Hey. I am fortunate enough to have access to a DVD Duplicator. I think it is 1:2. Anyway, I need to use it for a one time occasion to make about 1 copy of 75-80 different discs. They are "custom" DVD's and contain two 90 minutes "sections." What kind of discs should I get? I have been reading a lot and I heard Taiyo Yuden discs are the best. I'm not sure if I need bigger DVD's because the 4.7 GB ones say they only hold 120 minutes. These Discs have about 180 minutes. So any suggestions about what type (DVD-or+), brand, and where to get them would be appreciated. Thanks a bunch!
I do not know how DVD Duplicators work, but for media, Taiyo Yuden is probably the best. I use Fujifilm DVD+R Made in Japan (I personally prefer + over -). These discs are made by Taiyo Yuden. Sony DVD+R made in Japan are also the same.
Your custom DVDs, how big are those? Check the capacity on your PC. If they are DVD5, then you will have no problem. Even though you the discs say 120 minutes, that is only a reference to DVD recorders which can burn in different modes (like a vcr). They actually vary even on those from 1 hour to 6 or maybe even 8 hours depending on the recording mode. All you need to worry about is the size of the image on your custom DVDs. If they are smaller than 4.7 GB, then no problem. If they are bigger, then unless if you can edit them with the duplicator, you will have to get DVD DL discs. I would recommend Verbatim for those, howver they are still pricey at about $3 to $6 per disc.
So Double Layered discs are 3$ to 6$. Hmmmm....these can't be them because the person I got them from would not be able to make a profit then. (150$ for 80 discs) I can't check the size of them because i don't have a DVD drive in my computer. I'm gonna take a guess that these are not double layered. Is there any other way to confirm it besides using a computer? Just another few questions I have, what is the difference between DVD-R and DVD+R? Also, is there a chance that the discs I have are copy portected or something and that I might not be able to copy them? Also, the DVD Duplicator burns at 16x. I see the Taiyo Yuden discs that burn at 4x and 8x. Does that mean that it will only burn at 4x, or will it burn at 16x becasue that is what the duplicator burns at? I'm guessing it will only burn at 4x like it says on the discs, but just making sure.
Taiyo Yuden tends to be able to burn at higher speed than rated depending on the burner. I do not know how a duplicator will go about this. I burn all of my DVDs at 4x even though my burner can burn them at 12x. The faster you burn, the higher the chance of errors and the greater the amount of errors, the less likely they will play well.
I do not know another way to tell the size of the disc, but if you got them for $2 each, then more than likely they are single layer. You can possibly go to a school or library or even a friends house and check the disc capacity.
If the discs you want to copy are copies, then unless if the person you got them from has a DVD pressing facility and the ability to encrypt the movies with CSS (costs mega $$$ for the license to do this), they are not copy protected.
The difference between DVD-R and DVD+R is very technical. You can read this: http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/113 I have had better success with DVD+R. Almost every DVD-R I own or borrowed does not play on anything except for my PC and my Panasonic DVD player. All DVD+Rs work for me (even crap CMC media). There are about 3x the errors in DVD-R for crap media comared to DVD+R from crap and about 300 to 400 (sometimes even 1000) times more errors than a DVD+R Taiyo Yuden which is almost error free.
The best discs are probably the Taiyo Yuden DVD+R 8x, but anything Taiyo Yuden will be excellent. These discs have a archival life of 100 years, so they will outlive almost every human on this planet today. They produce the most reliable burn with the least amount of errors. If the duplicator really likes these discs, which it most likely will, your copies will be of far better quality than the original DVDs you feed into the Duplicator.
The 4x DVD-R will be just about as good. If you cannot find Taiyo Yuden DVD+R 8x, look for Sony or Fujifilm DVD+R 8x MADE IN JAPAN. The made in Japan is very important. If not, the DVD-R 4x will be better than any other DVD media you can find.
