!!! VCD's don't last very long !!! Your data is not save !

[gopitan]

I have made many VCDs and SVCDs and burned them with VCDEasy to play them on my Pioneer 444 DVD player. They worked fine but most of them are now starting to freeze sometimes. It lookes like they are losing data. I read about the poor data correction of VCDs which seems to be the cause. If this is really true you can threw your VCD's away in a couple of years!! The CDs I am using are typically cheap RWs. Does anybody know how to prevent VCD's from losing data ? How could the error correction be improved ? Is DVD+R better ?

[kees1952]

To start, it's not the data correction of VCD's, because (S)VCD's use a type of sector (Mode 2 form 2) that has no Error Correction Code (ECC) just Error Detection Code (EDC). That's why you can use 2324 bytes of user data instead of 2048 bytes. The EDC uses the last 4 bytes of the sector. As this is fixed in the specification of the mode 1 form 2 sector it cannot be improved.
Cheap rewritables can lose data due to the quality of the emulsion layer that holds the data. It is better to use good quality one time writable CD's for long time data storage.
I have no exp. with DVD+R.

Regards,

Kees Janssen.

[kees1952]

As this is fixed in the specification of the mode 1 form 2 sector it cannot be improved.

sorry, typing error.

Please read:

As this is fixed in the specification of the mode 2 form 2 sector it cannot be improved.

Regards,

Kees Janssen.

[2573]

I think the worng thing was cd CDRW, the CDRW loose information along years, cdr don't.

[browner]

I had the same problem, its not the vcd though, its the discs brand.
I used to buy stacks of 100 vivistar discs from Argos, but most of my vcd's dont play all the way through or they seem to have errors on them.
I may have only watched the film once and then left the discs in its case in the cd rack.
Now I have changed brands of cdr i have no problems

[Vanster]

I have some family videos I have been saving to SVCDs using Fuji Film CDRs. What CDRs do you guys use for something you want to last a very long time? Is Fuji a good brand?

Thanks,

Vanster

[kevstir]

Datasafe branded media is about the best out there. Try and get silver premium cd-r's iv never had any probs with them.

Kevstir

[energy80s]

I'll be honest with you and say that the Datasafe Silver Premium discs are the worst I have ever burnt. They rarely burn and you need to drop your speed right down to burn them at all. I will never buy another Datasafe disc as long as I live!

One brand that has served me (and plenty of my friends) well is Intenso. They are a German company. Trade prices are about 34p for a disc and case or 15p for a disc on its own.

[RabidDog]

sunburnt face! do not leave your CDrw in the sun even if just shining thru the window, this is what can cause errors. I have had problems with both vcd and data discs. Maybe non translucent covers can prevent this. It does actually state this on the labels inside ... but who read those. also do not wash your CD's (in the disc washer)

[kevstir]

energy have u flashed ur cd writer with new firmware??? that might be the cause of u not being able to burn datasafes right , i had the same problem with infinity 32x discs my burner would only burn them at 8x, when i updated my burners firmware i was able to burn at full speed 16x..

Kevstir

[muppet]

i have also found datasafes to be utter crap - i personally use verbatim

[energy80s]

energy have u flashed ur cd writer with new firmware??? that might be the cause of u not being able to burn datasafes right , i had the same problem with infinity 32x discs my burner would only burn them at 8x, when i updated my burners firmware i was able to burn at full speed 16x..

Kevstir

If a CDR disc needs special firmware to burn correctly, then how good can it be?? I still have 2 left (out of 100) I think I got about 50 to actually burn at all.

As Jim Royle would say ... "Datasafe, my arse!"

[kevstir]

thats why u flash ur firmware to add more support for a wider range off cd-rs.

Kevstir

[MpegEncoder]

Hi, my name's Chicken Little. The Sky is Falling!

[sterno]

If you want something to last a long time, CD-RW is the wrong format to use, especially a cheap one. A good CD-R, properly cared for, should probably last many years. Proper care includes things like keeping it away from direct sunlight, because both heat and ultraviolet can cause some types of dye to break down. Some people also prefer not to write on or label generic silver-top discs because some of the cheap ones lack a protective top coat, and ink or glue can sometimes react with or seep through the reflective layer.

The question of which CD-Rs are "good" has been discussed many times on this forum already. Fuji Film discs are made by Taiyo-Yuden and are widely considered to be of excellent quality. "Datasafe" sounds like a generic label, they probably buy their discs from whoever gives them the best OEM deal so one batch may be fine and the next may be garbage.