[randytsuch]

Interesting article on CDR's wearing out
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=513486

Seems we may still need to find the perfect achive medium.

Someone posted it at AA.

Randy

[WEEZ]

Oh shit-

Maybe my search for a CD recorder to archive my old stuff has been a waste of time..

 

WEEZ

[Jay S]

The article is helpful.  But I am in a bit of a dilemma since I have lots of digital photos.  They are all on HD but I have some back up CD-Rs.  I can't afford to lose them.  I have a 6 megapixel digital cam so I didn't think that buying a back-up HD would be a good long term solution.

When I was buying CD-Rs, the store gave me some advice on which CDs were trustworthy and which were not.  They said that their customers who were particular about reliability/longevity chose the Verbatim Blue Diamond CD-Rs.  I had also read elsewhere that Mitsui Gold CD-Rs were used by the U.S. Library of Congress for archive purposes.  

I simply won't use no-name CD-Rs.  But, I wonder about the cheap CD-Rs of known brands like Maxell and 3m.

[TheeeChosenOne]

I've read from many experienced techies in-the-know that most cd-r's are unreliably made.  All the big names are now farming out to third party companies in Taiwan where the quality has been uniformly sketchy.

Everyone seems to be in the same boat that Fuji Cd-rs are the best as they're made by Tayo Yuiden (sp?).   They're supposed to be the most bullet-proof of the bunch................beware though...........Fuji is also farming to Taiwan.........you must see that on the package it says "Made in Japan".  I've seen Fuji cd'rs packs with "Made In Taiwan" and "Made in Japan" sitting in the same shelf btw.

If Fuji isn't available.  Maxell is reputed to be decent, but not at Fuji's level.

[Rob Babcock]

I have some discs from 6 or 7 years ago that have failed, but mostly due to handling.  The bulk of my discs of that vintage are still going strong.

[randytsuch]

For archiving stuff, I would look for CDR's that are made in Japan, and avoid the made in Taiwan stuff.  That's what I now do for dvd-r's, and would think cdr's are the same.

You need to read the media code, and see who actually makes the disks.

Article also mentioned cdrw's might be better.  Anyone know any more on this? It is a different technology.

Randy

[Rob Babcock]

Taiyo Yuden is the only company that in Japan that makes CD-Rs; no matter what brand you buy, if it says "made in Japan", then TY made them.  I dunno about DVD-Rs, though.

I use Mitsui for almost everthing.  They cost a lot more than the other brands but I haven't been disappointed.  I do buy Taiyo Yudens, too, as they make really nice printable ones.  In fact, most of the Encyclopedia Metallicus copies were TY discs.

[randytsuch]

Taiyo Yuden is the only company that in Japan that makes CD-Rs; no matter what brand you buy, if it says "made in Japan", then TY made them.  I dunno about DVD-Rs, though.

I am using both TY and Maxell DVD-Rs, made in Japan.  I bought a bunch of Maxells at a recent Office Depot sale, so I am stocked up there.

Randy

[Thump553]

Don't lose sleep over this.  I've been burning CDRs for years-since my 2X burner was cutting edge technology.  When I started blanks were $1 each or so, and being a cheapie I almost always bought the very cheapest I could find.

Only some really cheapo CompUSA unbranded ones were really bad-because they had inadequate coating and would flake or scratch far too easily.  I don't think I've ever had a CDR deteriorate over time out of the thousands I used (data and audio).

That said, I now try to stay with TY (made in Japan Fujis mostly) if I can find them at a good price.  They are so cheap now that you might as well buy quality.  I have found that data applications are more forgiving of mediocre blanks than burning audio discs.

[Rob Babcock]

I will say the quality of the very cheap ones has become very bad.  On a goof I've tried some super cheap ones and found often they were unplayable very shortly after being burned.

In the grand scheme of things, even forty cents each for TY discs is pretty cheap.  To go with the nickel or dime cheapies is to be penny wise but pound foolish.

[zeke]

I have some Sony cdr's that are starting to fail after only about 5 yrs. --- starting to hear "scratchy/staticy" type sounds with the music  -- on any cd player/system used .................    This is very disappointing news, as the originals of these cdr's are long gone .............    

[Rob Babcock]

Why, certainly you didn't copy them and then, ahem, "liquidate" them, did you?       What type of Sony discs did you use?  I do occasionally use Sony CD-Rs (mostly I bought a big spindle awhile back for 'digital kleenex' use- jpegs, discs for the car, etc).  So far no probs, but again I haven't been using them long enough to see failures nor do I use them for anything that's "mission critical."

[orthobiz]

So is the general consensus that the original CD's last longer? The CDR's and CDRW's are the potential problem?

Plus, I heard of a machine that machines the center hole of the CD making it play better. This can expose the inner layers (?) to oxidation and degradation.

biz

[zeke]

Rob,
yes, sadly/stupidly i did "liquidate" many of the originals ----- since i read that they would last 50/100 yrs i thought, no problem -- WRONG !!

from now on i will never get rid of something i want long term.....

i was buying Sony 50/spindles -- cdq-74cn at the time ....... thought those would be a step above the cheapies --- i guess not ...........

switched to mitsui's a couple yrs ago, but don't know if they will stand the test of time either .........