I receive this phone call about once a week.
“Hi Brian, I had 150 DVDs duplicated from “Company X”, but after I distributed them, I received 7-8 complaints that the DVD didn’t work properly. Is there a way to do low volume DVD Duplication that is reliable?”
The short answer is: Yes, by using high-quality media.
Here’s the long answer:
The most important factor in manufacturing a reliable CD-R or DVD-R is the blank disc. Only manufacturers that have strict manufacturing process control can consistently produce a disc blank that is within industry specifications for:
- optical characteristics
- coat coverage, and
- dye life.
So, for example, a disc manufactured with the right optical characteristics but poor dye life may record and play well for the first few months, but as the dye degrades in 6 months or a year, those discs will become useless.
There are dozens of manufacturers of blank discs operating world-wide. I lump these into three categories. (I don’t want to berate any brand so I will refrain from naming names here)
Category 1: Premium Top of the Line
Category 2: Fit for Use
Category 3: Fit for Coasters and Decorative Use
95% of Disc manufactures in the world fall into category 2 and 3 and are largely manufactured in China and Taiwan.
Category 3 (Lowest Price Media): From my experience in the Disc Duplication Industry, these discs should never be used: and there are few very popular brand names in this category. This category is your run of the mill bulk product you buy at your local warehouse store.
Category 2 (Prices here are mid range): This category is a bit of a toss up. Depending on the batch you get and how you burn them, these discs can be fairly reliable. I still would not recommend these for general distribution as I have heard about, and experienced, “batch” problems with several well known brands.
Category 1 (Best Media-Highest Cost): There are only a few companies that fall into this category. Among the top from my experience and research have been Sony, Verbatim (if they are manufactured in Japan) and Taiyo Yuden. My personal choice for consistency, reliability and overall quality is Taiyo Yuden. If you have been in the duplication industry for more than a few months you will learn about this company. They manufacture media for some very popular brand names and also sell direct to duplicators.
Staying within this category will ensure that you will get the best results for reliability, compatibility, and longevity.
Where the picture can get very confusing is at the consumer level. Many popular brands are manufactured by different companies that could be comprised of Category 1, 2, or 3. Depending on the batch, you never know what you could be buying at your local electronics store. For example one time the brand you buy may work great, and the next time it may not.
The best way to ensure that you get solid results is to use a reputable duplicator and ask them what type of media they use and if they guarantee their work.
If you are hunting around for the lowest price, be aware that in the CD and DVD Duplication world you get what you pay for.
Written By: Brian Fisher, Founder DVD Copycat (http://www.dvdcopycat.com)
Here is a related article that I found that helps explain in a little less technical nature.
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