Best Blu Ray Media Part 4: Best BD-RE Discs Review
Rewritable Blu Ray media, or BD-RE discs, are an interesting concept for data storage, than can be primarily used for two purposes: back-ups and drive images, and collections. For the case of back-ups and images, rather than burning data once and keeping the archive until you don't need it, you could keep two sets of archives: (a) a "permanent" one, that you keep for long periods of time, which is a snapshot, say, every two weeks, and (b) a rotating set of, for instance, 14, where you image one every day, which you will over-write 2 weeks later. For the rotating set, you use BD-RE media.
Collections are an even more clear-cut business case: rather than re-burning your collection every time you want a back up, you can copy the increase (for instance your latest pictures), or even re-write the whole collection again, using another rotating set like in the previous instance. Financially the choice can pay off, since BD-RE media is approximately twice as expensive as BD-R media. If you use it more than twice, you have justified the purchase.
The main drawback of the BD-RE process for non-permanent backups is that, since you cannot label it permanently, you need to be meticulous in your back-up processes, otherwise you run of the risk of erasing valuable data. A second drawback is that BD-RE media are slower, and only available in 2x speed. These two drawbacks are big enough, we think, that we do not use BD-RE media in our back-up processes, to limit the risk of human error. However, we do use BD-RE media for portable, temporary storage, and for general data archival.
Limiting the choice of BD-RE media to our picks for the most reliable brands of Blu Ray media, we can come up with a short list, based on our selection of archival grade and non-archival grade media.
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| Table 4: Blu Ray BD-RE media from recommended brands easily obtainable on the net |
The most cost effective non-archival grade BD-RE media is Optical Quantum OQBDRE02LT-10 BD-RE 2x speed media, for $3.50 per disc in 10 spindle packs. We have already expressed our thoughts on the impressive quality of Optical Quantum, but also our concerns about it. The next non-archival grade choice is Verbatim 96921 BD-RE 2x media, for $4.10 per disc in 10 spindle packs.
If you need archival archival grade media, your first choice is TDK 48738 BD-RE 2x media, for $4.44 per disc in 50 spindle packs. If you want a different brand, your next archival grade choice is Sony BNE-25RH or BNE-25AHE BD-RE 2x speed for a hefty $8.30 per disc in a single jewel case pack.
Conclusions
- Most cost effective non-archival grade BD-RE media: #1 Optical Quantum OQBDRE02LT-10 BD-RE 2x speed media, for roughly $3.50 per disc
- Most cost effective non-archival grade BD-RE media: #2 Verbatim 96921 BD-RE 2x media, for roughly $4.10 per disc
- Most cost effective archival grade BD-RE Media: TDK 48738 BD-RE 2x media, for roughly $4.64 per disc
The prices mentioned in this review are the best across the top ten Blu Ray media stores that we selected, which we will review shortly. It is in general possible to find a touch cheaper - but you will need to evaluate your supplier. One option, which is sometimes cost effective for high quality media, is to purchase Japanese imports directly in Japan - there are several specialized retailers for this purpose. This option comes with additional risks and longer shipping times.
To understand Blu Ray lingo, check our lexicon of Blu Ray vocabulary. Our Blu Ray brand predictive quality rating process is explained here. Our statistical analysis practices are described here, which is also where we discuss ConsumerPla.net's predictive quality rating.
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