# CD-R blank media preferences **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2001, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195 "2001-01-29T02:11:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/1 "2001-01-29T02:11:02Z")
I know, another CD-R question, but after visiting several CD-R FAQs, I remain confused. I know there’s a few CD burners here and I want to pick your brains a sec. Which blanks have you had the best success with? I plan on doing straight CD copies (as backup) as well as some MP3 discs and data backups as well. Thanking you in advance… ---
**Author:** ![Tzel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzel)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/2 "2001-01-29T02:45:34Z")
IME, there’s only really one important criterion when it comes to CD-Rs. Just pick out a name brand, something you recognize, not a generic kind. The exception is Maxell. Don’t buy Maxell CD-Rs; they aren’t really much better than the generic kinds. I’ve used Memorex, Imation, Fujifilm, etc, and never experienced a problem. I rarely burn “coasters”, and when I do, it’s always because of a preventable fuck-up. ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/3 "2001-01-29T02:48:25Z")
You get what you pay for. Don’t cave when Circuit City offers $25 for a 50 pack of no-name CDRs. Stick with the name brands. Some experience with 50 packs I’ve bought in the past… TDK - Kinda garbagey. Eight or nine bad ones in the bunch. Maxell - Utter pieces of crap. Half the suckers were bad. Memorex - Pretty good. I’m halfway through a 50 pack and I’ve only found one bad disc. Sony - Superior. Not a bad one in the batch. ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/4 "2001-01-29T02:49:49Z")
Wow. Not only a simulpost, but a simulpost with the same opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/5 "2001-01-29T03:20:18Z")
One site I visited seemed to go totally orgasmic over Kodak Gold. Anyone try those? The site proclaims Kodak as “the leader in CD-R technology”. ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/6 "2001-01-29T04:09:23Z")
I’ve been using Imation discs and am happy so far. ---
**Author:** ![Pergau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7c8e57/32.png) [@Pergau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pergau)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/7 "2001-01-29T13:31:03Z")
I find HP disks the best - but then I have a HP burner!. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/8 "2001-01-29T15:17:21Z")
We haven’t had the burner long enough to really experiment a lot with different brands of cd’s, but so far the Sony and Memorex seem to be pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f0a364/32.png) [@Bad\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Hat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/9 "2001-01-29T15:54:20Z")
I burn anywhere from 15 to upwards of 30 CD-Rs a weeks and in the past six months or so I’ve become an Imation loyalist. They are really cheap, i like the slim little half size jewel cases, and I’ve never (literally, never) had misburn because of them. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/10 "2001-01-29T15:57:25Z")
I use verbatim, and I burn quite a lot of cds. Had better luck with them than any other. Maxell sucks. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2001, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-blank-media-preferences/52195/11 "2001-01-29T18:37:43Z")
I’ve burned quite a few data CD-Rs in my day, both at work & at home, and the biggest thing I’ve noticed is to make sure that you get CD-Rs rated for the speed you’ll be burning them at. I’ve had the most trouble with burning CD-Rs at higher speeds than they’re rated for- they really act strange afterwards. Still, I’ve created many, many more coasters due to buffer underrun than to any media inconsistencies. I buy the spindles of no-name or cheap name-brand CDs and burn them at the speed they’re rated for. Seems to work just fine for me. If I had to pick a name-brand, I’d probably go with Imation, Sony, or Memorex. Verbatim are ok, but the older Datalife ones had a water soluble top-coat which gunked up some felt-tip pens of mine. I don’t know about music performance, or how they do in stereo component CD burners.