Verbatim DataLifePlus DVD's - Cake Box vs Plastic Wrap not the same discs??
 

I see a product on Amazon for Verbatim DataLifePlus discs in plastic wrap as opposed to a cake box:
http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-97016.../ref=pd_cp_e_0

If you read the Amazon reviews, some are saying that they are experiencing inferior performance compared to the discs in the cake box. This doesn't really make any sense... has anyone bought a non-cakebox spindle? Anybody find different media ID's from cake boxes vs. plastic-wrapped spindles?

Aside from the discs not actually being Verbatim/Mitsubishi media -- which is unlikely -- there's no scientific reasoning why the discs in the "cake box" spindle would be any different from the discs that are simple shrink wrapped in a stack. At worst, the top and bottom discs may be scuffed, as that often happens with plastic wrapped media. The plastic spindle also doubles as protection for the media during transit. It's not just convenient for storing unused blanks on the shelf.

You have to remember that reviews are often soured by knowledge bias. Nothing in those bad reviews leads me to believe that the people leaving them really have a good understanding of optical media. For example, poor handling of discs (fingerprints, scratches), aging burners/players that no longer properly work with any blanks (Verbatim or not), etc -- all of these reasons could equally be at fault. However, those concepts are not as visible as the container the discs come in, so the discs and container get blamed. It's fallacy logic in action.

I think you can safely disregard those five negative comments.

Notice that the comments were left throughout 2010 and 2011, intermixed with positive comments. And a couple of those positive comments come from people who have demonstrated some knowledge of blank media!