In case you are wondering why some people have no problems and others can't use them, in most cases its how burner supports them. Note that the TDK gray -R disks are CMC MAG AM3 media
Bought 100 pack and a new Samsung sh-s182/Sony DRU-830A 18x burner. disks were unburnable at any speed other than 4x and the burner could not read my burns using Fuji Disks. Exchanged the burner for a Liteon SHM-165P6S and it burns the TDKs at 16x with only 1 coaster out of 60 burns (and I was encoding a video and d/l at same time). Looked at the firmware of both drives and found that they support certain media and not others.
NEC, Sony, Samsung DO NOT like TDK disks, Lite-On loves them. Lite-On firmware supports them the other's firmware doesn't list them.
Likewise there are disks that the Samsung/Sony burn fine but the Lite-On chocks on. And it depends on which model of the drives, some Lite-On do not like them and some Sony's do.
While there are some off brand disks that are poor, TDK is not among them. However, which burner and model of burner you have makes a big difference. Before buying disks do two things:
1 - check which disks your burner's firmware supports
2 - check how those disks have performed with your burner: club.cdfreaks.com and www.hardware.info both have extensive results posted by users on media and burners. TDK 4.7GB 16x DVD-R (100-Pack Spindle)
I had used TDK DVD-R blanks many times before so I ordered this without hesitation. To my complete shock, these DVD-R discs, made by Ritek of Taiwan for TDK, were completely unusable in various DVD burners: Matsushita, NEC, Toshiba, Sony, etc. I tried over a dozen blanks in these burners, using different DVD burning programs on different computers (and a set-top burner), and not a single disc was usable.
Avoid this TDK 100-pack like a plague.
I bought a 60-pack Playo DVD-R spindle at Staples and every one of the 10 or so discs I've burned had absolutely no problems.
I have used several brands of blank media and have tried to avoid this TDKs becuse of a bad review posted a long time ago. Recently, and because I had no choice, I had to order some of these and found them to be the very best I have used. I burned several at 16x using a NEC ND-3540A just to see if they could stand that speed and all of them turned out very well. I am burning them at 12x now but that just to be safe.
Before trying these I had been using Verbatim but these are way better.
Oh, and the price is just the icing on the cake.
Initially when I read these reviews, I thought.. eh, must be people who do not know how to use their dvd writers.. I thought TDK was a brand you could trust. Personally I always loved their cassette tapes and blank cds.
Well, after using about 15 discs, 5 were bad. During ther burning process everything seems to be fine. Play it back and you will know what I am talking about. All the errors are in the same spot and you can visually see it.
Where the TDK logo is on the disc, when you flip over the disc, you can see that the burn screws up right there. (Kinda looks like someone put a slim cigarette out on that spot)
STILL, giving TDK the benefit of the doubt, I tried with my other DVD writer. Same exact problem.
I own a SONY Writer and an NEC Writer..
I do not blame the drives anymore..
Usually when I purchase blanks I really shop around and go with generic brands with great ratings, but due to the matter of convenience, I used amazon to make this purchase figuring a few more dollars for a name brand, I won't lose... I was wrong.
Just buy another brand, this one is not for you.
I have used these TDK DVD-R discs regularly in the past and never had any problems with them. At the time the media ID was either TTG02 or TTH02 which are rated as "first class media: almost flawless burns with 95-100% reliable results".
However, to my disappointment my last spindle of discs had the media ID: CMC MAG AM3 which is "4th class media: pathetic garbage media, landfill material, about 0-50% success rate". This is the same media code as Staples house brand dvd-rs which I bought for $3.00 for a 50 disc pack during their sale.
Because it's impossible to know what media code you'll be purchasing and the trouble of returning opened media - I suggest staying away from this product. For the same price get TY's or Verbatims and know that you'll have a disc that will burn flawlessly and will outlast most others.
TDK makes a very reliable blank DVD-R that can handle up to 4.7 GB of data. Moreover, these blank DVD-Rs are capable of recording data at speeds up to "16x." The video I record onto these lasts forever. I have used these as discs to record video both with and without audio.
The DVD-R discs are compact and easy to store. While the discs are still blank, store them in the circular case on the spindle that they came in. After your record video onto them, I would recommend storing them in slim jewel cases instead of paper sleeves. It's just better protection for your DVD-Rs that have information stored on them. Don't store these discs, used or blank, in rooms that become very hot; this causes damage to any brand of this type of disc and you could lose your recorded video over time.
There are three caveats that many other people note about any brand of this product: before you buy these make sure that your DVD burner drive can burn the TDK brand of DVD-R without any problems; otherwise you run the risk of getting way too many coasters at best in exchange for your money. Second, there's the "recording speed" issue. When you are burning the video onto the blank disc using computer software, don't be surprised if you see that the data is burning at a rate slower than "16x." This can happen if your burner doesn't have the capacity to burn faster, or it may be a quirk. I am not a professional so I cannot be certain of precisely what causes this phenomenon; but I assure you that the extra minute or two (tops) that you wait to get your DVD-R completed is worth the wait.
In addition, DON'T write on these using Sharpie ink pens. The ink can seep through the top coating of the DVD-R disc and slowly but surely compromise your data--ouch! If you need to label the discs, label its jewel case using a post-it note.
Overall, TDK blank DVD-R discs store video reliably over the years and I believe that if you make sure your burner can handle these they will be very useful to you. An extra minute to burn the data onto the blank disc is well worth it in the event that it doesn't actually burn at "16x" speed. - Blank Dvd Media - Dvd Media - Movie - Dvd'
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