Best place to buy CD-R's?

[ArcticFox]

Anyone have a favourite online shop that sells CD-Rs or recordable DVDs (for when I get a DVD burner)? I usually buy TDK's, but I'm cheap so a 100-pack of like Memorex, and stuff, would do me fine.

BTW - I'm not just looking for media shops, if you see a deal on like spindles 50 or more with a good price please let me know!

[Bovon]

Bulk CDs are inferior, and the media will wear out, some as quick as two years. CDs are not forever..and we get what we pay for. Buy the cheap bulk CDs from discount stores, and your music and/or data may be history in a couple of years.

Please review the Media World URLs below the Newegg links..

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...tby=14&order=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...tby=14&order=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...tby=14&order=1

http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware...actories.shtml
CD Factories.

http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware..._quality.shtml
CD Quality

[ArcticFox]

Interesting read. So the TDK's I've been buying are good, even though some versions reak like hell?

[Bovon]

Originally posted by ArcticFox
Interesting read. So the TDK's I've been buying are good, even though some versions reak like hell?

I believe you have misunderstood a bit. "TDK" disks might be made by any number of different shops. If you will search thru Media World site (I couldn't find it awhile ago..but its there) the site tells us about the many home/backyard shops that make disks to sell to the larger distributers..who in turn place their label on them. These are the elcheapos that we buy in bulk at Sams, Office Depot/Max etc. etc.

There is no way to manufacture good grade disks with the good quality media coated on them for what we pay in the discount stores. Some of the discount stores will have both..the bulk 50 or 100 spindles and the better class disks as well. There are small utilities you can get to read who made the disks when it is placed in your burner..I'll see if I can find the link to the download site..you just stick a blank disk in your burner (only a burner has the correct setup to read what is on a blank disk)..I will post it here for you...but, the bulk spindles are ok as long as you are aware they will not last very long, and you don't archive a bunch of un replaceable information on one, then stick it somewhere and forget it for 5 or 10 years..only to find out it is blank again...LOL (if you come up with a recorded CDR that will not read properly, try putting it in the freezer for awhile...in a zip lock bag..)

Just get yourself some cheapies for everyday burning of unimportant stuff, and a box of the best or better CDRs for the stuff you want to keep.

Ok, I just went back to Media World and found the small CD Identifier utility..it does not need to be installed, just setup in a folder you will create. It is called cdrid163.zip. Create a folder on your hard drive and extract this zip file into that folder, then put a disk in your burner and open the folder..and run the executable file, CDRIdentifier.exe...
http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware..._utils_2.shtml
and click on the small 'picture' in the upper left side of the screen showing the CDR Identifier. Its a freebie utility...

Or, try this link to see if it will take you right to the download screen
http://www.cdmediaworld.com/cgi-bin/dlcmw.cgi?cdrid163!zip

There are several utilities on this page..not many are free.

[ArcticFox]

Yeah I read that part - may explain why TDK's all of a sudden started smelling like arse.....except it's worse than that (I smelled one and stayed home from school one day)

[Prison Kids]

Just bought 100 TDK's for 9.99 at best buy in Salem.

[ArcticFox]

Ah, well I'm in Newberg but I'd sure drive to BB if there was one near me. No car though lol.....

A check on BestBuy's site reveals that a 48x TDK CD-R's cost $40. You realize I paid that much for my burner?

[PresterJohn]

you need to read that article w/a grain of salt because many of the name brands mentioned in that article don't use the same manufacturer now.

for example, many of the Imation disks are now produced by cmc magnetics (not exactly the highest quality out there). this is true whether they're the singles in jewel cases as well as the 50 & 100 disc spindles. the maxells are usually either cmc or ritek (also a middlin' brand)

the cdr-identifier is a start in the right direction since it can help you identify which vendor made what disc. the best cd manufacturer are the japanese...taiyo yuden heads that list.

the best way to tell if you got a good burn is to run a c1/c2 error scan on the media afterwards. taiyo yuden consistently scores at the head of the pack w/the lowest c1/c1 errors...if you take my advice, buy Taiyo Yuden!

incidentally, the cmc magnetics don't test very well with the lite-on burners...i've done a lot of burns using them and they have a much higher-error rate, even at the slowest burn speeds (4x)