When trading or selling always try to read the reviews on the discs you use because some discs are just plain bad.

Memorex, Maxwell and Verbatim are all bad discs from the experiences I have had in the last couple of years. Avoid these discs!

Verbatim is pretty solid.

I have used Verbatim off and on for a few years and always liked them.

I have used Memorex for years and more recently Verbatim and never had a problem with either.

I use Verbatim Data Life plus. Never had a problem.

I should have been more specific. I was speaking about the Verbatim light scribe series because they are useless. Out of a spindle of 50 there are less than 25 that are usable and that's annoying.

Memorex has also down graded in the last couple of years because every time I have used them recently they either skip or make a buzzing sound/stuttering sound when they are played back.

The problem I have with Maxwell are the loading issues. When I use Maxwell discs the loading errors are numerous.


I have to spend 40 to 50 bucks on the top of the line DVDs because the cheaper ones are becoming garbage. Maybe they are cheaper to buy because they are made with cheaper materials. Most of the cheaper DVDs don't even come in a real spindle anymore, they are shrink wrapped in plastic

Honestly, my favorite is Sony. I never seem to have problems with them.

I have used Phillips a bit also and they have been reliable.

I have used Phillips for awhile now, and before that Memorex and rarely ever had issues. I do have to agree though that I have had many issues with Verbatim discs, where some just won't copy, or there are errors.

I should have been more specific. I was speaking about the Verbatim light scribe series because they are useless. Out of a spindle of 50 there are less than 25 that are usable and that's annoying.

Memorex has also down graded in the last couple of years because every time I have used them recently they either skip or make a buzzing sound/stuttering sound when they are played back.

The problem I have with Maxwell are the loading issues. When I use Maxwell discs the loading errors are numerous.


I have to spend 40 to 50 bucks on the top of the line DVDs because the cheaper ones are becoming garbage. Maybe they are cheaper to buy because they are made with cheaper materials. Most of the cheaper DVDs don't even come in a real spindle anymore, they are shrink wrapped in plastic

Memorex has sucked for as long as I can remember. Many years.

I use Sony, and it's solid. At my local Target, I usually pick up a spindle of 50 DVD-R's for about $20, or 25 DVD+RW's for the same price. You should be able to find a similar deal in your neck of the woods or online.

Memorex, Maxell, Sony, I've never had a problem with any of those, they've all been good to me. I also like those Gigaware DVD's that are sold at Radio Shack, never had a problem with those either.

I would rather be given crabs than memorex. going back to the stone age of cassette tapes memorex were and are crap. on my list it says do not send memorex. ANY QUESTIONS?

Memorex DVD's have been good to me, I don't have a problem with them. Back in the 1980's, I recorded some movies from TV and put them on Memorex VHS tapes. The tapes have held up well, I still have them and they play superbly. I haven't used Memorex audio cassettes, for audio cassettes I use TDK, Maxell, or Sony, all three are good.

Come to think of it I have rarely had problems with any kind. I have used Kodak and HP discs as well as Sony and Memorex and haven't had issues at all. Though I haven't used them much. My biggest problems have came when dealing with +R DVd's of any brand.

The issue I have experienced with Memorex disks is that after a few years they seem to lose their data and just freeze up and wont play. Actually I bet about half of them I have received,dont play anymore.I never use them to duplicate just from the experiences I have encountered.I would like to be able to play my disks for more than a few years as would everyone else. I have never had any issues with Sony or Verbatim losing data.At least not yet.I have had some discs that are well past 10 years old and they still play beautifully and the funny thing is that some of those are value brands I have never heard of and they have held their data way longer than the Memorex brand.

Come to think of it I have rarely had problems with any kind. I have used Kodak and HP discs as well as Sony and Memorex and haven't had issues at all. Though I haven't used them much. My biggest problems have came when dealing with +R DVd's of any brand.

This is interesting. What kind of problems do you have with the +R's? I love the +R on the Sony brand and have yet to have a problem?

The issue I have experienced with Memorex disks is that after a few years they seem to lose their data and just freeze up and wont play. Actually I bet about half of them I have received,dont play anymore.I never use them to duplicate just from the experiences I have encountered.I would like to be able to play my disks for more than a few years as would everyone else. I have never had any issues with Sony or Verbatim losing data.At least not yet.I have had some discs that are well past 10 years old and they still play beautifully and the funny thing is that some of those are value brands I have never heard of and they have held their data way longer than the Memorex brand.

That's unusual, none of my Memorex discs have ever lost data. Some of them are almost ten years old, they all play fine. Other brands of DVD I use are Sony and Gigaware. I keep DVD's and VHS tapes in a cool dry location, that helps to extend their longevity.

I have never had any trouble with Verbatim -R. Before they had both AZO and Life Series, I had no issues with any Verbatim -R. Now, it has to be AZO. The Life Series are not the same quality and I have had slight issues with them on playback.

I know others swear by Sony, but I have had issues with Sony not playing on some players.

For some reason I shy away from +R, but that is probably just a preference as my favorite stand alone recorder uses -R and it seems like most of my traders have used -R.

This is interesting. What kind of problems do you have with the +R's? I love the +R on the Sony brand and have yet to have a problem?

I have had problems playing on my DVD players it seems like its 50-50 and even had trouble copying onto my HD. Though, I have never tried Sony I don't think.

Hi, I'm a new member. I've been reading this thread and found the
comments interesting.

As for my recording experiences:

I have been DVD collecting since roughly 2004 and started recording and
copying (VHS to DVD) starting in 2005 when I got my first DVD recorder,
an RCA (the worst recorder ever! Don't buy one of those). I have since
switched over first to Samsung (until it quit), Panasonic (which is okay,
does great DVD menus!) and finally Toshiba, which is the only model left
for sale I could find locally in Montgomery, AL. I still have the last two
working machines and have been transferring all of my VHS tapes, both
home-recorded and retail (if possible) since they are so old.

I personally do not use the -R and + R (record-only) blank discs for
copying/recording as being human I am prone to making mistakes
when I'm trying to transfer a tape or copy a disc. It usually takes
me several tries before I finally get it right, LOL. I have always
used + RW blank discs and brands I have relied on have been
respectively, TDK, Maxell, Verbatim, Sony, and recently, Memorex
(and that because it is the only brand in + RW that I can find now).
I have not had any problems with any of them not loading or not
playing; most of them I have had for years and not lost any data,
even on + RW. I also use only the SP speed (2 hour), and LP (4 hour)
if I am copying a movie from a tape that is over 2 hours long.
The 6 and 8 hour speeds I do not mess with (the quality is lower).

I have also received material from collectors who have used - R
discs and those DVD's likewise give me no trouble playing.

I do have some hopefully helpful advice for people who record/copy/
save shows and movies for a library or trade. If you find a brand of
blank disc in retail that you have never even heard of or aren't
familiar with, same rule applies as did with the old blank VHS tapes--
I refer to these as "no name" brands. Stay as far away from these
as possible. Like tapes, really cheap brands have a tendency to
self-destruct. I have not used any myself but did once upon a time
do the tapes (I have been collecting since the 80's so I have
acquired plenty of experience between the VHS and DVD formats).

Otherwise, if you're using the name brands and recording at either
the 2 hour or 4 hour speeds (even 1 hour is okay), you're good to go.
I personally like the + RW discs. I am probably the only person who
uses them though, LOL.

As for my DVD collection, I am into mostly the older TV shows dating
back to the 50's through the 60's, 70's and 80's (only one or two
from the 90's and 2000), also movies and certain classic cartoons.
For the most part it is retail (copy-guarded, can't be copied anyway
regardless of rules against it so I don't even bother) but some of it
is home-recorded either by me or DVD's I have received in trade or
bought from private collectors (rare obscure short-lived TV shows
that generally are not available in retail but series you never expected
to see ever again are gradually finding their way into the market).
Honestly, I would rather watch my collection--which I refer to as
the Jim & Terry Network (Terry was my late wife, we started this
together; she died in 2010 BTW)--than the stuff on prime-time
network TV today. I'll take the past any day over the present.

Hope what I've said has been useful. Thanks for listening, everyone.

I have 1000s of DVD-R and +R and have never had a problem with any brand other than no name discs that have the shiny metallic top to them.
Usually the only problems arise when a person does not know how to copy discs properly, or changing region format like from PAL to NTSC.

I also suggest NEVER using -RW or +RW discs for long term storage or trading. I have had many problems with rewritables corrupting themselves or losing information over time.


Dont forget, These discs are not meant to be around forever! they are not like cold-pressed factory DVDs. -R, +R, RW's all have INK inside them that the info is written to, when that ink dries up, your disc is done. I suggest everyone copies their most important or beloved programs to an external harddrive for long term storage. I have 3, 3TB drives packed to the brim with stuff already.

Response to the latest post:

I did not know -R , + R , and RW discs had ink in them. That is news to me!

As far as not using them for long-term storage or trading especially in the
case of + RW, I have been using + RW to record on since 2005 and so far
all of those discs still have their data on them and as fresh as the day they
were recorded. I also have used + RW for my trades and have advised the
recipients to play them only in a DVD player. No complaints and no problems.

The only remote difficulty I have had with a disc I have made in a DVD
recorder (such as a Panasonic DVDR for instance) is if I make a mistake
on the menu and try to correct it, the recorder will somehow malfunction
and either (1) not read the disc; (2) erase the DVD menu; or (3) in rare
cases, erase the contents of the entire disc. I just make sure everything
on the menu is correct before I finalize the DVD on the recorder. Other
than that, this is the single problem I have encountered in collecting
and I consider myself fortunate. When the menu got wiped out, I just
kept at it until it created another menu or if it got erased completely,
simply did it over from the original source. This is why you keep your
VHS tapes after you transfer your TV show/movie to a DVD. As a
backup--"just in case". I like the Panasonic DVD menus because
they have thumbnails and permit you to do full titles BTW as well
as give your discs a name. And always use SP on DVD's unless
it's something over 2 hours. Then you use LP. SLP and EP--forget it.
The quality is less (like on SLP with VHS).

I have heard of some collectors using their computer hard drives for long-
term storage of the TV shows and movies they have in their library.
Computers also do not last forever and unless you have it backed up
to a memory stick or other such storage device, if your disc drive
crashes or your computer otherwise gets trashed (power supply
goes bad and can't be replaced, etc.), your collection is also history
on that. I would rather trust a DVD, even if it is home-recorded on
one of the above-mentioned blank discs. My oldest home-recorded
discs are roughly 9 years old now and like the late Steve McQueen
said in The Magnificent Seven movie (1960), "So far, so good."
(I also get - R and + R discs with shows and movies from collectors
and they also are still good). If they are probably stored in a
climate-controlled and dust-free enviornment and not excessively
played, you shouldn't have any problems whatsoever with them.
Who knows? They might even outlast us! :)

I speak from about 25 years of experience with both VHS tapes
and DVD's.

I've been recording too for about 27 years and before that since 1968 on reel to reel tape recorders then to cassette recording of old time radio shows thru the '70's and '80's. Graduating to VCR recording about 1987.

At first when you said you only use RW discs I thought to write to warn you that a RW disc can not be played back on a normal DVD player, only the recorder itself. But then you mentioned finalizing the discs, I have never finalized an RW disc then you can't re-use it, which defeats the purpose of an RW disc. But I suppose finalizing RW discs will enable them to be playable on normal DVD players. I use RW discs only for temporary recordings (Tru TV shows or Judge Judy etc.) and go with regular -R discs for normal vintage TV program recording.

I started with +R discs then switched over to -R just cause seemed most traders used -R, then I went back to +R (I think Panasonic recorders don't have as much technical trouble with +Rs) but now I'm back to using -R discs again because +R discs gave trouble to the Panasonic recorder when I time delayed a recording. Sometimes it would record other times it just wouldn't start recording at all (couldn't read the +R disc!). So I've determined DVD recorders are just temperamental and really can't be relied upon to work everytime you use timer record, like a VHS recorder could be relied upon to record every time.

Also discs I recorded back in 2005 still work just fine, they look as good as new and play as good as new too. I too believe these discs will outlive me.

I still do plenty of DVD recording (daily, in fact) but the -R's, for the time being at least, seem to give me the least trouble when doing timer recording (which is 99.99% of the recording I do).

I agree also, I would never rely on my computer to hold my DVD programs, a DVD will be here still in 40 years, do you think your computer will? At my age, I won't be here in 40 years either (unless live to near 100) but my DVDs will be here for the rest of my days. I can't say that about my computer.

I've been recording too for about 27 years and before that since 1968 on reel to reel tape recorders then to cassette recording of old time radio shows thru the '70's and '80's. Graduating to VCR recording about 1987.

At first when you said you only use RW discs I thought to write to warn you that a RW disc can not be played back on a normal DVD player, only the recorder itself. But then you mentioned finalizing the discs, I have never finalized an RW disc then you can't re-use it, which defeats the purpose of an RW disc. But I suppose finalizing RW discs will enable them to be playable on normal DVD players. I use RW discs only for temporary recordings (Tru TV shows or Judge Judy etc.) and go with regular -R discs for normal vintage TV program recording.

I started with +R discs then switched over to -R just cause seemed most traders used -R, then I went back to +R (I think Panasonic recorders don't have as much technical trouble with +Rs) but now I'm back to using -R discs again because +R discs gave trouble to the Panasonic recorder when I time delayed a recording. Sometimes it would record other times it just wouldn't start recording at all (couldn't read the +R disc!). So I've determined DVD recorders are just temperamental and really can't be relied upon to work everytime you use timer record, like a VHS recorder could be relied upon to record every time.

Also discs I recorded back in 2005 still work just fine, they look as good as new and play as good as new too. I too believe these discs will outlive me.

I still do plenty of DVD recording (daily, in fact) but the -R's, for the time being at least, seem to give me the least trouble when doing timer recording (which is 99.99% of the recording I do).
I thought I needed to clarify something I said from the last poster's reply,
which I appreciate. It is regards to me saying I "finalize" my RW discs.
What I meant was, I was finalizing the DVD menu on the + RW DVD's
I record. The Toshiba recorder I use does not use thumbnails or can
print full titles on a menu, so after I am done with the disc in that
recorder, I put it in the Panasonic recorder and make the appropriate
corrections on the menu and give the disc a name (which the Toshiba
also does not do). As far as the picture and sound goes, the Toshiba
does a pretty decent job on it.

With + RW DVD's, I do not have to finalize the entire disc and it will play
in a standard DVD player. I used - RW only once, and after it finalized
if my DVD menu had mistakes in it, I was out of luck. I was stuck with it.
So for that reason and for the fact I am human and therefore do make
errors being imperfect, I use only + RW for my recordings and do not
use either - RW, + R , or - R blank discs. I do however don't mind
getting - R or + R DVD's from other traders (some of whom use
duplicators to copy a disc instead of a DVD recorder to save
wear and tear on their units). By the way, the VHS/DVD combo
recorders like I am accustomed to are going out of manufacture
and are not going to be sold at retail electronics stores any longer,
at least I have found here in Montgomery, Alabama (the Toshiba
was my only choice, that was the one model they had). So those
who record and copy DVD's get them while you can, because they
will soon be available only online if you are fortunate enough.

I have a Sony DVD player (and a Sanyo for backup) and all my finished
discs do play on it. My parents have a Toshiba DVD player in the living
room and they also play on it with no problems. They also play in the
Toshiba recorder. Once I complete the DVD menu in the Panasonic
recorder, I do not play the disc in it after that. This way it won't be
accidentally erased if there is some sort of malfunction on the part
of the Panasonic recorder, which has the tendency to not want to
read discs after it has finished doing the DVD menu, but it's only
an occasional issue.

Incidentally, in regards to the "once you finalize an RW recording
you can't reuse the disc". That is true on - RW, which is finalized
in recorders. However, on + RW, yes you can reuse it, but it has
to be re-formatted entirely. I will also record on it briefly, then
format it again just to make sure all of the data has been erased
before I do a new recording to prevent what I call "pixelations"
on the new recording that replaced the previous one. For example,
in this Panasonic recorder occasionally I have had entire recordings
erased by the machine if an error of some kind is detected, and at
best, the DVD menu disappears and just the movie/TV show remains
and plays by itself, with no menu at all. Sometimes if I'm lucky I can
get the original DVD menu back, but it takes a lot of patience and
work in the process. This is why I only use the Panasonic recorder
to create DVD menus on exclusively instead of recording on it.
Most of the time, it will create the DVD menu with no problems.
Once in a while, it acts up and sometimes I have to do the disc over
from scratch, but not often.

In my DVD collecting, I collect retail DVD's of TV shows and movies
as well as do home recordings of VHS tapes I have acquired in past
of rare TV shows not available in retail. What aggravates me is that
the older movies are going out of print (that were once readily
available both in the local market here and by mail order) and
you can't buy them from places like Amazon without being
prepared to pay a small fortune for them. And also when rare
1-season TV shows I am interested in (that I saw when I was
a kid in the 70's) come out new on DVD, the prices are
outrageously high and I just can't afford to purchase them
until they come down to where I can.

The DVD format is not obsolete yet, I hope it will be around for a long
time, but its days I'm afraid are numbered. I do prefer a DVD and DVD
player and TV set to watching stuff on a small screen computer or
video streaming. So I hope DVD will be with us for more years than
everyone thinks it is. Look at how long VCR's managed to hang on.

As for ink being in all of these discs, what is your source for that
information (to the poster before that)? That is the very first
I have heard of this. The manufacturers are not about to tell
you their trade secrets as to what their blank discs are made of.

I agree also, I would never rely on my computer to hold my DVD programs, a DVD will be here still in 40 years, do you think your computer will? At my age, I won't be here in 40 years either (unless live to near 100) but my DVDs will be here for the rest of my days. I can't say that about my computer.


Well, I'm not using my "everyday use" computer to store backups. I use a separate external hard drive which connects to the main computer via USB. This is only ever hooked up when I want to add something to it for long term storage, or if a disc goes bad and needs re-copying. Of course if it was hooked up and running all day long while I'm surfing the web and whatnot, well that is a very bad idea and wouldn't last long. Having an external for the soul purpose of backing up your collection and only having it run when needed should last many, many years as welll!

As for ink being in all of these discs, what is your source for that
information (to the poster before that)? That is the very first
I have heard of this. The manufacturers are not about to tell
you their trade secrets as to what their blank discs are made of.


Let me rephrase- it's actually a dye and different discs use different dyes and these dyes can start to dry up at different points in time. It's not like a pen ink, if you were to crack a dvd-r in half nothing would leak out of it. You can find this info under the technical specifications of DVD-R Wikipedia page. The Dye layer is that usually purplish to blue bottom color of the dvd-r, +r, or rw. Look at a disc before you use it and then burn a shorter program, say 1hr and 30mins. You should be able to see where there's a ring around the disc that wasn't there before- all the data is stored up to the edge of this new ring.


I've also noticed a bit of talk about vhs<->dvd recorders. I use a Magnavox ZV450mw8- have had it since 2008 and it still works like a charm and every tape I've gone to record (including retail vhs releases) have recorded perfectly!

I've used Maxell, TDK and more recently Verbatim.

Had very few problems - all seem to be very good quality.