Verbatim 16x DVD-R media review

home - reviews - dvd media reviews

Posted on 28 Feb 2005 by SirQUK

Conclusion

The MCC030RG20 dye code used for the Verbatim 16x DVD-R branded media seems to be carrying on the tradition that Mitsibushi Chemicals have established when supplying Verbatim with their media. We encountered no bad or fatal recordings on any of the used review recording devices.

We where extremely satisfied with the test results on both of our NEC DVD writers and the Philips DVDR1640, with the NEC 3500 AG recording this media in a very quick time of 5 mins 42 secs. There are promises that the NEC ND-3520 will introduce an even faster P-CAV writing strategy and we look forward to seeing how the Verbatim 16x DVD-R media holds up to the faster speeds. We will keep you informed via our Media Forum when/and this new writing strategy is introduced.

Not mentioned until now is the amount of media we actually tested with 5 pieces being used for each writer and the results shown are very consistent with the rest of the tested pieces of media. CD Speed gave similar scan results in the region of +/- 5% on all 5 pieces tested in each of the review drives, showing to this reviewer that the Verbatim 16x DVD-R was of a very consistent quality.

While looking at the results from the Disc Quality tests you may notice rather alarmingly low scores on some results and may be wondering how come CDR-Zone.COM are giving the Verbatim 16x DVD-R media a good rating. This can best be explained by first explaining how CD Speed comes to its Quaity Score. It is based soley on maximum reported PIF errors. So if single spikes similar to what have been reported by the Liteon-It 1653S whilst scanning are found the Disc Quality score really does take a beating. Although the Quality score has to be based on something, it does not take into account the known bug in the MediaTek chipset used by the this particular Liteon and hopefully the transfer and playback tests are proof enough that these single spikes really do not effect the final recording. If you ignore this 'bug' and remove these spikes from the equation, the Quality scores would be in the 90's.

For those with BenQ or Philips writers that support the Disc Quality test feature in CD Speed scan the recordings of the Verbatim 16x DVD-R media from the NEC and Pioneer writers, this bug is not apparent and the spikes will not be seen. We did actually scan our recordings in the Philips DVDR 1640 where no spikes where noted and the Quality score was indeed in the 90's, although the Liteon was used as its scanning method most closely matches official standards that would be used in an industry CAT scanner which is what the industry uses to determine similar errors as the Disc Quality test in CD Speed shows.

Note on Verification tests:

We will only show sector scanning and verification results if the recorded media had problems resulting in errors being found. If you dont see a verification test in our new style of media reviews then the you can safely assume none where found during our tests.

Judging by the results of our extensive tests, 16x seems a good optimised recording speed for this media with the Philps DVDR 1640, NEC ND-3520 and NEWC 3500 under present firmwares. The Liteon-IT 1653S reached its maximum DVD-R recording speed also to Verbatim 16x DVD-R media with a very low PI Failure total.

Not quite every piece of media we tested made it to 16x on all tested writers capable of 16x-R recording, but over 9/10 did giving a very good overall average. We are happy that the results we have shown in this review are equal to the average of all our tests carried out on each writing device. All the drives used during this review showed nothing but very good results for this media during our tests assuring us that Verbatims now famous quality control does not seem to suffer at high recording speeds as a whole.

Please feel free to talk about the review in our Media Forum

About Verbatim - Europe:

Verbatim is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Media and provides information storage products, computer and imaging consumables, and related accessories, which deliver valuable solutions to customers and end users.

Verbatim deliver products and services that exceed customer expectations by leveraging our technology leadership, as well as our world class manufacturing, marketing, and distribution capabilities.

Verbatim are able to market the latest and innovative products due to the extensive research and development that is undertaken by parent company Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation in Japan.

Verbatims entire product range meets extremely high standards of quality that are set by Verbatim as a corporation. No matter what product, or where in the world it is manufactured, every product meets the Verbatim standard of quality - which is second to none.

Tested on: