Verbatim LightScribe 8X DVD+R DL

A review of some blank media - there's a new one!

Firstly, let's deal with LightScribe in case you've never heard of it.

LightScribe is a technology that uses a special CD/DVD drive, LightScribe media, and label-making software to burn labels directly onto CDs and DVDs. Because the labels are laser-etched and not printed, there's no ink, no smudging, and no peeling. Your labels can be whatever you want them to be. Create one-of-a-kind designs with your own photos, text, and artwork using your label-making software. Or choose from the many free backgrounds available on the web.

It's really simple - once you have burnt your data onto the disc, you simply flip the disc over so that the "label" side faces down and then the drive will burn the label for you.

So the LightScribe element is what's special about these DVDs, but in every other sense they are just a normal Verbatim DVD+R DL (i.e. one that will store up to 8.5Gb).

You don't need a LightScribe drive in order to burn data on to them, that's purely for the labelling. So they should work on anything that will burn DVD+R DL. I tried them in my Sony RDR-HX860 HD/DVD-recorder and they burnt fine (8Gb of wedding video footage), and then played back on a laptop DVD drive. And they burn fine in a normal DVD writer (that supports DL) too.

And labelling with LightScribe is really simple, so if you need to produce good-looking dual layer DVDs, then these might just be for you.