Need help with cd or dvd burning

Verbatim and others make a burnable "gold" CD-R disc for high quality archive grade CDs. MFSL also has these, but they are very pricey.

Otherwise use Taiyo-Yuden or Verbatim professional grade CD-R to create discs with the lowest error rates. Burn at the lowest speed you can stand to maximize quality.

I also use a CD scanning software utility for my Plextor drive that scans the burned discs for errors. You want BLER (block error rates) below about 20 C1 errors max at any one point, and an average below 1 or 2 for the whole disc. C2 errors should be zero.

For music, your source files should be "bit perfect" if possible.

I have been scanning a number of MFSL discs and Japanese imports lately. All have been excellent and surpass my criteria above. Even MFSL discs that are 10+ years old. So my point is if you can buy material for a reasonable price (compared to the cost of your time to burn your own), then by all means buy it. And I am not considering the quality of the remastering process, which may add further benefit to buying something as opposed to burning a file from an older rip.

Even the latest commercial US products are looking pretty good from an error point of view. The version/mastering may be another issue.

Here's a link to the gold archival CD-R page at ProDataPlus. You can also find gold DVD-Rs at the site if you click around. I have used MAM-A discs with great success.

ProDataPlus archival CD-R

Thank you so much for taking the time to advise, your info was very helpful to me.
Thanks
Roger

I also use a CD scanning software utility for my Plextor drive that scans the burned discs for errors. You want BLER (block error rates) below about 20 C1 errors max at any one point, and an average below 1 or 2 for the whole disc. C2 errors should be zero.
Dhl93449

If you wanted to copy a CD you have now, how would you know it read it right? With a computer, the CD drive seems to be running at least 20 times the speed. What would be the reference for comparison? I use a stand alone (audio only) recorder that I can choose the times 1 speed. Friends say I'm wasting my time, but there sure is a difference in playback that I can hear, plus audiophile friends. The downside for it is the slow speed, plus the need for using discs with copy guard protection. This is another reason I'm not ready for computer archiving. A computer CD/DVD drive vibrates quite a bit at the high speeds, which I assume adds errors.

I also have a friend that downloads music using expensive software, plus hard ware. One computer was tried when empty to make sure nothing else was causing the problem. He tried two upper end recent computers, and the bought music doesn't equal an original CD when compared. Last resort, he even tried a small SS drive. He is lost for trying to find a solution. If someone has an answer, it may help the OP of the thread, plus others that may notice a loss in quality.

Until he does, he is still trying to find his music on CD or vinyl when possible. He lost interest for now. Thanks in advance, in case my internet is still intermittent. Provider is working on it.

Hifihvn:

I have another post on using BLER. But I found that the BLER test needs be run as slow as the CDROM will read. I have used 4X and 10X, both giving close to identical results (because the 10X actually runs 4-6X for most of the scan). When I ran read scans at 48X, the scan found C1 and C2 errors in the thousands. The same disc read under 20 C1 errors (max) with an average under 1 C1 (entire disc) and no C2 errors when the scan speed was 4-6X.

So it stands to reason that when copying, the slower the read the better. I am not sure if CDROMs have a playback speed control, but I think there is dedicated software to do this in a utility. Most DVD/CDROMs in computers these days want to run at 48X, and they will be correcting for a lot of read errors.

Using "secure" ripping software like dBpoweramp will also assure a "bit perfect" rip of copy of your CD. They use a file compare system that compares your ripped file with an online database of others who have ripped the same album. If the database has two or more identical entries, then dBpoweramp claims the bit error in the copy is essentially zero. If you are also using this software with a CDROM that has C2 error detection support, then there are further assurances that your copy is exact.

Regarding the use of "PCs" to manipulate and playback high end music files, check out "computeraudiophile.com" They have also found that there is a lot more than meets they eye when building a music server.

Dhl93449, thanks for the response and link. I'm going to tell him about that site, and check into it myself. Things seem to be headed this way. So it sounds like it is time for me to get started somewhere also. I do like to have a factory recorded CD in hand if possible though.

The other thing I forgot to mention. A home burned CD will probably not have as low an error count as a commercial CD. This is due to the fundamental difference in how these are produced. So if you can find a commercial version that sounds acceptable, I would go with that.