Burn Baby Burn (Verbatim Lightscribe DVD+R 4.7 GB 16x)

Member Name: yackers1

Product:	Verbatim Lightscribe DVD+R 4.7 GB 16x
Date:	03/11/09 (104 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Durable, low failure rate, can etch on a label

Disadvantages: Slower than other discs on the market

Verbatim light scribe DVD+Rs are discs used to back up and burn all your home movies on. Each disc can store up to 4.7 GB of data, which equates to roughly 2 hours of film, which I consider to be more than enough for a home movie since I find people tend to get bored after an hour or so.

One of the best features of the verbatim is the light scribe facility. For those of you that are unaware a light scribe facility enables you to print an iridescent label directly on the face of the disc meaning no more sticky labels (that tend to peel off) or scribbling with a marker pen. What's more, with light scribe you are not limited to just text as it is possible to etch an image (either a picture taken from the internet or one of your own digital photographs) straight on to the disc creating a professional looking label every time. If you are really anal you can edit photos and text, or create your own images in some "artistic" package, such as paint, and etch these to the disc. The opportunities are endless.

With the aid of one of the many burning programs available, creating a DVD and etching a label is very simple. Personally, I use Nero version 9, which is available as a free download from the Nero site. The free version doesn't have the features of the full program but I find it does everything I want it to so why pay for the upgrade? In order to etch the label you need a specific light scribe burning drive and the light scribe software (a small download that is totally free from the internet). It is simply a case of burning the data on to the disc, ejecting the disc and turning it label side down, putting it back in the drive and then etching the label. It is simply "burn, flip, burn".

The verbatims come with an "image ready coating for scratch resistant labels" and I can confirm that the coating is exceptionally durable and I have had little problems with labels scratched off in normal use. If you mistreat the verb and give it a bit of hard then the label will scratch off, but then this is the case with all light scribe discs so it can't be marked down in these circumstances. If you are careful then you should find the label will easily last the life of the disc, unlike light scribe labels on other discs I have used in the past. Some labels have lasted just a few weeks before they have started to scratch off, even during normal use.

As with all light scribe discs, the final quality of the etched label will depend upon the level of detail of the image and the amount of colours. The label will be monochrome so images with a small number of bold colours will work best. Compared to other light scribe discs I find the etched label bolder, better defined and more crisp when using the verbatims. I have copied the same image on to a Memorex disc and a verbatim disc and the verbatim was noticeably better.

I find the build quality of the verbatim discs second-to-none. Compared to other discs I have used in the past it feels more solid and doesn't flex as much, despite being the same thickness. I also find the verbatims don't tend to scratch as easily, hence they last longer. The verbs just seem to be better all round and superior to other discs on the market.

Prior to using verbatim discs I used to find that approximately 1 in 6 discs would fail during the burning process, rendering it useless. Discs failing is very annoying especially if you manage to get the data on it and it fails during etching the label. Since using the verbatims I have found the failure rate has decreased dramatically. I would estimate the failure rate is now less than 1 in 20, which I consider very good. Unfortunately disc failure is something that will never be totally eradicated.

The verbatim packet states 16x light scribe, but the disc is read at 16X. The writing speed is 8X, which is the same as most discs on the market. Some discs have a 16X writing speed, but these are far more expensive and in my opinion, the extra cost does not justify the quicker writing time and I find 8X more than adequate.

The verbatims are widely available from both physical shops (such as Currys and Maplin) and online stores (such as Dabs and Ebuyer). The discs can be bought on a spindle or in jewel cases. If purchased in Jewel cases the price will be around £6.00 - £8.00 for 5 discs. Spindles contain loads more discs and can be bought for as little as £3.50 for a 10 disc version up to around £15 for 50 discs. Buying in spindles is obviously cheaper, and in my opinion, the way forwards. Jewel cases obviously offer better protection but there are plenty of decent leather wallets offering almost as much protection that hold hundreds of discs. I find jewel cases take up loads of room and leather wallets don't, but I guess it is each to their own.

The verbatims are excellent discs and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Whilst they have the same storage capacity and serve the same purpose as rival discs they are much better quality with a lower failure rate. What's more, they are cheaper than many of the rival discs, so it is all good. I am now a verbatim disc convert and I will not use anything else.


(This review has been posted on other sites under the name of Yackers1)

Summary: The best way of permanently labelling dics for that professional look

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