CD-R/RW Recommendations

radio1_mike · November 8th, 2002, 08:44 AM

A few weeks back I bought a new burner...

This one to be exact!

It works great, much better than the error-prone-twice-returned Iomega I had! There were many problems with that drive I could not use: 1) different color-coated CDs 2) greater than 650MB (74min) CD-R/RWs...

So, now it looks like I can use a lot more media now.

What would you guys suggest? I personally, only used 650MB, CD-RWs. Because at least w/my craptasic Iomega, if there was a problem, I could just erase and try again.

What are the differences between music and data? Are 80min disk really worth it? What about different colored CDs? And what brands are more or less reliable than others?

Thanks!

J-Excel · November 8th, 2002, 09:00 AM

I've been using Verbatims for years without any problems. I saw a color chart for cdr media types once with expected life, etc. Might be able to find it on google. I think dark blue was the worst and light green was the best. Not 100% sure though.

JohnE. · November 8th, 2002, 09:31 AM

I don't use CD/RW anymore so I can't say much about those.

Don't buy ANY disks that say they are "Made for music". Buy data disks and burn music to them. "Music CD-R's" are meant mainly for stand-alone audio CD burners and include a music industry tariff/tax making them more expensive and won't allow copying of copyrighted CD's.

Since most if not all newer burners support 80 minute CD-R's the older 74 minute ones are fast becoming obsolete and eventually they'll be harder if not impossible to find. Also, the older CD-R's don't support the higher burning speed capabilities of newer drives.

I still have some old TDK 74min 6X max disks laying around that I got a super deal on (box of 10 for $3.00) because nobody wanted the slow 6X when they had a 40X burner.

Different colored CD's are a cosmetic thing and doesn't affect quality afaik but, this is not to be confused with the color of the dye used (the color of the underside of the disk where the data gets burned to) which does affect quality. Which color/dye is best is hard to say, opinions differ.

The media brand recommended by your burners manufacturer is probably your best bet or another brand that uses the same dye type. You may want to experiment with a few different brands and stick with what produces the best results.

Hope that made sense/helped,

JohnE.

dunbar · November 8th, 2002, 09:36 AM

The users manual for that drive looks exactly like the manual for my BenQ (FKA Acer, AKA Digital Research Technologies, AKA I/O Magic). I use it under Linux, no major issues as a burner. Issue with it as a CDROM reader: Some distros can't figure out how to boot through that drive, others distros boot through it only with an explicit bootcode (root= stuff), and a few distros boot without a hitch through it. Microsoft OS might be just fine with it.

Ok, you didn't ask for opinins about the drive. I use Imation 48x rated CDRs (spindle of 50), flawless performance thus far.

thekemp · November 8th, 2002, 10:27 AM

the best i have used are data safe 40 speed
and memorex black coloured
rioch cd-rw are the best cd-rw i have used they have never gone bad on me!

radio1_mike · November 8th, 2002, 11:01 AM

Thanks guys...

I expect that I shall just be able to walk into CompUSA and pretty much pick any type of media I like. Much different from trying to find 650MB CD-RWs!!

radio1_mike · November 8th, 2002, 11:04 AM

Yah, I get all confused about the colors too. Some of the cd-r tech sites on the web, do all this stuff with which is the better color-dyed CD to use...

Me? I want to make CDs, not coasters. And I want the data to last.

Anything else, like cool coloring is secondary!

thekingofpain · November 8th, 2002, 12:42 PM

I have a couple Iomega cdrw's that ive not had probs with (may be luck, they are rebadged Plextors) I recently bought a cheap 40x12x40 Lite-on that I flashed to a 48x saving a couple bucks---I ONLY use cheap media that I purchased for a 5¢ each (I bought a few 1000 of them) I cant remember ever making a coaster and always burn flat out at max speed...

radio1_mike · November 8th, 2002, 02:04 PM

Perhaps, I did get the only bad one in the bunch...

It figures(d) the first time I really spent some money to get a "recognizable" name, I got a craptastic one!

November 8th, 2002, 02:15 PM

I do the same as TKOP. By them for like $2.99 for 50 spindle. Never made a coaster. I have a cenedyne burner, nothing fancy, and it all works well. I think the trick is to make sure it's on the right IDE channel, defrag your drive and leave your PC alone while it burns.

Doing something interferes with the data stream and sometimes even the burn-proof technology fails.