# What brand of CD-R's don't completely suck? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2001, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773 "2001-11-22T16:08:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![psychogumby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@psychogumby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychogumby)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/21 "2001-11-23T21:55:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*\*Though it’s not exactly what the OP is asking, I’ve found that TDK disks are the only ones I’ve had a high success rate for making data disks. Every other brand I’ve tried has had at least half of the disks become unreadable and unrepairable in short order- even those I’ve “closed” so no more data can be added. Anyone else found this themselves experiencing this problem? \*\* No. When you burn CDs, do you still keep using your PC whilst the burn process is running? This can often cause problems. It is a very good idea to just leave your PC during a burning run so that you don’t risk any buffer underruns or any other nasty coaster-generating surprises. If you’re as paranoid as me, you’d disable your screen saver too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![psychogumby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@psychogumby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychogumby)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/22 "2001-11-23T21:58:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SouprChckn \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > > \*\*Another important thing not mentioned is computer specs. People don’t read the side of the box that their recorder comes in to find out how fast their computer must be. Some recorders require 800mhz cpus. Most of the time your cahnces for a perfect disk are better if you record at 1x. \*\* > > 800 MHz? Are you kidding cause thats amazingly high? I just installed my TDK VELOCD 24/10/40 and its requirement is 266 MHz. \*\* what **handy** doesn’t know about the topics he comments on would easily fill a warehouse. 😛 oh yeah, the latest LG 16x CD-RW drive rocks! Three of my mates have bought this unit and have been nothing but overjoyed with it. Guess what I want for Xmas? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/23 "2001-11-23T22:56:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by psychogumby \* > > oh yeah, the latest LG 16x CD-RW drive rocks! Three of my mates have bought this unit and have been nothing but overjoyed with it. Guess what I want for Xmas? 😃 \*\* No no no what you really need is the OEM Plextor 24X on sale now at [http://www.newegg.com](http://www.newegg.com) for 149.00!! ( I paid 170 three weeks ago.) It’s an amazing unit. Burns an entire (filled) CD in less than three minutes. ---
**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/24 "2001-11-23T23:08:23Z")
I bought some CompUSA brand CD-R’s and every time I tried burning anything, all I got were coasters that wouldn’t play on my Sony Discman. However, my friend that I made some CDs for using the same brand said they played fine for her. I’ve been told to try Kodak Gold CDs, but I get varying information as to whether brand actually means anything. I haven’t had the money to buy CD-Rs lately, though. And, since I’m pretty sure I’m getting an iPod for Christmas, I don’t see myself burning too many CDs in the future. FTR, I burn using my 600 mHz iMac, using iTunes as my software. I’ve never heard of any widespread problems with either that computer or that program. In fact, I’ve heard iTunes is a great piece of burning software overall. ---
**Author:** ![psychogumby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@psychogumby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychogumby)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/25 "2001-11-23T23:31:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by psychogumby \* > > > > oh yeah, the latest LG 16x CD-RW drive rocks! Three of my mates have bought this unit and have been nothing but overjoyed with it. Guess what I want for Xmas? 😃 \*\* > > No no no what you really need is the OEM Plextor 24X on sale now at [http://www.newegg.com](http://www.newegg.com) for 149.00!! ( I paid 170 three weeks ago.) It’s an amazing unit. Burns an entire (filled) CD in less than three minutes. \*\* Ah, but I come from a land Down Under, where women glow amid chunder. That would be nearly AUD$400! Sounds nice, but I can get my hands on an LG 16x for less than half that price. Who knows, maybe if I don’t get myself a burner for Xmas and wait for my birthday in May … ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/26 "2001-11-24T00:17:46Z")
“800 MHz? Are you kidding cause thats amazingly high? I just installed my TDK VELOCD 24/10/40 and its requirement is 266 MHz.” No, I’m not kidding, Im directly quoting the manf of the HP drive. Why would I make up something like that? ---
**Author:** ![SouprChckn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@SouprChckn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SouprChckn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/27 "2001-11-24T02:11:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by psychogumby \* > No no no what you really need is the OEM Plextor 24X on sale now at [http://www.newegg.com](http://www.newegg.com) for 149.00!! ( I paid 170 three weeks ago.) It’s an amazing unit. Burns an entire (filled) CD in less than three minutes. \*\* Oh yeah, well my TDK VELOCD was full retail version, and I got it for US130 bucks at [buy.com](http://buy.com). It has pretty much the exact same guts as the Plextor but w/ a cooler blue tray and Nero instead of Easy CD Creator. It doesn’t really burn in under 3 minutes consistently, thats just the absolute fastest under optimum conditions. I get about 3:30 to 4:00 mins per full CD (tho sometimes its a 700MB CD). ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/28 "2001-11-24T02:39:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > Ummmm… not always with older PCs. If you have an older PC without the option to enable DMA access for the IDE drives, overall CPU utilization during the burn can be a significant factor with respect to burning CDRs successfully. \*\* Well, yeah. A system without DMA can see benefits from a good CPU. Another reason to choose SCSI-it almost always uses DMA. Bus mastering helps, too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/29 "2001-11-24T02:45:16Z")
Everyone is drifting so far off topic here… To return to the OP… There are generally two types of CDR blanks. Major manufacturers like Sony/Taiyo Yuden, Maxell, etc, and then there are cheapo generic manufacturers in China, taiwan, etc. There have been plenty of complaints from users of generics, I know some people reporting the discs deteriorated within 6 months. Generic CDRs are low quality, they completely suck. So for archival purposes, I only use high-quality CDR blanks, my preferred CDR brand is Sony (I love the 700Mb 16x blanks). However, each CDR mechanism firmware is precalibrated for various types of media, and may perform better on some brands of media. For example, I have lots of problems burning on Maxell, my drive doesn’t like em, but I have fewer than 1 in 100 burns result in coasters on Sony. Of course, if you’re just making mix CDs for the car, you can use any cheapo media that burns OK. ---
**Author:** ![moe.ron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed8c4c/32.png) [@moe.ron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moe.ron)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/30 "2001-11-24T05:32:27Z")
What differs from one CD-R from another brand is their longevity, not the sound quality that they hold. The information is actually stored in the material on the topside of the CD-R. When this flakes or warps, the CD-R will no longer play. The problem in sound quality lies in the hardware, or the program used to burn. The best burning program out there, hands down, is Exact Audio Copy. You can get it from [http://www.etree.org](http://www.etree.org). It’s very complicated, but once you get used to it’s wonderful. As far as burners go, I have a plextor 16/10/40 Ta with burnproof technology, and it will never burn a coaster. It’s probably the best out there. If you need further consultation with this, give me your email address, and I’ll help you. ---
**Author:** ![moe.ron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed8c4c/32.png) [@moe.ron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moe.ron)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/31 "2001-11-24T05:34:52Z")
Oh, yeah. The worst brands out there, besides generic are maxell and memorex. They flake very easily. In three months I’ve lost two CD-R’s from the same batch.\*\* BEWARE! \*\* ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/32 "2001-11-24T22:16:59Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by SouprChckn \* \*\* > [@](#): > > Oh yeah, well my TDK VELOCD was full retail version, and I got it for US130 bucks at [buy.com](http://buy.com). It has pretty much the exact same guts as the Plextor but w/ a cooler blue tray and Nero instead of Easy CD Creator.\*\* Interesting, I had not heard this. Do you have a cite for the assertion that the VELO is basically a re-badged Plextor? ---
**Author:** ![AndYrAStar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@AndYrAStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndYrAStar)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/33 "2001-11-24T22:34:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Play the MP3s on your PC (with Winamp or Windows Media Player) and then play the Audio CD you created from the MP3s, also on the **same computer** so you are using the same speakers and whatnot. If the CD sounds noticably worse, then the software you are using isn’t converting properly. Yup. I guess it’s the software. The remaining replies to this thread just confused the hell out of me, so I choose to ignore them. 😃 You’ve all got me worried about this flaking talk and whatnot. Does this apply to CD-RW disks too? I have one CD-RW filled with things I consider important. I have noticed that there are “streaks” or smudgey looking things going around it (circular, sorry I can’t explain it better). I try not to use it often, but should I worry about it spontaneously combusting soon? I guess I should make a backup copy of it, I just have to find someone who has a cd-rom AND a burner to do it for me. :\ ---
**Author:** ![SouprChckn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@SouprChckn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SouprChckn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/34 "2001-11-24T23:07:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*Interesting, I had not heard this. Do you have a cite for the assertion that the VELO is basically a re-badged Plextor? \*\* Assuming they’re run off the same line now as they were then, this site says a little about it: [http://www.roundsparrow.com/comp/iomega1/FAQPlex1/](http://www.roundsparrow.com/comp/iomega1/FAQPlex1/) I first heard about this when 12x drives were new (like a year ago) so it’s also very possible that they’re not the same components anymore. I would doubt that this would happen though. Along the same lines of the CD-R discs, its just cheaper to have one large manufacturer of something, and then buy it off of them and badge it under your own brand name. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773/35 "2001-11-24T23:49:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by psychogumby \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > > \*\*Though it’s not exactly what the OP is asking, I’ve found that TDK disks are the only ones I’ve had a high success rate for making data disks. Every other brand I’ve tried has had at least half of the disks become unreadable and unrepairable in short order- even those I’ve “closed” so no more data can be added. Anyone else found this themselves experiencing this problem? \*\* > > No. > > When you burn CDs, do you still keep using your PC whilst the burn process is running? This can often cause problems. It is a very good idea to just leave your PC during a burning run so that you don’t risk any buffer underruns or any other nasty coaster-generating surprises. > > If you’re as paranoid as me, you’d disable your screen saver too. 🙂 \*\* Ah, the program I use for data disks doesn’t burn it all at once (though the one on my dad’s computer does) you format the disk to receive data then use “copy to” to get your things on the disks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-brand-of-cd-rs-dont-completely-suck/94773.md?page=1)