Blank DVD Media

Apple doesn't manufacture blank discs and neither do Memorex or TDK. Instead, the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are typically based in Taiwan and include CMC, Infomedia, Optodisc, Ritek and Taiyo Yuden (and a few others). The companies you have heard of - Memorex, Verbatim, Imation, TDK, Apple, et. al. - get their discs from one or (more commonly) a number of these sources. (This is a completely common practice throughout the computer industry.) This means that there is nothing necessarily or inherently better about name brand discs, since they are identical to the cheaper OEM discs.

So should you buy generic (unbranded) media and save yourself some money? By all means, but for the following warning: The folks at Memorex specify some special standards and engage in some sort of quality control before they attach their good name to the product. Memorex certainly has better distribution channels in the US, meaning that you can buy Memorex discs at Best Buy, but probably not Ritek. It's also probably easier to contact someone at Memorex and return defective merchandise or get at least a little support than to call Ritek in Taipei, especially if your Chinese is a little rusty. (Although, to be fair, I have had some very nice conversations, in English, with the folks at Ritek.)

Blank DVD media is now well below $1 a disc and slower-speed (e.g. 2x) discs can be half that. Where do I buy my discs?

www.supermediastore.com

This isn't an endorsement, but is based on my personal experience as a consumer. And, yes, I buy the cheapest 4x discs I can get. I do have some failures at the burning stage (less than 1%), but once a disc is burned, I have noticed no consistent difference between cheap discs and expensive discs as far as what is compatible with living room DVD players. (The one variable that determines compatibility is the player. Players that play one home-burned DVD tend to play them all. Players that choke on one, tend to choke on all.)