Is there a DVD-R/DVD R brand that works best?

Question

I have never burned a DVD on my Macbookpro.  Is there a brand or type that works best.  I'll be placing my pictures on this DVD.

Answer 1

valerifromwa wrote:
Is there a brand or type that works best.
A question which cannot be answered.
Here's why. Optical discs are manufactured at only a handful of facilities around the world. But, when they are sold, they are retailed under many different brand names. There does not need to be any connection between the brand name on the label and the facility where they were manufactured, or the quality of the materials used. Two discs manufactured in the same place on the same day may be sold under completely different brand names; two discs bearing the same brand name may come from completely different places; and these places may differ depending on the market.
Here's a specific example. Verbatim (owned by Mitsubishi Chemicals) is usually regarded as a reputable brand. I purchased a batch of Verbatim DVDs last year in Toronto, Canada; they were made by Moser Baer in India; they worked reasonably well. Late last year, I bought another batch of Verbatim DVDs, this time in Shanghai, China. They were manufactured by CMC Magnetics (a Taiwan-based corporation) at their facility on the mainland. The failure rate on the Matsushita UJ-898 drive in my MBP has been >40%.
So, in practice, sample what's available to you, either locally or on-line, test on your MBP, then stick with what gives you best results. I usually test my optical disks with Nero CD-DVD Speed on a PC; unfortunately, I don't know of an equivalent tool which runs under Mac OS X.