Is Databyte brand DVD DL any good?
 

Hello all! I did a search on 'Databyte' brand and came up with nothing. I see they are the best deal at Canada Computers:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=056565
Does anyone have any experience with them or know who makes them?
Thanks in advance for your help!

I would avoid any "no-name" brand of media. DataByte = no name.

It's guaranteed to be either:
- fake media, and therefore horrible
- CMC media, and very lousy
- RITEK media, and for DVD+R DL, very lousy
- UMEDISC from China, and very lousy

It may be "cheap", but it's actually expensive. Why? Because you'll throw most of them away for being bad burns. It's negative economics.

When it comes to DVD+R DL media, only use Verbatim DVD+R DL. Preferably the 2.4x-6x discs, not the 8x.

Get these: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B002...ag=thdifa04-20
Only $62 CAD for a 50-pack discs, free shipping.

A little over $1 each is the best you can hope for for good DVD+R DL. Remember that blank VHS tapes were more expensive (and still are), and didn't look anywhere near as good as DVD.

Also, consider the cost of Loss. Burning disks that aren't good wastes the burn time plus there's a chance that the original data will be deleted, so reproduction of it is lost when that low-quality finally appears - in a month, in a day, in a few years. How much is that worth? If it's worth backing up to optical disk, maybe it's worth backing it up to a good brand.

It's another idea to consider.

Well, that's really doesn't happen. Not days, not months. (Years, yes, but "deleted" isn't really the correct word.) I'm going to write several guides on the later in the year, with lots of data to back it up. That's what I'm working on now.

On discs like this (no-name brands), longevity is likely not good, assuming it burns well to begin with. And the latter issue is the main problem you'll face.

There is a misunderstanding. When I said, "Original data may be deleted", I meant, "I burn original data from my hard drive to an optical disk. Then I might delete my original data from my hard drive."

So it's no longer available to me. That's what I meant by "orig data may be deleted" - particularly over months and years.

Got it. :congrats:

Note: A proper backup plan includes discs AND drives, in duplicate or triplicate, preferably a mix of on=site and off-site. That's a related topic. But we'll save that for another time, another thread.

WOW! Thank you SO MUCH for all the fast responses. I've only used Verbatim in the past and I guess now I will continue to do so! However this does bring me to another question I've always wondered about...why is it better to buy the 2.4x and not the 8 x DVDs? I know that it is always better to burn at the lowest speed possible, but I thought that the 8x discs were newer and thus had better technology that went into them (kinda like buying an expensive sports car but only driving it under the limit - it's still a better car, right?) And are the 2.4x still being made or are they discontinued and thus cheaper, but still worthwhile?

Thanks again for all your responses! ;)

Tests over time have proven that the "2.4x" media -- aka "2.4x-6x" media, which in reality, is 6x media -- is better than the 8x media in terms of not just coaster %, but also media scans. It's not bad media -- not at all. It's better than other manufacturers or brands! But within the MKM line, the 8x inferior to the 6x media. So if you can buy either, and if price is comparable, then the 2.4x-6x is the winner.

The only issue may be lesser quality burners, which can only see the media at 2.4x.

Understand that 6x media is best burned at 4x, as is the 8x media, so a burner that limits speed to 4x is fine. In fact, it's the quality issues at faster rates that caused the manufacturers to limit the burn speed on their burners.

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Thanks! :congrats: