"Fake DVD Media ID Guide | HdBluDVD.Com - More HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, DVD Information"

Luckily, it does not happen often, but it does happen often enough to be a major annoyance to media buyers everywhere. Most fake media comes from Hong Kong, as a general rule. Fake media tends to float around Europe and Asia more than it does the USA. Fake media is normally sold in flea markets, on eBay and online. Major brand name media sold in stores is probably never going to be fake. Use this list as an assistant when selecting what media to buy and use. It shows what generally works as the best media. Individual results may very, depending on the burner and how the media chooses to cooperate, though typically not by much. Read the advanced topics guide after becoming familiar with the basics presented on this page MEDIA ID FAKER DATE NOTES TYG02 Infosmart, Optodisc, MAM-America, MAM-Europe 2005- 2006 The fakes are rumored to be for "improved 8x media detection" but low quality media is low quality, regardless of the media ID. These were found worldwide. MCC02RG20, MCC003 Infosmart 2005 Mostly seen in Europe, not so much in USA. TTG02, TTH01, TTH02 MAM-America, MAM-Europe 2005 These are apparently "legal" fakes made by Mitsui, with permission by TDK to use the code. However the media is quite poor, not true TDK media. MXLRG01 Infosmart 2002- 2003 One of the first "anonymous" fake discs. Pioneer brand DVD-R LeadData, Ritek 2003 Pioneer"s PVC quit manufacturing blanks in 2003 (PVC media codes). LeadData and Ritek tried to sell their PIODATA and PIO branded blanks under the "Pioneer" brand name, but that was misleading. TDKG02 Princo 2001- 2002 They wanted to "improve 2x writing" on the 1x write strategy media, as well as insure drives would see the media (not all firmware at the time had PRINCO as a valid media code). Princo admitted to this faking, never tried to hide it, though some resellers tried to pawn off the media as legitimate TDK. SONY Unknown 2003 "SONY" is not a valid media ID used by Sony discs. RITEKG03, RITEKG04 Ritek 2004 This was supposedly faked in 2004. However, it is the opinion of this author that it was just a lame cover story by RITEK for providing subpar quality media, as even the "legit" media performed poorly at the time. Comments Please login to post comments or replies.