Following the advice of many posts, I am trying to buy Taiyo Yuden DVD-R's. I got some mail order off a major eBay seller, but not sure if they are real. The packaging looked very authentic. I did a search and found some threads. For example: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/233418 I wasn't able to bump the thread, and most of the data was a few years old so I am not sure if still valid about hub codes etc. There was also some conflicting information about whether the letter code (in my case GG) would be at the end or beginning of the lot number. I think the posts all said the number was on the underside of the disc. The DVD's are white (printable label). The white goes almost to the hub (within 5mm of the hole). In the clear center on the top surface, there are faintly etched the numbers XE819A300687GG. There are NO numbers on the underside. Are these real TY discs or should I return them??? Appreciate the help!
See this thread - 1st post has the markings that should be on the discs. http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/540513 They can be hard to see - it's on the back side of the disc around the inner hub. You might need a magnifying glass If you can not find this - return them. Even if you run them through an identifier the media code has been known to be 'faked' to make it appear the good media. Stay away from eBay for media. If you are in the US you can get TY's from supermediastore.com, rima.com or meritline.com.
imgburn will tell you, but as Binkie7 pointed out, this can be faked. Buying from a reputable vendor helps. I would NEVER by media from eBay when there are so many reliable vendors such as Meritline, etc. I have bought over 1k DVD-R from Meritline and have never been disappointed with price, delivery, or service. When I don't plan properly, I go to F**'s and buy a pack of Memorex printables, but just to tide me over.
ImgBurn along with other dvd identifier gives you the media code and name - problem with that is it can be faked during the manufacturing process. That's where the code in the inner hub come into play to see if it passes the test.
Stay away from E-Bay as Binkie suggests, do a forum search for E-bay media and you'll see numerous posts about faked MID codes from various sellers. Buy only from reputable sellers and you'll not have an issue, dive into E-bay and you'll be swimming with sharks. Look at the DVD Media forum, look for a thread called weekly media sales, all the info you'll need.
