CD-R vs CD-R Music Blank Media

[hillbill]

I have a question about something that has always bugged me. I burn some music every now and then and I have always used CD-R Music cds from Memorex or Maxell, etc., versus regular 'ol CD-Rs. One time I used a CD-R and had trouble with it not playing properly. However, I have noticed a few cds of my friends that are CD-R and they play fine in my car and home both.

Is there really a difference between CD-R Music vs plain old CD-Rs?

BTW...I burn all of my stuff on an IBM Thinkpad, at the slowest (?) setting.

 

[bandphan]

just dont let your thinkpad see witch one you load and its all good No difference(unlike the days of cassette tapes)

 

[j_garcia]

The only difference is that the ones that say music on them give a portion of their sales profit to the music industry. Otherwise, they are identical. Certain types of media may be less compatible with a particular player and how the disc was burned (speed specifically) can have a big impact on what players can read it.

 

[hillbill]

So, they're identical. Interesting...

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[jamie2112]

They may be the same but, I swear out of a 100 pack there will be 10 bad ones from Memorex. I have had this happen twice with Memorex and won't buy them again.

 

[j_garcia]

I have been using Maxell black CD-Rs and haven't had a single one give me a coaster in about 4 yrs. I also burn at a relatively low speed though, for both DVDs and CDs.

 

[hillbill]

They may be the same but, I swear out of a 100 pack there will be 10 bad ones from Memorex. I have had this happen twice with Memorex and won't buy them again.

Me and my friend have had that same discussion about all brands. It seems like there is always one or two bad one's in every pack.

 

[Seth=L]

So, they're identical. Interesting...

Thanks for the info guys.

No, they aren't the same. You can use either with your PC, and play either back on a CD player that supports CD-Rs. The difference is that when audio companies, such as Philips, put out dual well CD burners they only used Music CD-R. Regular data CD-Rs couldn't be used for recording. It is clever marketing along with proprietary usage. It wasn't necessary, but companies saw a way to profit from having these stand alone burners that "had to have a special disc" to record.

 

[MDS]

What is 'special' about a Music CD-R is that it has a code in the ATIP area that identifies it as certified for use with stand alone players and as j_garcia said the company pays a small fee to the music industry for every one sold (presumably to compensate artists).

Your computer burner will not even look for the code and so it can burn a Music CD-R or a regular CD-R. A stand-alone component will not burn to a regular CD-R.

Don't be swayed by the notion of 'music' vs 'data' CD-R. For computer use, either can be used for audio or data.

 

[pzaur]

Agree with everything above. The only thing to be leery of is where the CD is actually made. There aren't very many factories that make these. Some are in Taiwan, India, China, and Japan. The discs from Japan tend to be the most reliable over time.

I stick with these for CD-R and DVD-R
Taiyo Yuden
These are made in Japan.
The Sony Music CD-Rs are rebranded Taiyo discs.

Very reliable. These can also be found at Meritline.com

Lots of information regarding different brands and reputation.

My own preference.

-pat