# CD-R quality **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2004, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216 "2004-12-10T21:55:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alectrona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Alectrona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alectrona)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/1 "2004-12-10T21:55:43Z")
I heard that cheap CD-Rs don’t last for very long. Why is that, and what makes the expensive ones better? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/2 "2004-12-10T22:41:01Z")
The difference is the type of dye that is used. Generally Cd’s made in Japan are of superior quality then those made in taiwan. They last longer with less data corruption and are generally more widely readable in CDroms/players etc. To put things in perspective however it’s the difference between 10 years and 50 years. I doubt you’ll be keeping any of your Cdr’s for such a significant amount of time. The error rate is a problem however, and is why I only use taiyo yuden(the best dye) cd’s. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/3 "2004-12-11T00:08:28Z")
Cheap CD-R’s _do_ scratch much more easily. That’s the cause of death of most CD’s, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/4 "2004-12-11T00:13:47Z")
> [@Alectrona](#): > > I heard that cheap CD-Rs don’t last for very long. Why is that, and what makes the expensive ones better? Part of it is dye stability and susceptibility to damage from UV light. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/5 "2004-12-12T00:43:12Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Cheap CD-R’s _do_ scratch much more easily. That’s the cause of death of most CD’s, IMO. I’ve noticed this; the plastic of the readable surface seems much softer on cheap bulk unbranded CDRs than on more expensive ones that come in their own jewel case, or pressed CDs. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/6 "2004-12-12T00:48:31Z")
I’ve had some problems with my Imation CD-Rs skipping when I play them in my car. (I have a 2003 Honda Accord.) They usually skip in the same place and skip just a few times before the song continues as normal. Would a different brand of CD-Rs prevent the skipping? Is there a really high-quality brand? ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/7 "2004-12-12T01:19:10Z")
I buy two types of CDR. The cheap ones are for quick transfers, testing audio mixes, music mixes for the car (if they’re cheap I don’t feel bad about chucking them in the back seat) and saving device drivers. I have a spindle of nice CDRs for archive reasons, data back up, etc. I’ve found some cheap CDR spindles are pretty good when it comes to abuse and storage. Normally I’ll take the first one from the pack and smack it around a bit just to see how it stands up. Some start flaking right away or just break, others take the abuse pretty good. You can tell good CDRs from how the surface looks. If the underside is smooth and clean looking, the colour is even and it holds up well to a ball point pen on the top side, then it is better quaility. Yamaha used to sell a cheap CDR that was on the level with Mitsui but I haven’t seen those for some time. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/8 "2004-12-12T06:18:11Z")
A new test for me is how the CD holds up to light and cold. After an old CDR I left in the car wouldn’t play, I noticed the top was slighty faded where the sun had hit it, vs. where it was covered by something. That didn’t matter so much though, 'cause flipping it over showed the blue dye near the edges seemed to have leaked out somehow. (My best guess is that when it hit -30C the dye froze and lost whatever coherent structure it had). I disagree that you’ll be ditching your media before 10 years. I’ve got ~5 year old CDRs lying around that I imagine I’ll still want come another 5 years. I may be moving to network storage at home, but my car is still likely to sport the old CD standard for a while. ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/9 "2004-12-12T15:09:55Z")
> [@Seven](#): > > holds up well to a ball point pen on the top side Why are you writing on your CDs with a ball-point? Even if they _can_ handle it, I’d think you’re tempting fate by not using a felt-tip. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/10 "2004-12-12T16:49:25Z")
- - - A year or two ago there was some European group that did a study on the issue of how long consumer-grade CD-R’s remain readable. They found that some became unreadable in as little as 2-3 years, while others held out many times longer than that–and surprisingly enough, the brand name did not matter. Some of the most expensive names bombed the fastest. The only correlation they did see was that slower-writing-speed discs tended to hold their data longer than the fast-writing ones. Slashdot carried the story on this but it was a while ago, if you feel up to doing a search for it. … - Various opinions: it is **generally** recognized that the [Mitsui gold](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=mitsui+gold+buy&btnG=Google+Search) discs last the longest, and most people use a Sharpie felt-tip marker to write on CD’s. ~ ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/11 "2004-12-12T16:54:31Z")
- - - Also see here, **Subject: [7-4-1] What’s the best brand of media?** [http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq07.html#S7-4-1](http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq07.html#S7-4-1) …also note the very next question answered there, regarding media life. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/12 "2004-12-13T07:56:55Z")
> [@aerodave](#): > > Why are you writing on your CDs with a ball-point? Even if they _can_ handle it, I’d think you’re tempting fate by not using a felt-tip. I don’t write on CDR’s with ballpoint, but I’ve found it to be a good test of quaility. Better CDR’s can handle it while cheap ones flake and indent easy. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/13 "2004-12-13T08:36:48Z")
A report by Fred Langa a while ago ([informationweek article](http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=15800263&pgno=1)) reported his experience. A consistent factor in CD-R’s that failed was that he had used glue-on paper label from a print-it-yourself CD label-maker kit on them. So he now recommends just identifying them with a felt-tip marker. ---
**Author:** ![Bob55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Bob55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob55)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/14 "2004-12-13T23:20:07Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > … > > - Various opinions: it is **generally** recognized that the [Mitsui gold](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=mitsui+gold+buy&btnG=Google+Search) discs last the longest, and most people use a Sharpie felt-tip marker to write on CD’s. > ~ I read normal CD-Rs are expected to last 5 to 15 years, but some a lot more or less (I’ve had some cheap ones fail after 2 years). I use Mitsui Gold, they’re a little more expensive but I believe the government uses them for archiving and they’ve been predicted to last up to 500 years. Keep CDs in a dry, dark place, and if you really want to be overly cautious only write with the sharpie on the plastic interior. [Here is a comparison](http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware/cdrom/cd_quality.shtml) of different brands of CD-Rs. ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/15 "2004-12-14T02:48:44Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > A report by Fred Langa a while ago ([informationweek article](http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=15800263&pgno=1)) reported his experience. A consistent factor in CD-R’s that failed was that he had used glue-on paper label from a print-it-yourself CD label-maker kit on them. So he now recommends just identifying them with a felt-tip marker. Years ago I came into a special CD marking pen. Is there a difference between that and a sharpie? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/16 "2004-12-14T07:48:59Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Years ago I came into a special CD marking pen. Is there a difference between that and a sharpie? Probably the special one is significantly higher in price. Other than that, I doubt if there are significant differences. I know of many people who have been using standard felt tip pens for years, without problems. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/17 "2004-12-14T15:16:45Z")
What’s the difference between CD-R’s that are labeled as being for music and those that are general purpose? ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/18 "2004-12-14T16:22:53Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > What’s the difference between CD-R’s that are labeled as being for music and those that are general purpose? None whatsoever, except the ones labeled for music cost more because there has been a levy applied to them to cover the implied cost of copyright infringement. They have a code in the bar code near the label that is read by a standalone CD recorder that tells it that it’s an “approved” disc. Non-encoded discs do not have this code and the machine will reject them. OTOH, you can use either kind in a computer. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/19 "2004-12-14T16:31:31Z")
Often, CDRs marked specifically for ‘audio use’ are simply better quality (and therefore generally more expensive than generic data CDRs - very often they also have a ‘silver’ recording surface (as opposed to one that appears dark blue or something) and this can make the difference between whether or not they will work in some older CD players. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216/20 "2004-12-14T16:35:45Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Years ago I came into a special CD marking pen. Is there a difference between that and a sharpie? Years ago, I picked a random felt tip out of my pen drawer, and used it to label a data backup CD. Following a crash a year later, I pulled out the CD, only to find that the ink had corroded the aluminum coating. The inside of the o’s and a’s actually _fell off_ when I picked up the disk. Some pen inks are acidic, and will ruin your CD’s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-quality/279216.md?page=2)