Customer Reviews

AmazonBasics 4.7 GB 16x DVD+R (100-Pack Spindle)

5 star:		(149)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

There isn't a whole lot you can say about a particular brand of DVD+R media. If it works and there are no unusual issues, one is pretty much the same as another.

That said, there are two things that will keep me buying the AmazonBasics DVDs. One is the price....the price is lower than other brands, and still a similar price even when the other brands are on sale. Factor in Amazon free shipping and sales tax considerations and their price is excellent.

The other reason I like these is the shipping. The double boxing and packing ensured the media got to me safely.

As far as performance, that is driven mostly by your PC hardware and burner. I have used about 30 of these so far to store general data, photos, video, etc. and have not had any issues. I have used some other brands (Sony) where I have run into the occasional bad DVD right out of the box.

I would rate the Amazon Basic DVDs right up there with the Panasonic media, which from my experience tends to have no bad DVDs in a batch.
Try these, you won't be disappointed!

I have had 100% success burning both data and video formats with this media at 4X using:
Sony Optiarc AD-7170A (firmware version 1.O4 supports this media at 4X, 6X, 8X, 12X, 16X)
Plextor PX-708A (firmware 1.11 supports this media at 2.4X, 4X, 8X)
LG GSA-T11N (firmware A104 supports this media at 4X only but can do 8X with other comparable media)
NEC ND-3500AG (firmware 2.TB supports this media at 2.4X, 4X but can do 8X with other comparable media)

As you can see, some of my older drives won't support faster than 4X with this media. I'm a little surprised that my oldest (the Plextor) would support 8X, but I haven't bothered to try anything faster than 4X on any drive because I'm rarely in that much of a hurry.

My burns are generally more than 90% of disc capacity so I am almost always using most of the recordable surface. My success criteria is not just an error-free burn; I have verified several discs by reading them at max speed (on a different drive than the burner) and comparing against the original source.

For me, these are a great value. For people who prefer wider 8X and 16X compatibility, these are probably not a good choice.

I have used two brands of 16x DVDs quite a bit, verbatim and amazonbasics, so those will be my basis for comparison. Both disks work in my macintosh superdrive. The amazon disks are thicker and not as attractive as the verbatim disks, but they are cheaper. The thickness is not a problem in drives with a tray, but macbook drives don't have a tray. You put the disks into the drive, and the drive pulls them into the laptop. The thicker disks make different noises inside the drive, as if the drive may have some difficulty with the extra thickness, but I don't know whether or not it's a cause for concern. While the amazon disks will burn on my mac, they will not burn in some drives whereas the verbatim disks have never failed to burn on any drive for me. Right now, I'm considering buying only the verbatim disks because a wider variety of drives is able to burn them.

Lastly, the verbatim disks are more attractive. So if you want to give the disks to a customer or as a gift, you might want to use the verbatim.

These are reasonable quality (My ADIP was AML-003-00) and produce low error rates (PIE/C2 etc, see: [...] in a Samsung S223Q (you know, one of the few DVD writers that can burn the cheap Memorex DVD+R DL discs effortlessly and without errors), with a smooth transfer test playback that scales linearly right up to 19X on the outer edge with no dropouts or retries. HOWEVER, in a weird throwback to the early part of this decade, Amazon ships each disk with not one but two relatively huge blocks of text printed on each disc: "Amazon Basics" with the swoosh thing, and "DVD+R 4.7GBG0 16X 120min RWDVD+R"). Pretty much all good quality discs that are not $1 store cake box items tend to use a slightly opaque printed overlay with a stencilled area spelling out these no doubt essential pieces of information on every single disc. This means that you can write anywhere on the surface of the disc without the redundant text getting in the way. Maybe to save costs, Amazon's discs have no opaque surface layer, the DVD is raw (and thus very shiny and reflective), and a big percentage of the writable surface is occupied with the pointless text outlined above. With just a little change to make the discs less ugly, Amazon would get five stars from me but I am reducing it to 3three for the bad design implementation.

Firstoff, I have burned about 600 of these with no coasters. I am using the default HP BD/DVD drive that came in my laptop, so no fancy burner is being used either.

The ID of my DVD+R's was AML-003-00 (the AML's are rated as very terrible on some websites, but my results show the complete opposite). I tested these against the extremely highly rated Verbatim DVD+R single layers, and they actually outperformed them in terms of errors per sector.

Here are the results from the tests:

AmazonBasics DVD+R (AML-003-00)
PI Errors (Should not exceed 280 maximum): Average 16.04, Maximum 160.6 (the relatively high maximum was a single spike, so I ignored it as a test error)
PI Failures (Should not exceed 32 maximum): Average 0.01, Maximum 12.2

These results surprised me greatly, as they are VERY GOOD for most discs, much less a BUDGET DVD+R.

Now for the Verbatim DVD+R (MCC003)
PI Errors (Should not exceed 280 maximum): Average 29.04, Maximum 360.1 (There were 2 single high spikes, the rest of the test was very good, and since there were only 2 spikes, I didnt pay it much heed, but I would like to test another Verbatim DVD again).
PI Failures (Should not exceed 32 maximum): Average 0.04, Maximum 14.4 (There was only 1 single high spike, so I ignored it. The rest of the data was fine).

Also tested the 'terrible' Memorex DVD+R's that everyone complains about (they got 3/5 stars on amazon):
Memorex DVD+R (CMC MAG M01)
PI Errors (Should not exceed 280 maximum): Average 21.02, Maximum 140.1
PI Failures (Should not exceed 32 maximum): Average 0.02, Maximum 12.1


So all 3 DVD's performed extremely well, especially considering they are 'low-cost alternative' brands, not top-of-the-line DVD's. If you want more info on ECC PI/PO checking/errors, check out MYCE. great info there. All testing was done with Nero CD/DVD speed.

I will buy more of these when I get the chance.

I have used Fuji, Memorex, Maxell and now Amazon. I average 200+ movies per year. The Amazon are as good as the Maxell and Fuji and better than Memorex. So far I've not had any platters, but then I always use +R's and burn at 4x speed for best video quality. There is plenty of room on the disc to write your label. The packaging is well done. As for shipping Amazon double boxed. Since I live in the boonies, anytime I can purchase a good product and have it delivered to my door cheaper than going to town, I'll buy it.

The AmazonBasics 4.7GB 16x DVD+R (100-Pack Spindle) is comparable to most major brand names out there. DVD+R discs are a single-sided/single-layer one-time recordable disc that once the information is written it will be permanent. A 4.7GB discs can store up to as much data as 7 standard CDs. Store up to 2 hours of high quality video and up to 3 hours of VHS-quality video. Perfect for sharing and backing up data, home videos, and photos. DVD+R media is read compatible with the vast majority of DVD-ROM drives and DVD video players. Compressing a video into smaller file sizes will allow you to fit more recording time (4-8 hours) on the same 4.7GB disc, but keep in mind that recordings made at a longer mode length will be lower in quality due to the increased compression.

The amount of time taken to write a disc depends upon the writing speed of your recorder, the writing mode and the amount of information to be written. Be aware that the numbers that are written on the drive are simply the maximum transfer rates that your drive supports. The specific disc that you are using will also affect the actual transfer rate. In other words, if you have a DVD burner that supports a transfer rate of 32X and you are burning your files onto a 16X blank DVD, the maximum speed your burner will be able to use is 16X, even though though your burner is capable of burning at a faster rate. DVD format X=1.32MB/second. At 16X you will be able to transfer 21.12MB/second. A speedier DVD means faster burn times, a 16x disc can burn in less than 6 minutes, whereas a 4x disc can take about 15 minutes (depending of course what it is your are transferring). While higher speed recording saves time and generally results in great discs, slower speed recordings may give you your best chance for a higher quality disc, with lower error rates. This will help in less wasted discs - aka "coasters" or "sun catchers."

Amazon now offers their own line of electrical and computer accessories/supplies. AmazonBasics 4.7GB DVD+R 100-pack spindle are extremely comparable to the other manufacturers out in the market. The price is reasonable and the quality is equivalent. This item is advertised as frustration free packaging, but I do not understand why they were not shipped in the original box. Instead they came packaged inside of another box with air bags! That sounds like a waste of trees to me.

i bought one pack of 50 disc, and these are not good, it seems like the materials are very weak and then i burned a few disk and my pc had a hard time to read it again. So i will not buy it again.

Just went through my first spindle of these disks. According to the AML number they are Verbatim disks. Haven't had a coaster yet and decided to post a review while I ordered another spindle. Consistently great price and the best shipping.

When I first ordered these blank DVD's I was impressed with how reliable they were. The only complaint then from other people was the overprinting on the DVD face. Can't say that anymore, my last batch had at least 15% bad and this batch so far, may be as many as 30% (1/3) bad. I'm done with this brand, and heading back to Verbatim.