Customer Reviews

Verbatim DVD-R 4.7GB 8X DataLifePlus White Inkjet Printable, Hub Printable 50pk Spindle

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

These are by-far the best printable DVD-R discs you can buy. Don't be fooled by the cheaper Memorex printables. When you open the spindle they have UGLY black printing right on the center ring and they take MANY TIMES LONGER to dry. These discs are completely white from outside edge to inside edge and have a premium surface that dries almost instantly when used with the Epson Stylus Photo R800 printer. The Memorex discs are easily smudged when they come out of the printer. Also DVD-R discs, like these, are the MOST COMPATIBLE. Once burned they are essentially the same format as professionally-recorded DVD movie or DVD-ROM media. Don't be fooled by DVD+R discs which have lots of incompatibilities. These cost more but will save you headaches. If you're looking for a drive to burn 8x media I suggest the Memorex. It's an 8X drive that does all formats (DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW & CD-ROMs) and it's inexpensive. I've never had a bad disc using the combination of these Verbatim 94854 discs and the Memorex drive.

These Verbatims are terrific. As you may know, working with DVD-R media is almost a gamble...cheap media will save you a few pennies but either give you coasters or media that plays on few players. Sticking to name brands helps, but even then, some brands rely on outside sources for their media and while one lot/batch may be good, the next batch from the same brand may be from somewhere else. Usually, you're safe with media made in Japan. These Verbatim's are made in Taiwan but, they are great..I've bought one every couple months and I'm on my 3rd spindle now.

They have a wonderful printing surface that as mentioned, dries nearly instantly in Epson printers (I use an R200). Hub printable so you can print all the way to the edge which gives your discs a terrific look when printing nice disc art or photos. Not one coaster so far, burned with Apple Powerbook 2X Superdrive as well as a Lacie D2 Firewire writer. Though the media is 8X, it works in my Panasonic DVD Recorder (DMR-E55) which recommends up to 4X media perfectly). So far, I have not encountered one person who has not been able to play the discs (Samsung, Sanyo, Panasonic, Sony, Apex, Toshiba DVD Players, PS2, XBox, no problems) . Over 134 discs so far, and they look great, play great, and are a great price for hub printable discs. Highly recommended...I'm ordering more!!

I use quite a bit of DVD-R media, and the Verbatim DataLifePlus has absolutely been the most reliable I have used. On thing to note...do NOT get the Verbatim DataLife or worse yet, ValueLife brands. They use a different formulation and are trash. Only use DataLifePlus. I have used more than 2 thousand discs of this brand and have had exactly 2 discs which were bad from all of those (there were visible flaws on those bad discs and my Roxio Toast software, on the burn verification, reported the error to me on both occasions.

The $2 MAM-A Gold's seem the best value of 'gold' discs implied to last 100 years--while the 60-cent DataLifePlus's seem the only low-priced discs that similarly claim a superior base (metal azo) to lengthen data life. The DataLifePlus discs are inexpensive enough for all everyday uses. Thus answering the need that, even if it is just HBO movies, you probably prefer never to suffer that your big pile of DVD's turn out to be useless.

2010 UPDATE:

After several years of use, I have found one problem with "white label" (aka "inkejet printable") DVD's. We maintain about 50 open (non-finalized) movie DVD's for 4 cable movies per disc in ES (extra slow) mode. Sometimes, these open 'white' DVDs would fail to read. THIS HAPPENED WITH 2 DIFFERENT BRANDS OF "WHITE LABEL" DVD. We have no such problem with ordinary "grey label" DVD's. Yes it seems absurd that the color of the label might affect the recording...? Maybe it is that the "white label" discs are designed more for computer use, not movie recording? I don't know. I sure prefer the look of the white label, but sadly, we have stopped buying them--and consequently, have stopped having those "unreadable disc" disasters...

MY RESEARCH NOTES:

--Please note that my interest is in compatibility and durability, not in fancy labels. I scribble my titles using a Delkin archival pen, or an acid-free Bic Mark-It Retractable which is available everywhere. (Note that only the 'retractable' version is 'acid-free'.)

--The durability of home-burned DVD's is not nearly as well proven as for CD's. Also, because the DVD system carries about 6 times the data, there is less error tolerance. In other words, a 60-cent Verbatim DataLifePlus CD is rather certain to last 10 to 20 years, whereas we don't really know whether any DVD, 'gold' or otherwise, might possibly self-destruct in 5-10 years. (This is not likely but possible.) For the ultimate bid for eternity, a gold CD is certainly safer than a gold DVD.

--One reviewer finds that these Verbatim DataLifePlus 'White Inkjet Printable' discs are much more likely to fail to burn than another with a 'Shiny Surface.' p.s. I NOW AGREE WITH THAT REVIEWER! (See my 2010 update above.)

--Another reviewer warns to beware of Verbatim ValueLife or DataLife discs without the 'Plus'. Sounds like good advice. Anyway, if you need a very good disc for only 40 cents after shipping, the clear choice of experts is Taiyo Yuden.

--Among the 'gold' or '100-year' discs: one reviewer says the Memorex $2 gold product is flimsy and will separate if bent slightly. Reviewers report that the Delkin gold discs have compatibility problems, and Delkins cost $3 if you want 'scratch armor.' Even assuming that this 'scratch armor' might be tougher than the MAM-A 'diamond coat' (at no extra cost)... yet after all, archival discs are for archiving! For use by children and in the car, just make an extra 60-cent copy using ValueLifePlus. Verbatim also has a 'gold' disc for about $2, but reviews are similarly lukewarm. There are not yet many reviews on 'gold' discs, so perhaps another disc may eventually seem as good as a MAM-A Gold. Nonetheless, I am convinced there is nothing better.

--'MINUS R' VS. +R. (We are not supposed to say 'minus R' but what clearer way is there to say...?) Putting it on one breath: so-called 'minus R' is the original system... and +R has theoretically better error tolerance... but which feature is not yet available... and maybe never will be... and meanwhile is a bit more likely to be incompatible... and they are on sale less often... and to stick with one format is to know that any new problems are not due to the format... so... forget about +R for me, though it probably just doesn't make any difference...

Conclusions:

. . . Use $1.25 MAM-A Gold CD's (not DVD's) for PHOTOS (and short CD-compatible videos) of weddings, babies, and graduations.
. . . Try $2.00 MAM-A Gold DVD's for any archiving that will not fit in CD's. (But if you want to be totally safe, make a second backup on a zip drive or hard drive, from which to re-burn to DVD every 10 years.)
. . . Use 60-cent Verbatim DataLifePlus DVD's for everyday copying of HBO etc., or for non-archival copies of large amounts of data for convenience or travel.
. . . Use 60-cent Verbatim DataLifePlus Crystal CD's for almost all other CD's, whether important or not. The price is always right and so is the quality! (Be sure to include the 'Crystal' scratch resistance feature.)
. . . Honorable mention goes to the 60-cent Maxell CD-R Pro. This seems to use a high quality version of the conventional base (cyanine) which after all is the most proven process, and adds a 'Triple Coated Scratch Resistance,' and claims 'superior archival life.' All for the right price. For important data, make two copies. The Maxell CD-R Pro seems a good choice for that second copy.
. . . For lots of cheap and reliable copies, consider the 40-cent Taiyo Yuden White CD-R and the 40-cent Taiyo Yuden Silver DVD-R.

If all this works as intended, it may give your great-great-grandchildren something to scratch their antennae over.

I have found the Verbatim DVD-R are very dependable. I have found that they work in just about any DVD player. These printable disks look great after printing to them from my Epson Stylus Photo R200 printer.

I have used a lot of different kinds, TDK, Verbatim, Maxell, Memorex, Imation and several other cheap brands. I agree with everyone else..........the Verbatim "Printable" are great! I use an Epson R200 printer and never a problem. As far as disc errors, I use my Phillips burner in the Computer, an HP burner and my Stand-alone Go-Video, and these discs work marvelous with all the burners............the + and -. Matter of fact when I talked with Go-Video, they recommended the Verbatim discs
as being one very compatible with the Go-Video. I've got a lot
of discs from other people that would not work on my players, but I have NEVER made one using these discs that did not play
on whatever player the other person had. I would definitely
recommend them!

These DVDs print very nicely on my Epson inkjet printer. They seem to burn nicely, and work fine. Highly recommended.

These Verbatim discs have the DataLife Plus layer of protection that will allow them to last 100+ years. I'm a professional photographer and it's crucial to store my client's digital photos and artwork onto a disc that will remain stable in years to come. I've tried many brands and types of discs and have lost data (read errors) many times but so far with the hundreds of Verbatim discs I've burned so far, I haven't had a problem yet. The Kodak brand discs were also excellent, but Kodak discontinued making them. SONY also makes a good disc. These discs can be printed on directly with an ink jet printer such as the Epson R200/R300/R320, and the surface area is printable right up to the hub! I have no reason to switch to any other brand as long as Verbatim continues to make a great disc.

I burn hundreds of DVD's. Verbatim consistently has the least number of faulty disks, maybe 1-2 in a hundred (compared to 4-5 per hundred with lesser brands). It is worth spending a little more for the quality.

I tried many different DVDs and found Verbatim to be the best. Recording success rate is 100%. These inkjet hub printable DVDs are great to use with my Epson inkjet printer. They look fabulous and work flawlessly. Price difference between Verbatim and some cheap brands is now negligible, so I would strongly recommend to choose these. You won't regret it.
I wish Verbatim also made hub printable dual layer DVDs.
And my respect to Amazon. Shipping was amazingly fast, all items included in the order came in perfect condition, well packed.