Kodak CD-R Quality Issues

[Chu]

I originally posted this on anandtech.com, but I think it would be approate here also. Please advise me . . .

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Anyone remember a while ago when kodak.com was dumping their Gold CD-R's really cheap? Well, it was posted in the hot deals section, and I (and many others) jumped on the opportunity to get some really really good CD-R's for cheap. Anyways, I have been burning CRITICAL information on these, and have ####ted to run low, so I head over to CDMedia World to see if I can find a good replacement quality wise, however, I notice the following warning under the Kodak CD-R heading:

* = Beware, Kodak does have a line made in Mexico that consistently have bad pre-grooves that don't allow the speed rating of the media to be read correctly. This media has been known to be limited to 1x or 2x record speeds, or none at all. Programs like Feurio will not work with this media.

I ##### out my CD-R's, and sure enough, they are made in Mexico. I used Nero's data-##### after I burned each one to make sure the data could be read back, and every CD I burned passed. I am wondering though, will this issue reduce the CD-R's life? The information on these CD's are critical, and I'm wondering if it's enough of an issue to reburn these on other media.

-Chu

[Fire_Burner]

Kodak Gold Ultima's and Digital Science's have been working great for me, 95% of the discs I've burnt since I got my first burner 3 years ago are still with me. The Kodak Gold's I've been using were all Made in Mexico.

If you're really worried that the Kodak's may go bung, try these for quality media...

- Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd.
(Made in Japan, a.k.a. Sony CDQ-74CN, Philips Premium Silver, Imation 1x-4x, Imation 8x-Certified)

- Ricoh Co. Ltd.
(Made in Taiwan/European Union/USA)

- Kodak Japan Ltd.
(Their Irish-made Gold+Silver Ultima CD-R's work excellent)

- Pioneer Video Corp.
(Made in Japan/Taiwan)

- TDK Corp.
(Made in Japan/USA)

- Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals
(Made in Japan/Taiwan/USA)

Almost anything made in Japan or the USA is excellent quality. For important data, avoid CD-R's Made in Hong Kong, India, or Malaysia. Taiwan CD-R's have improved remarkably over the last year, and so you should find them okay.

F.B.

[BOT]

My experience with Kodak Gold is that they are very good for burning coasters to.

[q3arenakman]

ill have to agree with BOT-CK here - even though they're high-quality (supposedly) media (Kodak Gold), i havn't had much success with them... ive tried 4 times to make audio cds using Kodak Gold, 2 of them were coasters (i burnt it at 2x with nothing else open on an athlon 1.2)- i have no idea why. burnt successfully (apparently)...so i was expecting a decent cd!
But no, kodak Silver+Gold is better value in my books - Cheaper, and not too bad...

[Fire_Burner]

In my experience, phthalocyanine CD-R's, like Kodaks, are best recorded at speeds of 4x and upward. They say that Kodaks are compatible with 1x-12x burners, but I would say that they're best used at speeds of 4x-16x. At these speeds, Kodaks have worked excellent for me. My current new burner is 12x10x32.

Good Luck!
FB

[Wayniac]

I am using some 80min Kodak CD-R Ultima media - gold & Silver one's made in Irelend.

I'm in no way trying to msrket the Tesco store, however at the moment in the UK there's a "three for the price of two" offer on these cd's; you get 30cd's for £12 which is quite a good deal if you can't make it to a computer fair.

I'll keep you posted how I get on with these.

I use a Traxdata 8432+ writer and burn at 8x.

Iv'e had trouble with gold cd's in the past, but only because I used to use a Philips 2x writer that later went down with a known hardware fault. I also had to upgrade the firmware to recognise more types of cd's - it seems newer writers are much more capable of dealing with gold or gold+silver media.

Hope this helps.