Some of my CDP and DVD players won't recognize a CDR, is there a way to tell {if the player isn't placarded to accept CDR/CDRW} that any given deck will play all the types?
I typically buy thrift store units, they are abundant and inexpensive, some are quite nice, but I cannot discern what makes some work on all the CD types, I suppose I could take a CDR along when I shop for testing...
Casey

Bringing along a disc would be the best idea. I know at the places I shop that they recommend you plug them in and try them before you buy. They have multipl,e outlets for testing.

I found so far that all Sony cd players can read cdr's. The oldest Sony cd player I currently have that reads them is a CDP-707ESD made in 1988.

I found so far that all Sony cd players can read cdr's. The oldest Sony cd player I currently have that reads them is a CDP-707ESD made in 1988.

While I do not own any of their CDP's I have the DVP-NS900V DVD player and it reads CDR's without problems.

I also have a Sony DVP-NS500V which plays cdr's and sacd's also. Another cd player that I used with cdr's is the NAD 5425 which also works with Sony remotes.

My 90s era Pioneers are usually OK, but an older Marantz I have sometimes has trouble with CDRs.

I've never had a problem with CD-R's ever. They seem to play just like the store bought ones.

As to why some players won't touch CD-R's, My guess is that the gain adjustment for the laser isn't set high enough (might have my terminology screwed up here). Also due to the pigments, lighter pigments in CD-R's are more difficult to read, but darker one's seem to be less problematic.

Arcam Alpha One, Five, Nine
Arcam DiVA CD73T
Cambridge D500SE
Sony carousels (3 of various models)
Lector CDP0.6T

All of these have played every CDR I have presented.

I would imagine it also depends on what speed the CDR's were burnt. I usually burn mine at 4x and have never had a problem. If I get to fast (over 10x) then I start getting into trouble with what machines will read them.

I found so far that all Sony cd players can read cdr's. The oldest Sony cd player I currently have that reads them is a CDP-707ESD made in 1988.

Sony dvd/cd single deck, won't read CDR's model DVP-NS300.
Sheesh.
Casey:sigh:

I've also experienced the "slower is better" thing on picky players.
The factory changer in my 300M is finicky as hell, so when I burn something for the car I usually go with the slowest speed possible.

Sony dvd/cd single deck, won't read CDR's model DVP-NS300.
Sheesh.
Casey:sigh:

Hmm, I've got a DVP-NS325. Never had a problem.

Older (but not the oldest) DVD players won't read CD-Rs because they lack an IR laser. They manage to play pressed CDs with the red laser, but it won't work for CD-Rs. Strangely, some of these can play CD-RW even though they can't play CD-R.

The very oldest DVD players and all the ones made in the last few years have two lasers, so they should be able to play CD-Rs fine.

You also might want to try better quality blanks. I've had very poor results with the cheap CD-Rs made in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, almost all CD-Rs are made by one of a few companies, so it's hard to find anything good. Brand means nothing anymore. Try some that are made in Japan.

Yes in my experience the blue backed discs are read by many of the players that can't read silver backed discs.

As far as I understand, commercially produced CDs have a series of "hills and valleys" spatial profile along the spiral path that the sequence of 1 and 0 bits follow. This difference in height produces differences in light reflection by interference (between the incident and reflected light) and this sequence of different light intensities is captured by the photo-sensor that generates the electrical signal. In the CD-Rs, this spatial profile is imitated by a sequence of dark and clear spots on a planar surface (without height profiles) created by a substance that changes color when hitted by the burning laser during the recording sequence. This difference in color produces again a similar difference in the reflected light (sent to the disc by the reading laser and collected by the photo-sensor). But the reflection properties of this layer depend strongly on the frequency of the incoming laser light and for some frequency values does not produce a result similar to the real CD. Therefore, it all depends on the frequency of the reading laser (this data should be traceable), as well as on the layer material used in the CD-R I'm not an expert, I'm just quoting what I once read about this. In principle, a list of incompatible CD-R brands and CDPs could be formulated. For example, I rember that my first ever CDP, a budget Techncs SPL-220 had difficulties with CD-Rs, but Verbatims feared much better than Sonys.

All the best

PS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-R

Readability in CD drives

There was some incompatibility with CD-Rs and older CD-ROM drives. This was primarily due to the lower reflectivity of the CD-R disc. In general, CD-ROM drives marked as 8x or greater will read CD-R discs. Some DVD players will not read CD-Rs because of this change in reflectivity as well (the CD-R does not reflect as much of the red laser in a DVD player as it does the infrared laser in a CD player). High-quality CD-Rs (e.g. Gold CD) can almost always solve this issue.

Burn speed can also affect the compatibility due to poorer pit definition on disks burnt at high speed, selecting the slowest supported speed for the burner/media combination is strongly recommended when burning audio CDs, to maximize compatibility.