CD-R writing and quality degredation

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 

Let's say you take a factory-pressed CD and rip it to Wave (lossless). Then you use a software and burn a CD-R with the Wave files (automatically converted to .cda).

How much of a difference there? I believe that there are four variables:

 

1. The disc drive used for reading and writing;

2. The software;

3. The burning speed;

4. The quality of the CD-R used.

 

Which one of these affects quality the most?

Thank you very much.

disk drives are about the same quality these days, though i find it interesting how computer drives have a easier time reading scratched/scuffed CD's than drives of other equipment
 

If you use a program like EAC and everything is verified as accurate, there will be no difference at all.

In order of decreasing importance:

• the quality of the CD used, which is very important if you plan to keep you backups readable for a long time, buy the best media you can find, they degrade over time.
• the burning speed, max write speed divided by 4 seems to be a commonly accepted "best value", too slow and you get write errors, too fast and the media is not properly burnt.
• the disk drive, plextor used to have a very good reputation and still has one, but IMHO all drives are pretty much very good today.
• the software, 0 importance IMHO.

Actually, those criteria matter for the conservation of the CD over time, the disc just has just come out of the burner is pretty much error free, on the other hand burning conditions do matter even if you CD is never used and stored in a dry and dark place if you plan to keep them for a few years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 

Let's say you take a factory-pressed CD and rip it to Wave (lossless). Then you use a software and burn a CD-R with the Wave files (automatically converted to .cda).

How much of a difference there? I believe that there are four variables:

 

1. The disc drive used for reading and writing;

2. The software;

3. The burning speed;

4. The quality of the CD-R used.

 

Which one of these affects quality the most?

Thank you very much.

Actually if you are serious about backing up your data, the best solution would be using large capacity hard drive.

• In triplicate
• in separate physical locations

Or use some kind of online back up service.

I think it will last for about four years; A maximum of 10 years with good care.

OP, are you asking whether the data on the burned CD matches the data on the original? Or are you asking whether the burned CD will last a long time?

If the former, the data will match as long as your hardware isn't broken and as long as you have your software settings correct (pre-emphasis, don't insert silence, etc etc...).

If the latter, it depends on the media and how you store it. I have some crappy CD-Rs that I burned music to which degraded (flaked) after less than 10 years.

How long would a hard drive last if it were only ever to be on to make back ups once and a while?  You could probably squeeze a century out of one.  The ultimate backup would be to print out all the 1s and 0s on paper and store that in a climate-controlled place.

Delete

Binary is binary.  Having an operating system and software and formats to support what is backed up is a whole other thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by labrat 

And the ultimate question today would be:

Will there be anyone or any hardware available, that could understand or read the code after a century from now?

There's no such guarantee, companies could fie, the format could be replaced by a better one, etc...
But the question is a moot point, formats change gradually, if ALAC becomes the preferred format over FLAC in the future, it would happen over several years with tools to make the switch (not that the tools don't already exist. You'll always be able to move your music collection losslessly if it was lossless to begin with.
Currently CD (as data containers ) have been phased out in favor of DVDs and blurays, but even of future optical drives don't read CDs, you still have the possibility to transfer them to hard drives.

In short, use the best format today, and don't fear about future compatibility.

Provided there are no read or write errors (these should be reported) and your settings are alright, the copy should be identical. Using a lower burn speed is safter for this as far as I know. In my experience, higher quality discs maintain data readability for a longer period, as does a slow burn speed- but it might just be my experience rather than any real fact.

The simplest answer would be that your CD-Rs will sound exactly like your original CDs... for a time.

Wait 3 or 4 years and some may even become unreadable if you didn't take the precautions cited above.

PS: As for the banned member, they have to be banned manually, in the time it takes for a moderator to examine the situation, the banned member would still be able to post.