What's the best CD brand for SVCD?

[marceggers]

I've got some old videos of the kids on my hardrive that are now in MPG2 format and I want to burn them onto some CDs as SVCDs, so a high quality CD is important for me to use. (I do not have a DVD burner.) Any recommendations as to which brand of CD is the most reliable would be appreciated.

[SaSi]

I never had any problem with TDK cassette tapes (in the past) and never had any problems with TDK CDs and DVDs, so I use this brand when recording archival material.

In a broader fashion, use any descent brand media (like Verbatim) and certainly avoid the bulk no-name cheap disks.

As an additional precaution, don't burn at the recorder's or media max speed. I have had no bad experience in doing so, but have read and been told that the higher speed you record the higher the chance for weak bits that some players won't read correctly. Normally, a 48x disk will be sensitive enough to be recorded at 48x, however, as I have a 24x recorder - and 24x is fast enough - I use current generation media that are rated between 32x ~ 48x at 24x. Others that want to play it extremely safe, record at 8x. Only time will tell if they are right...

[ADS Ivan]

I definitely agree that branded media is the way to go rather that than unbranded bulk back discs where the data literally flakes off...

Also though another thing to check out is your DVD Player that you're looking to playback on as I know a few people with DVD Players that play back CD-RW, but not CD-R or have reflectivity issues with different brands, colors, et cetera...

Regards,
ADS Ivan

[VR-HOS]

My IT person in my school choose Imation for all data storage... and I used these CD-R for VCD backups... and they were stored in the air conditioned room... I think should be a good environment for disk storage... However, most VCD backups were found non-readable... and got reading errors... I found Imation is not a good brand for CD/DVD media...

[jaxxboss]

You can get names and names of brands, but here's what u can do. Look for CD's made in Japan vice Taiwan. Ive NEVER had a problem with any of them and Ive burned a lot of VCDs. Thats not to say that the others are bad in anyway. Fujifilm is good, TDK and Sony discs too.

[negon]

Seems to me just any old brand will do fine as long as it isn't that crap that peels right off like they've previously stated. I use "ProMedia" or AT&T cds cause they're branded and i get em 50 for $.99 at Best Buy...They have that sale this week!

[sterno]

Just so you know....

TDK CD-Rs are usually made by Ritek (TDK used to make their own, then they OEM'd it to Ritek). But my understanding is that TDK does specify the quality control, and they have pretty high standards.

Imation CD-Rs are usually made by CMC Magnetics. CMC has a reputation for producing very poor quality CD-Rs, but Imation enforces decent quality control standards just like TDK does.

Personally, for archival data I'd probably go with Verbatim DataLife Plus. They're widely available at reasonable cost. I might also use Kodak Ultima or Mitsui Gold, but those are both harder to find and more expensive. Taiyo-Yuden discs (made in Japan) are also usually of very high quality. Fuji uses TY and they go on sale at retail stores every few weeks.

Really, though, as long as you go with any decent brand name and take care of the discs properly, they'll probably last more than long enough for you to embarass your kids.

[faithfoo]

if I am using CDRW media , I believe as a precaution , I should also format it & write data at the slowest speed in ROxio direct CD ?


2) I Can only obtain TDK or Verbatim ( Mitsuibushi ) CDRW media , and not Fuji ( Taiyo Yuden )

Which is better , in terms of less writing error s ?

[vitualis]

My favourite (and the only media I trust) are Verbatim DataLife Plus and Kodak Ultima discs...

Since Kodak are going out of the CD-R making business ( ), that leaves Verbatim Datalife Plus discs... which are the only discs I've had consistently good quality of since my 2 spin burner...

I have had bad batches (though rare) of almost every other type of media (including Kodak once too!)

That being said, probably most media is okay, but if you demand reliability for something, Verbatim DataLife Plus (not Verbatim DataLife!) have a very good reputation.

As for burn speed, it does depend on the media and the drive. I read an article once that showed that the experimenters got the least jitter (i.e., correctable C1, C2 errors) with fairly modern drives and discs usually at around 8x. How important this is (not very) in your mind I leave up to you.

Regards.

[sterno]

2) I Can only obtain TDK or Verbatim ( Mitsuibushi ) CDRW media , and not Fuji ( Taiyo Yuden )

I have some older 4x TDK CD-RWs, they've been troublesome. I bought them because they went on sale and I'd had good luck with TDK CD-Rs, but if I burn the full capacity on these CD-RWs I sometimes have trouble reading them in DVD and CD players. They also started getting a little unreliable with video after only a few burns.

[vitualis]

BTW, I wouldn't trust ANY CD-RW disc with important data... Use CD-R instead.

Regards.

[Faustus]

I had a friend starting to do the VCD thing, after alot of bad luck I told him to go buy some TDK, not a single problem since.

[garryheather]

If you have a player that doesn't like CD-R's in general (like my Sony), try the Data-safe white tops. They are (or used to be, at least) Princo Type 8 Dyes, 80 minutes, and the only CD-R I've ever found that reliably plays in any DVD player. Including the arsey ones !