality media and are evoking that "Oh no, I shouldn't have gotten those."

What we are suggesting is to download this DVD Identifier to find out who manufactured your DVD and if it's a decent quality.

http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com/

Once you have your disc identified, click the "More information" icon and see what information you're given. if you're not sure of the quality, come on back and we'll check it out for you -

2. A good grade, Hi-quality media is needed for DVD reproduction ! RiData, Phillips, Sony, "Branded" Ritek G04's or "Branded" Verbatim Data Life, Verbatim DataLife plus, Taiyo Yuden's and generally, almost any discs manufactured by Mitsubishi or RICOH are excellent bets. Among the better discs we're looking for, any media boasting "Advanced Metal AZO" - BUT it must say "METAL" AZO !, this indicates a superior dye and dye application on a good composite disc, while they are sometimes a bit "pricey" they are just the type of media we're looking for to do our DVD backups, Prices online from Meritline.com OR Newegg.com have gotten Ritek G04 starting at about a $ .45 (USD) a disc-

For DVD backups, purchasing inexpensive media or even average media is a gamble, some people win BUT the majority lose, they lose varying amounts true but, they still lose :-(

Using good grade media can guarantee you one thing to an absolute certainty; it surely cannot hurt.

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