CDRLabs.com

Hello,
I am confused with the new products available today; what to choose? does most expensive always mean better? from the Verbatim's MediDisc CD-R 52x 80 Min/700MB http://www.verbatim.com/support/support ... 4217CB9AB0 to Imation's new ForceField discs http://www.imation.com/products/cd-r_me ... discs.html etc...
What is in your opinion the best CD-R media available today? based on your experience.
Thank you

Taiyo Yuden or Verbatim DataLifePlus

assalychris wrote:Hello,
I am confused with the new products available today; what to choose? does most expensive always mean better?

It depends what you want. If you want to burn at full speed and relatively error free, the go with Ians suggestions. If your willing to burn at a slower speed then just about any CD-r will do, yielding pretty much perfect results.

eric93se wrote:It depends what you want.

I want long lasting professional media. Does anyone know the advantages of using Verbatim's medidiscs? Are they more reliable then the usual verbatim datalifeplus media? Is is just that they are ``DICOM compliant and usable in HIPPA records systems"?

Let me ask you this, do you see anyone on the net complaining that their discs no longer work? Usually not! And if a disc does fail, its due to improper handling (scratches etc.). I don't think anyone has to worry about a disc lasting 100 years, b/c technology is constantly changing, in two years you'll be able to store 1000000 cd's on a blu-ray disc, and 5-10 years we'll have computer running at the speed of light and three dimensional neuron storage systems with a billion terabytes of storage capability (a brain).

Go out and buy whatever you feel is a good deal, and take care of it, back it up on a dvd even. Verbatim is selling marketing hype.

Just to make matters more difficult, check out the Media Compatibility Thread to find which media works well with your specific burner. As for longevity, as eric93se pointed out, a lot of it has to do with how the end user takes care of his/her discs. While I like Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden discs, I have no idea if they will last for the advertised period of 100 years. No one else knows this either, simply because CD's have not been in existence for 100 years. In 2090, if you have a CD that is just as good as the day you burned it, then you know you have a winner on your hands.

TheWizard wrote:In 2090, if you have a CD that is just as good as the day you burned it, then you know you have a winner on your hands.

Then the likes of Princo, and MBIL will fair well, it'll work just as well in 100 years as it does today... not at all!

eric93se wrote:technology is constantly changing, in two years you'll be able to store 1000000 cd's on a blu-ray disc, and 5-10 years we'll have computer running at the speed of light and three dimensional neuron storage systems with a billion terabytes of storage capability (a brain).

I agree with you eric93se but what is the difference between a cheap 10 cent Princo disc and a dollar Verbatim disc? some people like good quality products. I mean what is the aim of this whole forum since you consider that you should buy the discs you feel ok with or disc sold for a good price? I don't think it's just a matter of marketing.
Also, DVDs are still not a good 100% reliable medium for storage; people are confused with +R, -R, etc... so what about Blu-ray discs? have you forgotten about the war with HD-DVD? some people would still prefer to buy a 50 disc pack for about $ 25.00 rahter then one Blu-ray disc.

eric93se wrote:

assalychris wrote:Hello,
I am confused with the new products available today; what to choose? does most expensive always mean better?

It depends what you want. If you want to burn at full speed and relatively error free, the go with Ians suggestions. If your willing to burn at a slower speed then just about any CD-r will do, yielding pretty much perfect results.

So, eric93se, you haven't heard the horror stories of DVD's that read perfectly fine after burning and were unreadible two years later?
Are CDR's intrinsicly more reliable that DVDR's? Perhaps.
My feeling is that data important enough to backup is IMPORTANT. Atleast to media reliable enough to preserve the data until the next generation of storage arrives.
I'm glad I have records, VHS and beta tapes that (well cared for) have lasted long enough for digital archiving. I'd hate to lose this through saving a few pennies on media.
I use Taiyo Yuden DVD's and CDR's because the general consensus seems to be that they have altleast the potential to last a couple decades

What´s the best media you can buy today? You can anwer in a few years, when the media is still readable and don´t causing any trouble

My experience from the past:

5 years:

Absoluty top:

Mitsui Golden Dye 8x
Verbatim DLP Metal Azo 12x

Good:

Prodisc 8x
Ritek 8x/12x (Traxdata Gold)


Bad:

Ritek 8x/12x (Traxdata Silver)
Gigastorage (4x?)
CMC (Verbatim DL 8x)
AMS Technology (SilverBlue)
Digital Storage 8x



3 years:

Very good:

SKC 16x and 32x
Ritek 40x/(48x?)
TY 12x
Maxell (12x?)

Real bad:

Customer Pressing O. 800MB-media Multispeed
Plasmon 870MB