Media Compatibility With CD-RW Drives - Which Media Is Best?

[dolphinius_rex]

There's no serial on the mirrorband....
On the platic hub the serial is not ink based and it writes:"6104GJ282744LHD5"

Definitely CMC. Why not try burning one of the discs, scanning it with Nero CD Speed ScanDisc, and posting the results here?

Are you sure? I've never known a CMC disc without a serial number in the mirror band... it should say something like CD-R 80, or CD-R 74, and then a string of numbers.

[TheWizard]

Are you sure? I've never known a CMC disc without a serial number in the mirror band... it should say something like CD-R 80, or CD-R 74, and then a string of numbers.

CD-R 80 or CD-R 74 is probably written in the mirrorband, but it is tough to see, therefore Centrilium may have overlooked it. Based on the serial printed on the plastic hub, I am positive the disc is CMC. The 'LH' is a dead giveaway. Similarly, if you find 'JS' in the serial on the plastic hub of a disc, it will be Ritek. 'JS' being an indicator of Ritek's JS dye. Now, I am sure there are exceptions, as there always are. So let's say 9 times out of 10, LH = CMC and JS = Ritek.

[Centrilium]

I double checked the CD and found that the CD-R80 code was hidden between the transparent and mirror band section of the cd.Only half of the wording can be seen but it's near impossible to figure out the alphabets because it goes missing on the other half(transparent section).
About the cdr being manufactured by CMC it's confirmed many thanks to Dolphinius_rex and The Wizard.The other CMC discs I have also has an 'LH' code on them.

[XIII]

I finally found some Verbatim 32X CD-RW's in the Netherlands, so I am happy to report the following for my LiteOn LTR-52327S with firmware QS0B:

Code: Select all

........................Verbatim DLP CD-RW/MC 80min 32X.........32X

100% OK, but one funny thing:

Manufacturer changes from MC to "Unknown Manufacturer" after burning a CD-RW... (see other topic)

[TheWizard]

Thanks, XIII. You're welcome, Centrilium.

[Centrilium]

For those who are really crazy about cdrs...there's one brand which really stands above all.Kodaks,Mitsui and TYs are no match fo it.It's a cdr made for audiophiles.

[Centrilium]

The good old days of high quality cdrs are coming back today.Forget about the Mitsuis and Kodaks.These cdrs will likely impress most of you.

[dolphinius_rex]

The good old days of high quality cdrs are coming back today.Forget about the Mitsuis and Kodaks.These cdrs will likely impress most of you.

Care to fill in the blanks for us?

[Centrilium]

I guess it's an unknown company outside Japan.Only those who are involved audiophile industry would know about it.The company is called Axia and in Japan their cdrs are top rated for audio reproduction.
Here is their latest product:
Axia CD-R PS PURE SOUND for MUSIC


http://www.axia.co.jp/products/2004cdr/cdrps/cdrps-main.html

The other one is TDK's latest audio cdr product called the TDK Theory.It's only exclusive for the japanese market currently.It cost approximately Euro$5.00 a piece.



http://www.tdk.co.jp/theory/

[Centrilium]

The only company I know selling these stuffs in the US region is AudioCube.

the TDK Theory review by them:
http://www.audiocubes.com/product_reviews_info.php?products_id=593&reviews_id=553
USD$7.00 each...

The Axia cdrs:
http://www.audiocubes.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_49&products_id=275&osCsid=b5672a428516bcd2b147e6505273bc69

http://www.audiocubes.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_49&products_id=174&osCsid=b5672a428516bcd2b147e6505273bc69


FYI,Axia is a division of FujiFilm Japan and their cdrs are manufactured by Fujifilm themselves.

[Bhairav]

Disc :
Maxell CD-R80 XL-S 48X

SmartBurn readout :
Drive Type = CD-R/RW
Disc Type = CDR
Material = Phthalocyanine
Lead In = 97:15:17
Lead Out = 79:59:70
Nominal Capacity = 702.82MB
Manufacturer Maybe = RiTEK Corporation
SMART-BURN Speed Limit = 52X (Write)

Burnt at : 52X, 706MB overburn
Drive : Lite-On 52327S, QS0B

100% Green in Scandisc.

Burnt in : Lite-On 811S, HS0K
100% Green in Scandisc.

[TheWizard]

Two results for the price of one, thanks bhairavp!

[Bhairav]

Thanks,Wiz. One addendum.. the Maxell was burned at 40X in the 811S, not 52X. You've entered 52X as the speed in the VBCode on the first page of this thread.

[TheWizard]

So I did! My mistake. I should've known the 811S can't burn at 52X.

[MediumRare]

I don't know if anyone is still interested in this (other than me ) but here goes:

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LiteOn LTR 48246S
Firmware SS0E.......UltraSpeed/FC 80min 12X.....................16X

ATIP from SmartBurn 3.1.6:

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        Drive Type = CD-RW   
         Disc Type = CDR
          Material = Cyanine
           Lead In = 97:28:60
          Lead Out = 79:59:74
  Nominal Capacity = 702.83MB
Manufacturer Maybe = Friendly CD-Tek Co.
SMART-BURN Speed Limit = 16X (Write)

I only had this one disk- my sister left it here after her visit last fall- just the naked disc with no further information and I have no idea who sold it. It was fine at the Smart-Burn limit. CD-Speed surface scan all green, KProbe 1.1.29: C1 max/mean: 15/0.99.

G

[TheWizard]

I'm always interested in new results! Keep them coming! Thanks

[MediumRare]

I saw these on sale and because I had good results with SKC CD's before, decided to try them out.

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LiteOn LTR 48246S
Firmware SS0E.......SKC Premier/??? 90min 48X...................48X

ATIP from SmartBurn 3.1.8:

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        Drive Type = CD-RW
         Disc Type = CDR
          Material = Phthalocyanine
           Lead In = 96:40:05
          Lead Out = 79:59:74
  Nominal Capacity = 702.83MB
Manufacturer Maybe = Unknown Manufacturer
SMART-BURN Speed Limit = 16X (Write)

I turned SmartBurn off and put an 89 min VCD on a disc at the full 48x speed, and it was super. CD-Speed surface scan all green, KProbe 1.1.29: C1 max/mean = 7 / 0.38 !!!

Any ideas who makes these? SKC? I think I'll get some more as long as they're still available.

Edit:
Instant-info says SKC but all other programs don't know.
They overburn to 95:07 according to the CD-Speed test.

G

[TheWizard]

Indeed, good stuff. Thanks, MediumRare. And oh, SKC makes their own media, so Instant-info is correct.

[jaym]

I have a Samsung SW-248F 48 X writer & have had v. good results with Moser-Baer (India) CDs - v. few write errors.

Jay

[TheWizard]

Good stuff, jaym, do you happen to know specifics about the discs? For example, as the discs branded as Moser-Baer or are they branded under a different name? What capacity are the discs (74 or 80 minutes)? What is the rated speed of the discs (48X or less)? Have you tested the burned discs with the ScanDisc feature in Nero's CD Speed? If so, are all the blocks green, or are some yellow/red? Finally, do you know the firmware version of your SW-248F?

[jaym]

Moser-Baer India happens to be the 3rd largest manufacturer of CDs globally. The discs (as are available in Indiia) are branded under the Moser-Baer brand name. The rated speed is upto 52 X and are 80 min. You can check out the website www.moserbaer.com for more info.

I haven't checked the speed using the Nero Toolkit. Can you brief me on Nero ScanDisk (What it tests, how does one use it, etc ?). The firmware of the writer is R602.

Also, in your experience, what are the best CD-Rs and DVD-Rs ?

[Bhairav]

Good stuff, jaym, do you happen to know specifics about the discs? For example, as the discs branded as Moser-Baer or are they branded under a different name? What capacity are the discs (74 or 80 minutes)? What is the rated speed of the discs (48X or less)? Have you tested the burned discs with the ScanDisc feature in Nero's CD Speed? If so, are all the blocks green, or are some yellow/red? Finally, do you know the firmware version of your SW-248F?

Wiz, they are 80 minute Moser Baer Pro 52X rated discs.

[TheWizard]

Thanks jaym and bhairavp.

I haven't checked the speed using the Nero Toolkit. Can you brief me on Nero ScanDisk (What it tests, how does one use it, etc ?). The firmware of the writer is R602.

Nero ScanDisc checks for C2 errors. If you have Nero installed, go to Nero Toolkit and select Nero CD-DVD Speed. In CD-DVD Speed, click Extra at the top and ScanDisc. Then check the Surface Scan box at the bottom and Start. Again, kindly let me know how many blocks are green, yellow, and red.

Also, in your experience, what are the best CD-Rs and DVD-Rs ?

"Best" is a relative term. I don't believe in a single, absolute best. This Compatibility List would not exist if there was a single, best disc. Instead, there are many good discs (and not so good discs) available, but primarily it depends on which drive you use the discs in. The results vary from drive to drive and from disc to disc, which is why this list is merely a guideline.

[MediumRare]

Verbatim DataLife High Capacity, speed not specified, Made in Taiwan

I'm a sucker for new media types and these are the first 90 min / 800 MiB discs I've encountered from Verbatim. So when I saw them today, I picked one up, despite mixed results with DataLife ("Made in Taiwan" meant CMC in the past). Surprise- they're made by RiTEK!! The serial number starts with "L101 JS40...", so this seems to be JS-media, which has been among the best there is.

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LiteOn LTR 48246S
Firmware SS0E...........Verbatim DL / RTK 90min ??X.............48X

Here the ATIP from SmartBurn 3.1.8:

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         Disc Type = CDR
          Material = Phthalocyanine
           Lead In = 96:43:37
          Lead Out = 79:59:74
  Nominal Capacity = 702.83MB
Manufacturer Maybe = RiTEK Corporation
SMART-BURN Speed Limit = 48X (Write)

(CDRIdentifier, Nero InfoTool and CD-Speed don't recognize the media).

I used the same 89 min VCD as for the SKC's from my last post and wrote a disc at 48x. Nero dropped the speed to 40x for the last 5%. The disc is fine- CD-Speed surface scan all green, KProbe 1.1.29: C1 max/mean = 18 / 0.51. More than half the C1 errors (and the maximum) occured in the last 6%, so the speed drop was the Right Thing!

G
P.S. TheWizard- congrats in being named a mod for this forum. Just noticed it.

[TheWizard]

Thank you and thank you, MediumRare. The list has been updated.