Avoid anything Ritek and Memorex like the plague. I had bought a Memorex 15 BD-R spindle and they seemed fine at the beginning, but after three months, they started skipping, and shortly after that, the content got completely erased, no blu-ray player, standalone or computer, will play them. They are absolute junk. Don't be fooled by Memorex DVD media, I didn't have much problem with them, but obviously since this experience I never bought anything Memorex again. Or Ritek, which is the company that manufactures them.

How is the quality of the Memorex media? In the early days of DVD-R I bought some especially cheap discs that turned out to be anything but a good deal. The "Ritek" code does make this seem like it might be worth getting.
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Laurence,

I usually look at the Videohelp website for Media ID code reliability. If you look at the Memorex BD-R with Media ID code Ritek BR2, It looks pretty reliable.

With 6 Comments, it has the most reviews there.

That's why I ordered two spindles.

John

Is there any information on the process used to make these lower cost BD-R's ?
There is a new batch of DVD's, and possibly BD-R's, with a new writing coating process which has had very bad reviews throughout. The discs are less sensitive and do not play correctly in most BlueRay players and they seem to fade away with time. Which is reported by a writer in this thread. There is also a set of recommended firmware upgrades to some current BD players in order to read the new process BD's. The articles indicate that the lower cost is achieved by processing the discs in the existing DVD manufacturing lines but with a spin coat instead of the true BD method. Maybe, like all new thechnology, it will improve. However, for now, we may have to be cautious.

Believe me, you might think you're getting a good deal, but you will end up with 15 discs that will play well now, but in a few months they're going to take forever to be read and will skip, and a month or two later nothing will read them and you will have to throw them away. It's not a matter of firmware upgrades, Memorex and Ritek discs are junk, period. When this happened to me I had paid around $80 for that spindle, and the aholes at Memorex didn't give me my money back, they only offered to exchange them for another spindle. Well, I'm not going to trust my personal videos to media that is junk and deteriorates four months later.

But by all means, try them. That way, in four or five months when you can't play them anymore, there will be more people boycotting Memorex.

Sebaz, its sounds like the protective coating(scratch protection) on the disk has gone bad. The actual recording layer should be intact unless exposed to strong direct UV. But UV should destroy the protective first...... some florescent bulbs emit excess UV, (more than spec. and permitted) so, don't leave them expose if possible. ;-) But there is excuse for poor media!

Is there any information on the process used to make these lower cost BD-R's ?

Yes.....................Outsourcing.

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Memorex and Ritek discs are junk

Memorex doesn't make discs. Which Ritek are junk? Media ID codes please.

John

"Media ID codes please." that would be useful......... but many "knock-off" manufacturers borrow valid Media ID codes, so, it can be tough.

I'd never use Memorex for anything, let alone Blu-rays.

Sebaz, its sounds like the protective coating(scratch protection) on the disk has gone bad. The actual recording layer should be intact unless exposed to strong direct UV. But UV should destroy the protective first...... some florescent bulbs emit excess UV, (more than spec. and permitted) so, don't leave them expose if possible. ;-) But there is excuse for poor media!

I know what you mean, but I treat all my media very carefully. I never leave any media exposed, and I always hold them by the edges. If you see these piece of junk Memorex I have they don't have a single scratch or fingerprint, and they had been in cases safely stored at normal room temperature, which in fact wasn't even remotely hot, because I bought this piece of crap spindle in January 2009 after I bought my LG blu-ray burner, and they deteriorated over the course of the next four months, so it was before summer.

Memorex doesn't make discs. Which Ritek are junk? Media ID codes please.

I suppose the way to get the media codes would be to put one of those coasters in my blu-ray burner, which I'm definitely not going to do because it could be harmful to my drive. I did that back then when they failed, and the manufacturer was Ritek, hence my statement that Memorex and Ritek media are junk. I had coasters of probably every brand, but I never had any optical media deteriorate in four months and just die on me. I know that consumer optical media is not supposed to last forever, but four months is beyond ridiculous.

Back then I searched in forums to see what was supposed to be the most reliable brand, and most people agreed that it was Verbatim. The BD-Rs and DVDs of that brand I bought since then have been reliable, and none of them has deteriorated and died so far.

Ritek made a line of high-quality DVDs probably five or six years ago, then their quality took a nose dive and they've been making sub-standard discs ever since. Memorex has always been a value-priced bottom-feeder when it comes to optical media. I won't buy either brand, I can't have shoddy media affecting my business reputation.

Well said, JC.

The dyes used to make optical disks are expensive, and bleaching from ultraviolet or other light is not the only failure mode.

If the dye does not maintain its stability due to impurities, lack of uniform thickness, cheap substitutes with greater temperature dependencies, or a number of other reasons, the disk will essentially "rot".

Those of us with original Pioneer DVD burners from ten years ago will remember paying 6 dollars apiece for blank DVDs, and desparately trying to find lower cost alternatives.

I purchased and authored hundreds of disks with brand names you probably have never heard of, most of which worked fine for a while until they ultimately faded / rotted / failed to be playable.

There is a myth / misconception that optical media are archival, stable, and long life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unlike stamped commercial disks which rely on embossed or other mechanical pressing or deformations, the burned disks with laser and dye recording methods are fragile and not especially dependable over the long term.

Buying a very good brand name and being sure it is not a forged / counterfeit / knock-off is essential as is a good burner, preferably NOT at the highest recording speeds, which always trade off spot size and contrast to get the fastest recording times.

For my recordings, I now use mostly magnetic storage, since optical has proven to be a dodgy medium, and I certainly would NOT, under any circumstances, buy cheap blanks.

Larry