OT: no more Taiyo-Yuden DVDs?

rs170a wrote on 6/16/2015, 7:37 AM
A friend just sent me this. I've been using this brand for years, especially the WaterShield ones, and love the quality.
Now what am I going to use :(

Mike


To Our Valued Business Partners:
June 11, 2015
Business Withdrawal by Victor Advanced Media Co., Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Victor Advanced Media Co., Ltd. hereby announces that it has decided to withdraw from all businesses including the recording media business as explained in detail below.

Victor Advanced Media Co., Ltd. and all of our associates would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt appreciation for your long-lasting support. We are truly grateful for your business.

1. Reasons behind the business withdrawal
Victor Advanced Media has developed businesses centered on optical recording media. As the larger storage capacity of hard disc drives (HDDs) and the
use of cloud computing is driving changing market conditions, the market for optical media products has been diminishing. Due to the decline in demand in recent years and market outlook it has become increasingly difficult to expect improvement in the future business environment.

Amid such circumstances and consistent with the policies of our parent company, TAIYO YUDEN CO., LTD., we have decided to withdraw from our businesses in their entirety.

2. Affected companies
1) Victor Advanced Media Co., Ltd.
2) JVC Advanced Media U.S.A. Inc. (U.S. sales subsidiary)
3) JVC Advanced Media EUROPE GmbH (European sales subsidiary)
4) JVC Advanced Media (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. (Chinese sales subsidiary)

3. Future schedule
Our sales activities are scheduled to be terminated in December 2015.

Sincerely yours,
Hiroki Okamatsu
President and Representative Director
Victor Advanced Media Co., Ltd.

Comments

Kimberly wrote on 6/16/2015, 8:33 AM
I received a similar email from Polyline. They changed their name last year but I'm having a senior moment and cannot remember their old name. These guys envision having supplies into 2016 for those who are in need.

=====

June 11, 2015

Earlier today, Victor Advanced Media, manufacturer of JVC Advanced Media brand (formerly Taiyo Yuden brand) recordable CD and DVD products, announced their intention to withdraw from the disc manufacturing business, in December 2015. A copy of their announcement can be downloaded by clicking here. Their plans are to continue manufacturing these products until the end of this year, and Polyline will continue to have them available for purchase in ample quantities well into 2016.

Taiyo Yuden and JVC have been partners with Polyline for many years, and we continue to appreciate the value of that partnership. As the most preferred source of JVC Advanced Media products in the United States, we feel it is important to inform our customers of this news, and explain the exact details, so there is no misunderstanding in the marketplace.

The supply of JVC/Taiyo Yuden disc media remains fully intact. All current part numbers remain available for purchase, and no part numbers have been discontinued. Ample stock is on hand in our warehouse locations as it always has been. Our inventory and delivery of these products will remain as complete and prompt as it always has been until then. We know that JVC Taiyo Yuden media is manufactured to the most demanding specifications and quality control measures, and will continue to be as long as it is available.

Polyline is the largest dealer of Falcon and Verbatim premium brands of disc media, and all other major brands. So, we are prepared when the time comes, to provide a number of viable product options for you, as JVC Taiyo Yuden product begins to phase out, expected to be in early to mid-2016. We are also committed to providing you with whatever products or solutions you need in the distribution of your recorded content, whether it be disc, tape, flash media, or online distribution. We can provide consultation and expertise in advance of any changes you wish to make in the way you distribute your content.

Demand for disc media remains strong amongst the professional production community and in a number of industrial applications. We therefore remain committed to supplying the professional market with the disc media products needed for as long as this demand exists, which we expect will be many more years to come.

We strongly suggest that if you are told anything contrary to the information above, that you call us for the facts. We will keep you informed as to the status of these products, well in advance of any decisions you may need to make. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your Polyline sales representative, at 1-877-807-8095 .

Sincerely,

Your Polyline Sales Team
Dach wrote on 6/16/2015, 9:13 AM
This is unfortunate to hear, partially because TY has been my preferred brand. That said, we have time to stock up and prepare for the fact that our business models will be impacted by the lack of distribution options. I expect that that other companies will follow suite in the coming years.

In due process an optical disc will just not be an option or have a demand. For my studio, Blu ray, while made available never really became a popular. Something that is physical, like a disc allows the person to touch, hold, "own" and add value to their investment. A digital file is just not the same, let alone the ease of the simple copy / paste approach of sharing. I'll stop short of an all out rant.

- Chad

DGates wrote on 6/16/2015, 10:33 AM
It sucks to lose a brand you like. But just go with Verbatim's. I've had no problems with using them for years.
dxdy wrote on 6/16/2015, 10:57 AM
Has anyone been using the Falcon DVDs? A friend swears by them.

I have burned 100s of TYs, maybe even 1000s, and never, ever had a return.
DavidMcKnight wrote on 6/16/2015, 11:33 AM
I've burned, printed, and delivered probably 6000 TYs. Never had a problem that the verification process didn't catch first and those were rare.

I don't deliver many discs these days but I'm gonna miss TY.
vtxrocketeer wrote on 6/16/2015, 12:30 PM
@dxdy: Yes, I use Falcon White Smart Guard DVD's and Blu-ray's for all of my projects. I print directly to disc. They look beautiful. Never had a bad burn or a customer with a problem disc. They're not the least expensive. Also, they're problem-free.
rs170a wrote on 6/16/2015, 7:12 PM
DGates, Verbatim is my fall back brand but they have nothing to compare to the WaterShield brand from TY :(

vtxrocketeer, thanks for the heads up on Falcon. I'll see if my usual suppliers stock them for future consideration.

Mike
riredale wrote on 6/16/2015, 7:39 PM
I switched to Falcon "Smart Guard" disks several years ago from TY, with no ill effects.

I did the change, as I recall, because Falcon made the water-resistant coating for both DVD and CD blanks. Another factor was that blacks produced by my Canon IP3000 printer dried to a darker shade of grey than they did on the TY disks.

Price is about the same as the TY Watershield. I really like them, never a failure.
rs170a wrote on 6/16/2015, 9:04 PM
I checked pricing from a few of my usual suppliers and was surprised to find out that the Falcon brand was cheaper than the TY. Even more surprising, they were cheaper in Canada (or the same price) as a lot of the US vendors.

Mike
PeterDuke wrote on 6/17/2015, 12:56 AM
Falcon does not seem to be available in Australia, and ebay sales are of the order of about $1-50 per disc in quantity after shipping from UK.

I don't make many DVDs or BDs these days, but I do make quite a few CDs, and am currently using TY WaterShield.

Woe is me :-(
craftech wrote on 6/17/2015, 7:06 PM
Haven't ever used the TY DVDs, but the ultra reliable ones I have been using for years are still available. They are Verbatim 94854 with a media ID code of MCC 02RG20.

John
MSmart wrote on 6/18/2015, 1:33 AM
Are the Verbatim 94854 discs matte or glossy? Waterproof?

The price for Watershields at my supplier is already up 30 cents per disc.

I never heard of the Falcons before (as I never thought to look elsewhere) but I'm glad there's an alternative. I still produce about 200 discs a year.

I found this video which has a color comparison at the end, too bad it's a gray scale example.



I print with a Canon so don't have the roller mark issue but it's interesting to see the comparison between the discs.
DGates wrote on 6/18/2015, 2:18 AM
I have a Canon and I get roller marks. Not as bad as others, but noticeable enough for me. So I just stick with minimal text on a matte surface.
riredale wrote on 6/18/2015, 11:56 AM
Huh. I guess different Canon printers use different roller pressures, or something. No roller marks on either TY or Falcon when I print with my old Canon IP3000 printers.

These 4-color printers that were sold in the USA were not equipped to print disks (patent issue), but the one hardware part needed is readily available and the printers can be easily converted. My only issue with them is that "black" on a disk fades after a day or so into a very dark slate gray. But I can live with that.
craftech wrote on 6/18/2015, 5:41 PM
Are the Verbatim 94854 discs matte or glossy? Waterproof?
-------------------------------------------------------
They are relatively matte. NOT waterproof. Haven't smeared them yet.

I print with Canon CD Label Print and use the 'dark' setting for "saturation"

John
MSmart wrote on 6/18/2015, 5:55 PM
@craftech, thanks.

@riredale, I bought my iP4500 from Canada to got the disc printing capabilities without hacking. I think the patent/license issue no longer applies as newer Canon printers can print to disc now.

My only issue with them is that "black" on a disk fades after a day or so into a very dark slate gray. But I can live with that.

I can't. Are you printing high quality so the photo black (cli) ink is used instead of the pigment (pgbk) black?

Have you noticed color shifting with any other colors?
MSmart wrote on 7/10/2015, 10:21 PM
I just bought a spindle of the Falcon Media Smart Guard DVD-R discs. With my limited experience with them so far, I'm very happy.

They have a whiter face than the Watershield with just slightly less of a mirror gloss to them. I've only printed 15 discs so far but they print with a little more contrast and the images appear to be somewhat sharper. I actually like the way the print more so than the Watershields. I wish I would have found out about them sooner.

I haven't noticed any color shifting in the blacks or other colors.