quote:

Originally posted by beats and beeps This is not true. First of all alot of the cheaper cds that ive burned will stop working withing a year or two, the more expensive ones (verbatim) do not. Second, some of the cheaper cds are actually thinner, and my slot in cd player will have trouble taking them, due to the rollers not being able to make proper contact with the cd. Third, i have a dns3000, which is known for being picky with cds once in a while. If i get cheap cds, about 1 in 8 of them will not be read properly, but ive never EVER had a problem with it reading verbatims (ive used hundreds of them.) see something like this. http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardwar...d_quality.shtml

I love my verbatims, and I have to agree with you here about CDR quality. Sure, in an ideal world, all CDR's would be the same quality, but they are not. Also, some colors happen to work on more CD players than others. To say that all CDR's are exactly the same is false...

___________________

funny how people hype verbatims! IMO they're pure crap! i've had the most issues with just verbatims, even more than with basfs. got some cheap non label ones from thomann once too and they were all fucked. if i'd have to say what's the best IMO i'd go with tdk, but i prefer cds with no graphics on them and i've never seen tdks without any graphics. usueally i just buy what's cheap if it's something else than verbatim or basf

___________________

Get Dropbox, with 250 MB extra space!

quote:

Originally posted by KiNeTiC ENeRgY ...Those CD's that are labeled for music is nothing but hype, and they are more expensive because the company pays a fee to advertise them that way.

Actually, the cds labed as audio are for the home audio recorders. Those type of units will only take top of the line cdr that use the Phthalocyanine dye (greenish hue) rather than your standard Cyanine dye (light blue hue). When choosing a cdr, you are not so much looking for quality now as most, if not all, will work now, you are basing your decision as to how long it will last. If you get a better cdr that uses better dye, you will have a disc that will last longer and be able to stand up to the elements (tempature being a main one) better. The Phthalocyanine dye is the best and rated around 200+ years.

There are really only 4 or so cdr manufactures and all the name brands just bye from them. Some of them rotate around, some of them buy from the same source.

And as someone else mentioned, it is better to burn at a slow rate. When i burn my mix cds, i usually burn fast as they are no big deal. However, when i burn tracks to play out, it is good to stick < 4x.

quote:

Originally posted by onceler Actually, the cds labed as audio are for the home audio recorders. Those type of units will only take top of the line cdr that use the Phthalocyanine dye (greenish hue) rather than your standard Cyanine dye (light blue hue). When choosing a cdr, you are not so much looking for quality now as most, if not all, will work now, you are basing your decision as to how long it will last. If you get a better cdr that uses better dye, you will have a disc that will last longer and be able to stand up to the elements (tempature being a main one) better. The Phthalocyanine dye is the best and rated around 200+ years. There are really only 4 or so cdr manufactures and all the name brands just bye from them. Some of them rotate around, some of them buy from the same source. And as someone else mentioned, it is better to burn at a slow rate. When i burn my mix cds, i usually burn fast as they are no big deal. However, when i burn tracks to play out, it is good to stick < 4x.

I'm not so sure about the audio cd part, I always thought that they were just more expensive because of the tax levied against "music" cdrs

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by `pr0digy I'm not so sure about the audio cd part, I always thought that they were just more expensive because of the tax levied against "music" cdrs

that is not the case here in finland at least as we have the same taxes on all cdrs because you can burn music to all of them and still the audio ones are like many times more expensive.

___________________

Get Dropbox, with 250 MB extra space!

quote:

Originally posted by `pr0digy I'm not so sure about the audio cd part, I always thought that they were just more expensive because of the tax levied against "music" cdrs

Im not sure how it works in other countries, but here in canada theres a general copying levy against everything that can be used to copy media, not just music.

What proof is there that cds burnt at faster speeds then others sound/play differently?

Pretty much anything works just fine for modern CD players as far as reading is concerned. The cheapo brands don't last as long, but you can always just burn a new copy.

Personally, I go for TDK or Memorex, just because their logos are subtle and they last for a long time.

___________________
always in a state of trance

quote:

Originally posted by sebjr What proof is there that cds burnt at faster speeds then others sound/play differently?

Your ears. You can sometimes hear pops and crackles in the sound. I didn't believe it at first until it happened to me. Any cd's I burn to play out, I burn <4x. If it is mix cds for my friends and what not, I burn as fast as I can.

quote:

Originally posted by zoomzoom The cheapo brands don't last as long, but you can always just burn a new copy.

Not when you don't have access to the media anymore. If you have a HDD crash or you loose the file in someway, the only way to get this back is with a cd you have previously burnt. Another way around this if you dont want to invest in good cd's (which really aren't that much more $$ than cheap-o cd's) is to make a 2nd copy using the cheapo ones and never touch it. Store it in a cd book you dont use.

quote:

Originally posted by onceler Not when you don't have access to the media anymore. If you have a HDD crash or you loose the file in someway, the only way to get this back is with a cd you have previously burnt. Another way around this if you dont want to invest in good cd's (which really aren't that much more $$ than cheap-o cd's) is to make a 2nd copy using the cheapo ones and never touch it. Store it in a cd book you dont use.

Very true. I guess the moral of the story is that you should have backups in case one method of media storage fails.

___________________
always in a state of trance

burning a CD as slow as possible ensures that the Image is "burned" in as good as possible. This is only for compatibility issues with other weak laser, or older cd players that sometimes have problems reading burned CD's. All cds/cdr's audio quality diminishes in time mainly by just being read in the player. I've used the expensive cdr's and the cheapos, and I have noticed no difference in audio quality or life span. The main issue is compatibility; Both the high dollar and so called cheapo cdr's aren't compatible with everything, just find what works for you. As for the so called cdr's labeled as music, they pay a license fee to advertise that way, and thats why they are more expensive. Do you think the company will eat that cost?? Thats why they pass that on to the consumer who pays for that, as well as the fancy labels/packaging you get with the high dollar cdr's.