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Hi figgatron - Welcome to our little corner of the web -
Too bad you didn't take any time at all to look through some threads - I've posted the answer to your question twice already this evening alone for pple who were experiencing difficulties as a result of using the wrong media -
In the future it might save us all allot of time if you glanced through our extensive archives -
Anyway here it is for you - You say you're using Memorex well Memorex is a good example as media goes, 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. 4 different companies manufacture Memorex BTW and the quality varies widely as you might imagine. 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, stutters, pixelats, partially jams, may be rejected and lest we forget, our old standby, giving you the old just, refuses to be recognized routine :-(
Besides "Freezing", "skips" and pixelations, 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. Trying to shut down your software and ejecting your DVD then restarting your program and re-inserting the same media recently cleaned has been known to help.
Inexpensive media or even average media is great for text, Data, Spreadsheets, .Jpg and .Gif pictures and is good even for MP3 music BUT for DVD backups - BLAaaaaaT! It SUCKTH in an extremely Big-th way !
2. A good grade media is needed for DVD reproduction !
"Branded" Ritek G04's or Branded Verbatim are what we're looking for OR any media boasting "Advanced AZO Metal Dye", this indicates a superior dye application, while they are sometimes a bit "pricey" they are acceptable.
Prices online from Meritline.com have gotten Ritek G04 down below a dollar a disc -
Question - If you make coasters out of 3 cheap or even average discs and good copies from 3 Branded Verbatim discs or 3 "Branded" Ritek G04 discs - which ones then will you say are too expensive ? The 3 "Cheapo's with no movie backup OR, the 3 recommended discs with a perfect backup on each disc ?
Bear in mind, Memorex, Fuji, Sony, TDK, Orange Pack and others are quite good for your MP3 music, picture archives, Spread sheets, Data and your text backups and archives, they just don't work well for DVD backups. Even DataSafe G04's made by Ritek have been reported as inferior quality and are evoking that "Oh no, I shouldn't have gotten those."
Remember, for DVD backups, purchasing inexpensive media or even average media is a gamble, some people win, the majority of people lose, varying amounts but, they still lose :-(
Let's try the right media for the job - just buy a 5 pack of what we recommend that will settle it once and for all - Don't cheat though, buy the EXACT media we recommended -
Using good grade media can guarantee you one thing to an absolute certainty; it surely cannot hurt.
BTW, In an effort to clear the air, when I speak of "Cheap" or "Inexpensive" media, I'm not referring to the price you pay at the counter - I'm referring to the way the manufacturer's cut the corners during the manufacture of the discs. And when I say "Branded" that means that when you pick up a disc in your hand, it says "Ritek" or "Verbatim" on the disc itself.
cheers,
Pete
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