Is 8x DVD inherently better than 16X?
 

Reviewing older internet discussions over the past 6 years, many imply that 8X DVD media is simply better quality than 16x DVD. They claim 8x DVDs burn better and have better archive durability. I'm talking about the actual discs, not burn speeds, hardware, etc..

Is this just old timers thinking that because 8x worked so flawlessly, why even consider 16x? Why change what works mentality?

Is there any truth to this idea? Any new evidence to support this? If cost and speed are not considerations, is there any compelling reason to use 8x vs. 16x, especially for storage longevity and burn quality improvement.

Thanks.

I've seen these discussions, too -- sometimes trying to get in the middle of the discussion and ending the insanity.

Baseless claims.
Or to state in a slightly different way: Claims made on nothing (not science, not fact).

I've heard some exceptionally asinine things come the mouths of Fry's Electronics and Best Buy employees, regarding DVD recordable speeds, DVD-R vs DVD+R, and "R" vs "RW". I often think some of these rumors and claims we find online are from those sorts of uninformed sources.

It's a combination of issues:

1. Taiyo Yuden 8x discs are/were lower cost than 16x discs, all the way to the end (when vendors ran out of supply).

2. Old DVD recorders and DVD burners relied on default write strategies, lacking the 16x media IDs. And sometimes results were not good.

3. Some discs behave better at one-half "x" (speed) under the maximum disc rating; 12x on a 16x disc, for example. Most perform best at a full- to half-under write speed. Or 8x-12x on 16x discs. Yes, that means 4x-6x is ideal for 8x discs, not 8x!

4. Stubborn*.

* Disclaimer: I can be this way, too. I'll purposely avoid new CPUs, new graphics cards, and new operating systems.
Sometimes a small dose of technophobia can be a good security blanket.

Going back to default write strategies, one of the only discs to have performed well with default strategies is Mitsubishi media. Taiyo Yuden, on the other hand, has often been lackluster in this area. Great disc when support, not so awesome when it's not. Evidence comes by way of test results (scans, playability, coaster count, etc), on discs made by this older hardware.

Mitsubishi 16x media was actually manufactured to be "1x-16x" media, spanning the whole range. It does perform well at most speeds, but can be lackluster on some older DVD recorders (which use no "x" speed, but packet write in real-time), especially when the DVD burner in the recorder is aged and worn. Most anti-16x codgers are basing their hatred on bad experiences in cherished DVD recorders.

No.

What's really important is that you use a good quality blank.
You're probably already familiar with our review: http://www.digitalFAQ.com/reviews/dvd-media.htm

There are some cases where an 8x discs is better than a 16x discs from a manufacturer, but that's a statement about the disc series itself -- not the burn speed. The "8x vs 16x" aspect is coincidental at best. If you're looking for an example of this, Taiyo Yuden's YUDEN000T02 8x DVD+R was better than its 16x generation counterpart. (Not that TY 16x DVD+R is "bad", but simply not as good.)

Thank you.