View Full Version : I need to know the best brands of CD-R's


ProAc_Fan
06-27-2002, 03:03 PM
My new DVD player won't play any CD-R's I presently have. I tried using Memorex 80 min ones and they didn't work either. Does anyone have a brand that is likely to be better suited as an audio only CD-R. Speed and size are not important. I burn at 1X speed for the best quality.The owners manual states the player will play CD-R's but not CD-RW's. It also says the disc must be a 74min MAX. I have read reviews of this player from owners who claim it WILL play CD-RW's. ALL I know is I think I need a better brand of CD-R.

Mike

ckelly
06-27-2002, 03:05 PM
I have had good experience with Maxell and Samsung CDR's.

They seem to work best with picky players.

Drybasement
06-27-2002, 04:44 PM
I agree with Chris. I use Maxell exclusively and never had a problem with them being read on any CD playback machine. My DVD player is an older unit and does not play black CDR's so I cannot vouch for Maxell on that. Give Maxell a try anyway.

Walt
06-27-2002, 06:20 PM
I find TDK to be of good quality. Imation is also good.

DON'T buy Verbatim - somewhere I remember reading that their failure rate per 100 spindle was something of the order of 10%.

:mad:

ckelly
06-27-2002, 06:54 PM
I found Verbatim to be LOW quality, which is surprising, considering they made good diskettes and have been making computer recodable media for a LONG time.


The other brabd I have liked is Imation.

Chris

THOR
06-27-2002, 06:55 PM
Make sure the CDR's are "closed" alot of cd players won't read them if they are not. Any type of CDR if recorded properly should work I have used SONY, PNY, Verbatim and others on all sorts of CD players. What program are you recording them with? I use adaptec and if I use anything besides songs that are 128 kpbs and 44hz they won't play on any cdplayer I own, besides the comp.

Don
06-27-2002, 07:48 PM
thor what do u mean "closed"? My cdrs will not play on my cheapie kenwood dvd player. When using Nero buring software is there something I need to do after it completes the burn process and spits out the cdr by opening the burner tray?

grumpy
06-27-2002, 09:10 PM
I have used TDK and found them to be nice but the Maxells are a bit better. I burn em for my kids all the time. Thor I use the adaptec software too and know what your talking about. Maybe the other guys software is different and does it on it own. Both the brands I have use played on the cheapest old Sharp CD platers to some pretty nice Midline Kenwoods anlong with akai Boom boxes. Now some of the cheaper older CD palyers I tested refused to read anything over 60 min (i Think) so I had to burn 59 minutes or less and even they worked.

Dave

ProAc_Fan
07-06-2002, 09:46 AM
Get this.. My $2K DVD player won't play any CD-R's i've tried ( 6 different brands) but it will play CD-RW's. Just for a lark I bought a Maxell 650mb CD-RW to try it out never expecting it to WORK! Well I'll be damned if it doesn't work great. Thats even better news than it playing CD-R's. Now when I get bored of the CD I just erase it and burn new songs on it.




:yippy:



Mike

George R
07-27-2002, 05:11 PM
:beer: Hey Don:grnbounce

I have a cheap Panasonic, which surprisingly plays pretrty much anything. The disc must be "closed" or "finalized", meaning it will not accept any more information.

I use the Roxio software that came with my computer and had to set the "finalize disc" option in the options menu. I think some programs have this set as default, but check your software.

I get what ever is on sale (currently Sony) CD-R's and haven't had any problems with any of them. I'll probably get blasted for this, but IMHO there is no discernable difference in sound quality between discs of reputable manufacturers. Digital recording is nothing like analog (tape) recording, and unlike tapes, which DO have different characteristics by design, CD's do not require different settings s.g. bias and eq. CD playback is also totally different than tape, not requiring the different playback options like Ferrous, Chromium, Metal, etc.

"Well sure", you say. "you're suing a cheapo deck to plsy them on." True, but I have a freind with whom I trade Cd's and HE uses a Denon deck, Klipsch speakers, with Macintosh in between, and he doesn't notice any difference either. Excepting, of course, the quality of the source material. Ok, end of a rant.:rant:


Anyway, I never begrudge anyone their preferences.:p: With tape I'm a big Maxell fan. But try the "making sure they're finalized" suggestion first. I think it's a good one.

:D Happy Listening:cool:

George

angela
07-28-2002, 04:29 PM
Don,

Closed CD's.

You need to set it up as an option when you record to the CD if you want to be able to play it on other devices. This means that you can't record any more to it after that recording session, so plan your play list accordingly.

-angela

Thatch_Ear
07-28-2002, 08:15 PM
A friend of mine compiled some great CDRs of Django Rheinhardt. Some my Toshiba DVD would take but most it would not. I went a Puter store and asked a guy there and he said that the Burnable CDRs had just gone through a format change and only the newest would be played by a DVD player. I listen to them in my truck on a CD player but they will not play on a DVD player. My guess is just that your DVD player doesn't like them and you could stick them into a CD player and not have a problem. I have not tried them in the new Sony DVD/SACD/CD player yet as they are all in the truck.
Thatch

angela
07-28-2002, 10:12 PM
I have tried 3 different CD's and could NOT get any to play on my SONY

Sony Cd-R ???? 700mb 80 min
Verbatim CD-R Data Life Plus 650mb 74 min
Memorex CD-RW ??? 700mb 80 min

the verbatim was the only one to record the whole thing and not bug out. I had the speed set down to 2X and used HDD cache and added memory buffer of 10Mb - set the program to highest priority and kept my fingers crossed.

This was my first attempt, I will not give up!

-angela

thoots
07-28-2002, 10:30 PM
Folks,

Most DVD's simply cannot play CDR's. The DVD laser is just a totally different wavelength, and it just plain doesn't work. Some will work with CDR's, and usually note that with a "CDR" mention of some sort. These have essentially "dual wavelength" lasers that makes them work with CDR's.

As mentioned, quite often CDRW's will work just fine with DVD players, as they tend to be a whole lot more compatible with the laser wavelengths used in DVD players. So, give a CDRW a shot if you really want to use a DVD player!

angela
07-29-2002, 12:11 AM
the Memorex CDRW was the only one that I could get to play on my Sony, but I could not get it to record an entire CD.

My Sony plays DVD/CD/SACD....

I am going to try to figure out different settings on recording to get it (re recording program/my PC/ and the CDRW to not flake out. any suggestions?

angela

Walt
07-29-2002, 12:22 AM
I apologise if you have already said this, but what type of burner are you using?

The reason I ask is that there are a couple of known brands out there which produce written media which are notoriously difficult to read on any DVD player regardless of brand, quality, dual laser etc etc ...

In other words, you might be better off in the long term by buying a better burner than spending $$ on media and/or DVD players trying to find something which works.

My 2c anyway ...

ProAc_Fan
07-29-2002, 12:48 AM
What burning software are you using Angela? At 2X you shouldn't be getting any buffer underrun errors. Are you performing other tasks while attempting to burn your CD? If you're using XP as your OS the burning software built into it works pretty good. IF you'd like other CD burning software just let me know.



Mike

Thatch_Ear
07-29-2002, 09:03 AM
I got the burns and tried them in the new Sony, all worked but a Sony 650 MB CD-R. In the Toshiba none worked but PNY 700 MB CD-R Recordable. All play in a CD player. The other 3 that played in the Sony but not the Toshiba are K Hypermedia 8X CD-Recordable. So it seems not only is it the type of disc but the type of player as well. The Sony could go into CD mode and playback but the older Toshiba was too stupid to change formats. All play fine on a Sony CD player in my truck as it can only read CDs. I don't know what they were burned on as it was done in a friends office 1500 miles from me. Hope this helps in any small way.
Thatch

angela
07-29-2002, 10:32 PM
David, do you have the Sony DVP9000ES?
I could not get it to even recognize that I put a disk in.
-angela

Thatch_Ear
07-30-2002, 05:28 AM
Angela,
I have the bottom of the line with the SACD chip the DVP-NS500V. One of the reasons I bought it was because I could afford to at $178 and the other is that it is a single disc player. Only disc players I have ever had give me problems were multi disc players. I am also planning on upgrading some of the parts in this one.
David

George R
08-01-2002, 06:15 PM
:grnbounce HeY All:beer:

The main reason some DVD players (and some CD players) can't play CD-R's or CD-RW's has to do more with the way information is impressed onto the disc than anything else. For a good explanation of how different types of CD's are done, go to this site:
How Stuff Works.com (howstuffworks.com)

This is a great site for people who don't want/don't understand all the technical jargon to go to find out how all your electronic (and just about antyhing else) gear works.

Once you find out the difference between how a commercial CD is produced and how your burner records CD-R's and CD-RW's (and the physical differences between them), it's much easier to understand why players often have difficulty reading reading them.

This site has tons of info so don't be surprised to find yourself exploring it for hours, and returning there often.

:D Happy Listening:cool:

George

res1962
09-17-2002, 07:47 AM
George R wrote:

...but IMHO there is no discernable difference in sound quality between discs of reputable manufacturers.

This is because much of the time, the name brand on the cd-r actually has nothing to do with who manufactured it. I have TDK, Memorex and Fuji discs all manufactured by the same company, Ritek. In fact, the TDKs and the Fujis are exactly the same disc with exactly the same specs, while the Memorex specs differ slightly.

You can find this info out with a free program called CDR Identifier. I don't have the link, but a quick search on Google will probably turn it up.

Rob