I ask because I’ve burned the same CD (a mix CD) three times on my iMac using iTunes. Once in OS 9.1, once in OS X and then the third time I used the CD I had burned with OS X (plays flawlessly on my computer), imported all the files as AIFFs and burned the AIFFs to CD. (The second time I did it, I just burned mp3’s, which supposedly results in better quality.)
Anyway, here’s what happens when I play each one in my portable CD player:
CD 1: Tries to play, but fails, getting out only a few microseconds of noise. When I turn off the skip protection, they play, but it sounds like a radio losing its signal.
CD 2 & 3: Takes a while to start going, and sounds promising at first, but then starts skipping to the point of absurdity.
My portable CD player is a few years old, and I can’t remember if I’ve ever played a CD-R in it before, but I’m pretty sure I have. So is the fault with iTunes, something else with my computer, or my CD player? Or maybe I’m a dumbass?
Using mp3 files for CD burning results in LESS quality than AIFFs, not the other way around.
I’ve actually found the reverse to be true: $50 portable CD players will handle my CD-Rs, while $250 HIFI stereo CD/DVD players will not recognize them. [grumble]
I don’t have iTunes (I use Adaptec Toast on an iMac DV 400 w/ an external USB CDR drive) so I can’t help you there. But if it, like other programs, offers you different writing speeds (1x, 2x 4x, 8x, etc.), you may get better results by burning discs at lower speeds. Likewise, for audio, burn whole discs, not “sessions” (which allow you to come back later and add more data to a not-yet-full CD-R).
Sometimes the burn speed can cause the CD to be unplayable. Try burning at 2x, or if all else fails, 1x. (Just be sure you have plenty of time.) Also, make sure you don’t put more than 74 minutes, because some players can’t handle more music than the original amount intended for CDs. Try that, and let us know how it goes.
Near as I can tell it has nothing to do with either the burning software or the original file format. Some audio CD players simply will not play CDRs. I’ve never narrowed it down to old vs. new or any specific brands, but basically a particular music CD player will either play them ok, or it will always reject them.
** Brianjedi** and toadspittle!
Lowering the burning speed worked like a charm. I only did it at 1x, but I think now I’ll try to push the envelope more and more and see what I can get up to.
Thanks!
Since the OP seems to be answered, I’d like an answer to a related question:
My car manual (2001 Infiniti) says that I shouldn’t put CD-R’s into my player because it may damage it. I thought that a CD-R, once burned, “looked” the same to a player as a “real” CD. So far, everything plays just fine. Will I run into trouble down the road with my laser/sound system, or is this just the RIAA/Infiniti blowing smoke?
Just don’t exceed the rated speed of your media. When I got my new 12X CD burner, I made a disc with iTunes using some old 8X rated media, but forgot to turn the speed down. The result: started out fine, but as the disc played, songs farther down the playlist became more messed up and harder to listen to. Seems like most media sold these days is rated 16X with some 12X still floating around, so you should be good.
I’ve been reading lots of articles lately that say that burning at higher speeds is better. Something to do with the error-correction of the recorder and having the laser working for a shorter time, I don’t fully understand it all. So, burn your CDs at the highest rate you can, but, like I say, don’t exceed the rated recording speed of your media.
Some DVD players have a lot of trouble playing CD-Rs at all; the players that have problems are usually the newer models that have a single laser for both DVD and CD playing, as opposed to older models that had two lasers. For them, I hear that using CD-RW media works best, although I’ve never tried it personally, because I have an older DVD player.
Sethdallob, you have nothing to worry about. That warning refers to putting blank CD-Rs in a CD player. My Pioneer CD changer manual actually says blank CD-Rs, not just CD-Rs. The warning is so Joe Idiot doesn’t put a blank one in.
I burn CD-Rs on my Sony drive at 10x with 10x or more rated media using Adaptec EZ CD Creator 4. I use the Audio option and burn it using track at once for my music CDs. I have no trouble playing them in my 1989 Radio Shack Portable CD player (too bad it does have skip protection), they play fine on the semi-portable CD-AM/FM-Cassette stereo from 1995-6, and have no trouble playing in my new JVC DVD player. I guess it just depends on the media and how it was recorded and the player itself. I was surprised they would work on something from 1989 and even a new DVD player.
Sorry, I meant my portable 1989 doesn’t have skip protection 
I wish it did since it still works great.