Taiyo Yuden Silver Thermal Lacquer 52X CD-R Media (Value Line)

[mccoady]

I've always bought Taiyo Yuden Dvd+R 8X or Taiyo Yuden CD-R 80 from Rima for my own personal use and I've always assumed this is Ty Yuden's "Premium Line". My son on the other hand buys the cheapest media he can (mostly CD-R's) like whatever's on sale at Best Buy etc. for say a 50 pack for $8 and while he never has any coasters that I'm aware of who knows how long they will last.

Would these "Value Line" Taiyo Yuden Silver Thermal Lacquer 52X CD-R Media that Supermediastore sells still be better than the cheap CD-Rs that Best Buy runs specials on?

[johns0]

Generally most cdr will burn ok but when you run into a bad batch(cheap brand)you will wish you had bought the ty.

[lordhutt]

I have purchased TY's before...mainly because peoples who's opinions I respect and trust here recommend them. But I have to say that in over 15 years of burning discs I have never had any problems with any brands...I have mostly purchased Sony, Memorex, Imation, or whatever Best Buy had on sale. Not saying I never had a coaster, everyone who has burned a large number of discs has. But I have not had enough to really complain about.
I bought a couple hundred Ty's recently for archiving but not even to concerned about them anymore since I now back up everything to second or even third hdd's and store in a fireproof/waterproof safe.

Long story short I have cheap media over 10 years old that works fine. However, in the future I will buy all TY's for the reasons I stated.

[orsetto]

Urban legend says recordable CD was a disaster until TY invented ways to stabilize the dyes. Whatever the truth of that, TY is known for the highest quality control in the media industry. "Value Line" media is factory seconds or "rejects": discs that failed TYs rigorous standards. The "rejects" are bought by jobbers who sell them at a discount to vendors like Rima or Supermediastore. Depending on the price difference any given week, the "Value Line" can be w-a-y cheaper than the "Premium" TY, or it may not be much cheaper at all. While TY "rejects" tend to be better quality than "premium" media sold by almost any other company, the fact remains the "Value Line" are rejects. This entails a small amount of risk, so unless you are getting a significant discount for the "Value Line" I would just opt for the premium, especially if you're concerned with long-term archival use. (For temporary non-critical data transfer or CD copies for the car audio system, any media will do.)

[mccoady]

Well I was merely asking if these Value Line Ty's http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden-52x-cd-r-silver-thermal-printable-value-lin...-100-pack.html were better than these http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8738985&st=cd-r&type=product&id=1201913866981 the latter would run about $17 (with tax) for 100 compared to the Ty's $20.58 shipped.

[orsetto]

If the choice is between TY Value Line and Memorex, I'd take the TY Value Line. Every time. No contest. Memorex is bottom of the barrel nowadays, a "ghost" brand name fronting loss-leader media. If it was $10 and I needed disposable media, maybe, but with both brands at $20 more-or-less? Take the TY.

[mccoady]

Ok thanks!

[hech54]

I always buy Sony CD-Rs. Having said that...I have had only one brand of CD-R that ever gave me trouble and that was Philips. IMO....purchasing CR-Rs nowadays is a no-brainer and not worth worrying about. It's harder to find bad ones than it is to find good ones.

[lordhutt]

I always buy Sony CD-Rs. Having said that...I have had only one brand of CD-R that ever gave me trouble and that was Philips. IMO....purchasing CR-Rs nowadays is a no-brainer and not worth worrying about. It's harder to find bad ones than it is to find good ones.

Yeah, you're probably right. I bought TY's last time because of the opinions here and also because they were for archiving and not really much more $$ when I bought them than something like Sony and Memorex.
I rarely use disks anymore so I doubt I will ever buy them again. Now that I think about it even though I said the opposite above...my archiving to disk days are probably about done so from now on it will be whatever Best Buy or Wal Mart has on sale.

If they fail (which for me has be a rarity with any brand) I will still have the data backed up to hard drive.
Maybe LordSmurf and others here for TY

[bbanderic]

I rarely use disks anymore so I doubt I will ever buy them again. Now that I think about it even though I said the opposite above...my archiving to disk days are probably about done so from now on it will be whatever Best Buy or Wal Mart has on sale.

If they fail (which for me has be a rarity with any brand) I will still have the data backed up to hard drive.

Personally speaking, I would never trust my archiveable data to hard drive alone, hard drive fails you lose everything. Backing up to CD, or Data DVD, AND hard drive is the preferable method for archiving for me.

To the OP, I would take the valueline TY's over crappy Memorex anyday.

[hech54]

Remember...we are talking CD-R here...not DVD-R.

[lordhutt]

Personally speaking, I would never trust my archiveable data to hard drive alone, hard drive fails you lose everything. Backing up to CD, or Data DVD, AND hard drive is the preferable method for archiving for me.

Well, that is what I was originally doing. But then I though, what are the odds of my original hdd going bad (although I guess they all will eventually when constantly being used.)...however, the backup that is in my safe never being used should basically never go bad. Now the most important things to worry about losing...like photos, home videos, etc. (things that cannot be replaced) I happen to have on 2 different pc's or more as well as the back up hdd...the odds of everything going bad at once I would have to say is pretty much impossible, thus making the optical backup overly redundant in my eyes.

Probably one of the best options would be a second backup hdd stored at a remote location like a friend or relatives house.

But, we are straying far from the OP at this point.

[orsetto]

Remember...we are talking CD-R here...not DVD-R.

Doesn't matter: the CD-R market, if anything, is in worse shape than DVD-R. Its been around much longer and been whored out much longer as a superstore loss-leader "bait" product. Memorex is Memorex: they've been crap for years, all their products. And I don't know where the hell you've been finding "good" Sony CD-R: all the ones I've tried since 2005 have decomposed (finish flaked off, etc.) ages ago. It is not easier to find good CD-R than good DVD-R: both are a bitch. TY is the most consistent high-quality purveyor of "-" media: CD-R and DVD-R. They were instrumental in making both product categories viable, they are "true" mfrs not an empty old brand name or a "we'll make junk discs for anyone who asks" outfit like CMC or Ritek.

So it should be simple: if the choice is between Memorex or Sony at $17.99 at the store or TY delivered to your home for $20.88, take the TY if quality and value for money are your criteria. You may have other priorities: you might need media immediately and can't wait for delivery. Ultimate quality may not be as important as convenient impulse availability. The store brands may go on sale at extremely attractive prices. If we're talking DVD instead of CD, you might need or prefer "+" media which TY does not specialize in as much. Any of these would be perfectly valid reasons not to opt for TY over other brands. But, if none of those caveats apply, you're not in a big rush, and prices are within 10-20% difference between brands, the TY (or higher-end Verbatim) are almost always going to be the safer, better choice.

Like many others here, I have no-name Staples brand CD-Rs from ten years ago still holding their data intact. So I'm not saying don't use sale-priced media ever, or that its all horrible. Millions of people every day buy any random media they see on sale and get on happily with their lives. But all it takes is one bad experience to change your attitude (I've had enough mishaps with lousy big-brand media to hook me on TY forever). If you care enough to even ask, then you probably have some definite interest in obtaining highest-quality archival media, and should consider "known-excellent" media if the price difference isn't totally out of line. Whatever helps you sleep at night without ripping a giant hole in your wallet.

[genki500]

CD is very mature tech. Any brand is good. As always, store in the dark, cool place.

[hech54]

Remember...we are talking CD-R here...not DVD-R.

And I don't know where the hell you've been finding "good" Sony CD-R: all the ones I've tried since 2005 have decomposed (finish flaked off, etc.) ages ago. It is not easier to find good CD-R than good DVD-R: both are a bitch.

I've got stacks of old and new Sony CD-Rs here...all are perfect...and no I don't give a shit about the appearance of my discs. As long as the data stays put that's all that matters....even though my old Sony's can't be told from new visually anyway.
Taiyo Yuden or Verbatim DVD recordables....Sony 700MB CD recordables...TDK 800MB CD recordables....my LG burners...Prassi Ones and ImgBurn...I never have problems.
Come to think of it....I've got some old CDs here that are so old the adhesive from the CD sleeves they are stored in changed the appearance of them(discolored them all the way through) and they still read perfectly.
That settles it then....we must get better quality media here in Europe....what other explanation could there be.