What are gold colored pressed DVD's

[doppletwo]

I rented Entrapment (I like CZJ, but never watched this) and looked at the bottom of the disk and it was gold colored.

Do they use a yellow metal instead of aluminum.

Or do they use aluminum and then add a yellow dye or use a yellow tinted plastic?

I have heard of CD's that use gold like Dark Side of the Moon (special edition. or collector's or something)

The Entrapment I rented is a special edition.

I figured this doesn't belong in Media since Media is about blank Media and this Q is about a pressed Medium.

[lordsmurf]

It's gold. It is a good reflector, and not really that expensive either.

[pyrate83]

I believe that the colors of the undersides of both DVD's and CD's is a determination of the quality of the media used. However, I don't exactly remember what colors represent what quality.

[lordsmurf]

Nothing to do with quality. Just a different reflective material was used.

[pyrate83]

Nothing to do with quality. Just a different reflective material was used.

Ok, guess my college professor was wrong then.

[Noahtuck]

I own DSOTM & the wall, the master edition, on 24k gold, from what i read they last longer, don't degrade as fast and the quality is supposed to be better because the surface is more uniform, something like that, just what i read about them as far as the "true" gold surface goes, which im sure LS is not talking about with the goldish tinted dvd's.
But you can tell the diff. from goldish color dvd's and these by far!!!
Also have some 24kt gold blanks left lying around (cd-r's) don't know if you can get the real ones anymore, saw some said to be gold by maxell or someone ? but i never tried those.

[lordsmurf]

Nothing to do with quality. Just a different reflective material was used.

Ok, guess my college professor was wrong then.

Probably so. Most of them are not real tech savvy, and they hold on to old knowledge for far too long.

[Noahtuck]

Nothing to do with quality. Just a different reflective material was used.

Ok, guess my college professor was wrong then.

Probably so. Most of them are not real tech savvy, and they hold on to old knowledge for far too long.

Thats for damn sure!!!!!!!!!!

[samijubal]

The gold ones are all dual layer I think. I've never seen a single layer disc that was gold.

[skebenin]

I own the Mobile Fidelity version of Dark Side of the Moon. They did use gold for the polycarbonate plating process. At the time it was made (early-80's) the plating process used was superior to standard pressings, but I believe gold was used more to set the disk apart than anything else. Gold is resistant to oxidation, but even then oxidation wasn't that big a problem.

More important even than the superior pressing and plating was the simple fact that they remastered the recording. The Mobile Fidelity release of I Robot has many of the same enhancements, but it's plated with regular old aluminum. Gold can be an indication of superior production quality, but the same quality can be achieved with aluminum.

[ChrisX]

Nothing to do with quality. Just a different reflective material was used.

Even some of the DVD-R media got different colors too.

I am really sure remember seeing one as gold!

This one is Armour Plated TDK DVD-R.

ChrisX

[chas0039]

I am really sure remember seeing one as gold!

ChrisX

You did, Kodak. They were generally considered some of the best.

[Jester700]

Gold Mobile Fidelity CDs were real gold. The idea was, the layer wouldn't oxidize like aluminum if it became exposed to air. But then, who would allow their $25 CD to become damaged? And it had nothing to dowith sound quality. The MF ones WERE better, but it was due tocare in remastering, as said above.

Gold CDR blanks weren't real gold, they just had a gold colored reflective layer. And yeah, the Kodaks were well liked - too bad they went the way of the dodo. But there were crappy gold colored ones, too.

Never saw any gold DVD media yet, but remember that there is no thin laquer layer on one side of a DVD like there is on a CD; both sides are polycarbonate. So if the reflective layer ever contacts air (the main reason for using gold), it was either severely abused or badly made.

[lordsmurf]

RITEKG02 was gold reflective, as was early LD01 media.
In fact, most media in 2001 had gold reflective foils.

[Jester700]

RITEKG02 was gold reflective, as was early LD01 media.
In fact, most media in 2001 had gold reflective foils.

I gotta go look at my older stuff; maybe I'm repressing that memory or something...

[Noahtuck]

Gold Mobile Fidelity CDs were real gold. The idea was, the layer wouldn't oxidize like aluminum if it became exposed to air. But then, who would allow their $25 CD to become damaged? And it had nothing to dowith sound quality. The MF ones WERE better, but it was due tocare in remastering, as said above.

From what i have read the sound quality WAS better because gold made a more uniform layer, smoother, less pits in the metal, gold is less porous than aluminum, don't remember the exact scientific explanation, but something along those lines.

UltraDisc CDs were manufactured using a polycarbonate coating bonded with 24 kt. gold, then applied with a vacuum particle deposit ionization plating process. This process produced a smoother, flatter, and cleaner metallic disc that allows a CD player to more easily read and decode the information on the disc. The reason gold was used is because gold oxidizes ten times slower than aluminum, which is what regular commercial CDs are made of. Additionally, gold is more reflective and coats much more evenly than does aluminum. Furthermore, gold CDs are less susceptible to the pinhole-sized errors that can occur on an aluminum CD during the manufacturing process. The UltraDiscs used 16 bit digital data. Unlike regular commercial CDs, UltraDiscs were able to put the full 16 bits of data on the CD, as the CD spec mandated, due to the jitter-free UltraDisc mastering process.

Gold CDR blanks weren't real gold, they just had a gold colored reflective layer. And yeah, the Kodaks were well liked - too bad they went the way of the dodo. But there were crappy gold colored ones, too.

And i know kodak and someone else had gold colored cd-r's, whether they were gold or not i don't know, the 50+ blank cd-r's i have ARE 24kt gold.

Check here as this is what i have:

http://www.prodisc.com.au/?page=product&ProductID=2

certified super archive grade (100 - 300 years) for critical archiving, mastering, medical imaging and reference audio

Reflective Layer: 24 karat pure gold, non-oxidising

[skebenin]

From the Mobile Fidelity FAQ (MFSL FAQ):

What is the benefit of a 24kt. Gold CD?

Gold oxidizes at a rate approximately 10 times slower than that of aluminum. In practical terms, this means that gold CDs will last far longer without suffering sound degradation than will their aluminum counterparts. Early studies which subjected aluminum CDs to harsh weather elements - don't try this at home kids - proved that CDs made with aluminum sputtering techniques will degrade very quickly, warping and developing pin-sized holes in the aluminum coating. Gold-coated CDs far outlasted the aluminum-coated ones by the predictable 10-1 ratio. Most of us keep our CDs inside of course, a prudent policy highly recommended.

Gold is more reflective and coats much more evenly than does aluminum. In practical terms, this means that during the manufacturing process, gold CDs are less susceptible to pinhole-sized errors that can plague an aluminum-made CD. In theory, a properly manufactured CD (gold OR aluminum) requires no error correction (oversampling), by the playback unit on which it is played. Compact discs made using gold are much more likely to achieve this potential of quality.

Beyond these potential benefits, the use of gold in a CD is primarily a consumer preference and a marketing gimmick. It is undisputed that gold CD’s sound better than the vast majority of their aluminum counterparts, but the reason for this has much more to do with the processes developed and employed in the remastering process than with the gold used in the pressing of the CD itself.

It wasn't the gold that made it better. It was the quality assurance (QA) that went into the remastering and the pressing. QA overall has improved a lot since then, so all pressings are more likely to approach the full potential for quality.

Incidentally, the FAQ makes for an interesting read.

[Noahtuck]

Oh, i know the way they were made all together made them better, not just the gold, but also because the gold is less porus also contributed to it.
I was also leaning more towards the statement that "Gold CDR blanks weren't real gold" when the did and still do make pure gold cd-r's,
they actually have some listed on the MFSL site,
http://www.mofi.com/cdr.htm
Although not cheap!!! and neither were my prodisc 24kt pure gold cd-r's, bought them a few years back in a 100 spindle... have not found anything for 24kt gold dvdr's though...

[mattyboy]

Gold coloured is dual layer and silver is single layer.

[Noahtuck]

Gold coloured is dual layer and silver is single layer.

Ahhh... not always so....

[lordsmurf]

Gold coloured is dual layer and silver is single layer.

No.

[Jester700]

Oh, i know the way they were made all together made them better, not just the gold, but also because the gold is less porus also contributed to it.
I was also leaning more towards the statement that "Gold CDR blanks weren't real gold" when the did and still do make pure gold cd-r's,
they actually have some listed on the MFSL site,
http://www.mofi.com/cdr.htm
Although not cheap!!! and neither were my prodisc 24kt pure gold cd-r's, bought them a few years back in a 100 spindle... have not found anything for 24kt gold dvdr's though...

The gold "porousity" was hype, nothing more. It was an explanation to sell the most obvious difference - the looks. No good test ever showed that this makes an audible difference, though the remastering itself can be profound.

As for blanks, yeah - maybe SOME were gold. But not the vast majority of gold colored ones that you used to see (including the high quality Kodaks, IIRC).

And smurf is right - I DO have a bunch of gold colored DVD-Rs. There seems to be far fewer of the "+R" variety, which I usually use, and I haven't gotten any gold ones in a long time. So, good on yer memory, mate...

[mattyboy]

Gold coloured is dual layer and silver is single layer.

No.

Better check your sources since you seem so sure. You're wrong.

[Noahtuck]

As for blanks, yeah - maybe SOME were gold. But not the vast majority of gold colored ones that you used to see (including the high quality Kodaks, IIRC).

And smurf is right - I DO have a bunch of gold colored DVD-Rs. There seems to be far fewer of the "+R" variety, which I usually use, and I haven't gotten any gold ones in a long time. So, good on yer memory, mate...

Hype Shmype and as for the gold cd-r's, i even said i did'nt know about those name brands floating around because i never bought them, you just said "Gold CDR blanks weren't real gold",
And i know that comment about LS being right was not directed at me
Cause i never said he was wrong :P

[steve2713]

Gold coloured is dual layer and silver is single layer.

No.

Better check your sources since you seem so sure. You're wrong.

What can be said here?? Only a VERY few of my MANY Dual layer discs are gold in color. Where'd you come up with this???

[kenmasters83]

steve who is that dude in your profile he ugly as heck...lol i think i seen that guy somewhere before what movie did he play in??

[otpw1]

@kenmasters83 Glen Campbell
@mattyboy FWIW I've got some of the silver DL , gold single layer DVDs and the MFSL gold cd's

[SlimJames]

Some manufacturers used to use a small amount of yellow dye to give their CDs a pleasing 'gold' tint, wouldn't be surprised if it's a practice that still persists.

[Noahtuck]

@kenmasters83 Glen Campbell

LOL!!!!!!
I was never sure who it was but i always think of Red Foreman looking pissed when i see it

[lordsmurf]

Gold coloured is dual layer and silver is single layer.

No.

Better check your sources since you seem so sure. You're wrong.

Again, no.

I bet you're holding a silver disc diagonal to light, and it has a bronzed appearance. But that's not gold. That's not even dark enough to be white gold.