Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Verbatim CD-R's (Read 8828 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Verbatim CD-R's

Is there really a difference between Verbatim's DataLifePlus and ValuLife CD-R products?  I have "heard" that ValuLife products are inferior to DataLifePlus products yet when I identified the media being used in my CD-RW drive using CDR Media Code Identifier I came up with this:

DataLifePlus:

ATIP:              97m 34s 22f
Disc Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Chemicals Corp.
Reflective layer:  Dye (Long strategy; e.g. Cyanine, Azo etc.)
Media type:        CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds:  min. unknown - max. unknown
nominal Capacity:  656.40MB (74m 43s 00f / LBA: 336075)

ValuLife:

ATIP:              97m 34s 22f
Disc Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Chemicals Corp.
Reflective layer:  Dye (Long strategy; e.g. Cyanine, Azo etc.)
Media type:        CD-Recordable
Recording Speeds:  min. unknown - max. unknown
nominal Capacity:  702.83MB (79m 59s 74f / LBA: 359849)

Both use the same dye strategy and are manufactured by the same company.  Is there some variable that I am not taking into account or is there really no difference between these two products?

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #1 –
Quote
DataLifePlus:
[...]
nominal Capacity:  656.40MB (74m 43s 00f / LBA: 336075)

ValuLife:
[...]
nominal Capacity:  702.83MB (79m 59s 74f / LBA: 359849)

Both use the same dye strategy and are manufactured by the same company.  Is there some variable that I am not taking into account or is there really no difference between these two products?

Yes, I think the difference is in the capacity 

About data reliability, I don't know... except that for 700MB cd-r's, more tracks are squeezed into the same physical space - so in theory they're less durable.

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #2 –
I was wondering if there was anything inferior about the ValuLife discs disregarding the capacity.

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #3 –
I'd guess that the difference is in the protective layers, which isn't reported as part of the ATIP info.  If you're willing to trust some of the product packaging, I'm guessing Verbatim made an effort to explain what supposed advantage the DataLifePlus discs have over the ValuLife discs.

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #4 –
As far as I know, and I may be wrong, The DataLife Plus are Azo disks and the Valulife's are not.  Please correct me if I am wrong. 


Also like to mention that there are some good deals available on these discs at Sam's Club.

100 spool of DataLife Plus for $22
50 spool of ValuLife for $10

Thinking these are fairly reasonable prices.  I just picked up a spool of Datalife, maybe I'll go back and grab some Valulifes and check them out
"You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight."  Neil Peart  'Resist'

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #5 –
Quote
Is there really a difference between Verbatim's DataLifePlus and ValuLife CD-R products?


Usually Verbatim ValueLife are crappy discs made by CMC, 4M...
Verbatim DataLifePlus are always Azo discs made by Mitsubishi. Much better discs than ValueLife.

I didn't know there could be ValueLife made by Mitsubishi...

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #6 –
Quote
Usually Verbatim ValueLife are crappy discs made by CMC, 4M...
Verbatim DataLifePlus are always Azo discs made by Mitsubishi. Much better discs than ValueLife.

I didn't know there could be ValueLife made by Mitsubishi...

Actually, once (about 3 years ago) I stumbled upon a batch of ValueLife made by Ricoh, which is/was one of the best manufacturers. So there you go.

And yes, there are ValueLife made by Mitsubishi (I live in Mexico and they have a factory here so they are very common). The difference, in my opinion, is the "sure" factor.
With DataLifePlus, you can be SURE you are getting mitsubishi, where with the others is always a coin toss.
I'm the one in the picture, sitting on a giant cabbage in Mexico, circa 1978.
Reseñas de Rock en Español: www.estadogeneral.com

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #7 –
Buying CD-R's was so much easier a few years ago (I'm thinking like 3-4) when one of the best way to tell the quality of the disks was by how deep of a blue the data side of the CD was. Verbatim DataLife CD's from back then are practically invincible.

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #8 –
IMHO ATIP says nothing. For example company A bought (sorry for my bad English) manufacturing equipment from MITSUBISHI, then ATIP will always show MITSUBISHI. But I don't believe the quality will be as good as real MITSUBISH  if the company A is located in Zimbabve or China.I read about it either on cdrlabs.com either cdrinfo.com or cdrfaq.org.
I would advise you to buy (if you strongly want to see VERBATIM label on CD-R) CD-R's with Super AZO printed on them-they are manufactured only by MITSUBISHI. And it seems they are rated just after KODAK CD-Rs.Again I read it on one of the listed sites.
Ogg Vorbis for music and speech [q-2.0 - q6.0]
FLAC for recordings to be edited
Speex for speech

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #9 –
I'm very confused.

I heard that ValueLife are inferior to Datalife
I heard that Datalife were inferior to datalife PLUS
I heard that there can be Datalife plus that are not Azo
I heard that the DatalifePlus super Azo 48x are crap
I heard that super Azo was for fast burners and azo for slow burners

Many info from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eac/  (perform a search), http://www.cd-rw.org news, and http://www.afterdawn.com boards.

I've got here some 48x Verbatim Datalife Plus 700 MB Super Azo, and I'm not satisfied. Huge error rate at 24x (max speed of Yamaha CRW 3200, copy difficult to read), and sometimes write errors at 16x (one CD had more than 5 of them, CRC OK, but different from the original ! SoundForge shows a few samples corrupted inside the files, substracting the secure copy with CRC OK from the original wav.

The advantage with Verbatim is that you don't need the ATIP to find if they are true Azo made by Mitsubishi for Verbatim : Azo is very dark blue. No other CDR is darker (exept black ones of course). The Super Azo ones also have a tint that I never saw before : grey.

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #10 –
Quote
I heard that super Azo was for fast burners and azo for slow burners
Azo is very dark blue. No other CDR is darker (exept black ones of course). The Super Azo ones also have a tint that I never saw before : grey.


What you call Azo is known (at least by me  ) as "MetalAzo", the old dye made by Mitsubishi for speeds until 16x. It's a nice dark blue as you say.
Then, Mitsubishi decides to move to "SuperAzo" dye, because they say that MetalAzo can't tolerate faster speeds... (will that be true, or did they need to use a "cheaper" dye in order to compete with taiwanese low prices?). From 24x speeds until 52x. In my view it's light blue, althought you see it grey, and some others a bit green.

Quote
I've got here some 48x Verbatim Datalife Plus 700 MB Super Azo, and I'm not satisfied.


Where are they made?
I think that Indian 40x SuperAzo are worse than Taiwanese 24x SuperAzo, but I can't measure it...

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #11 –
That's interesting, Pio2001.  I have a spindle of 48x, 700MB DataLife Plus discs, and they've been great.  I burn them at 40x, and none have had any errors at all.  They also seem to be a bit more scratch resistant than some other discs.

On a somewhat related note, I came across the worst discs I've ever seen.  It's a TDK my friend gave me.  I don't know what speed it was burned at, but it's in good condition.  No real scratches to speak of but it was the worst I've seen by magnitudes.

Check out this screenshot.

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #12 –
Quote
Where are they made?

I don't know.
They are CDR 700 MB 48x Crystal surface + Super azo = double protection

On the back of the jewel case, it's stated "Goods of EU origin", and the EAN code is 023942433262

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #13 –
1. The layer of my Super AZO (40x, painted like star, comes in 5 different colors) is blue-light blue. An I like them.
2. I have Verbatim DataLifePlus that aren't Super AZO. And they are from CMC Magnetics-  . And they are bad.
Ogg Vorbis for music and speech [q-2.0 - q6.0]
FLAC for recordings to be edited
Speex for speech

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #14 –
hey Pio2K1 do you have a LiteOn burner they suck with SuperAzo, MetalAzo and other dyes.

I had more luck using Imation discs (CMCs  ) than Verbatim

here's the Atip for my DataLifePlus

Code: [Select]
 This Disc is designed for CD-RW/COMBO Drive Only.
     Disc Type, Material = CD-R, Cyanine
            ATIP Lead-in = 97m 34s 22f
       Norminal Capacity = 702.83MB (79m 59s 74f)
 Disc Manufacturer maybe = Verbatim           
  SMART-BURN Speed Limit = 32X


I now use the trouble-free Taiyo Yuden.

They were even cheaper than the Imation's 
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you."

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #15 –
Quote
2. I have Verbatim DataLifePlus that aren't Super AZO. And they are from CMC Magnetics-  . And they are bad.

   
Luckily, I've never had that terrible experience... So, the key is searching for a SuperAzo logo.
DataLife (without Plus) are common, and don't use Azo (CMC).

Quote
I had more luck using Imation discs (CMCs  ) than Verbatim


Probably, Verbatim are not very good at high speeds, but I believe that dye stability is quite good, time restistant...
I have MetalAzo CDRs from 1999, and I still haven't found a C2 error except for scratched zones.

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #16 –
Quote
hey Pio2K1 do you have a LiteOn burner

No, a Yamaha CRW3200

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #17 –
I'm thinking that our good experiences and bad experiences with particular brands are related to our CD writers, and what type of discs are the best ones to use with a certain CD writer. I though it was interesting that the manual for my new Memorex drive specifically had stated which were the "best" brands to use with the drive.

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #18 –
For the CRW3200, in november 2001, Yamaha recommended

Acer, CMC, FujiFilm, GigaStorage, Kodak, Maxell, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Moser Baer India, Prodisc, Ricoh, Ritek, SKC, Tayo Yuden, TDK, and Yamaha for 1 to 16x burning speed.

For 24x, only Fuji, Kodak, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Moser Baer India, Ricoh, Tayo Yuden, and Yamaha were recommended.

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #19 –
@PIO2001-

I was wondering if you thought it may be a decent idea to start somekind of thread or database of rebadged drives.  For instance, my HP writer is really an LG 8120B.  What do you think?
"You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight."  Neil Peart  'Resist'

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #20 –
Quote
hey Pio2K1 do you have a LiteOn burner they suck with SuperAzo, MetalAzo and other dyes.

I don't think it's wise to make general statements like that.  As I mentioned in my previous post, my experiences with 48x DataLife Plus (SuperAzo) have been very good.  My burner:  48x TDK, which is just a rebranded Lite-On.

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #21 –
Argh, I have like 15 or 20 CD-R's sitting around and they're all iMation (CMC). Please tell me CMC isn't all that bad... ?

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #22 –
Quote
@PIO2001-

I was wondering if you thought it may be a decent idea to start somekind of thread or database of rebadged drives.  For instance, my HP writer is really an LG 8120B.  What do you think?

Yes! I support this, and then everybody could start testin diferent media on them. I think there must be some way to have objective testing (like ABX for audio compression) which would give more consistent results than "I have used brand X, no probs so far!"
CD Speed maybe? a test file to burn, somebody?
Pio?
I'm the one in the picture, sitting on a giant cabbage in Mexico, circa 1978.
Reseñas de Rock en Español: www.estadogeneral.com

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #23 –
I wasn't thinking as much for testing, there are plenty of sites that post CDSpeed results for drives. 

I was thinking more for people looking to buy a new drive.  For instance, Plextor is often the drive of choice.  A few years ago they were $250 (us) but you could go out and buy a Creative Labs drive for half of that and lo and behold, it was really that $250 Plextor drive in Creative clothing. 

My drive is a good example.  ANother one is that I just bought a Verbatim drive for $19.99 (us) for my girlfriend and it turned out to be an AOpen.
"You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight."  Neil Peart  'Resist'

Verbatim CD-R's

Reply #24 –
When I mentioned CDSpeed, I was talking about the error detection features to measure burn quality. And I just suggested that program from the top of my head, maybe the fine people in this forum have better suggestions.
I was thinkin  about setting up a "sticky" thread with known results for drives in association with media. For example: LiteOn 24102B: reported good with TY media.
I think we could work out a 3 or 4 level scale, in which "good" would be less than an accorded percentage of C2 errors or something.
Anyone up to the challenge?
I'm the one in the picture, sitting on a giant cabbage in Mexico, circa 1978.
Reseñas de Rock en Español: www.estadogeneral.com