What type of blank DVD is best for burning?

I have been using the basic Verbatim DVD-R, and Verbatim DVD-DL discs, for years … with no problems. Used to use Sony DVD years ago, had many problems with Sony DVD discs after a few years of being burned (Sony DVD's originally were made in Japan (best Sony DVD's came out of Japan), then manufacturing changed out of Japan and Sony DVD's were just plain bad after the move). After that I researched DVD's more, and found Verbatim to be some of the best.

If you are archiving I would not go with DVDs. Since many computers don't even come with optical drives anymore I think we are starting to see the disappearance of optical media. On a per GB basis it is cheaper to store on hard drives than archival grade DVDs. A 1TB hard drive takes up a lot less space than 250 DVDs in cases, and of course anything you archive you want to do with backup. You can buy docking stations such as the Voyageur ($35+) which lets you attach bare drives to your computer. I have 4 bare drives for archiving which I can easily swap out. While hard drives do not last forever either I think you are only faced with replacing obsolescent ones perhaps every 15 years. It is easier to copy from a 1TB hard drive to another hard drive than copy 250 DVDs.

If you must go with DVDs for long term archiving there's a brand called Taiyo Yuden (I forget the exact name) that is top quality but you probably will have to buy online. Supposedly one of the brand-names buys from the same company but it is hard to make sure you are getting the same thing.

Burn-once optical media are much more reliable but you cannot gradually add files to them the way you can with a hard drive.

2011 post on optical media - http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2754858&

For creating video DVDs Verbatim, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R discs are the most recommended in the iDVD forum.

I've used Verbatim for some time (both SL and Double layered) and I also got some archival quality Verbatim DVDs (which were much more expensive, but said to last 100 years) for an extra copy of things I can't afford to lose.

Yeah, and try to find a DVD player 100 years from now. Try and find a floppy drive (remember those from about 15 years ago?) and even if you could, try and find a computer to which you could attach one (well, maybe some of the last had USB ports). Remember VHS from not long ago? Even though one could argue people have enough invested in DVDs to make DVD players have some longevity, the same could have been said about all those movies on VHS tape. People seemed content to just go out and buy them all again on the new media format. And vinyl records. And cassette tapes. I guess you can still get players for all of those but they are definitely moving away from being off the shelf items and I bet many people don't have them.

USB drives are pretty cheap these days. Put the files on 8GB USB flash drives. At least that is a pretty current device format and it will be easy to transfer to whatever the next format ends up being. Will your friends have a computer with a DVD player in 20 years? I doubt it, they may not even have one now. A couple of USB drives will be cheaper than a pack of Taiyo Yudens unless you need to make 50 copies of this (in which case you'll probably burn out your DVD drive and have to factor that into the cost).

I realize all of that; however, I can't watch my movie or slideshow on TV using a flash drive. I don't watch my stuff on the iMac - much more comfortable in a recliner using a TV/player remote. And, I have several DVD players and an external burner/player as I've never used the Superdrive much. I don't care if my friends have a DVD player in 20 years - I may no longer be around; they do want a copy of my movie on a DVD now. And so do the friends and relatives in Europe for whom I burn it in PAL format - some of them do not own a computer, but they do have a DVD player and a TV. I burn up to 20 - 25 copies, 3 or 4 at a time with a long break to cool off the burner although the external is far more robust than the Superdrive ever was.

This is the best resource ever on the subject:

http://www.digitalfaq.com/reviews/dvd-media.htm

one that is similar to mine.

Aren't those always the best ones? 😁