Are brand-name items any better than no-name ones? It’s a question that shoppers have been asking themselves since before the markets were super. DigitalFAQ.com has endeavored to enlighten us as to the ways of the blank DVD. Where do they come from? Who makes them? Why are they purple?

Most media is produced by a relative small number of factories, located in several different places. The best media generally comes from Japan and Singapore. The worst typically comes from Taiwan or China (in stores) and Hong Kong (online).
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This being said, understand that the media brand means nothing. Apple is a great brand, but they do not make their own discs, instead outsourcing to MXL (Hitachi/Maxell) or MCC (Mitsubishi Chemicals).
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It is the media ID that is important, as it reveals the disc manufacturer. Unfortunately, this is not written on packaging or anywhere else. Companies want consumers to be oblivious to this sort of behind-the-scenes information.

In steps DigitalFAQ with an exhaustive list of media IDs rated and matched to manufacturers. You’ll never buy DVDs the same way again. —MEGHANN MARCO

Who makes the disc: Brand vs. Media ID [DigitalFAQ via Lifehacker]

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