Does Brand Name Matter?

Wired recently published an article that took an in-depth look at the world of blank media, mainly the CD and DVD industry.

They assert that basically all of the hundreds of brands available come from one of 3 manufacturers, although some media is made to specific standards by whoever is purchasing it (sony, fuji, etc.).

Does brand-name matter to you when selecting blank media? The bottom of the barrell used to be the “off brands” like Kypermedia. Imation seems to have a bad reputation as well.

I have always had success with Memorex CD-Rs and DVD-Rs, but others have experienced less than satisfactory results.

At one time, I was heavily involved in concert trading, and many of the traders would only accept certain brands or not burn your discs at all.

Do you have a specific brand that you usually stick with or do you just pick up whatever is on sale that week?