Verbatim CD-R 700 MB 40x

Author's product rating:   

Memory / capacity	Excellent
Reliability	Excellent
Ease of use	Very easy
Value For Money	Excellent

Advantages:	PERFECT COPIES EVERY TIME .
Disadvantages:	NONE AS YET .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Have you ever heard the expression "You get what you pay for" ? What this actually implies is that if you want quality, you must pay the price, though I have to admit in this case, that the premise is not a sound one.

What are these discs ?

These are discs that look like CD's, and are used to copy information from a computer for storage purposes or for reproduction purposes. The kind of things that you would put onto one of these discs would be files ranging from written work, photographs, etc., that you want to be able to access at a later time.

Why bother ?

If you have everything that you need at your fingertips, why bother putting it on a disc ? Well here there are many reasons why I use my CD writer to copy information. One is that I want to be able to play cd's of music that I have on the computer. Another is that I want to make a CD of photographs that I can share with family and friends via their DVD player. Another is that I like things neatly filed away in a very easily accessible form, and programs to be safeguarded.

VERBATIM

Back in the old days of shorthand, Verbatim meant word for word, or to be more precise an exact copy, and I suppose that the name of these discs drew me to them, as much as the price, which was very reasonable at just under Fifteen Pounds for 50 Discs, in a neat box that they call a cake-box.

STORAGE

Here, Verbatim have made the process of storing so easy. Having bought many of these boxes, I have boxes for all kinds of purposes, i.e. Photos and holiday snaps in one, my written work in another, discs of music in yet another, and the box is round with a pole up the middle and a see through case that sits neatly on the top to stop dust.

THE DISCS THEMSELVES

Verbatim is sure of its product, and although names like "super azo dye" mean nothing to me, this is supposed to help the stability of the product during recording. What does that mean ? Well, judging from the results that I get I would say that the discs are reliable, that copies are very very clear, and that whatever it is that they use, it works better than other discs that I have tried, and even ones with more expensive pricetags and well known makers names failed me on occasions whereas these do not.

THE COPYING EXPERIENCE.

Using the discs is simple in conjunction with my software for copying. Copying is smooth and fast and these discs copy at speeds up to 52X depending upon the capabilities of your computer's CD writer. Mine is pretty ancient, but the copies are impeccable and always smooth and fast to copy.

LASTING SAFEGUARDS

To protect the data that you put onto a CD, Verbatim have a special coating called a dual protection layer. I'm not a techie and have no idea of the make-up of this coating, though I do know that I can rely on my copies, seemingly no matter how old they are. Verbatim say on their site that they are so confident in their product that they give a lifetime guarantee. I have never needed to ask for help from Verbatim although I notice that they do have a "Contact" email on their site, which is a good sign that they are not afraid of people asking questions.

Not re-writeable.

One word of warning I would give here is that these discs are not re-writeable discs, which is not a disadvantage over the re-writeable ones. When I put music onto disc for example, I want that 700MB of music to stay on the disc. I never make a disc until I have sufficient music to fill the disc. I also believe that the quality of re-writeable discs would be questionable, just as in the old days, used tapes eventually wear out. 700MB gives 80 minutes of musical listening which is sufficient for my needs.

They are also not suitable for copying DVD's because special DVD-Roms need to be purchased for this purpose.

Verbatim have progressed so well over the years that they are for ever coming up with inovative ideas and I am impressed by their warranty, the quality of copies and the fact that I no longer have that sinking feeling I have had with other makes, where you are not sure that the copy is going to be successful. Out of other makes that I have tried, the 0 per cent failure rate on Verbatim discs inpresses me. This is only my experience, although people who use discs will know that occasionally batches of other makes do have defective discs in the pack which create not only disappointment but also waste of time.

Out of all the makes available on the market, Verbatim came out top in tests using different copiers and I would tend to agree with that claim which is found on their website. I have used these with three different CD writers and each time, the results were consistent.

Why Verbatim ?

Because they are what the name implies, i.e. Capable of copying a perfect copy.

Labelling your discs.

I perform this function with software that makes adhesive labels to give my discs a professional finish, though watch this space - Verbatim are now working on a disc where you can create an image on the surface of a CD rom, which looks very much like where the future is going, and a company that care enough to put efforts into research and development, improvement and innovation and produce such consistently good quality goods at affordable prices have certainly got something right.