[davediggz]

I've just been introduced to the existence of these CD-R's. From what i have read so far, they are supposed to be top quailty CD-R's because of the special process in which they are made. Has anyone here ever used these CD-R's? It seems like a good way to keep back-ups of your favorite CD's. But then again, I don't even know if they can do audio cd's.

-david

 

[JeffL]

A CD is a CD. There are different qualities, and manufacturing processes, the dye used, etc.

But the goal is always the same, and that is to store data.

So long as your not dealing with audio, there isn't a different in the end result, unless the CD is scratched or mishandled.

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davediggz I've just been introduced to the existence of these CD-R's. From what i have read so far, they are supposed to be top quailty CD-R's because of the special process in which they are made. Has anyone here ever used these CD-R's? It seems like a good way to keep back-ups of your favorite CD's. But then again, I don't even know if they can do audio cd's. -david

Another option would be the blank cd's mobile fidelity sound labs sells, you can find info about them here

 

[jefemeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffL A CD is a CD. There are different qualities, and manufacturing processes, the dye used, etc. But the goal is always the same, and that is to store data. So long as your not dealing with audio, there isn't a different in the end result, unless the CD is scratched or mishandled.

This isn't entirely true. CD-Rs have a limited shelf life. Some people put that estimate at under 10 years before the data will begin to "disintegrate." I think David means that these medical-grade CD-Rs will stand the test of time better. Personally, this is the first I've heard of them.

 

[Budley007]

TDK claims that their dye formula is designed to ensure a 100 year life expectancy.

 

[DrewWinters]

Regular CD's also have a limited shelf life. My very first CD's - now about 15 years old, have started to noticably deteriorate. There are pops and hisses and noise that was not there before and can not be the result of surface damage. Some of the cheaper ones are unreadable in some players now! I suppose there may be another explanation - as I haven't exactly done a scientific analysis of it - but I'm pretty sure that this is just the result of them being very old.

I wonder how DVD's and SACD's hold up over time?

 

[MichaelFranks]

I use Klone DVD/CD r's, mitsui are also very good!

www.american-digital.com

 

[NeilPeart]

CD-R Rankings:
1. Taiyo Yuden (Fuji made in Japan - NOT Taiwan)
2. Mitsui
3. Mitsubishi
4. Ritek
5. CMC

CD-RW Rankings:
1. Mitsubishi (Verbatim)
2. Mitsui
3. CMC
4. Ritek
5. Maxell (really poor quality Ritek)

I don't care if some media is called "Medical Grade" or "Nuclear Bomb Withstanding," because Taiyo Yuden Media has had the lowest C1 and C2 error rates of any other CD-R media and also exhibited the longest life span. It's no secret that it was the first CD-R media and also Plextor Japan's top choice for a long time.

 

[sygyzy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffL A CD is a CD. There are different qualities, and manufacturing processes, the dye used, etc. But the goal is always the same, and that is to store data. So long as your not dealing with audio, there isn't a different in the end result, unless the CD is scratched or mishandled.

LMAO!

 

[JeffL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sygyzy LMAO!

What? Am I missing something?

 

[NeilPeart]

You completely ignored the C1 and C2 error rates and the life span of certain media dyes.

 

[Stephonovich]

Medical grade CD-Rs?! First it was medical grade outlets, now blank CDs... You watch, next they'll have us buying medical grade power, from a special audiophile power plant, that's been triple filtered to ensure no spikes, dips, or other such badness. Actually, come to think of it, that's not a bad idea... Hmm... /me sees money making scheme...

Oh yeah, Happy Supremus Me!

 

[Illah]

To me this seems a little far fetched... Data is far more sensitive than audio. A few bits worth of corruption and entire files don't work properly. A scratch can straight kill a data CD. A few bits of corruption on an audio CD and you get a microsecond worth of a 'pop' because the data is basically a playback stream.

As one who has worked in the PC world for quite some time, it amazes me sometimes to see the extrememes people go to in some areas when the world's largest corporate datacenters use data-grade optical cables that are like 5mm in diameter and/or Cat5e for 1000' runs. These datacenters move terabits an hour worth of traffic without errors - including credit card processing where even a minor glitch can result in many thousands of dollars in mistakes.

With the exception of shelf life and durability I think all but the cheapest media is the same. Who knows, maybe there's a difference, but I smell sugar pills........ It's one thing if it doesn't work properly (hence my preference for Ritek DVD-R because it works in more DVD players than crap disks), but once the data is on the disk it's 1's and 0's, so as long as the disk can hold that information it will sound as good as any other media.

--Illah

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephonovich Medical grade CD-Rs?! First it was medical grade outlets, now blank CDs... You watch, next they'll have us buying medical grade power, from a special audiophile power plant, that's been triple filtered to ensure no spikes, dips, or other such badness. Actually, come to think of it, that's not a bad idea... Hmm... /me sees money making scheme... Oh yeah, Happy Supremus Me!

You may say that, but I use medical grade batteries in my META42

As to CDRs, maybe i've been lucky... but i've not had an CDR go bad on me yet.

 

[JeffL]

Quote:

Who knows, maybe there's a difference, but I smell sugar pills........ It's one thing if it doesn't work properly (hence my preference for Ritek DVD-R because it works in more DVD players than crap disks), but once the data is on the disk it's 1's and 0's, so as long as the disk can hold that information it will sound as good as any other media.

That's exactly what I'm getting at, really.

C1 error rates are meaningless, IMO. C2 error rates should be nonexistant in the first place.

Now, if you are talking about data longevity that is a different issue. But I wasn't referring to long term storage. In fact, I wouldn't use DVD or CDs for that. I would use tape. But for the average user, CD/DVD is more convenient. However, I also question the need, because a backup is something that is done fairly frequently. IMO, there is no need real need for a CD that will last you 20+ years unless you're talking about serious archiving. And this isn't even beginning to address the fact that the different in data storage/sound quality is negligible to begin with for short term storage. While cheap media will always be simply cheap (no question), for data storage, there are built in mediums to protect the data onboard the disc. But the main reason this has to be used, is because of scratches and mishandling of the disc, not because of bad media.