There are many agents who are using video in their practices. We have been creating home tour DVDs for about three years, and over that time, we have discovered that there can be a wide array of differences in the quality of DVD media. Just to give you some idea of our experience, we have probably burned over 30,000 DVDs in our duplicating system.
In the beginning, we tried out many different brands primarily based on what was on sale. These included Memorex, TDK, and so non-marketed brands available through wholesalers to people who are burning large quantities of discs. As with most products, you get what you pay for. You may save 20-30% by buying a cheaper brand, but you will probably run across product that hasn't been properly manufactured and hiccups during the burning process. Apart from the fact that you're throwing the entire disc away, you lose time from the defective discs, and you run the risk that the disc gets sent out among the properly burned discs.
In general, I do not buy discs from the outlet stores (e.g., Circuit City), and I do not buy the brands that you find there (e.g., Memorex). I find the discs to be more expensive and lower quality. I have tried to stay with 8x discs to avoid mis-burns, and the 16x discs seem to command a premium.
What do I use? I use bulk-purchased Taiyo Yuden media. You can go through thousands of discs and never have an error. When bought in bulk from a wholesaler, they are as cheap or cheaper than the electronics or computer stores. I have bought both their economy and their premium discs. I've had a couple (but just a couple) of misburns with the economy ones, so they are a good value. I have never had a problem with the premium discs.
What's the final reason that I like to use Taiyo Yuden media? It is extremely compatible with DVD players. Not all DVDs will play in all DVD players, especially the cheaper players. I have found the T-Y media to be very playable across most DVD players.
I hope that helps the budding filmmakers.
Margaret, Carlsbad Real Estate
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