DVD-Software.info

[Smarty]

I've been buying media for several years now and have found some of the
online dealers to be extremely unreliable. Worst of them (Supermediastore
and shop4tech) have a bad habit of poorly wrapping their packages and
shipping substitutes for what they claim to be "genuine" disks.

Up until my last 2 orders, I have been very satisfied with Meritline. Since
I had now received two recent orders, my opinion has changed considerably.
In both orders I received substitutions which I did not order. Both were of
lesser quality / specs. The batch of 50 8X Prodiscs turns out to be 4X
disks. The hassle and return shipping issue is something I want to avoid in
the future.

Has anybody found a good, reliable, low cost U.S. source for Ritek, Prodisc,
Piodata, Accu, etc.?

Thanks,

Smarty

[Octavian]

"Smarty" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:96mdndZYDOsMZzncRVn-iA@adelphia.com...

[Smarty]

Great suggestion! I never thought of them. It turns out that their everyday
price for 100 Ritek 8X disks delivered is actually 3 bucks less than
Meritline's current Thanksgiving Sales price.....so I ordered a batch.

Thanks very much!

Smarty


"Octavian" <lmone@paris.com> wrote in message
news:Ah9pd.54292$IQ.14263@bignews6.bellsouth.net...

[luminos]

My last batch of Ritek 8x had a 10% failure rate...bad dye blotches! I am
sticking with Prodisc 8x.
www.meritline.com


"Smarty" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:bPidnfZM1M6odDjcRVn-oA@adelphia.com...

[Smarty]

Thanks luminos. I have also seen numerous comments about some of the
Ritek-manufactured disks having the very same issue you refer to, at least
in their lesser grade disks:

http://www.dvd-recordable.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=76

Having ordered 50 Prodisc 8X disks from Meritline last week, they shipped me
50 4X Prodisc disks with a different part number and billed me for the 8X
ones. This is the 3rd time they have pulled this switch on me in my last 6
orders. They ALWAYS send a lesser disk substitute. Having worked through one
refund from them and the associated shipping costs, I don't want to go
through the same crap with them again. Their customer service is absolutely
crappy, and I have lodged my complaint with them, bizrate.com, and yahoo
(which acts as the e-commerce interface). On the bright side, the Ritek 8X
disks they sent were, in fact, exactly as ordered, and seem to work fine for
the small batch I have tested. The Piodata 8X I ordered from them also seem
to work well. I haven't burned enough of either the Ritek or Piodata 8X
disks to know if they are going to be consistent yet.

Newegg's customer comments / reviews ( of which there are 22 at
http://secure.newegg.com/app/CustratingReview.asp?DEPA=0&item=17-132-369 )
for the Ritek's I just ordered were extremely favorable for the 8X disks. I
was especially impressed with the fact that several people specifically
praised the disks for burning at 12X and 16X with the Pioneer A08 despite
their 8X rating. I recognize that this is merely a small fraction of the
total burn, but it does suggest that these are supported by the A08 firmware
well. They apparently play well in many user's various machines. On that
basis I'm willing to take a shot for 100 for $41 delivered.

Meritline has declined since I began using them a couple years ago. I've had
several orders with damaged disks, 3 substitutions which are not what I
ordered, and, worst of all, a very poor customer service attitude.

Incidentally, I was especially pleased to discover that my A08 can properly
erase -RW disks which neither my A03 or A05 could handle. Despite careful
cleaning of the interior optics (I believe I sent you a photo a year or more
ago showing how to do it!), these drives could never get my -RW disk to
erase. The A08 does it without complaint. I assume the extra laser power
makes a difference but am really not sure.

Thanks again for your help and advice. This A08 looks like a very sweet
drive.

Smarty




"luminos" <logos1@trip.net> wrote in message
news:10qckjmpitb656a@news20.forteinc.com...

[Octavian]

"Smarty" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:rLSdnfu0K8NkHjvcRVn-sg@adelphia.com...

[Smarty]

Octavian,

Interesting comparison! I guess I'm just a creature of habit. I stick with a
company once it has established a good track record (as did Meritline in my
first few orders) and fail to watch the newer ratings until I get screwed a
couple times personally. I will now make a stop at

resellerratings.com

to warn others of my experiences. I have been using bizrate and epinions but
this reselleratings looks excellent.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Smarty




"Octavian" <lmone@paris.com> wrote in message
news:LDxpd.111224$Tq1.26591@bignews1.bellsouth.net...

[luminos]

"Smarty" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:Yf2dnUoLHPmpdzvcRVn-jA@adelphia.com...