Subject:Anyone HERE...

Posted by: stusy

Date:11/3/2002 1:37:49 PM

know if it makes a difference when purchasing CD-Rs if it needs to say "for audio" or "for digital audio" or "recordable" or "for music recording" in order to ensure that once you burn a CD of your music it can be played on the most CD players and computers...? I've fought for an answer in the Sonar newsgroup for some time now, and they appear worthless beyond belief on the subject...maybe I'm not making myself clear, but does something specific have to be on the label if you want to buy and use those CDs for song demos, i.e., having them playable on CD players...??

Subject:RE: Anyone HERE...

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:11/3/2002 2:07:51 PM

I believe the only difference is the price. The extra cost tacked onto music CD-R's is allegedly for royalties to the music industry.

Save yourself some cash and buy data CD's instead. Just make sure it's quality media, like Maxell, Sony, et al.

HTH,
Iacobus

Subject:RE: Anyone HERE...

Reply by: ibliss

Date:11/3/2002 2:11:09 PM

The only time you may need to buy CD-R's that declare themselves as 'for audio' etc is when you will be recording onto a consumer Hi-Fi Standalone CD recording deck (ie Philips). The 'Audio' and 'Data' CDs have a different ID code (or something!) that the standalone reads when you insert the disc. If it doesn't see the 'Audio' code it won't let you record onto the disc. This forces you to use the 'Audio' CD-Rs which are slightly more expensive because of an included charge of a few pence which is something to do with copyright. Where this money goes, I don't know - this is an entire issue in itself.

When you are using a PC CD-R drive, the code is ignored, and you can use either the Data or Audio CD-Rs. 99% of people use Data CD's for both data storage and audio discs, as they are cheaper to buy but mechanically identical.

Recording audio on a Data CD will not stop you playing back the disc in any domestic CD player - because they don't look at the Code on the disc.

I believe that most 'Pro' level standalone CD recorders will work with Data CD-Rs.

There are variations between CD-Rs themselves - different dyes are used, which visually appear as a different colour (eg green/blue or gold/siver). Again, this shouldn't really have an influence on the data/audio recorded, but if you have an older CD-R drive it may not be compatible with all of the different types.

You don't need you buy the most expensive discs, but don't go for the cheapest ones (if you value the work you are putting on the disc!).

Hope this clears things up a bit!

Mike K

Subject:RE: Anyone HERE...

Reply by: stusy

Date:11/3/2002 7:58:40 PM

Finally...! they're still pussy-footin' around this question in the sonar newsgroup...drives me nuts over there sometimes...too many games/agendas/whatevers...thanks for the info, man..

Subject:RE: Anyone HERE...

Reply by: TeeCee

Date:11/5/2002 10:03:21 AM

ibliss starts off right with the difference. It would seem that even most newer stand alone CD burners need the "audio" CD-Rs. I have several DJ friends and they tend to go through CD burners as they can't really take the club environment. They all seem to need the "audio" CD-Rs.

TeeCee

Subject:RE: Anyone HERE...

Reply by: SonyNateM

Date:11/5/2002 10:20:03 AM

Many of the standalone recorders out there require "audio" CD's, or, officially, Consumer Audio Media discs. The difference between these and normal data discs is that the CAM CD's are tagged so that they may not be duplicated with a standalone player. This prevents people from dupping a CD, giving it to a friend, who dupes it for his friend, etc. This normally doesn't prevent the disc from being duplicated in a computer. Likewise, CAM CD's can be used for either audio or data in most computer CD-R's without issue.

Subject:RE: Anyone HERE...

Reply by: TeeCee

Date:11/5/2002 11:09:42 AM

"Many of the standalone recorders out there require "audio" CD's, or, officially, Consumer Audio Media discs. The difference between these and normal data discs is that the CAM CD's are tagged so that they may not be duplicated with a standalone player. This prevents people from dupping a CD, giving it to a friend, who dupes it for his friend, etc. This normally doesn't prevent the disc from being duplicated in a computer. Likewise, CAM CD's can be used for either audio or data in most computer CD-R's without issue."

Well, Nate, this is a rare occasion. I've seen stand alone burners that will duplicate these CDs. This I have seen. What I have heard is that the marking is solely for RIAA percentages. There is supposed to be an additional tax on these CDs.

TeeCee