Music CD-R's: blue ones work, silver ones don't!!

[shep]

Forgive me if this is an old topic to some, but I am a newbie to this forum and really could use some help.
My Philips CDR 765 two-tray stand-alone (music CD) recorder (5 years old--yes, I was an early adopter) records just fine only on BLUE-bottomed music CD-R's (TDK 16x and slower, Maxell 32x and slower).
The newer SILVER-bottomed music CD-R's (TDK 32x and Maxell 40x) won't work reliably. 70% of the time the machine doesn't recognize them for recording. Other times it does, but often cuts off mid-recording (It will play them once they have been finalized). I found all this out the long, slow, and hard way.

Where can I still buy blue music CD-R's, or others that would work?? I got a few on the Internet, but others advertised/pictured as slower speed were the new fast speeds--the web page picture had simply not been updated.

Please note: we are talking about music CD-R's, on a stand-alone CD-R recorder. No computer is involved.

[MediumRare]

Welcome to the forum!

Have you tried Verbatim media? I don't know about the audio packaging, but the computer discs labeled "Azo" have a blue pigment (the Azo dye, specific to Verbatim/Mitsubishi).

I've primarily used the Verbatim DataLifePlus (with various kinds of Azo dye, depending on the recording speed) for my audio recordings because of their supposed compatibilty with CD players, and have had no problems whatever.

G

[dolphinius_rex]

I don't think Verbatim makes a Digital Audio CD-R.... and neither does Taiyo Yuden that I am aware of....

Hrm, who else uses a blue dye.... Princo, and they don't make Digital audio CD-Rs either.

The *ONLY* one I can think of that *MIGHT* work is Maxell's that are actually made by Maxell, and I don't know where to find those, and even if they are available easily.

[MediumRare]

I don't think Verbatim makes a Digital Audio CD-R....

I'm sure I saw these last week, They were in a yellow package, called something like MusicLifexxxxx Vibe Music. I didn't pay that much attention because I don't need them, but they were reasonbly priced too. This is Germany, though, and things are usually a bit different in N.A. InstantInfo didn't show them either, but they're not always up to date.

Update- just had a look at Verbatim's website and came up with this (among others).

G

[cfitz]

As MediumRare points out, Verbatim does make a line of music CDs. Unfortunately, it appears that they use SuperAZO dye for their music CDs and only use the older, darker blue AZO dye, which might be even more compatible with shep's recorder, in their digital vinyl line. And oddly, despite the heavy music emphasis of the digital vinyl line, there don't appear to be any music CD variants. Go figure...

cfitz

[dolphinius_rex]

wow! I don't think I've EVER seen Verbatim made music CD-Rs in Canada... maybe because no one would buy them since Verbatim is so expensive, and a $0.77 charge for our levy on digital audio discs would make it even more insane!

[JayDee]

dolphinius_rex, I have seen these Verbatim CD-R at a DollarRama Store here in London On Canada but r expensive $1.00 each they have 48x & 52X sold in singles with jewel cases.

Dave, I am Canadian!!!!

[dodecahedron]

i had though the stand alone audio recorders worked ONLY with audio-CDRs and that these are 1x speed only!

[jase]

Right on both counts. And the audio CD recorders are very picky which doesn't help.

Your best bet might be to get your Philips hacked to be able to record computer CDRs. I'm sure it's possible with Philips kit, but don't quote me on it.

The Verbatim "Super Azo" media *might* work. It worked on my Pioneer CDR audio recorder, but having said that, it manages to record OK on the phthalocyanine (silver) media OK, even if the resulting disc won't play on some players it does at least function.

My advice, if you have a PC, is to invest in a few music CDRWs. These should still work without issue and you can copy them onto computer discs with a PC, erase the CDRW and start again. That's what I tend to do now

[dodecahedron]

Right on both counts.

then how can shep use 16x, 32x, 40x media in his stand alone machine?
or he can use this media but only at 1x?
(i'm either missing something or not getting something trivial)

[jase]

Good point actually.

I'm guessing that, because "music" CDRs *can* be used in a PC recorder, that manufacturers are putting this rating on discs these days (I have only tried a small handful of new ones recently and don't recall if they put speed ratings on or not).

The Philips recorder will only record at 1x regardless (the twin-deck machines can record at 2x in high-speed dubbing mode however).

[shep]

then how can shep use 16x, 32x, 40x media in his stand alone machine?
or he can use this media but only at 1x?

First, thank you so much, all of you, for chiming in to help me here. Much appreciated!!
--So, it's all a matter of the dye they use, huh. Are the newer dyes more stable, or just cheaper to make?
--Dark blue, light blue, pale green all seem to work for me. Only silver doesn't.
--Looks like it's going to be hard to find music CD-R's that aren't silver. CDROutlet.com claim that their Mitsui CDR is pale green: http://www.cdroutlet.com/cgi-local/shop ... 80_cdr.htm Anyone using Mitsui?
--My Philips dual-tray unit will indeed make "dubs" at 2x speed (these are prone to give me coasters, however), but normally records opitical, digital, or analog audio at 1x speed. Great for audio work in combination with a mixer.

[/quote]

[JayDee]

I was just at the Dollarama store about a hour ago & bought just one Verbatim 52x @ $1.00 each. I store now carries 3 types of Verbatim 48x & 52x in ultra thin jewel cases & 48x in regular size case. I also notice that the 52x type is made in 2 different places India & Tiawan & one is called Verbatim DatalifePlus (Tiawan)& the other Verbatim ValueLife (India).

Dave

[MediumRare]

one is called Verbatim DatalifePlus (Tiawan)& the other Verbatim ValueLife (India).

DataLifePlus and ValueLife aren't audio CDs- they're normal computer media.

Verbatim makes CDRs (or has them made) in Ireland, Mexico, Singapore and Japan as well as Taiwan and India. The ValueLife (in Europe DataLife without Plus) are qualitatively not as good as the DataLifePlus. If they come from India, they'll be MBI (Moser Baer India). I've haven't tried these. The DataLife's I've had were made by CMC in Taiwan or Mexico and were wretched.

Go ahead and the ValueLife/India media if you want and report on your experience, but if the price difference is small, go for DataLifePlus, those labelled with "Azo" in some form.

G