CD Grades

[pbmc59]

I have a few CD Box Sets I want to copy to a reliable CD media.
I hear of "Archive Grade" blank media, is this what I need?
Also, there are some general CDs I want to make, copies of regular CDs, any CD grade or manufacturer to recommend ( for both scenarios ) would be appreciated.
Thanks for your time.

[hech54]

CD media has been a "no brainer" for at least 10 years.
It's hard to find BAD blank CDs.
Stop wasting your breath on such trivial stuff.....life's too
short.

[Kerry56]

I've used nothing but Taiyo Yuden CD's for many years now, though I have to admit, I only burn a handful of CD's in a year anymore.

The problem with buying JVC/Taiyo Yuden media is that they stopped production in Dec. of 2015. They should still be readily available for many months to come, so buy them now if you need CD's.

I've heard that CMC Magnetics has bought the rights to the TY MID codes and their manufacturing processes, so sometime soon, you should be seeing JVC/Taiyo Yuden media coming from Taiwan, instead of Japan. These CMC made discs will be both CD's and DVD's, but I haven't heard if they are going to also produce the LTH Blu-ray that Taiyo Yuden has been making as well.

[hogger129]

I have a few CD Box Sets I want to copy to a reliable CD media.
I hear of "Archive Grade" blank media, is this what I need?
Also, there are some general CDs I want to make, copies of regular CDs, any CD grade or manufacturer to recommend ( for both scenarios ) would be appreciated.
Thanks for your time.

If you want the best blanks available, get the gold Taiyo Yuden ones - http://www.amazon.com/TAIYO-YUDEN-Blank-Audio-Music/dp/B000AD7N3Y/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&q...gold+blank+cdr.

[turk690]

Look here http://www.mdisc.com/
Said to last a thousand years, we are told. Tough no CD format, though.

[Tom Saurus]

Look here http://www.mdisc.com/
Said to last a thousand years, we are told. Tough no CD format, though.

If they only lasted 996 years I would want my money back. Though I probably would have died at least 850 years before that. I like the Tayo Yuden CD and DVD blank discs and found them to be stable and reliable.

[turk690]

If they only lasted 996 years I would want my money back....

Lol... but of course. But, think of it: TY may well be the best of its lot, but it still belongs in the conventional dye-based CD-R technology category, where a laser burns areas in a track on the dye to selectively change its reflectivity and later be interpreted as data as it's read. This dye eventually goes south sooner or later and that's the bane of it. In most mass-produced original optical media though, a laser inscribes actual pits on a photosensitive surface, and stampers are made to press copies. No dye is involved, which goes a long way towards its more apparent durability, but only makes sense in a commercial setting when thousands of copies are pressed. Mdisc mimics that process in a domestic setting and therefore doesn't belong to the dye category with all of the dye-based limitations.
Mdiscs are not as cheap as even the best TYs (if available), and optical disc writers specifically made for it are required, but does fit OP's "reliable CD media" requirements, don't you think?

[pbmc59]

Thanks for all your input, especially hech54 for the Philosophical response.
According to hech94, I can use Acme CDs.
So, with your Taiyo-Yuden, dye or no dye discussion aside, what grade ( high and medium ) can I look to be able to buy from Newegg or Staples or someplace similar?
Thanks again for your time.

[hech54]

Thanks for all your input, especially hech54 for the Philosophical response.
According to hech94, I can use Acme CDs.

Right now I'm using Intenso....because I needed some and they were on the shelf.
They work like every other CD I've ever burned....flawlessly.

DVD is a different story.

[Kerry56]

Thanks for all your input, especially hech54 for the Philosophical response.
According to hech94, I can use Acme CDs.
So, with your Taiyo-Yuden, dye or no dye discussion aside, what grade ( high and medium ) can I look to be able to buy from Newegg or Staples or someplace similar?
Thanks again for your time.

TY CD's

Amazon.

Rima.com

Supermediastore.com

These are just examples. There are other types available at each of these stores, including some with ink jet printable top surfaces that will provide a little extra protection from scratches.

[pbmc59]

Thanks for your help.

[spiritgumm]

Thanks for all your input, especially hech54 for the Philosophical response.
According to hech94, I can use Acme CDs.

yes, he's wrong about most things, so do the opposite.

[hech54]

Thanks for all your input, especially hech54 for the Philosophical response.
According to hech94, I can use Acme CDs.

yes, he's wrong about most things, so do the opposite.

It's just my never-ending battle against morons.....aka "people who talk just to hear themselves talk".
It's a gift and a curse.

[pandy]

Exciting discussion but from my side way how CD is burned is equally important as media quality also way how media before and after recording is stored seem to be crucial for archive purposes...

[spiritgumm]

I used to have good luck with Sony cdrs. Bought three hundred stacks last January, the discs all had a couple tiny holes, or several in a line down one side, in the silver top. Apparently no quality control in their Mexican factories. So it's back to looking for a reliable brand again, although no advice here is current. I've read that TY is going out of the disc biz.

[usually_quiet]

Verbatim CD-R media has always been good as well. About 10 years ago, my sister asked me to help her copy some of her CDs to keep in her car because I had 2 optical drives in my PC. She gave me Sony CD-R media to use for the copies, and too many of the burns failed verification or just plain failed. When we switched to Verbatim CD-R media, it worked perfectly. Maybe my burner just didn't like Sony media, or maybe it was not great quality even then.

[Kerry56]

The TY production techniques/dye formulas/etc. were sold to CMC Magnetics. They should soon be making TY CD's and DVD's in Taiwan. So if you want that type of disc, they should be available. I'm sure the disc fanatics over at MyCE will be testing them ad nauseam and giving us comparisons to the older ones from Japan.

In the meantime, the Japanese made TY are still easy to find online.

[spiritgumm]

I was looking into the Verbatim Datalifeplus (have the AZO dye), and some users were saying CMC (made in china) were bad. So it would be interesting if they took over JVC/TY.
Would thermal or inkjet with the white tops be better in terms of keeping the reflective surface safer (assuming there is a silver surface beneath the white)? And I assume Maxell Music or Pro cd-rs are gold in color only, not actually gold.

[Keyser]

A few months ago I decided to store the contents of all my data CD into DVD-R. In some cases I just copied the files to the DVD, in other cases I made ISO images and stored those. Many CD were about 20 years old and there were many different brands.

In conclusion, I can say that only the few that had sticky labels on them have failed (yes, I know, stupid of me, but I didn't know any better back then); all others copied just fine.

[cornemuse]

I've had the best luck with 'Office Depot' branded cd's, of all of 'em. Dont know who mfg's them tho, dont pay attention to that, they just allus work.

-c-