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Chito · 08:58 AM

Forgive me if this is in the wrong forum. I thought I'd get the best answer here.
I just bought Velan Software's Fast DVD Copy so that I can make backup copies of my dvd library. So far I've only tried to back up one movie and even though it copied fine, it will play in my superdrive, it will not play on my Sony DAV-C990 home theater system. I'm wondering if my problem is the quality of recordable disc I'm using. They're a generic brand with a purple recording surface. So my question....has anyone had success using Fast DVD Copy and if so what brand discs are you using?
I'm recording on a QS 2002 933, 1GB, superdrive.
Thanks....

Spheric Harlot · Apr 13, 2004, 01:22 PM

FWIW, my friend claims that his Sony DVD player absolutely refuses to read burned media.

HOWEVER: It surprisingly had no problems whatsoever with my Apple DVD-R media.

I'm also having good results with TDK DVD-R, which is somewhat cheaper than Apple's.

I would stay away from generic DVD-R for at least a couple of years. If you'll remember, it was *years* before the generic CD-R's reached a consistent reliability.

-s*

Beewee · Apr 13, 2004, 06:08 PM

One word. VERBATIM

They cost about $1.50 a disc maybe $2 but they're worth it. I just got done burning a dvd movie, and backing up some of my hard drive. Both worked great, where as before my generic media threw error messages at me when I tried to copy the data back. This is just my opinion of course.

Chito · Apr 13, 2004, 10:21 PM

Thanks. I've got the Apple dvd-r's that came with my mac new. I'll give em a try.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 14, 2004, 11:55 AM

Also, check this thread (and probably a dozen others) for info on recommended media:

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...media+verbatim

SeSawaya · Apr 14, 2004, 04:26 PM

I've been using "generic" dvd-rs that I've bought on ebay for the last year and so far have burned 200+ DVDs with only 4 bad ones.

100 dvd-rs for $60 total with shipping.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...dvd-r+blank+4x

check them out.

Hollywood · Apr 15, 2004, 03:41 PM

I use Apple DVD-R, and since a year I burned about 50 DVD's with my 17"PB, and so far not one has failed.
Others I hear, uses cheaps brands, with bad results.

macbarry · Apr 16, 2004, 01:41 PM

I have used Apple, Verbatim, Panasonic and recently "BeAll" (from Meritline) blank DVD-R media. I've used each of these brands with an Apple 4X Superdrive, Panasonic 1X DMRE30B and Bravo 4X duplicator (uses a 4X Pioneer burner).

All of these blank DVD-R media brands have worked flawlessly except the BeAll. I recently duplicated 200 DVDs on the Bravo using the BeAll brand and had 50 defective discs show up. About 20 of these BeAll DVD-Rs were rejected outright by the Bravo and the other 30 were accepted and apparently burned but then would not play. the other 175

The BeAll media comes as 50 disc packs so I suspect I just got a bad pack however 50 bad out of 200 is not what I would call a good record of success. I've just sent the bad discs back to Meritline who said they would replace or refund (we'll see).

Kenneth · Apr 16, 2004, 05:40 PM

Do I have to say?

I have no problem whatsoever with the Apple 4x DVD-R on my SuperDrive.

Luca Rescigno · Apr 16, 2004, 06:07 PM

I got some NewEgg brand DVDs with my burner for free, and all of them worked perfectly. Same goes for Memorex and Ritek. I'd stay away from the really cheap stuff, but if you go with a name brand like Memorex, Ritek, TDK, Verbatim, etc. you'll probably be fine.

willab · Apr 16, 2004, 09:13 PM

I have had no problems with Riteks. I used TDKs, but I had problems with them. I have since found out that the Superdrive in that machine is defective, but I did have most of my Apples work with it until recently. I use only Riteks now. They are about a dollar each at Meritline.com.

Theodour · Apr 18, 2004, 11:55 PM

Originally posted by macbarry:
All of these blank DVD-R media brands have worked flawlessly except the BeAll.

I've had trouble with Meritline's media too. It was the cheapest stuff out there when I bought it( couple years ago now), and found out that the video media seems to degrade. It plays fine immediately after I burn it, but then after a week or so it starts skipping.

However, this problem is for set-top boxes only (I've tested and confirmed the problem on a Sony, Panasonic, and Apex player ... and it was reported by someone with a Pioneer and some other brand -- PS2 maybe).

Strangely, these disks play fine on every computer I've tried (several different Macs, and a Dell).

They also seem to work fine for data ... that is, I've never had a problem with the data side, and several of the backups are probably more than two years old (has DVD-R really been around that long? whoa ...)

brianb · Apr 19, 2004, 12:22 AM

Just a heads up here Apple rebrands Pioneer brand Media if you can find a deal on Pioneer media you will have the smae disc with diffrent paint on it

Luca Rescigno · Apr 19, 2004, 01:00 AM

Buying from NewEgg gets you a better deal on that Ritek media, and it's a very good, reliable reseller as well. I got a 50-pack of Ritek for $40 there. 80 cents a disc is pretty good.

wvx · Apr 20, 2004, 03:35 PM

Never buy generic discs... not that you would, but I'm just casting my vote against them here. You'll get errors, if not tommorrow a year from now for sure.

I have been using Memorex for a while and they seem reliable enough. Burn at 1X if you have the time.