[MacDV] Re: CDs to use for VCDs

[John Leonard]

> This is absolutely false. If it were true you could just use data CDRs
> in a standalone CD recorder and not pay the extra $$ right? Well, you
> can't.
> 
> Music or Audio CDRs are watermarked and contain a flag that tells the
> standalone player that these are certified for use in that player.
> Typically, these discs use a better quality dye as well, resulting in
> better burns, especially at high speeds.

Um,

This is not exactly correct. You have to understand that there are two types
of CD Recorder. When it became obvious that people wanted to make their own
music CDs and that there was a market for a home recording system as opposed
to the high-priced recorders being sold into the professional market, the
music industry came up with the concept of a CD blank that would have an
licence fee built in to the cost and a flag that would only be recognised by
these domestic CD recorders. Apart from that, there is no major difference
between these licensed CDs and their unlicensed counterparts. The concept of
this licensing system never really took off as it became perfectly possible
to burn CDs for personal use using a standard CD-R in any computer, which
doesn't care what blanks you use (unless you try using one of the "licensed"
discs, which won't work.) My local discount store is now selling Philips
Domestic CD recorders as a clearance item for about $120.

The differences in dye-layers, reflective surfaces, scratch protection
methods and other variations offered by manufacturers is the subject of much
debate in the audio industry and for many years my company has used discs
that are certified as being reliable for audio recording and archiving.
These are marginally more expensive that standard data discs and are 650
MByte which tends to mean that they will play in almost all domestic CD
players. In the past, many low-cost players had difficulty with 700 MByte
discs, but that situation is changing and it's getting more difficult to
find 650 MByte blanks.

Lately, we've been trialling 700MByte blanks that are certified for audio
and these seem to work equally well for data and audio, even in our
stand-alone duplicator which will copy a 60 minute CD in just under two
minutes.

 It's really a matter of trial and error: CDs are cheap enough for a little
experimentation to take place until you find a brand that works reliably for
you. If you're running a commercial operation, then you may well have to
spend a little more time and money finding something that works for all your
clients as well.

As a matter of interest, I burned my first CD back in the 1980s when there
was only one CD-R burner available: the disc was a data disc from Taiyo
Yuden and it still plays perfectly today.

Hope this helps,


-- 
John Leonard
Aura Sound Design Ltd.
23 Charlotte Road,
Shoreditch
London EC2A 3PB

Tel: +44 (0)20 7739 6057
Fax: +44 (0)20 7729 1820

http://www.aurasound.co.uk