I'll be glad to answer that for you.
Once upon a time, Polaroid was a brand recognized as reliable and respected in the photographic community, and that extended to some of their other products (videotapes, for example). But almost exactly a decade ago, Polaroid went bankrupt, and its assets (including the brand name "Polaroid") were sold off to the highest bidders. Polaroid is now just a brand name that's licensed to companies by the equity firm that owns it. Few people realize Polaroid is gone, so consumers will think it's a mark of quality, being a "name brand". The truth is any cheap shoddy merchandise can be "Polaroid" now, if they pay for the naming rights.
Polaroid brand blank DVDs, with the media ID from Moser Baer (MBI), is likely one of two things:
- MBI media, which is lackluster "bulk grade" quaity -- this is NOT archival quality.
- So-called "gold archival" media made by MAM-A, using a faked MBI media code for "compatibility" -- also NOT archival quality.
Neither scenario gives you a good disc to rely on.
If it's MBI...
These should only be used in scenarios where the disc can be easily re-burned and replaced without much effort. For this reason, MBI media is referred to as "bulk grade" or "bulk quality" discs. That is, discs used to replicate thousands of discs cheaply, with some sort of ability to replace for customers (or whoever) as needed.
If it's MAM-A...
MAM-A media calls their blank discs "archival quality" -- but that's not a certified term of any kind. I could make a waffle, stick it in a DVD spindle, and put a pretty sticker on the side that also says "Grade A Professional Archival Millennium DVD-R". But that doesn't mean anything, obviously. The same is true of MAM-A blank DVDs. The gold reflective surface in use, when combined with a 650nm writable dye, actually results in a disc that's harder to read than a DVD with a standard silver-colored alloy. Furthermore, MAM-A dyes have been known to be hard to read or write, due to the chemical compound found within, as per chemical information found in Mitsui patents. These are too costly to be "bulk grade", and have actually been known to perform more poorly than bulk-quality discs such as CMC or Ritek.
For better blank DVDs, look at using
JVC Taiyo Yuden or
Mitsubishi-made Verbatim discs.
Refer to the blank DVD media guide here:
http://www.digitalFAQ.com/reviews/dvd-media.htm
