CD-R question and music

[daveleau]

Just curious but I have seen a new product wave in CD-Rs. They are now coming out with CD-Rs that are designed for recording music. They are about $5 a disk compared to the regular cheap medium that is a buck. I know the differences in between cheap and gold media but am wondering if there is any worthy difference between the music cd-rs and regular ones. Or is this a marketing ploy?I have had great success so far with cheap media and music so...
Thanks-Dave

[Wiz]

i use the cd-rs for recording music, but they are not 5 bucks a pop. They are around 1.50, employee discount, -=]. and no, i'm NOT stealing 'em!

[Target]

Only CDR's I have seen marketed for "recording music" are the ones that are capable of doing 80min vs. the standard 74min 650MB ones......

My guess is that it is a marketing ploy. I too have had absolutely no issues using the standard 74min/650MB CDR's for recording music. Play them in my home stereo and car all the time.

Maybe there is more to it than just marketing....but I don't think it would be worth the $4 per disc difference IMHO.

[BBA]

I use MemoryMedia 80 minute professional CD-R's for music. CompUSA has the Memory Media brand under their CompUSA name also.

They work very well, and a 10 pack cost around $13-14.

[drdeath]

i have always used the crappy comp usa cdrs that you get 50 for 30 bucks - they've always worked perfectly, and i wouldnt ever spend 5 bucks a cd when i can get the exact same results with a 60 cent cd.....

.... my two cents ....

[Susan]

The difference with CD-R's is the kind of dye that is used together with the reflective coating that is applied to the disks.

Supposedly, better quality and High Performance dyes are used with Music CD-R's for better playback and can also help to make the disks last longer.



[This message has been edited by Susan (edited 12-20-1999).]

[daveleau]

Thanks for all of your replies. Just as I guessed.

Susan or anyone else with some insight-
Is there a shelf-life of cd-rs? You said it makes them last longer. Are you referring to scratch resiliency or resistance? Not sure what you mean by lasting longer. I always thought the better media was to prevent buffer underruns. Is that the case? Thanks-
Dave

[Target]

Can't remember where I saw it, but I remember reading somewhere that the shelf life for CDR's varied greatly.....However, the bottom end of the scale (according to the article I read) was like 20 years. Doubtful that you will have most of that stuff still on CDR 20 years from now.

Not sure what dye has to do with making the CDR's last longer unless there is a chance for fading of some sort, which would make the pits less distinguishable to the reader.

I don't believe that the quality of the media has much to do with buffer under-runs either. Buffer under-run errors are caused when the memory buffer in the burner is exhausted because data is not being fed to it as fast as it is burning it to the blank CD. I could be off base, but I don't see a direct correlation between media quality and under-run errors.

[daveleau]

Thanks Target. I guess I was a little off target with my information. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Susan]

It's the exposure to light which can reduce the overall life span of the disks - like Target said it's the fading.

But with the newer dyes as well as the thicknesses of them and the coatings, this has improved.

I've never read anything in regards to shelf-life and maybe it's just that exposure to any light while they are sitting on the shelves that comes into play.

[Bleeding Edge]

The composition of the dye and quality taken in manufacturing the CD-R/RW, directly relates to self-life. Under normal care, high quality CD-Rs (the 'written' media) have been tested to last 200 years. Others, a 100yrs. Lesser CD-Rs may last 20yrs.

The unwritten media is far more sensitive to damage than the written ones.

[Ed_S]

Dave, I think I know what you're seeing.

A friend of mine is into music composition & recording. He's got the gear for it, can record music track-by-track, then blend into one. Those are the discs his equipment uses for master discs. But once created, he uses regular CD-R's to duplicate.

[daveleau]

Ok that makes sense (all of it). I went back and checked the cd-rs and they are Memorex 74', 650MB Music CD-Rs. They come in a pack of 3 for $15. Kindof steep. Since I don't have a recording studio, I think I'll stay away. I don't think we'll be using cds in 20 years anyway.

[Susan]

I don't think we'll be using cds in 20 years anyway.

http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif You're probably right with that, Dave!

[PaulG]

An issue of CD-recording is the sound quality difference between SCSI and IDE writing method. We at Zeppelin Audio/Hungary made some tests to look at the quality difference and found the written discs are often sound warmer, more listenable. Theoretically, the SCSI method is less critical since no data conversion happens while IDE runs in batches through the whole system (cables, mobo,etc.). True, it is becoming a question only if you have High-End Audio components of the highest nature.
If not, do not worry, just enjoy your music.

[codybear]

this page will answer any and all questions about cdr's ..it is not in the dye at all as that is purely for cosmetic purposes
http://www.fadden.com/cdrfaq/



[This message has been edited by codybear (edited 01-17-2000).]

[JW310]

I heard that the reason the music only CDRs cost so much more than regular CDRs is because a portion of the money you pay goes to the recording companies as royalties for possibly lost sales due to people coping music CDs. Plus, there's a code already on the CD that allows the standalone music CD copiers to distinguish between the music-only CDRs and the data/music CDRs.

JW