To the general public JVC is a well known, trustworthy brand. Taiyo Yuden sounds like a cheap Chinese knockoff.

i'm sure in the long run it will help sales A LOT.

When I first heard the name Taiyo Yuden, my reaction was that it's a cheap brand. Of course, experiences has shown me that it's not.

The change to JVC was probably a smart move to garner bigger sales.

JVC, the company that brought us MOD files, the biggest PITA in non-linear editing history!

Jack

Right... change the .MOD to .MPG and it drops straight into Vegas. That's a real show stopper there...

My JVC professional DV deck has been going strong since 2003. I paid $1800 for it, and it's given me every dollar's worth of that and more.

This actually happened quite awhile ago -- last spring, I think. When I found out, I did some research and so far it appears that the media itself has not (yet) been changed.

Here's an interesting and, perhaps, useful chart showing how things may be sorting out:

Taiyo Yuden to JVC Conversion Chart

American brands like Kingston sell their name to Chinese companies but maintain an American phone line and office space (warehouse) to keep up the facade, so it's tough to rely on brand names anymore.

The important news here is that Taiyo Yuden bought controlling interest in JVC's "Victor Advanced media Company" not the other way around. Also that happened in October of 2008, so if there was going to be a change in the quality of TY discs it probly would have manifested by now.

Interesting to see this thread, on the same day that I placed an order from some new TY discs, where I also saw the name change.

By the way, I noticed first time and will be trying for the first time a semi-gloss, water resistant disc from TY. This is different and less expensive than the watershields.

Chad

I don't know why some folks slam JVC so much.
My workplace has a pair of JVC 550U (1/2" 3 CCD) miniDV camcorders, a pair of BR-DV3000U miniDV recorders, a pair of SR-VS10U miniDV/SVHS recorders, a TM-910SU field monitor and 4 TM-H150CG CRT edit suite monitors (recommended here all the time).
All of these units have been in almost daily operation for the last 6 years and we have not had any problems with any of these units.
Would I buy JVC again? I certainly would.
Mike

I have a cheapo JVC VHS cancorder, DVD player, DVHS Deck, SVHS Deck, and two ditribution units and have had no problems. I don't use them that much however.
JJK

As I said in my posting, I understand that JVC's professional products have a good reputation. I am not slamming them.

However, my experience with their consumer products has been completely unsatisfactory. Two SR-VS10U's that had to go back (at my shipping expense) because they did not work and a 32 inch JVC TV that developed major picture problems at slightly over a year (out of warranty) were enough for me.

Stating the truth is not "slamming".

People are loyal to their brands for a reason. Dependability. TY may actually end up losing some of their old customers because they're not sure if they're getting actual TY discs.

ANY time a change is introduced, things always get worse before they get better. I'm sure they've taken this into account already.

As I said in my posting, I understand that JVC's professional products have a good reputation. I am not slamming them.

Ralph, my reply was not directed at you personally as I know what you meant.
Unfortunately a lot of folks infer guilt by association.
i.e. some JVC gear is bad, therefore all JVC gear must be bad.
I've owned a few pieces of JVC consumer gear over the years (including a 27" CRT TV) and have never had any problems with any of them.
YMMV and obviously does.

Mike

Ralph, my reply was not directed at you personally as I know what you meant.

A lot of people, myself included, start off as consumers, and our experience of consumer products informs our choice of (semi)pro gear.

My experience with consumer-grade JVC products was poor.

My experience with consumer-grade Sony products was better.

My experience with TY disc has given me flawless reliability.

Which brands, based on my experience, do you think I'm going to opt for? And I'll be singing the praised of which companies?

I've noticed in the last year TY dyes being sold under the 'Datasafe' brandname. Not a brand I trust.

Thanks Mike,

I was being a little thin-skinned in my reply.

RalphM

The vast majority of DVD purchasers aren't really that cognizant of the disc's reliability. They're simply looking to buy a brand name at a decent price. That's probably why crap media like Memorex sells well.

So again, this move by TY is a smart one to increase market share.

I hear JVC and I walk away for a many different reasons. I won't bore with the details.

It's all a very interesting debate about brand experiences etc. but the bottom line is every brand has some customers who get a bum steer. No manufacturer has a perfect track record.

The only manufacturer that I've ever bought a product of that was totally naff - such that I immediately returned it for a refund - was a netgear drive enclosure.