Taiyo Yuden decent media?

[JonH]

I just bought a couple of hundred Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-R DVD01X0166-100, which are ink jet printable. I looked at reviews on the web and these looked like they were supposed to be top of the line. Well, more than half of them would not load when inserted in my DVD player. I've had bad discs before but never had a loading problem (maybe one or two out of hundreds).
I've used Fugi, Verbatim, and probably at least 5 other brands and never had this problem. Is there a known problem with TY's?
Thanks.
Jon

[arciervo]

I just bought a couple of hundred Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD-R DVD01X0166-100, which are ink jet printable. I looked at reviews on the web and these looked like they were supposed to be top of the line. Well, more than half of them would not load when inserted in my DVD player. I've had bad discs before but never had a loading problem (maybe one or two out of hundreds).
I've used Fugi, Verbatim, and probably at least 5 other brands and never had this problem. Is there a known problem with TY's?
Thanks.
Jon

Because Taiyo Yuden media is so well-regarded (and sells at a premium price), it's also a prime target for being faked. If these were sold to you as genuine Taiyo Yudens (not just described as DVDs with a Taiyo Yuden media code), I would recommend that you contact the vendor.

There is a database of media codes at http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia; you may want to try running one of the free media info utilities and see if you can find a match in the database.

Tony

[KvHagedorn]

I use DVD Identifier to find out for sure.

http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=DVD_Identifier

[Debbie]

I've also had fakes. I think the best way to know, if you can buy them off a spindle, just buy a "couple" at random places off the spindle try them out and if pleased with the results get more.

Or if you have a steady supplyer, like I have, go and change them. Fakes are appearing
far too often.

Are DVD media identifires safe ?
ie. Will they not give you whatever info. is on the media, being faked info. or not ?

Debbie

[JonH]

Thanks Tony, KV and Debbie. This is an interesting issue. Actually, I bought 100 ink jet printables and 100 silver tops. I downloaded the identifyer program and this is what I got.

Silvertops

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD-R:TYG01]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc & Book Type : [DVD-R] - [DVD-R]
Manufacturer Name : [Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd.]
Manufacturer ID : [TYG01]
Blank Disc Capacity : [2,298,496 Sectors = 4.71 GB (4.38 GiB)]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ink jet printables

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD-R:TYG02]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc & Book Type : [DVD-R] - [DVD-R]
Manufacturer Name : [Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd.]
Manufacturer ID : [TYG02]
Blank Disc Capacity : [2,298,496 Sectors = 4.71 GB (4.38 GiB)]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

So it looks like they are legit I guess. Or, as DEbbie asks, could they still be fake? Also, what is the difference between TYG01 and TYG02?

Thanks.

Jon

[Debbie]

If I'm not mistaken the difference is in the type of dye that is used.

[arciervo]

Thanks Tony, KV and Debbie. This is an interesting issue. Actually, I bought 100 ink jet printables and 100 silver tops. I downloaded the identifyer program and this is what I got.

Silvertops

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD-R:TYG01]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc & Book Type : [DVD-R] - [DVD-R]
Manufacturer Name : [Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd.]
Manufacturer ID : [TYG01]
Blank Disc Capacity : [2,298,496 Sectors = 4.71 GB (4.38 GiB)]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ink jet printables

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD-R:TYG02]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc & Book Type : [DVD-R] - [DVD-R]
Manufacturer Name : [Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd.]
Manufacturer ID : [TYG02]
Blank Disc Capacity : [2,298,496 Sectors = 4.71 GB (4.38 GiB)]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ DVD Identifier - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

So it looks like they are legit I guess. Or, as DEbbie asks, could they still be fake? Also, what is the difference between TYG01 and TYG02?

Thanks.

Jon

You might want to check the complete media code, rather than just the manufacturer ID. For example, this page shows the complete media code for real "TYG01" Taiyo Yudens:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia.php?selectmedia=1625#comments

The exact same header information shows up in legitimate DVDs sold under the Fujifilm and Verbatim brand names (among others). On the other hand, this poor quality media:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia.php?selectmedia=2867#comments

also has a "TYG01" manufacturer code but differs in several bytes in the complete media code. One of the comments on this page mentions that the discs were made in Hong Kong; this is a definite giveaway since all legitimate TY media is made in Japan.

Another way in which a knock-off may differ from the real McCoy is in the serial numbers written on the disc hub (but these could be faked as well ).

There's a good article on all of this (written from a Canadian perspective) at:

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/Gazin/2005/05/12/1036856.html

Tony

[Debbie]

That's what I mean. You're never too sure what you're buying, so the best bet is the try and buy option. It has workd well for me.

Debbie

[JonH]

Try and buy sounds good, but I don't know if a company will send me a disc to try. Anyway, here is my entire MID block for my TY ink jet printable TYG02.

0000 : 01 40 c1 fd 9e d8 52 00 02 87 0d 10 66 78 80 00 .@....R.....fx..
0010 : 03 54 59 47 30 32 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .TYG02..........
0020 : 05 aa a2 22 22 20 02 00 06 08 0e 11 87 78 80 00 ..."" .......x..
0030 : 07 88 80 00 00 00 00 00 08 06 13 0d 10 0e 07 00 ................
0040 : 09 97 07 0d 0b 78 88 00 0a 80 00 00 00 00 10 00 .....x..........
0050 : 0b 06 18 17 85 78 75 00 0c d6 89 a8 92 01 20 00 .....xu....... .
0060 : 0d 10 00 d0 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..........

Is there something here I can interpret or compare to? Also, ran a Kprobe 2 test on disc that wouldn't load for me at 1X with PI Sum=1 and PIF sum=8. Got avg PI = 21.96 and avg PIF=1.49. I think these are supposed to be good ratings, but correct me if I'm wrong. If they are, then maybe my DVD player needs cleaning.

Also, I bought these from Supermediastore on the net. Are they reputable?

Thanks.

Jon

[arciervo]

Try and buy sounds good, but I don't know if a company will send me a disc to try. Anyway, here is my entire MID block for my TY ink jet printable TYG02.

0000 : 01 40 c1 fd 9e d8 52 00 02 87 0d 10 66 78 80 00 .@....R.....fx..
0010 : 03 54 59 47 30 32 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .TYG02..........
0020 : 05 aa a2 22 22 20 02 00 06 08 0e 11 87 78 80 00 ..."" .......x..
0030 : 07 88 80 00 00 00 00 00 08 06 13 0d 10 0e 07 00 ................
0040 : 09 97 07 0d 0b 78 88 00 0a 80 00 00 00 00 10 00 .....x..........
0050 : 0b 06 18 17 85 78 75 00 0c d6 89 a8 92 01 20 00 .....xu....... .
0060 : 0d 10 00 d0 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..........

Is there something here I can interpret or compare to? Also, ran a Kprobe 2 test on disc that wouldn't load for me at 1X with PI Sum=1 and PIF sum=8. Got avg PI = 21.96 and avg PIF=1.49. I think these are supposed to be good ratings, but correct me if I'm wrong. If they are, then maybe my DVD player needs cleaning.

Also, I bought these from Supermediastore on the net. Are they reputable?

Thanks.

Jon

According to this page, the media code looks right:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia.php?selectmedia=2399#comments

Apparently, you should also expect to see serial numbers near the hub of the form "GG******".

Interestingly, one of the comments mentions a problem with white printable media used with an LG GSA-4120B burner. Any chance that you have the same model? If so, you might want to check for a firmware upgrade.

BTW, some companies do sell single discs. This is not very cost-effective but it may be the only way to tell whether a given make of DVD will work with your burner.

Tony

[JonH]

Thanks, Tony. I have a Lite-On burner. I'm thinking my DVD player must be messed up or dirty. Is there a certain part of the media code that determines a match? The code in the link you gave me is

00 6C 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 52 00 02 87 0D 10 .l...@....R.....
66 78 80 00 03 54 59 47 30 32 00 00 04 00 00 00 fx...TYG02......
00 00 00 00 05 AA A2 22 22 20 02 00 06 08 0E 11 ......."" ......

While some of the numbers match up, a lot fo them don't.

Jon

[arciervo]

Thanks, Tony. I have a Lite-On burner. I'm thinking my DVD player must be messed up or dirty. Is there a certain part of the media code that determines a match? The code in the link you gave me is

00 6C 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 52 00 02 87 0D 10 .l...@....R.....
66 78 80 00 03 54 59 47 30 32 00 00 04 00 00 00 fx...TYG02......
00 00 00 00 05 AA A2 22 22 20 02 00 06 08 0E 11 ......."" ......

While some of the numbers match up, a lot fo them don't.

Jon

Some of the bytes are irrelevant; the ones that can be ignored are described on this page:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmediaform.php?dvdinfo=1#dvdinfo

Note that the "DVD Identifier" utility automatically discards the beginning 4-byte header; the "DVDInfoPro" utility (which was used to create the listings at VideoHelp) does not. For this reason, you need to skip over the first four bytes of the VideoHelp listing before doing a comparison. Another difference between the utilities is the way in which they represent hexadecimal digits; "DVD Identifier" uses "a" to "f" and "DVDInfoPro" uses "A" to "F". For testing purposes, assume that "a" matches "A", "b" matches "B", etc.

Tony

[JonH]

Thanks, TOny.

[Maggi]

Hi Jon,

at least make sure you have the latest firmware for your burner installed, as the manufacturers progressively add more and more media types to get them properly recognized by their drives.

http://www.liteonamericas.com/us/download.htm