Scratch-proof CDs???

[Audioholics]

<A href="http://www.audioholics.com/news/pressreleases/scratchlessCDs.php"><IMG style="WIDTH: 101px; HEIGHT: 100px" alt=[scratchlessdisc] hspace=10 src="http://www.audioholics.com/news/thumbs/scratchlessdisc_th.jpg" align=left border=0></A>Scratch-Less Disc Industries announced the nationwide availability of its Scratch-Less optical discs. Scratch-Less Discs combine patented bumps and a glass-hard polymer coating to significantly reduce the possibility of damage from scratches. The disc has 20 small, patented bumps that elevate the disc to avoid contact, thereby eliminating damage. Co-developed with General Electric, the disc’s secondary layer of protection is achieved by adding a polymer coating, which gives it an extra glass-hard layer of protection. The Scratch-Less Disc can be safely slid across or lifted directly from a surface and initial pricing seems to be around $1 - $2 per disc.

[Get More Info and Pics]

 

[jcPanny]

Disk surface.

Sounds cool, but spendy.
A while back I read an article about a disk surface that TDK created for use on Blu-Ray disks. The reviewers burned a CD-R with with this surface and hacked and gouged at it with a screwdriver. They were still able to read all the data from the disk.

Sounds like the new "bumps" wont hold up against this type of abuse and neither product will protect against damage on the label side.

 

[MDS]

Sounds like an interesting idea that may actually be valuable.

But, let's look closely at the name that was chosen. At first glance, you read it as Scratchless; ie 'incapable of being scratched' or as the thread title put it 'scratch proof'. It is actually named Scratch-Less and if you read critically you see the subtle distinction - The real claim is that it will scratch less than normal cd-r, not that it is scratch proof.

These are what I call marketing weasel words. No knock on the product because obviously I have no experience with it yet, but companies do that sort of thing precisely to insulate themselves from potential lawsuits. If some lawsuit happy consumer tries to claim false advertising because they bought the discs and they did become scratched, their defense wil be 'we never claimed scratch proof - we only claimed they would scratch less'.

 

[BMXTRIX]

...and neither product will protect against damage on the label side.

I'm not sure how much label side damage matters. Or more accurately, in the DVD world, not the CD world, the recording surface is not on the top of the disc, but is sandwiched between the plastic. So, you could rip the label off, scratch down into the surface, run some sand paper over things, etc., and as long as you didn't get far enough under the plastic to hit the actual recording layer, then you can't damage the recording.

I know CD-Rs typically put the recording layer right on top of the plastic disc, then print the label right on top of that. Scratch the label and you are digging into the recording surface. This is not the same as DVDs.

 

[j_garcia]

Cool. I don't know if the bumps are going to be a real benefit, but the polymer coating seems like something that all OEMs making discs could implement.

 

[farscaper]

Sounds cool, but spendy.
A while back I read an article about a disk surface that TDK created for use on Blu-Ray disks. The reviewers burned a CD-R with with this surface and hacked and gouged at it with a screwdriver. They were still able to read all the data from the disk.

Sounds like the new "bumps" wont hold up against this type of abuse and neither product will protect against damage on the label side.

I heard the same information from a couple of geeks. They love the TDK coating. You can get this now on TDK recordable DVD. I can't recall what they called the coating?

 

[jaxvon]

I think it's "Armor-Something".

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Is this technology intended for commercial CDs, or recordable CD-Rs?

 

[Bevan]

does anyone know how much small scratches(that dont cause skipping) effect the sound quality of a cd?

i've heard the players error correction circuitry has to work harder and this effects sound. but has anyone done an abx test to show you can actually hear small scraches and fingerprints?

btw, how much you guys in the states typically pay for a cd-r?(in denmark its $1.00 if i buy 50 at a time, otherwise $2.00)

b.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

btw, how much you guys in the states typically pay for a cd-r?(in denmark its $1.00 if i buy 50 at a time, otherwise $2.00)

b.

Newegg.com (a discount computer site) currenty has 100-packs of Memorex CD-Rs for $19.99. So about $.20 a CD-R. Thats a sale, usually under $.50 each though.