What is a "shiny top disc" ?
 

continued from another thread...
A "shiny top disc" is a disc that is shiny silver on top.

It has no additional protective coating on

• the top of the upper polycarbonate on a DVD,
• or on the upper foil on a CD, which has no upper polycarbonate layer.

This coating is usually an inkjet surface, branding surface, or a screened (silk or thermal / heat-transfer) image.

"Shiny" discs are not intended for end-consumer use as-is. Why?

• The foil is subjected more to light,
• there is less protection on the top of the disc,
• and fingerprints make the discs nasty -- skin oils, germs, filth stuck to a disc --- eww, yuck!