CD-R bullshit

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Last night I bought a pack of 100 CD-Rs after asking the guy at the Virgin Megastore if they would, in fact, record on my burner, which is a standalone TDK machine. (The packaging said "for computers," which made me suspicious.) Sure, they will, he said, so I dropped $50, came home and attempted to start work on some trades I'm making for a friend. Voila--no dice. Of course. Should've trusted my instincts. Ah well.

Tonight, I went to Tower and paid for a 50 pack of Maxell CD-Rs. "CD Recordable," it said, and hey--better late than never. Just got home, threw the first one in...and the same thing happened. Nowhere on the package does it say anything about the discs being incompatible with non-computer burners. Another $15 down the drain, mitigated somewhat by the fact that I have used my friend Angela's discs plenty of times over the past two years, and this will be a nice payback for her.

My question, then, is this: Is it my imagination or are CD-R manufacturers cutting way, way back on making discs that can be used on regular old standalone duplicators and not computer burners? Or, at the very least, are major chains cutting back on buying/displaying them to the general public? Having this happen twice in a row is extremely frustrating, but I mostly picked up the discs I did because there weren't any other bulk spindle-type packages available. (Before I bought 50-packs of Memorex, which worked fine.) And is there something I should be looking for to make spotting compatible discs easier? (The TDK and Maxell discs in question have frosted fronts rather than white-painted; is this a clue in itself, the way black-backed discs are?) Also, has this happened to any of you?

Finally, I'll note that while my TDK burner also has the frustrating habit of not burning onto three-inch CDs (even white-painted Memorex), it's typically worked fine otherwise.

― M Matos (M Matos), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 07:17 (twenty-three years ago)

I'd especially appreciate insight on the "are major chains" part of the question from folks who actually work for major chains

― M Matos (M Matos), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 07:25 (twenty-three years ago)

I've had this happen; you might check the speeds and see if they're compatible.

― James Blount (James Blount), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 07:49 (twenty-three years ago)

For StandAlone players, the CDS have to say "Music CDR." No matter that "Data CDRs" can record music as well, non computer burners need music cdrs only.

― J. Berry Brown, Wednesday, 27 November 2002 08:43 (twenty-three years ago)

i just bought 60 cdrs so all the people who i owe cdrs can expect them soon

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 09:14 (twenty-three years ago)

I have explained this issue to many people and none of them understand what I'm talking about. ("Yeah dude, I know these CDRs that are real cheap; I know for a fact that they're compatible for music on your Philips thing or whatever..." WRONG!)

I get my music CDRs from Costco -- they're TDKs that come in packs of 30 (IIRC). The only problem is that my Philips burner has rejected every third or fourth disc lately. Even though I've started to make more of my CDRs on my computer, it has been quite frustrating.

― Andy K (Andy K), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 13:31 (twenty-three years ago)

article on stand-alone CDR players

― Siegbran (eofor), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 14:16 (twenty-three years ago)

For StandAlone players, the CDS have to say "Music CDR." No matter that "Data CDRs" can record music as well, non computer burners need music cdrs only

Exactly that- Im sure it said this in your documentation. Either "music CDR" or "Audio CDR" and I have trouble finding these sometimes.

― insectifly (insectifly), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 14:58 (twenty-three years ago)

Or, at the very least, are major chains cutting back on buying/displaying them to the general public?
I usually see bulk Music CDRs at Target still. I think they stock Memorex.

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 15:03 (twenty-three years ago)

I use the Memorex plain white cdr 80 minute jobs. They work fine in mine, but I have an internal burner. When I had an external burner, it sucked. Same problems as above. My advice, spend $125 and get an internal.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 15:35 (twenty-three years ago)

One question: would any of the compatibility issues have anything to do with trying to use 700MB/80 minute media in recorders than can only handle 650MB/74min media?

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 18:55 (twenty-three years ago)

i think the exact text on the packaging for ones that work in standalone's is "Digital Audio" - it should appear just beneath the CD symbol.

― phil turnbull (philT), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 19:41 (twenty-three years ago)

I didn't even know you could GET stand-alone burners. Get with the times man.

― Callum (Callum), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 20:18 (twenty-three years ago)

Sean--yes, it works fine on 80-minute discs. Callum--go fuck yourself.

― M Matos (M Matos), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 20:40 (twenty-three years ago)

actually, let me rephrase: it's a dual-CD player/burner. it stands alone primarily due to my not having a stereo system to hook it up to (I play CDs on my computer and/or discman).

― M Matos (M Matos), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 20:44 (twenty-three years ago)

it's a dual-CD player/burner

Isn't this more usually referred to as a CD recorder? I've got one - it records in real time from a line in or digital input.

― David (David), Wednesday, 27 November 2002 20:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Standalone "Audio" CD Writers are a waste of time and money if you have decent PC get a IDE CD-RW it has better functionality and the media is cheap and widely available.

They are cheap as well.

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=CD%2DRW

£36 USD is cheaper than the media pack you bought..

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Thursday, 28 November 2002 12:28 (twenty-three years ago)

I love my dual deck CD recorder, partly because I *don't* have a decent PC, and am not likely to have one in the near future. If I did, I wouldn't be very likely to want my pooter set up next to my record player, or particularly want to do some kind of three miles of cable thing.

― Tim (Tim), Thursday, 28 November 2002 12:34 (twenty-three years ago)

eight years pass...

anyone have any idea why cd-r's skip to the end of the disk on my stereo receiver? so maddening! thanks for any advice (it's happening with every brand I try, recording at 24x, max possible)

― Iago Galdston, Sunday, 4 September 2011 00:38 (fourteen years ago)

in case anyone stumbles upon this with the same problem, I found the response. Don't record at 24x or Max speed or whatever. Do it at 2x and all's well.

― Iago Galdston, Monday, 5 September 2011 23:53 (fourteen years ago)

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