I am converting some of my cassette collection to CD's. I have some
questions fro the experts he

1) Since audio CD-R's do not play consistently on all CD players, do
you guys think it is a good idea to back up the WAV files I make onto
data CD's (so that I can re-make audio CD's)? I am thinking this
because data CD's have more error correction and I can in future
re-burn audio CD if some CD player doesn't play it. Does this idea
make sense?

2) I see many brands of blank CD's with price ranging as low as free
(with mail-in rebates). I hear that these CD's may deteriorate real
fast. Is there any truth to it? If so, is there a reasonably good
brand (i.e. good data longevity at reasonable prices) that I can
switch to store my audio?

Thanks.
-Surinder

I am converting some of my cassette collection to CD's. I have some
questions fro the experts he

1) Since audio CD-R's do not play consistently on all CD players, do
you guys think it is a good idea to back up the WAV files I make onto
data CD's (so that I can re-make audio CD's)? I am thinking this
because data CD's have more error correction and I can in future
re-burn audio CD if some CD player doesn't play it. Does this idea
make sense?

I certainly think so, and I use this approach when I transcribe LPs to
CD-R format. I burn the .WAV files, the .TOC command file, and any
cover-artwork scans I perform onto an ISO9660 CD-ROM, and stick it in
a box in my closet for safekeeping.

2) I see many brands of blank CD's with price ranging as low as free
(with mail-in rebates). I hear that these CD's may deteriorate real
fast. Is there any truth to it?

There can be. I've tried some of the third-tier cheapie discs, and
have found that an uncomfortably high percentage are unreadable even
immediately after being burned. I generally don't trust the no-name
brands for anything other than short-term, disposable use under
conditions where I can re-burn if necessary.

I likewise avoid 80-minute blanks unless I need the extra capacity, as
these blanks tend to "push" the Red Book specification limits on data
density. The older 72-minute / 650-megabyte blanks seem to have
substantially better compatibility (and, I speculate, a better
lifetime as a result).

If so, is there a reasonably good
brand (i.e. good data longevity at reasonable prices) that I can
switch to store my audio?

Unfortunately, a lot of the really high-quality types have gone off
the market due to pricing pressure from the lower-end manufacturers.
"The bad drives out the good" seems to have applied.

Kodak Gold (Japanese-made) discs were wonderful... they're no longer
being made.

TDK's "Certified Plus" (U.S.-made) metallized-cyanine discs were
wonderful. They are (as far as I can tell) no longer being made - TDK
is now OEM'ing discs from Ritek in Taiwan, and the quality of these is
distinctly poorer.

I've had consistently good luck with discs manufactured by Taiyo
Yuden. These are OEMed to several companies (I believe that most or
all Fuji discs are actually made by TY, and some Imation discs are TY
as well), and it's possible to buy TY-made-and-branded discs in bulk
from a number of online merchants.

I've heard a number of people say that the discs made by Mitsui are of
extremely high quality... they're available in both "gold" and
"silver" varieties. Like Taiyo Yuden, Mitsui seems to sell discs
mostly to the professional market and are not often found in retails
stores. It's worth doing some Web shopping to find 'em.

As in most areas, I think you'll find that you tend to get what you
pay for. The high-quality (TY and Mitsui) discs are going to cost you
substantially more than second- and third-tier cheapies... figure on
anywhere from $.50 to $.90 per disc, in quantities of 100, on
spindles.

I often compromise - I burn my CD-ROM backups onto high-quality media
(I've still got a few Kodak Gold blanks left, and some 650-MB TY), and
burn the "play" CDs onto less expensive media. If the play discs get
scratched, or go unreadable after a few years, I can always re-burn.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

I think that if you are going to make the backup anyway, go ahead and make
it a music CD. More important to use good quality blanks and store in a
secure off-site location.

Mark Z.



--
Please reply only to Group. I regret this is necessary. Viruses and spam
have rendered my regular e-mail address useless.


"Dave Platt" wrote in message
...
I am converting some of my cassette collection to CD's. I have some
questions fro the experts he

1) Since audio CD-R's do not play consistently on all CD players, do
you guys think it is a good idea to back up the WAV files I make onto
data CD's (so that I can re-make audio CD's)? I am thinking this
because data CD's have more error correction and I can in future
re-burn audio CD if some CD player doesn't play it. Does this idea
make sense?

I certainly think so, and I use this approach when I transcribe LPs to
CD-R format. I burn the .WAV files, the .TOC command file, and any
cover-artwork scans I perform onto an ISO9660 CD-ROM, and stick it in
a box in my closet for safekeeping.

2) I see many brands of blank CD's with price ranging as low as free
(with mail-in rebates). I hear that these CD's may deteriorate real
fast. Is there any truth to it?

There can be. I've tried some of the third-tier cheapie discs, and
have found that an uncomfortably high percentage are unreadable even
immediately after being burned. I generally don't trust the no-name
brands for anything other than short-term, disposable use under
conditions where I can re-burn if necessary.

I likewise avoid 80-minute blanks unless I need the extra capacity, as
these blanks tend to "push" the Red Book specification limits on data
density. The older 72-minute / 650-megabyte blanks seem to have
substantially better compatibility (and, I speculate, a better
lifetime as a result).

If so, is there a reasonably good
brand (i.e. good data longevity at reasonable prices) that I can
switch to store my audio?

Unfortunately, a lot of the really high-quality types have gone off
the market due to pricing pressure from the lower-end manufacturers.
"The bad drives out the good" seems to have applied.

Kodak Gold (Japanese-made) discs were wonderful... they're no longer
being made.

TDK's "Certified Plus" (U.S.-made) metallized-cyanine discs were
wonderful. They are (as far as I can tell) no longer being made - TDK
is now OEM'ing discs from Ritek in Taiwan, and the quality of these is
distinctly poorer.

I've had consistently good luck with discs manufactured by Taiyo
Yuden. These are OEMed to several companies (I believe that most or
all Fuji discs are actually made by TY, and some Imation discs are TY
as well), and it's possible to buy TY-made-and-branded discs in bulk
from a number of online merchants.

I've heard a number of people say that the discs made by Mitsui are of
extremely high quality... they're available in both "gold" and
"silver" varieties. Like Taiyo Yuden, Mitsui seems to sell discs
mostly to the professional market and are not often found in retails
stores. It's worth doing some Web shopping to find 'em.

As in most areas, I think you'll find that you tend to get what you
pay for. The high-quality (TY and Mitsui) discs are going to cost you
substantially more than second- and third-tier cheapies... figure on
anywhere from $.50 to $.90 per disc, in quantities of 100, on
spindles.

I often compromise - I burn my CD-ROM backups onto high-quality media
(I've still got a few Kodak Gold blanks left, and some 650-MB TY), and
burn the "play" CDs onto less expensive media. If the play discs get
scratched, or go unreadable after a few years, I can always re-burn.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

(Dave Platt) wrote in message ...

As in most areas, I think you'll find that you tend to get what you
pay for. The high-quality (TY and Mitsui) discs are going to cost you
substantially more than second- and third-tier cheapies... figure on
anywhere from $.50 to $.90 per disc, in quantities of 100, on
spindles.

I often compromise - I burn my CD-ROM backups onto high-quality media
(I've still got a few Kodak Gold blanks left, and some 650-MB TY), and
burn the "play" CDs onto less expensive media. If the play discs get
scratched, or go unreadable after a few years, I can always re-burn.

Thanks for a lot for your excellent suggestions.

Regards.

-Surinder

Normally I wouldn't advocate compressing the stored files to mp3, but with a
high enough sample rate, the differences are minimal and given that you are
working from cassette should not be an issue. However, on the odd disc that
has started to fail (extreme climatic conditions), I have been able to rip
the information and burn a new copy.
You may find - http://www.gmayor.com/copy_vinyl_to_CDR.htm useful.

--

Graham Mayor





SPS22 wrote:
(Dave Platt) wrote in message
...

As in most areas, I think you'll find that you tend to get what you
pay for. The high-quality (TY and Mitsui) discs are going to cost
you
substantially more than second- and third-tier cheapies... figure on
anywhere from $.50 to $.90 per disc, in quantities of 100, on
spindles.

I often compromise - I burn my CD-ROM backups onto high-quality media
(I've still got a few Kodak Gold blanks left, and some 650-MB TY),
and
burn the "play" CDs onto less expensive media. If the play discs get
scratched, or go unreadable after a few years, I can always re-burn.

Thanks for a lot for your excellent suggestions.

Regards.

-Surinder

In article , sps22
@yahoo.com says...
I am converting some of my cassette collection to CD's. I have some
questions fro the experts he

1) Since audio CD-R's do not play consistently on all CD players, do
you guys think it is a good idea to back up the WAV files I make onto
data CD's (so that I can re-make audio CD's)? I am thinking this
because data CD's have more error correction and I can in future
re-burn audio CD if some CD player doesn't play it. Does this idea
make sense?

I'd say convert the WAV to one of the lossless compression codes (FLAC?),
sprinkle in some recovery data (QuickPar) and then burn it all to CD-R for
archival. Then, even if your discs start to go bad you'll have even odds
that you can recover the damaged data.