I was gonna bite until I read the OD web site reviews, all three of which give these a 1 star rating.

The ONLY reliable DL disk is an expensive one.... and even with that.....

While not the ultimate authority on such things, the videohelp.com media compatibility ratings from users only shows two DL media codes that rate anything above landfill status:

DL Media Ratings at Videohelp.com

and those are MKM.....001, which is Verbatim and still appears to be the only DL worth buying, and maybe the RICOHJPND00, although it doesn't have many user comments.

The problem with the ratings for the OD discs is that they only come from a few (2-6) users. By contrast, 145 users have left comments about the Verbatim media.

So, when it comes to DL, my advice is to steer clear, but if you must buy and use DL media, get Verbatim or don't get anything at all.

Well said.

I'd rather wait for BluRay to become more entrenched in the market than mess with DL's.

Don't get me wrong. I don't use DL discs at all for all the reasons described. In fact I have been one of the ones who have consistently advocated TWO discs instead of a single DL disc.

That said, I thought this was a good deal for the DL fans even if they produced a few coasters strictly because of the price.

John

John,

I didn't mean in any way to say anything negative about your post about an excellent deal. I always enjoy them. Please keep doing them.

And, I too have used DLs for non-critical backups and other projects where 100% reliability isn't mandatory.

I'd rather wait for BluRay to become more entrenched in the market than mess with DL's.

I will be glad when at least some HD compatable media becomes entrenched. I have been through DVHS & HD-DVD, come on Blu-Ray or whatever!

In the mean time I need DL for most of my HD projects. With fanatical care, custom firmware, booktype bitsetting and a carefully placed layer break, DL works okay for now for customer projects.

Here is the only DL with a full inkjet printable surface to hub with no mfgs. writing (like the VB). It has been working pretty good. They really look good.

http://www.ritekusa.com/product_main.asp?division_id=1&products_id=42

So how do the big guy's stamp the commercial 8.6 gig dual layer discs which play back just wondedrful?
JJK

They're replicated, not burned. Discs pressed from glass masters will always play better than ones made by shooting a laser into dye.

How do you press a dual layer?
JJK

John,

I didn't mean in any way to say anything negative about your post about an excellent deal. I always enjoy them.
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Don't give it a second thought John. I didn't take it as a negative about my post in any way whatsoever. I just wanted to clarify, that's all. My few "bargain" posts don't hold a candle to the kind of dedication to helping others you display every day on these forums. Thank you for doing it.

John