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PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2004 11:39 pm
by myckee
Hey guys, just a heads up...

Tomorrow(Fri. Aug. 20) FutureShop will have Kodak dvdr media on sale:

100 Disk Spindle = $69.99 CDN (~54US)
5 Disk Pack = $5.99 CDN (~4.60US)

Pretty cheap...only 70 cents a disk if you buy the spindle!

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 12:24 am
by dolphinius_rex
this figures... I already ordered 1 spindle of 25pcs of each type! :cry:

And by the way, the products are like this:

25pc and 100pc spindles:
DVD+R - 8x Made in India
DVD-R - 4x Made in Taiwan (100pcs made in India!)

5pks:
DVD+R - 4x Made in India
DVD-R - *2x* Made in Taiwan

So I suggest *not* getting the 5pk DVD-Rs :wink:

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 1:25 am
by myckee
dolphinius_rex wrote:....5pks:
DVD+R - 4x Made in India
DVD-R - *2x* Made in Taiwan

So I suggest *not* getting the 5pk DVD-Rs :wink:


Actually for the 5 pc boxes, the -R are made in India, and the +R are the ones made in Taiwan.

Yes it is true that the box for -R says 2x, however the media in the box (the ones I bought) are Prodisc S03 which is 4x media.

I didn't realize that the 25 and 100pc spindles of +R were 8x though...I didn't really pay attention to them as they only had the 100pc in stock and I wasn't prepared to dish out the $120 for them. So thanks! :) I am going to buy the 100pc spindle of +R first thing in the morning! :) I will post the media id when I get them home.

Keep in mind that FS will honour the price reduction if you take your receipt in to any store. So you will be able to reap the benefits of the sale.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 1:51 am
by dolphinius_rex
except that the 25pks are the ones *not* going on sale :cry:

I would have bought 2 100pc spindles at the sale price had I known about the sale :o

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 9:42 am
by myckee
Opps, ya sorry. It was late last night and I was tired, so I wasn't thinking clearly.

Well, when you do recieve the disks, you can always just take them back to the store and get a full refund.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:22 am
by myckee
Ok, I just bought a 100 spindle of the +R media. The Kodak label does say 8x, however on the top of the package there is a little sticker which says +4x. I bought them anyway, just to see what they were.

It turns out they are Media ID001 4x discs. :(

Code: Select all
00000000 08 02 00 00 A1 0F 02 00 00 03 00 00 00 26 05 3F .............&.?
00000010 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 4D 45 44 49 41 20 49 44 30 .......MEDIA ID0
00000020 30 31 00 38 23 54 37 13 02 4A 71 02 90 66 16 16 01.8#T7..Jq..f..
00000030 0B 0B 0A 0A 01 1C 1E 0B 0C 12 12 01 00 00 00 00 ................


Well I'm heading off right away to FS to exchange these for the -R disks. I'm hoping they will be the same Prodisk S03 which I got in the 5 pack, however since it seems Kodak is playing games with the media, who knows what it will be. I'll keep you posted.

On thing to note is that there is no spacer to fill the void at the top of the spindle, so the discs are just sort of floating around in the package. The first few near the top show very evident signs of scuffing from the movement against each other.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:54 am
by myckee
Ok, I just returned home from FS with the echanged 100 spindle of -R.

These ones show and ID I have never seen berfore:

Code: Select all
00000000 00 6A 00 00 01 40 C1 FD 9E D8 52 00 02 EA 0B 14 .j...@....R.....
00000010 76 78 80 00 03 56 41 4E 47 55 41 00 04 52 44 00 vx...VANGUA..RD.
00000020 00 00 00 00 05 88 80 00 00 00 01 00 06 0B 10 11 ................


I have never seen VANGUARD media before. Anyone know anything about this stuff, of should I just head back right away and get a refund?

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 1:26 pm
by dolphinius_rex
wow... that certainly fills in the blanks a little.

I don't know anything about Vanguard... but in theory, Kodak SHOULD be getting specialty media of some sort, made for them to their specs. But maybe that is expecting too much from a company now a little desperate not to go bankrupt :o

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 2:15 pm
by myckee
Well, since my Lg 4040B doesn't have a 4x write descripter for these Vanguard disks, meaning I can only burn them at 2x, I am off to FS for a refund. I guess I'll just stick with the +R media I have been buying all along with the RicohJPN R01 code. Kodak media has wasted enough of my time.

Code: Select all
                            Media Information                           
Region information                                    N/A not a DVD-VIDEO
Media code/Manufacturer ID                                       VANGUARD
Format Capacity                                             Not Formatted
Free Blocks                                                     412352512
Free Capacity                                              4.38GB(4.71GB)
Book Type                                                           DVD-R
Media Type                                                          DVD-R
Media Id Code Speed                                       4.0x   5540KBps
Available Write Descriptor                           CLV  2.0x   2770KBps
Write Strategy Speed                                        4.0x 5540KBps
2x Speed OPC beta                                                      0B
2x Speed OPC power                                                     10
2x Write Strategy field 1                                     11 87 78 80
2x Write Strategy field 2                               88 80 00 00 00 00
4x Speed OPC beta                                                      06
4x Speed OPC power                                                     17
4x Write Strategy field 1                                     0D 10 0A 0B
4x Write Strategy field 2                                     98 08 0F 0B
4x Write Strategy field 3                                     00 00 00 00
4x Speed OPC beta multi-pulse                                          06
4x Speed OPC power multi-pulse                                         1C
4x Write Strategy field 4                                     13 A8 88 65
4x Write Strategy field 5                               98 9A 88 80 00 00
4x Write Strategy field 6                                  00 00 D0 00 00
Data area starting sector                                          30000h
Linear Density                                                0.267um/bit
Track Density                                                0.74um/track
Number of Layers                                                        1

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 4:07 pm
by alien7
I went to Future Shop today and saw piles of Kodak DVD media, but no one was buying them. I bought 2*25 pack of Memorex DVD+R for $25 each, they work well with my BenQ 822.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 5:42 pm
by Wesociety
I've tested VANGUARD DVD-Rs.
Scans
Discussion and additional scans

It appears that Kodak is buying the cheapest crap that they can get ahold of and rebranding it... :(

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:34 pm
by dolphinius_rex
Here's a little more intrigue for everyone, as if the whole MID code thing wasn't enough! :o

I sent this e-mail to Kodak Canada:

Hi there,

I am just wondering about your new Kodak DVD-R and DVD+R media that is being sold here:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?
logon=&langid=EN&dept=2&WLBS=fsweb17&sku_id=0665000FS10046121&catid=1250
1&newdep
tid=2
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?
logon=&langid=EN&dept=2&WLBS=fsweb17&sku_id=0665000FS10046129&catid=1250
1&newdep
tid=2

Now personally, I am a tester and reviewer of blank media. I have strong associations with both www.cdrinfo.com and www.cdrlabs.com, and have quite some knowledge of this particular field. Back in "the day" I always was impressed with not only the initial burn quality of Kodak's Ultima Gold line of CD-Rs, but even more so with their incredible longevity! Such results have still never been even rivaled, let alone beaten even to this day!! So it was with high and happy expectations that I saw your new Kodak DVD media hit the shelves at futureshop. However, Kodak quit the optical media manufacturing business quite some time ago... so I'm of course a little skeptical about if this media is legit or not....

So I guess what I'm asking is, is this media really officialy Kodak media? if so, can you show me where I can find some sort of official details on it (on your webpage).

Thanks!!
******* *****


And the message I received back was this:

We no longer make the product.

Thank you for contacting Kodak. If we can be of any further assistance, please give us a call at 1-800-465-6325 extension 36100. We can be reached Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time.

Regards,

Doug B.
KODAK Information and Technical Support
Kodak Canada, Inc.


I'm not yet sure what to make of this answer.... but I'm starting to wonder if perhaps this media is counterfeit? I have some doubts that Kodak would return for a single run of DVDR media, and then drop out again :o

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2004 2:59 pm
by jberry
why use Kodak media.....remember the debacle they had with their gold CDrs? The dyes were demoed after a year...what junk....I saw some gold cd-rs in a staples afterwards...manager there said never again. they were selling them 50 for $5.....given that the media seems to be a dog's breakfast (see posts from others above re dvdinfo pro etc) don't waste your time.....this company, unfortunately, is dead in the water.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2004 3:29 pm
by dolphinius_rex
Ok, I know what's up now...

I had to call in, and get transferred around several times, before I finally got the phone number that got me the answer.

here's a useful website for everyone:
www.kmpmedia.com

basically what happened is, KMP has been given all licensing provisions for creating and distributing a Kodak brand line of recording media, like DVDRs, VHS tapes, and the like. Eastman Kodak has nothing to do with it, and can only give you the phone number on the KMP webpage if you approach them with questions regarding these products. Actually, it's more likely that people at Kodak will tell you that these products don't exist :o

Anyways, long story short; Kodak DVDRs and CDRs now have NOTHING to do with the golden reputation that once was Kodak.

Too bad :cry:

PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:19 pm
by digitaldoc
It was too good to be true. Kodak should realize from this that is definitely a market for a consistently high quality media. And folks are willing to pay a premium for such a product. I have Kodak Gold CD-R's that have stood up very well.

PostPosted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:39 am
by myckee
Since the Prodsc media seems to be pretty good stuff, it is possible to determine whether you are getting the better Prodisc or the crap media.

I posted the "guide" over at videohelp.com:
http://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopi ... 41#1025541

PostPosted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 11:10 am
by articulate
C'mon, guys, Kodak media made in India and Taiwan . . . ? :o :o :o
Har-de-har-har!!

PostPosted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 2:50 pm
by jberry
Future Shop I went to had tons....manager there, who I know, said they want to dump them...said they will never sell after the CD-R nonsense...said they will be even cheaper later.

PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 4:40 pm
by milgram
jberry wrote:Future Shop I went to had tons....manager there, who I know, said they want to dump them...said they will never sell after the CD-R nonsense...said they will be even cheaper later.


no wonder they're still on sale in Future Shop...

those "Kodak' discs are really so trashy??

PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 5:24 pm
by dolphinius_rex
milgram wrote:
jberry wrote:Future Shop I went to had tons....manager there, who I know, said they want to dump them...said they will never sell after the CD-R nonsense...said they will be even cheaper later.


no wonder they're still on sale in Future Shop...

those "Kodak' discs are really so trashy??


*YES* they are crap!

Re: The return of Kodak recordable media!!

PostPosted: Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:25 pm
by AlienTech
dolphinius_rex wrote:I've only seen it one place, but it looks legitimate. From what people have told me, it is made in India, so most likely made by MBIL.


Some Kodak media available in Canada are VDSPMSAB. Saw someone get these on sale for 15 cents each.

But some other kodak media id's are PRODISC.R02, PRODISC.R03, VANGUARD, MEDIA.ID001, ProdiscS03.

Guess The original Kodak Quality aint a high point any longer. I still have original Kodak CD-R's they used for the Photo CD decades ago that still work.

PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2004 11:20 am
by wicked1
dolphinius_rex wrote:I just prefer the "hands on approach" with things... it's my personal preference. I like to know my suppliers, and I like to know who to give hell to when I don't get what I expect. When you know your sales rep, and try to use the same one everytime, you build a relationship with them, and if they eventually learn that false advertising to you gets them reprimanded by the boss.... eventually they learn that you aren't one of the regular customers that can be screwed over. The sooner my suppliers learn I know more about the products they sell then they do, the sooner they learn to cut the crap when I talk to them! :wink:


sounds like my relationship with my uhh connections 8)