Quality of CD-R media these days?

[jrichrds]

4 years back, CD-R discs using pthalocyanine (messed up the spelling) dye was considered premium. Now, all the "cheap" discs use this dye and can burn at 32x and up.

Has cd-r media technology improved to a point where even CMC Magnetics, Princo, and Ritek are making CD-Rs of an acceptably high quality?
(assuming the repackager puts a decent coating on top, such as Imation with CMC Magnetics discs)

 

[DeepBlueJH]

I buy generic CDR media and can burn them full speed on my 32x LiteOn with no problems what so ever...

Now, DVD-R/RW media is another story...

 

[Zugzwang152]

Technically, yes, pretty much any CD-R media is reliable and mostly dependable. However, I for one still find it worth the money to burn important data onto TY CD-Rs, as they have proved over the long run to be #1.

 

[jrichrds]

What was the data on how long these discs last? Wasn't it more dependent on the dye being used? (cyanine = 25 years, phthalocyanine = 100 years or something like that).
I have a lot of the older Taiyo Yuden and Kodak Gold discs with the cyanine dye, but am guessing the newer Imation/CMC Magnetics discs using phthalocyanine are now more reliable than those.

 

[CrazySaint]

Btw, can you burn "24x" media at 32x? I've got a 50 pack of Verbatim 24x CD-Rs, and a 32x Lite-On CD-RW.

 

[tenoc]

I've got a bunch of SmartBuy 16X that my CyberDrive burns at 32X with no difficulty.

 

[grrl]

What was the data on how long these discs last? Wasn't it more dependent on the dye being used? (cyanine = 25 years, phthalocyanine = 100 years or something like that).

Does anybody have any links to longevity tests for the different types of dyes?

 

[jrichrds]

I have "4x" blank discs from many years ago that burn at 32x no prob, and 16x discs from a year ago that top out at its rated speed.

I did ask about longevity, but in the end, given the rate of progress in storage technology, I guess it doesn't really matter if the disc lasts 25 years or 100 years. I doubt people will still be relying on CDs for long-term storage in 20 years.

More worrisome is premature failure due to poor disc design. I have heard of discs flaking, which I assume are discs with a very weak topcoat. I'm guessing the silkscreened discs from the major name brands such as TDK and Imation won't have such issues.