#1  
01-09-2011, 11:01 AM
Bill Downing Bill Downing is offline
Free Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 15
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Verbatim seem to be EXTREMELY expensive compared to JVC/TY.
For example, their archival grade is almost 10 times more than JVC's.
This begs the question - are they worth it across the board; and if so, why?
Reply With Quote
Someday, 12:01 PM
admin's Avatar
Ads / Sponsors
 
Join Date: ∞
Posts: 42
Thanks: ∞
Thanked 42 Times in 42 Posts
  #2  
01-09-2011, 11:42 PM
admin's Avatar
admin admin is offline
Site Staff | Web Development
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,310
Thanked 654 Times in 457 Posts
I don't see the price difference.
Compare prices as listed here: http://www.digitalFAQ.com/reviews/dvd-media.htm
A 100-pack of Verbatim DVD-R or DVD+R is $24, compared to $25 for 100-pack of Taiyo Yuden media.
Inkjet discs are similarly priced, in the $35-40 range.
If anything, TY media tends to be priced slightly higher than the Mitsubishi/Verbatim.

Quote:
their archival grade is almost 10 times more than JVC
"Archival grade" is a marketing term -- not a certification of any kind. I could hand write "archival grade" on a dog turd, and it means about the same thing. It's just what somebody's chosen to write on it. There have actually been several posts here in recent months, discussing Verbatim's various "Archival" medias -- be it the Century Disc sub-brand or others.

For example:
- Archival-grade DVD-R Media by Mitsubishi/Verbatim [archived]
- Differences between "archival grade" and standard DVDs?

In the Verbatim archival discs, they (1) use a so-called "tweaked" [or some similar non-specific non-jargon term] version of its metallic azo dye, (2) add a gold sputter layer above the reflective silver layer, and (3) run the machines in a batch of no more than 25,000 discs at one time. But aside from those three unimportant things, the discs are virtually the same as their non-"archival" DVD media.

Edit: The "tweaked" dye was called a "new variation" by MKM.

It's basically a product that sold because people insist it be made. And it's not a logical/scientific demand, but one born completely out of societal myth that gold=good and silver=inferior. Remember that this isn't jewelry -- it's blank media. Sadly, some cannot discriminate this. Thus it's made, and thus it's sold, to the benefit of only the disc makers, who charge insane/asinine sums of money for said discs.

So no, it's not worth it -- not at all.

In fact, there has been some research that shows the Verbatim archival discs performed poorer than the non-archival versions. However I would note that this research was not double-verified, and I doubt such results could be easily duplicated. It was amusing and interesting, but I wouldn't put too much faith in the one-off analysis. More trivia than anything else.

- Did this site help you? Then upgrade to Premium Member and show your support!
- Also: Like Us on Facebook for special DVD/Blu-ray news and deals!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
01-11-2011, 09:35 AM
Bill Downing Bill Downing is offline
Free Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 15
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I set out on this journey to archive my important papers, photos, videos and music. So I first checked your site for the best media to use. You highly recommended Verbatim and TY. So, I checked their archival grade media. Verbatim archival gold DVDs are $160 for a 50 pack spindle, about half of that online. TY archival grade DVDs are MUCH less. Thus the question - are the Verbatim discs worth it?
Reply With Quote
  #4  
01-13-2011, 01:11 PM
admin's Avatar
admin admin is offline
Site Staff | Web Development
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,310
Thanked 654 Times in 457 Posts
That's really the issue here -- don't worry about "archival" branded media. Worry about what truly is archival, versus the label that claims it. In almost all cases, the label is meaningless. Most "archival" media is far from it.

Mitsubishi discs are archival, as are Taiyo Yuden.
Avoid "shiny silver" discs.
And then Mitsubishi owns the Verbatim brand, hence the reason almost all MCC/MKM media is sold as Verbatim. But also note that there is non-MCC media under the Verbatim "Value" and "Life" series media.

Are Verbatim discs worth it? Yes, absolutely -- they're worth it if they are MCC/MKM discs. But you don't need the "archival" version -- any of them tend to be just fine. All of them are archival grade according to our most stringent tests (as well as the tests of many others).

- Did this site help you? Then upgrade to Premium Member and show your support!
- Also: Like Us on Facebook for special DVD/Blu-ray news and deals!
Reply With Quote
Reply




Thread Tools



 
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:10 AM