Concerning blank media, what is the best manufacturer of blank Bluray discs? I am aware that the best DVD5s are from Taiyo Yuden, and the best DVD9s are from Verbatim's manufacturer in I think Singapore. What is the best manufacturer of Blurays to go with?

Yes this does matter. I tried burning Kerr's 6-disc Lord of the Rings set onto disc, and had to go out and buy more discs after I wasted a whole 20 pack spindle only to get 4 of them to work reliably on a standalone DVD player. I know it was the fault of the discs, not the data.