Philips 16x DVD+R media review

Introduction

Just recently Philips have been using a dye from Infomedia for their range of 8x DVD+R media. With their new 16x DVD+R offering they continue their relationship by using the new Infomedia 16x DVD+R dye. The 8x DVD+R version was a dye that was capable of some very nice results on supported recorders, but one that also gave some slower than rated speed recordings with some optical recording devcices. Will this trend continue or will the new Philips 16x DVD+R media proof to be better than the 8x DVD+R counterpart? These are questions I will be trying to answer during the course of this review.

Some information about Philips branded media:

As Philips don't make their own 16x DVD+R media, there really isn't a lot of information I can give our readers. But Philips only normally use media from manufacturers that have passed their internal quality checks and gained a license from them.

For more information about how this media meets Philips internal quality checks and gains a certified by Philips license please see Here.

The review media came to me in a spindle of 25 although 50 and 100 spindle versions are also available as well as jewel cases where stocked. I do not know if a printable version is available using the same dye code, but knowing Philips a version should be available soon. I can't gurantee it will be the same dye code as used in this review though - Philips source from different media makers upon global demand . Users of Philips media will be familiar with the branding and style of disc - nothing has changed here from earlier DVD+R versions. One thing worth pointing out though is the fact there is still no clear space for writing on. Where I would expect to find the labelling space is taken up by a huge DVD+R logo instead. I feel this is a basic courtesy that Philips have failed to take into account with end users of this media.

I must also point out that this review comes at a time when some DVD Writers may not have fully optimised support in their firmware at present. Though being Philips branded I would expect a very good level of support, especially in Philips based writers. The BenQ DW 1640 used in this review should offer that optimised support.

For the real media quality enthusiast, the batch number codes on the inner circle of the disc are clearly marked R30-0011 and 0202 respectively. The recording surface is a light purple and carries the Media ID of INFOME-R03-00 according to VSO Inspector