Verbatim DVD+R DL 8.5GB 8X AZO with Branded Surface - 5pk Jewel Case Box - 95311, Silver

This is the second spindle of dual-layer DVDs I've ever purchased. The first one I ever bought was Kodak-branded, and approximately half the discs were failing to burn and coming out as coasters before I returned the rest. That really shouldn't have surprised me, though - I had been purposefully looking for the cheapest DL discs available to buy. And I got exactly what I paid for.This is the opposite of that. These are easily THE most expensive DVDs one can buy. Just about every other brand still selling DVD media today would sell you a spindle of 25 DL discs for around $30, but Verbatim demands $50 for the same count of discs. But that extra $20 comes with a guarantee - I have not had a SINGLE one of these fail to burn. I've gotten coasters, sure, but always attributable to user error. I've used about half of the spindle and have yet to be let down.I am curious about the other brands currently being sold on Amazon - primarily Optical Quantum and Smartbuy. I've bought BD media from those companies and been very satisfied with the results. Once I run this Verbatim spindle down, I intend to pick up some Optical Quantum DVD DLs to see how they compare in reliability. But if you don't want to take that gamble, and peace of mind is your top value, Verbatim is definitely the brand to go with (for added peace of mind, do what I do and only burn with ImgBurn, and keep your burn speed at 6x or below)

Many of us are converting VHS tapes to digital formats that will be, eventually, transferred to computers, smart phones, and other digital devices. An analog (VHS) to digital (DVD) conversion can be either an intermediate or final step in the digitation process. For some of us, just preserving our home movie memories to optical disks is a welcome alternative to keeping bulky and obsolete VHS analog systems using tapes that are both magnetically and physically deteriorating.One method to accomplish this task is to use a VHS-to-DVD transfer/conversion system. These decks, e.g. SONY, will facilitate a relatively easy conversion, but you need a good quality DVD recordable disk to complete the process.These disks are dual-layered (DL) which means that both the storage capacity and recording time is doubled for the disk. This is good news for those of us who have recorded tapes exceeding two hours using the extended play (EP) feature of VHS cameras. And since most DVD conversion decks will allow the option of a DVD recording at a “higher” quality level than Standard Play (SP), this feature will improved the appearance of the VHS transfer to disk recording.For the sake of preserving valuable recordings, I regularly select the High Quality (HQ) recording option of the DVD deck, and this option has always improved the quality of the transferred movies. But there is a tradeoff, and this is where DL disks become an important choice. Using the HQ recording option means that the maximum recording time for a disk will be reduced, but the DL disks have extended already the recording time beyond the total time of standard, non-DL, DVD disks. For me, this is a welcome win-win situation.Note: Only newer DVD decks are able to use DL disks; this fact can be verified by consulting the User's Manual of your device. For older decks, the standard Verbatim DVD recordable disks would be used instead.I have used Verbatim recordable media for many years, and for the most part these disks have worked remarkably well without incident. A few times I did discover a visible glitch on a disk when the deck failed to finalize the disk. You can usually spot these glitches as a small discolored spot on the disk‘s recordable-side surface (a magnifying glass is needed). Fortunately, these problems have been rare. Kudos to Verbatim.As a final step in the conversion process, I use a computer and DVD-reader to transfer these movies from DVD disks to .mp4 or .mov files. If you take this final step, then you will have accomplished the task of digitizing and preserving your movies—forever. I've done this with hundreds of hours of movies for myself and friends desiring to keepsake memories for ourselves and our future generations.

Seem to be of a very high quality as prior owners have indicated.

I do feel it's a bit expensive for what you get. They look nice and do the job. Though as many have stated it does scratch up rather easy. I don't remember DVD's being that easily scratchable. Then again, it's been many years since I had a DVD.At least the data I burned onto the dvd is on it that's a plus and reads it. My concern is the life span of the DVD due to how easily it gets scratched up. Very light scratches if anything nothing major though if handle the best you can.

While optical media may have fallen out of mainstream usage, there occasionally arises the need to burn a physical disc. A neighbor's computer just wouldn't reinstall Windows 11 from a USB stick so I went "old school" and burnt the official Microsoft Windows 11 ISO to one of these Verbatim blanks. Windows 11 installed flawlessly and my neighbor was able to reactivate his Windows 11.