Keith_R

CD-R/RW brands

Hey all, I'd like to buy a pack of blank CD-R/RW discs to use with my new burner. Are there any particular brands for this type of blank media that I need to watch out for and stay away from? any brands that you guys recommend to buy?

Also what about blank DVD-R/RW's, any brands to stay away from there? any brands that you recommend? thanks.

My technology blog


-Keith-

John_Berger

All blank DVDs are manufactured by the same six or seven companies anyway. They're all just about the same anymore. When CD-R/W really started to take off, then there were quality issues. But now that the format has been around long enough, a huge number (if not all) of the quality control issues have been resolved.

Additionally, you can get even brand-name CD-Rs like Sony, 3M, Verbatim, Maxell, and so forth at such low prices that there is no real reason to take your chances with generic CD-Rs.

However, I will admit that I've bought generic CD-Rs from a company in Florida and I never had a problem with any of them that were not the fault of the writer that I was using.

DVD-R/W is another matter as there have been compatibility issues with certain brands; but of course the brands that have better compatibility, like Mitsui, are more expensive by up to 3x the cost of other brands like Ritek. There are numerous sources on the web regarding the testing of various DVD-R/W brands.

LeeHuff

TDK are generally very good CD-R's.

DaveGTP

I have had some problems with generic CD-Rs and settled on Imations. Good CD-Rs at very cheap prices.

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Gideon - "Probably. Screw them."

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Robert Ross

Imation is actually the brand I've had the most trouble with. This was quite a few years back, so they may be better now. Any music cds I would make would end up skipping real bad or just not play at all. I personally go with either Memorex or Verbatum.

John_Berger

Really? Imation has always been very reliable for me. I generally have very good luck with Sony, TDK, Verbatim, and a few others.

What it really comes down to is that the chances of getting bum CD-Rs anymore is close to nil, particularly if you stick with brand names. The cost between brand names and generic is no negligible any more that the only time that anyone needs generic is when they need absolutely no markings on the top of the disc at all, since all brand names have to stick their logo somewhere on the top. But even then, the generics are manufactured by the same companies that manufacture the discs for many of the brand names. (Very few brand names actually make their own.)

The only thing that I can recommend is that if you start to run into problems reduce the writing speed when you burn a disc!! Even though I have a 16x writer and I use discs that are 16x certified, I actually do run into problems every now and then if I burn at 16x. But I have not made one coaster since dropping to 8 or 12x. The time difference between them is a matter of only a few minutes, so bitching about "saving three minutes by writing at 16x" would be childish.

Again, you'll be more likely to run into compatibility problems when you start working with DVD-R and DVD-RW. (On that note, I will stress that you stay as far away from eProformance DVD-Rs, which I believe are manufactured by ProDisc. I have yet to make a good DVD with any eProformance disc.)

Steve_Ch

Imation, so far so good, I've probably done about 30 CD-Rs on two different burners (one IDE, one USB 2), no problem so far. I have about 250 of them, price was right, free after rebate .

DonRoeber

I don't really have a brand preference, but when you're first starting out, buy small quantities of a few brands. Some cd players (car players especially) can sometime have troubles with certain brands of disks, so try a few to make sure they work for you.

Luckily, right at that moment, an unconscious Argentinean fell through my roof.

He was quickly joined by a dwarf dressed as a nun.

Tony-B

I like Verbatim, Memorex, Imation, and Sony. Name-brand blank discs are on sale almost every week at Best Buy. Stay away from the generic stuff if you can get name-brand stuff for the same price.

DVD Collection/Video Game Collection/Music Collection
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Ken Seeber

I use Fuji CD-Rs exclusively. They're made in Japan by Taiyo Yuden, which is one of the two best manufacturers (along with Mitsui). Best Buy has them on sale about once a month and I never spend more than $7.99 for a spindle of 50.

I have a little software app called CD-R Identifier that identifies the maker of blank CD-Rs and virtually everything labeled as being made in Taiwan is made by either Ritek or CMC Magnetics, neither of which is great.