DVD Flamb�

Opinion from PC Magazine: DVD Flamb�: "So how'd they hold up? Apart from the microwave test, which none survived, the DVDs were pretty robust—except the Verbatims. VideoGard delivered scant protection, as smudges, sunlight, steel wool, and the dishwasher all turned Scooby Doo into Scooby Doesn't. The only passing grade came on the bendy test.

The Memorex DVDs were a distant second-worst. They passed the dishwasher, sunlight, and steel wool test, but were defeated by the bending and smudge tests. The TDK, Maxell, and Imation blanks passed all except the microwave test, although the smudged Imation disk was slow to load.

My conclusions: Don't buy DVD blanks based on brand. Some brands may claim to stand up better to abuse, but my tests didn't bear that out. Don't expect generic DVD blanks to cost less—Wal-Mart's Imation blanks offer great value and decent performance at just 50 cents, and for just 15 cents more you can pick up the TDKs, which delivered the best mix of price and performance.

I couldn't test for longevity, but don't believe brands that claim to last up to hundreds of years. Make copies of key data at least every five years. And store those DVDs in a cool, dry place, preferably far away from your microwave oven—unless, of course, you're breaking in a new intern"