While my recent trip to Japan in 2024 did see me hauling back BDXL equipment and discs, that was not all. Every time I visit, I am enamoured by the mix of new and old, as some very well-kept vintage technology can still be found if you look around a bit.
This will be a series of posts looking at optical discs of various vintages from Japan. Many of the images were scanned using a scanner, with some being photographs from a DSLR as the scanner doesn’t capture the colour of reflective objects properly.
Mag-Lab
The Mag-Lab store is one of my favourites and this time, I returned a few times just to make sure I could soak-up all it had to offer. The language barrier made for some difficulties, but I did enjoy all they had on display, but also the fact that there were a number of products being cleared out on “junk” and “as-is” clearance. For the overseas travellers with a foreign passport, they’ll give you a discount too (I think it was 10%) as they don’t do tax-free themselves … but if you’re like me and combining the “junk” deals with the discount, they’re probably going to get a little annoyed.
Nevertheless, I suppose I ended up helping them “clean-up” the store a little with my visit. For reference, it seems that online, they now go by the name FlashStore (but formerly would have been known as HiDisc or Mag-Lab). While their catalogue is rather extensive online, it seems the physical shop doesn’t necessarily carry or display all items and some of the lucrative “clearance” prices listed online aren’t available in-person.
BenQ DVD+R 4x
Stickered at JPY200 (or about AU$2), but selling at just JPY100 (due to a clearance) was this BenQ 4x DVD+R spindle of 10 discs.
My first DVD burner was a BenQ DW400A, a 4x DVD+R/RW drive. While I had a BenQ drive, I was feeding it mostly “trash” media from local sellers who were reselling Chinese fake-MID media or low-quality media (AML001, MEDIA_ID001, VDSPMSAB, etc) aside from the occasional nice RICOHJPNR01 and MCC (Verbatim) of the era which has stood the test of time quite well. So I was curious, what did BenQ decide to attach their name to?
The discs themselves had a logo-top design. The bottom has a relatively ordinary purplish dye colour of which the scanner fails to capture correctly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD+R:DAXON-AZ1-001] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disc & Book Type : [DVD+R] - [DVD+R] Manufacturer Name : [Daxon Technology Inc.] Manufacturer ID : [DAXON] Media Type ID : [AZ1] Product Revision : [001] Blank Disc Capacity : [2,295,104 Sectors = 4.70 GB (4.38 GiB)] Recording Speeds : [1x-2.4x , 4x] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below ** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded ** INFO : Format 11h (Method 1) - ADIP Information 0000 : a1 0f 02 00 00 03 00 00 00 26 05 3f 00 00 00 00 .........&.?.... 0010 : 00 00 01 44 41 58 4f 4e 00 00 00 41 5a 31 01 38 ...DAXON...AZ1.8 0020 : 23 54 37 11 00 56 71 00 be 6b 16 16 0b 0b 0a 0a #T7..Vq..k...... 0030 : 01 19 1b 0c 0c 0c 0d 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0040 : 01 00 38 38 00 29 60 38 06 30 22 10 08 20 1c 01 ..88.)`8.0".. .. 0050 : 00 00 00 29 60 38 06 30 22 10 08 20 1c 01 00 00 ...)`8.0".. .... 0060 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0070 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0080 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0090 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00a0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00b0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00c0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00d0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00e0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00f0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ DVD Identifier V5.2.0 - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The discs, as it turns out, are DAXON-AZ1-001 and come from their Malaysian plant. According to rumblings online, Daxon also manufactured in Taiwan, making discs also for Sony, but the Malaysian ones often cause trouble.
Perhaps this is why they were on sale. A blank disc on the left, recorded on the right. Just picking the top on the stack, there is a visible dye streak defect in the 2-3 o’clock position. That’s not a good sign.
The stamper code is interesting too – PHI4DPR47CI1201 D34022 followed by a series of “block” characters. I wonder if “PHI” stands for Philips? The 4 may indicate 4x, DPR = DVD+R, 47 = 4.7GB but the remainder is a mystery. It has an IFPI code of LE41.
Running TE/FE tests on the blank on a BenQ DW1640 shows quite an elevation in TE on the inner diameter. Could this be a sign of a bad stamper? Even at the moderate speed of 8x, the TE and FE elevate sharply on the outer diameter suggesting the disc isn’t particularly “stable” or “rigid” so high-speed reads may be a challenge even on a good burn. Based on this, only a 2.4x burn would be truly “safe” with adequate margin to ensure a good burn. Curiously, even on a BenQ-branded DW1640 burner, the DAXON-AZ1 media code is no longer in the table – so perhaps this media was relatively shortlived or rare to the point that even BenQ didn’t feel it necessary to ensure the best burn quality with their own product.
Nevertheless, I let it run at 2.4x anyway, relying on SolidBurn’s “automatic” strategy to produce a … solid burn. Hah. See what I did there? The readback transfer-rate test (TRT) does show a lot of fallbacks towards the 3.5GB mark, but this may be down to the poor stability and rigidity of the disc itself.
At a leisurely 4x CLV, the quality scan actually imples a very good burn overall. Error rates are well within limits and jitter is low too. SolidBurn did a solid job here.
The favourite LiteOn DH16A6L wasn’t a fan of the disc – when the rigidity caused enough errors, the drive just decided to throw a continuous series of read-errors rather than “gracefully” falling-back in speed and completing the read as one might expect. If one were to read such a disc on this drive, it would be a good idea to manually cap the drive at a lower speed so that it would read-out correctly.
The DH16A6L also agrees, the disc is a good burn and the jitter is similarly low. So while the discs may not appear to be high quality and may have caused trouble in the day, my DW1640 seems to like it nonetheless. It’s just a shame the physical construction of the disc makes it impossible to read-out quickly.
SuperX 8cm DVD-R
The next product was another cake plate of 10 … this time for the low-low price of just JPY100 (or about AU$1).
For this, you get ten 8cm DVD-R discs which would be mostly intended for use in DVD handycams. I recall these products being a relatively short blip in the market, in-between the MiniDV era and the hard-disk-toting Everios which eventually gave way to flash-based cameras.
As one can tell from the label, this SuperX is a Mag-Lab house-brand, and the branding effort is quite low with just a one-sided cover to the stack. The card merely indicates a capacity of 30 minutes, no mention of speed or gigabyte capacities.
Assuming you’ve lived through the earlier DVD recordable era, you’ll recognise the vendor immediately. Perhaps you’ll even have an allergic reaction to just seeing this image above. The white dummy plastic top with inked lettering in the middle – it could only be Princo. But they must have gotten far enough along with their manufacturing that they just printed 1X for one-speed where in the past, they might have had “PRINCO 4X” in that location, proudly boasting of the brand. I suppose their reputation might have been in tatters already at this point, which also explains why it’s “on sale” for cheap. This truly is junk media. From the underside, the stamper code is “DVDRG-BNB” where the DVDRG would likely stand for “DVD-R for General.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD-R:PRINCO] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disc & Book Type : [DVD-R] - [DVD-R] Manufacturer Name : [Princo Corp.] Manufacturer ID : [PRINCO] Blank Disc Capacity : [714,560 Sectors = 1.46 GB (1.36 GiB)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below ** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded ** INFO : Format 0Eh - Pre-Recorded Information In Lead-In 0000 : 01 40 e1 ff 21 8c 50 00 02 98 0c 13 76 78 80 00 .@..!.P.....vx.. 0010 : 03 50 52 49 4e 43 4f 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .PRINCO......... 0020 : 05 88 80 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0030 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0040 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0050 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0060 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .......... ** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Control Data Zone'-Block Listed Below ** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'CDZ'-Block Discarded ** INFO : Format 10h - Physical Format Information Of Control Data Zone 0000 : 25 1f 02 00 00 03 00 00 00 0d e7 3f 00 00 00 00 %..........?.... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ DVD Identifier V5.2.0 - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is very much identified as a Princo product with an ID of just “PRINCO”. Given there may be full-size discs with the same text ID, I wonder if the drives would take into account some other factors to determine which strategy to use.
Looking at the TE/FE results, overall, there are some spikes towards the outer edge, but it seems that the values are mostly within range. This is perhaps easier as the disc itself is rather small, being just 8cm diameter.
However, the discs did not burn well. I don’t think it’s the dye as such, but moreso the condition of the polycarbonate surface which seems to have “chafed” off some of the printable coating of the disc underneath or become mottled over time, causing “bald” spots in the burn, especially visible in the right example.
My Pioneer DVR-111L decided it could only be burned at 1x, so I let it carry on, but the result with the bald spots meant there were unreadable patches.
The DW1640 agrees with this diagnosis, but the areas outside of these seem to be somewhat acceptable.
A second sample was burned with the BenQ DW1640 and SolidBurn, this time at 2.4x which is a non-standard DVD-R burn speed. It seems the Philips/NXP chipset doesn’t want to run a 4x burn on the media and probably doesn’t support a true 2x mode. Readback TRT is smooth.
While the PI looks fine, the PIFs show clusters of errors due to the mottled appearance of the polycarbonate. The burn is reasonable outside of this … but as is Princo nature, I suspect even a good burn like this won’t last long.
Testing with the DH16A6L gives a similar opinion – a smooth TRT with error clusters, acceptable PI error levels but slightly more than the DW1640 reported.
So if these discs won’t burn well, can they at least carry a picture using LabelFlash?
As it turns out, no. The LabelFlash software won’t even attempt to label an 8cm disc, so I needed to resort to a DVD-R swap-trick with an MCC03RG20 I had laying about. Even then, the burned image was “ghosted” around the disc, suggesting my DVR-111L had issues keeping the spindle speed where it needed to be. Perhaps it was “tuned” for the weight of a 12cm disc and had trouble keeping the spindle stable with a lesser weight. Unfortunately, I don’t have one of those early 8cm to 12cm adapters which could add weight to it. While I might be able to 3D print something just for fun, I don’t fancy harming my precious open-shell DVR-111L, so that might be an experiment that is left unattempted.
Panasonic 5.2GB DVD-RAM
Perhaps those two spindles are not interesting (and I wouldn’t blame you if you were to think they’re just ordinary). But what about this?
The 4.7GB capacity that we most associate with DVD was not the first. I mentioned before that there was a 3.95GB DVD for Authoring v1.0 format. But there was also a 2.6GB format for DVD-RAM as well, resulting in 5.2GB for double-sided cartridges like the one pictured here, still in-wrap. This one cost a very reasonable JPY340 and is a true relic, being a Type 1 RAM disc, meaning it is in a sealed cartridge never intended to be removed. Unfortunately, the DVD-RAM format was not common due to the high expense of the drives and somewhat slower speeds, but it did achieve a reliability that other formats did not have. I suppose it is often claimed that any optical disc format that mandates a cartridge is doomed to failure may have a grain of truth to it, but making the discs removable didn’t really save the format.
It almost feels a shame to open it, but I’ve never seen a Version 1.0 RAM disc before, so I might as well.
Well that’s a surprise. The yellow Panasonic cartridge is a familiar sight – I’ve got some later Version 2.0 RAM discs in the same sort of shell. But the disc has noticeably larger sector headers embossed into the disc with fewer zones. The scanner does a horrible job of picking up the colour though …
… as compared with ordinary Version 2.0 DVD-RAM discs, this one had a much more metallic blue-grey colouration to it rather than the normal light metallic chocolate brown. This reminds me a bit of an intermediary between Phase-Change Dual (PD) and the DVD-RAM that came later.
A label-sheet is included. Now while the disc isn’t supposed to be liberated from the cartridge, in the interests of seeing what can be done with the disc, I gave the cartridge a good squeeze and it decided to burst at the seams. With the bare disc in hand, I gave it a twirl in many of my RAM-supporting drives.
On all drives except my (horrible USB external Blu-Ray) Samsung SE-506CB, it would crunch for a bit and report no media. A minority of drives would report “Incompatible Medium Installed”. But the SE-506CB was the exception – it crunches for a while but it does report something … but it may not be quite accurate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD-RAM:NO_ID_PRESENT] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disc & Book Type : [DVD-RAM] - [DVD-RAM] Manufacturer Name : [Manufacturer Not Found In Database] Manufacturer ID : [Not Available] Supplementary Info : [Not Available] Formatted Capacity : [Decimal GB (1000) Followed By Binary GiB (1024)] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below ** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded ** INFO : Format 00h - Physical Format Information 0000 : 11 02 04 20 00 03 10 00 00 16 b4 7f 00 00 00 00 ... ............ 0010 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0020 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0030 : 3c 0a 6e 32 11 33 11 00 22 44 6e 32 11 33 11 00 <.n2.3.."Dn2.3.. 0040 : 22 44 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 "D.............. 0050 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0060 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0070 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0080 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0090 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00a0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00b0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00c0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00d0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00e0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00f0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0100 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0110 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0120 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0130 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0140 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0150 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0160 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0170 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0180 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0190 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01a0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01b0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01c0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01d0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01e0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01f0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0200 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0210 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0220 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0230 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0240 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0250 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0260 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ DVD Identifier V5.2.0 - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The result has a lot of zeroes in it and there is no media ID present in the dump. Perhaps it simply could not be read by the drive. But maybe early discs didn’t have the ID where we expected it to be. As a disc that should have always lived a sheltered life in a cartridge, this is uncharted waters.
The result from ImgBurn was more surprising – it seems it identified a written track on the disc (perhaps a phantom one, or is it pre-formatted?). The track itself has 1518960 LBA in total, which means a data size of 2,496,430,080 bytes.
Using the physical sector numbers, the implied total data area capacity is 2,636,380,160 bytes which matches the 2.6GB expectation. So it seems this drive understands this is an “old format” Version 1.0 RAM disc.
Unfortunately, it offers no write speeds for the media and attempting to write to it results in the drive returning “write protected”. I suppose perhaps a potential super-power of this SE-506CB is that it just might be able to read an already-written Version 1.0 RAM disc, but I can’t be sure without a pre-written disc to test it with. Still, a very exciting opportunity to get hands-on with an early format I had no chance of affording in its heyday.
Mr. Data 9.4GB DVD-RAM
While I’m on the topic of DVD-RAM, the “word on the streets” was that in 2019, Panasonic was the last DVD-RAM manufacturer and stopped manufacturing discs altogether. This means all the DVD-RAM that can be purchased would be new-old-stock.
Having used plenty of Maxell and Panasonic DVD-RAM, and even encountering a Ritek disc under the TDK brand, it was news to me that CMC Magnetics also made DVD-RAM. Mr. Data is one of their “own brands” in much the same way that RiData is to Ritek. As a result, I decided to buy one for the reasonable price of JPY240. I suppose this tells me not to expect much …
The disc is covered in a colour cardboard outer sleeve – no nice plastic covers for this cartridge.
The cartridge itself is clear with a black shutter. The disc is the ordinary chocolate brown with inked text in the clear spindle clamping area.
Looks quite like an ordinary DVD-RAM – this is a picture of the surface after writing.
Also came with a label sheet which covered the spine when the disc was in its cardboard sleeve. The unit was sold in a cellophane self-adhesive seal bag.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD-RAM:CMC Magnetics Corporation-M01CMC001]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disc & Book Type : [DVD-RAM] - [DVD-RAM]
Manufacturer Name : [CMC Magnetics Corp.]
Manufacturer ID : [CMC Magnetics Corporation]
Supplementary Info : [M01CMC001]
Formatted Capacity : [2,236,704 Sectors = 4.58 GB (4.27 GiB)]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below
** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded
** INFO : Format 00h - Physical Format Information
0000 : 16 0f 04 42 00 03 10 00 00 26 5f 5f 00 00 00 00 ...B.....&__....
0010 : 80 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0020 : 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0030 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0040 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0050 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0060 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0070 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0080 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0090 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00a0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00b0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00c0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00d0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00e0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00f0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0100 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0110 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0120 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0130 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0140 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0150 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0160 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0170 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0180 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
0190 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
01a0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
01b0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
01c0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
01d0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
01e0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
01f0 : 00 00 00 00 52 0a 00 7b 33 33 33 78 2f 2f 2f 1a ....R..{333x///.
0200 : 1a 00 00 11 22 04 02 00 00 04 03 00 00 04 03 01 ...."...........
0210 : 01 05 03 02 01 09 0b 0b 0c 09 0b 0b 0c 08 0a 0b ................
0220 : 0b 08 0a 0b 0b 43 4d 43 20 4d 61 67 6e 65 74 69 .....CMC Magneti
0230 : 63 73 20 43 6f 72 70 6f 72 61 74 69 6f 6e 0d 20 cs Corporation.
0240 : 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
0250 : 20 20 20 20 20 4d 30 31 43 4d 43 30 30 31 0d 20 M01CMC001.
0260 : 20 20 20 20 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ...........
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ DVD Identifier V5.2.0 - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The media ID is as above – indeed, a product of CMC Magnetics Corporation.
For speed, I decided to use streaming writes so the DVD-RAM skips the verify-after-write procedure. I usually find that most RAM discs are fine being written like this, as they’re often in excellent condition when brand new. Unfortunately, the CMC disc proved to be a difficult child – the Pioneer BDR-X13JBK’s write was unreadable towards the outer edge.
Trying it in my LG BH16NS55, the write and readback was successful, but I’m not confident …
My LiteOn DH16A6L scores the recordings (one on each side) as being horrifically poor. Perhaps it’s down to the scanning not having the same adjustments as the read-back of these discs, but with such similar curves between the two burners, it’s not too encouraging for this media.
Smartbuy 8cm 1.46GB DVD-RAM
Before you ask, yes, DVD-RAM also came in 8cm size. I previously showed a Panasonic 8cm DVD-RAM disc in passing, but this one is one branded SmartBuy and is also targeted at the DVD camcorder market.
This one claims to be “VOB Formatted”, whatever that means. I suspect it’s just UDF 1.5. Nevertheless, it goes to great lengths to try and convince you of its quality, while seemingly being packed in a reused old 3.5″ floppy case. I can’t recall the price, but it wouldn’t have been expensive.
For this, they decided to create a little plastic tray to hold the disc.
No mysteries here – the vendor has helpfully indicated “Made by Prodisc” in the centre hub clamping area. I never knew Prodisc actually made DVD-RAM too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unique Disc Identifier : [DVD-RAM:Prodisc-Lot1A] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disc & Book Type : [DVD-RAM] - [DVD-RAM] Manufacturer Name : [Prodisc Technology Inc.] Manufacturer ID : [Prodisc] Supplementary Info : [Lot1A] Formatted Capacity : [685,296 Sectors = 1.40 GB (1.31 GiB)] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below ** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded ** INFO : Format 00h - Physical Format Information 0000 : 16 1f 04 42 00 03 10 00 00 0e 12 1f 00 00 00 00 ...B............ 0010 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0020 : 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0030 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0040 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0050 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0060 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0070 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0080 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0090 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00a0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00b0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00c0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00d0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00e0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00f0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0100 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0110 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0120 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0130 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0140 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0150 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0160 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0170 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0180 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0190 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01a0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01b0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01c0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01d0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01e0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01f0 : 00 00 00 00 52 0a 00 7a 3a 3a 3a 77 37 37 37 1a ....R..z:::w777. 0200 : 1a 00 00 11 22 00 82 84 84 81 83 85 85 00 82 84 ...."........... 0210 : 84 00 82 84 84 09 0a 0b 0c 09 0a 0b 0c 08 09 0a ................ 0220 : 0b 08 09 0a 0b 50 72 6f 64 69 73 63 0d 20 20 20 .....Prodisc. 0230 : 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 0240 : 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 0250 : 20 20 20 20 20 4c 6f 74 31 41 0d 20 20 20 20 20 Lot1A. 0260 : 20 20 20 20 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ DVD Identifier V5.2.0 - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This one has a name of “Lot1A” which I hope means it’s a good grade of product.
The familiar metallic chocolate brown of the underside with an interesting mottled effect and ink print code visible near the clamping area.
Writing this in the Pioneer BDR-X13JBK was no problem, at least at 2x. As with all DVD-RAM, it seems readback speeds are limited to write speeds so as to facilitate random reading and writing without constant spin-up/spin-down delays.
The LiteOn DH16A6L indicates the burn to be acceptably good.
Daiso
From esoteric and old to the brand-new, Daiso is a “life coordinate store” (their words, not mine). A common destination for those looking for cheap variety goods that are useful in the home, I was surprised to find they also sold blank optical media. I gave their CD and DVDs a hard pass, focusing on their BDs instead. Unfortunately, as I don’t want to get dust on my unwritten samples, this will mostly focus on the outer wrap and the media code of the discs contained inside.
BD-R 6x 25GB Single-Layer
The single-layer discs are in a blue and silver coloured wrap. The disc is a 6x rated disc with a printable top surface in a slim jewel case with no inlay card whatsoever. This keeps costs low. Precautions and other information are on the rear, but the disc is claimed to be Made in Vietnam. You know who makes it already …
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unique Disc Identifier : [BD-R-SL:RITEK-BR3-000] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disc Type : [BD-R SL : Class 0 - Version 1] Manufacturer Name : [Ritek Corp.] Manufacturer ID : [RITEK] Media Type ID : [BR3] Product Revision : [000] Stamper Date : [October 2010] Layer Info : [1 Layer (L0) : 25.03 GB (23.31 GiB) Per Layer] Blank Disc Capacity : [12,219,392 Sectors = 25.03 GB (23.31 GiB)] Recording Speeds : [1x , 2x , 4x , 6x] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below ** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded ** INFO : Format 00h - Disc Information 0000 : 44 49 01 28 00 00 62 00 42 44 52 01 12 01 00 00 DI.(..b.BDR..... 0010 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 0020 : 01 ec 64 64 28 28 28 28 1e 1e 1e 1e 00 00 00 00 ..dd((((........ 0030 : 59 76 73 04 04 44 1a 8c a0 f8 f8 f8 f8 f0 f0 f0 Yvs..D.......... 0040 : f0 f8 f8 f8 f8 50 00 50 00 50 00 50 00 50 00 50 .....P.P.P.P.P.P 0050 : 00 50 00 50 00 50 00 50 00 50 00 50 00 a0 90 e0 .P.P.P.P.P.P.... 0060 : d0 c0 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 42 52 33 7d aa 00 ....RITEK.BR3}.. 0070 : 44 49 01 28 00 01 62 00 42 44 52 01 12 01 00 00 DI.(..b.BDR..... 0080 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 0090 : 03 d7 64 64 2d 2d 2d 2d 23 23 23 23 00 00 00 00 ..dd----####.... 00a0 : 77 78 6b 09 09 44 1b 8b a0 08 08 08 08 08 08 08 wxk..D.......... 00b0 : 08 00 00 00 00 58 00 58 00 58 00 58 00 58 00 58 .....X.X.X.X.X.X 00c0 : 00 58 00 58 00 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 00 b0 b0 b0 .X.X.h.h.h.h.... 00d0 : c0 d0 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 42 52 33 7d aa 00 ....RITEK.BR3}.. 00e0 : 44 49 03 28 00 02 51 00 42 44 52 01 12 01 00 00 DI.(..Q.BDR..... 00f0 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 0100 : 03 d7 64 64 2d 2d 2d 2d 23 23 23 23 00 00 00 00 ..dd----####.... 0110 : 64 6e 6d a7 0b 4a 1a 72 e4 e4 dc 30 30 30 30 30 dnm..J.r...00000 0120 : 30 50 50 50 50 50 50 54 54 54 54 54 54 48 b0 b0 0PPPPPPTTTTTTH.. 0130 : b0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0140 : 00 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 42 52 33 7d aa 00 ....RITEK.BR3}.. 0150 : 44 49 03 28 00 03 51 00 42 44 52 01 12 01 00 00 DI.(..Q.BDR..... 0160 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 0170 : 07 b0 64 64 46 46 46 46 3c 3c 3c 3c 00 00 00 00 ..ddFFFF<<<<.... 0180 : a1 74 67 89 07 43 1c a1 dc dc c4 28 28 28 20 20 .tg..C.....((( 0190 : 20 38 38 38 40 40 40 50 50 50 50 50 50 60 c0 cc 888@@@PPPPPP`.. 01a0 : c0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01b0 : 00 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 42 52 33 7d aa 00 ....RITEK.BR3}.. 01c0 : 44 49 03 28 00 04 51 00 42 44 52 01 12 01 00 00 DI.(..Q.BDR..... 01d0 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 01e0 : 0b 86 64 64 46 46 46 46 3c 3c 3c 3c 00 00 00 00 ..ddFFFF<<<<.... 01f0 : b1 6c 6f 8b 07 3b 1b 80 e4 dc cc 30 30 30 28 28 .lo..;.....000(( 0200 : 28 48 48 48 48 48 48 54 54 54 58 58 58 78 b0 b4 (HHHHHHTTTXXXx.. 0210 : a4 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0220 : 00 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 42 52 33 7d aa 00 ....RITEK.BR3}.. 0230 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [All Null Bytes Snipped] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ DVD Identifier V5.2.0 - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yep, it’s our old friend, Ritek. Well, not so much a friend of mine, but anyway, for JPY100 + tax, it’s not all that expensive.
BD-R 6x 50GB Dual-Layer
The dual-layer disc has gold, instead of silver, on the front and they charge twice as much (JPY200 or JPY220 including tax). Again, it is Made in Vietnam. As I burned this disc, you can take a closer look …
… at the slim case with no inlay housing a disc that has a full-printable white top, with grey branding just at the edge saying BD-R 50GB 1-6X G073. In fact, all of Daiso’s BDs follow the same sort of branding convention.
The underside is a slightly blue-tinted ashen grey colour. This is the appearance of the surface after burning at 2x in my Pioneer BDR-X13JBK.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unique Disc Identifier : [BD-R-DL:RITEK-DR3-000] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disc Type : [BD-R DL : Class 0 - Version 1] Manufacturer Name : [Manufacturer Not Found In Database] Manufacturer ID : [RITEK] Media Type ID : [DR3] Product Revision : [000] Stamper Date : [Not Present On Disc] Layer Info : [2 Layers (L0-L1) : 25.03 GB (23.31 GiB) Per Layer] Blank Disc Capacity : [24,438,784 Sectors = 50.05 GB (46.61 GiB)] Recording Speeds : [1x , 2x , 4x , 6x] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below ** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded ** INFO : Format 00h - Disc Information 0000 : 44 49 01 60 00 00 62 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.`..b.BDR."... 0010 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 0020 : 01 ec 64 64 46 46 46 46 3c 3c 3c 3c 00 00 00 00 ..ddFFFF####.... 0030 : 8c 50 78 13 13 50 19 95 90 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 .Px..P.......... 0040 : 10 10 10 10 10 58 00 58 00 58 00 58 00 58 00 58 .....X.X.X.X.X.X 0050 : 00 58 00 58 00 58 00 58 00 58 00 58 00 90 90 a0 .X.X.X.X.X.X.... 0060 : b8 c8 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 0070 : 44 49 01 61 00 01 62 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.a..b.BDR."... 0080 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 26 b1 80 00 3d ff fe .........&...=.. 0090 : 01 ec 64 64 46 46 46 46 3c 3c 3c 3c 00 00 00 00 ..ddFFFF####.... 00a0 : 96 4c 73 11 11 2e 19 89 80 00 00 00 00 08 08 08 .Ls............. 00b0 : 08 10 10 10 10 58 00 58 00 58 00 58 00 50 00 50 .....X.X.X.X.P.P 00c0 : 00 50 00 50 00 50 00 50 00 50 00 50 00 80 80 a0 .P.P.P.P.P.P.... 00d0 : c0 d0 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 00e0 : 44 49 01 60 00 02 62 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.`..b.BDR."... 00f0 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 0100 : 03 d7 64 64 46 50 50 50 3c 46 46 46 00 00 00 00 ..ddFPPP#FFF.... 0110 : ac 56 7e 0a 0a 3d 1a 8b 90 10 10 10 10 18 18 18 .V~..=.......... 0120 : 18 20 20 20 20 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 . h.h.h.h.h.h 0130 : 00 68 00 68 00 70 00 70 00 70 00 70 00 70 80 a0 .h.h.p.p.p.p.p.. 0140 : a8 b8 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 0150 : 44 49 03 60 00 03 51 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.`..Q.BDR."... 0160 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 0170 : 03 d7 64 64 46 50 50 50 3c 46 46 46 00 00 00 00 ..ddFPPP#FFF.... 0180 : 9a 4a 7a a9 0b 4b 19 84 ec ec d8 40 40 40 40 40 .Jz..K.....@@@@@ 0190 : 40 50 50 50 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 40 a8 b0 @PPPTTTTTTTTT@.. 01a0 : b0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 01b0 : 00 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 01c0 : 44 49 01 60 00 04 62 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.`..b.BDR."... 01d0 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 01e0 : 03 d7 64 64 46 50 50 50 3c 46 46 46 00 00 00 00 ..ddFPPP#FFF.... 01f0 : f8 56 67 0a 0a 36 1d 8b 90 18 18 18 18 20 20 20 .Vg..6....... 0200 : 20 30 30 30 30 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 0000h.h.h.h.h.h 0210 : 00 68 00 68 00 60 00 60 00 60 00 60 00 80 80 a0 .h.h.`.`.`.`.... 0220 : a8 b8 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 0230 : 44 49 01 61 00 05 62 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.a..b.BDR."... 0240 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 26 b1 80 00 3d ff fe .........&...=.. 0250 : 03 d7 64 64 46 50 50 50 3c 46 46 46 00 00 00 00 ..ddFPPP#FFF.... 0260 : a9 48 75 06 06 32 1a 8e 90 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 .Hu..2.......... 0270 : 10 20 20 20 20 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 . h.h.h.h.h.h 0280 : 00 68 00 68 00 70 00 70 00 70 00 70 00 90 80 a8 .h.h.p.p.p.p.... 0290 : c0 c0 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 02a0 : 44 49 03 61 00 06 51 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.a..Q.BDR."... 02b0 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 26 b1 80 00 3d ff fe .........&...=.. 02c0 : 03 d7 64 64 46 50 50 50 3c 46 46 46 00 00 00 00 ..ddFPPP#FFF.... 02d0 : 95 3e 75 af 07 3f 1a 78 ec e8 d0 40 40 40 40 40 .#u..?.x...@@@@@ 02e0 : 40 50 50 50 4c 4c 4c 54 54 54 54 54 54 48 b0 b8 @PPPLLLTTTTTTH.. 02f0 : b8 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0300 : 00 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 0310 : 44 49 01 61 00 07 62 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.a..b.BDR."... 0320 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 26 b1 80 00 3d ff fe .........&...=.. 0330 : 03 d7 64 64 46 50 50 50 3c 46 46 46 00 00 00 00 ..ddFPPP#FFF.... 0340 : fa 48 65 06 06 32 1c 64 90 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 .He..2.d........ 0350 : 10 20 20 20 20 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 00 68 . h.h.h.h.h.h 0360 : 00 68 00 68 00 60 00 60 00 60 00 60 00 90 80 a8 .h.h.`.`.`.`.... 0370 : c0 c0 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 0380 : 44 49 03 60 00 08 51 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.`..Q.BDR."... 0390 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 03a0 : 07 b0 64 64 46 82 82 82 3c 78 78 78 00 00 00 00 ..ddF...#xxx.... 03b0 : ea 54 78 92 08 35 1a 94 e4 e8 d0 38 38 38 38 38 .Tx..5.....88888 03c0 : 38 50 50 50 4c 4c 4c 54 54 54 54 54 54 50 98 a0 8PPPLLLTTTTTTP.. 03d0 : b0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 03e0 : 00 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 03f0 : 44 49 03 61 00 09 51 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.a..Q.BDR."... 0400 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 26 b1 80 00 3d ff fe .........&...=.. 0410 : 07 b0 64 64 46 82 82 82 3c 78 78 78 00 00 00 00 ..ddF...#xxx.... 0420 : c6 42 78 a1 05 3b 1a 6e e8 e4 d8 28 28 28 30 30 .Bx..;.n...(((00 0430 : 30 50 50 50 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 54 50 a8 a8 0PPPTTTTTTTTTP.. 0440 : b0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0450 : 00 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 0460 : 44 49 03 60 00 0a 51 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.`..Q.BDR."... 0470 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 0480 : 0b 86 64 64 46 82 82 82 3c 78 78 78 00 00 00 01 ..ddF...#xxx.... 0490 : 14 50 8e 9a 06 3a 1a af e8 e8 d0 38 38 38 30 30 .P...:.....88800 04a0 : 30 50 50 50 4c 4c 4c 58 58 58 58 58 58 68 a0 a0 0PPPLLLXXXXXXh.. 04b0 : 90 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 04c0 : 00 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 04d0 : 44 49 03 61 00 0b 51 00 42 44 52 01 22 01 00 00 DI.a..Q.BDR."... 04e0 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 26 b1 80 00 3d ff fe .........&...=.. 04f0 : 0b 86 64 64 46 82 82 82 3c 78 78 78 00 00 00 01 ..ddF...#xxx.... 0500 : 1a 46 7d 92 04 40 1a 96 e8 e4 d4 38 38 38 40 40 .F}[email protected]@@ 0510 : 40 58 58 58 4c 4c 4c 4c 4c 4c 50 50 50 68 a4 a8 @XXXLLLLLLPPPh.. 0520 : a8 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 0530 : 00 00 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 44 52 33 00 00 00 ....RITEK.DR3... 0540 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [All Null Bytes Snipped] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ DVD Identifier V5.2.0 - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The disc is a RITEK-DR3-000. Unfortunately, while it reads smoothly on the cross-flashed LG BH16NS55, the quality scan suggests that L0 burn quality is poor even at 2x. Either the Pioneer BDR-X13JBK really doesn’t like the media or it’s just not very good. The L1 result is very good though, save for the dust spikes.
BD-RE 2x Single Layer 25GB
For the standard price, they also sell single-layer re-recordable discs. The downside, of course, is that they will only work at 2x. These too are Ritek – RITEK-BW1-001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unique Disc Identifier : [BD-RE-SL:RITEK-BW1-001] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disc Type : [BD-RE SL : Class 0 - Version 2] Manufacturer Name : [Ritek Corp.] Manufacturer ID : [RITEK] Media Type ID : [BW1] Product Revision : [001] Stamper Date : [Not Present On Disc] Layer Info : [1 Layer (L0) : 25.03 GB (23.31 GiB) Per Layer] Blank Disc Capacity : [12,219,392 Sectors = 25.03 GB (23.31 GiB)] Recording Speeds : [1x , 2x] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** INFO : Hex Dump Of 'Media Code'-Block Listed Below ** INFO : 4-Byte Header Preceding 'Media Code'-Block Discarded ** INFO : Format 00h - Disc Information 0000 : 44 49 01 10 01 00 63 00 42 44 57 02 14 01 00 00 DI....c.BDW..... 0010 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 0020 : 01 ec 64 64 28 28 28 28 1e 1e 1e 1e 00 00 00 00 ..dd((((........ 0030 : 52 5e 73 04 04 90 90 1d 52 5e 73 04 04 90 90 1d R^s.....R^s..... 0040 : 52 5e 73 04 04 90 90 1d 50 05 05 05 00 00 00 00 R^s.....P....... 0050 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0f a8 b0 b0 a8 b0 b0 a8 ................ 0060 : b0 b0 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 42 57 31 00 00 01 ....RITEK.BW1... 0070 : 44 49 02 10 01 01 62 00 42 44 57 02 14 01 00 00 DI....b.BDW..... 0080 : 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 19 4e 7e ..............N~ 0090 : 03 d7 64 64 28 2c 2c 2c 1e 21 21 21 00 00 00 00 ..dd(,,,.!!!.... 00a0 : 5a 5e 7a 07 07 84 1e 00 70 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Z^z.....p....... 00b0 : 10 10 10 10 10 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 .....0.0.0.0.0.0 00c0 : 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 30 00 70 80 f8 .0.0.0.0.0.0.p.. 00d0 : fc fc 00 00 52 49 54 45 4b 00 42 57 31 00 00 01 ....RITEK.BW1... 00e0 : 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ [All Null Bytes Snipped] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ DVD Identifier V5.2.0 - http://DVD.Identifier.CDfreaks.com ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conclusion
In this post, I’ve covered some of my non-BDXL haul from my recent visit to Japan. Media that are perhaps trash to others can be treasure to enthusiasts like myself. I felt fortunate to have been able to handle some rather old and perhaps unloved discs – the Panasonic DVD-RAM Version 1.0 Type I cartridge was particularly unexpected and so was the fact the TSST SE-506CB seemingly detected its physical format correctly. It was unexpected to meet Malaysian-made Daxon, the CMC-made DVD-RAM, or my arch-nemesis, Princo. The most surprising part is just how reasonably priced all of these items were … I guess I was just helping them clean-up the store. The mystery Blu-rays at Daiso all turned out to be Ritek, which was a bit disappointing.
But of course, Japan has a lot more to yield than just this haul of discs. I just realised my haul from 2017 was not covered at all – merely sitting in my box awaiting a time it would be covered, so you’ll probably see that coming up next.