Are no-name CD-Rs really that crappy?

[DeeBye]

I only have a 30GB harddrive, so I constantly have to copy stuff to CD-R. I've always bought Maxell CD-Rs for the task even though they are more expensive than whatever deal-of-the-week Best Buy and Staples has advertised. I've had pretty good results with Maxells (maybe 1 out of 50 will turn into a shiney coaster, and it's often due to user error), but I'm wondering if I shouldn't just go with the no-name brands and save myself a boatload of cash.

For reference, I pay about $40CAD for a spindle of 100 Maxell CD-Rs. There is a computer liquidator here in town that sells random no-name CD-Rs I've never heard of for $10CAD per 100 count spindle.

Also, since I'm on the subject -- every once in a while I have to transfer stuff from my computer to another. Since they aren't networked, I always just use a CD-R for the task. Should I invest in a few CD-R/Ws instead of wasting a CD-R each time? Just how many times can one reliably re-burn a CD-R/W?

[Wyrm]

Noname stuff works fine for me, I've had very few coasters considering how I treat the discs. I read a while back that it might make a difference with the type of burner you have (ie some brands only want their type of cd media to go with the drive) but I haven't had any problems with that using my Sony drive.

As for RW media, if you're gonna be swapping stuff back and forth a lot, then yeah, it's worth it to get a couple. If I remember right, they can get burned a couple hundred times before you have to replace them, and usually it will say how many times on the package. The only thing you're going to have to watch out for is that if you set up an rw disc so you can go through explorer and copy/paste stuff (Nero DLA/whatever the Roxio version is called) you're going to lose a bit of space on the disc, usually down to 570mb or thereabouts. It's been a long time sicne I've bothered with rw media so that might not be accurate anymore.

Next time you make a coaster cd, instead of actually using it as a coaster or throwing it away, put it in the microwave upside-down fora few seconds (10 is more than enough) for a nice little light show. Just make sure you put a paper towel or something so you don't melt it onto the microwave.

[DeeBye]

Next time you make a coaster cd, instead of actually using it as a coaster or throwing it away, put it in the microwave upside-down fora few seconds (10 is more than enough) for a nice little light show.  Just make sure you put a paper towel or something so you don't melt it onto the microwave.
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I just did this in the name of science! I also documented the experiment for internet posterity.

I folded a paper towel in half and placed a CD-R on it face up.


I set the timer for 10 seconds. Ignore all of the fingerprints. Stainless steel looks nice, but it's a bitch to keep clean.


Here is the picture I managed to grab during the experiment. The lightshow was pretty cool. My camera missed most of it, but it's neat to see the explosion of light coming out of the magnetron. The really cool lights only occured during a 1 second window.


My CD-R looked a bit burnt after the experiment.


It looked a bit burnt after I flipped it over. It left nasty marks on the paper towel. I'm glad I used a paper towel.


My kitchen now stinks like burned plastic. It's all in the name of science.

[Munkay]

Nice... microwave?

My freshman year of college some kids put a lightbulb in their microwave and it lit up. They also got kicked out of college a few weeks later for doing drugs on campus. YMMV on that one. :P

Cheers,

Munk

[Obi2Kenobi]

Reminds me of that time I was heating up one of those packaged honey things from McDonalds, but I didn't take that top off it. *Sparkle sparkle* The color was gone in some spots on it, replaced with the generic chrome color that the bottom of the label is.





Does this sort of thing hurt the microwave at all? How much of a fire hazard is it?

[SpazBear]

I only have a 30GB harddrive, so I constantly have to copy stuff to CD-R.  I've always bought Maxell CD-Rs for the task even though they are more expensive than whatever deal-of-the-week Best Buy and Staples has advertised.  I've had pretty good results with Maxells (maybe 1 out of 50 will turn into a shiney coaster, and it's often due to user error), but I'm wondering if I shouldn't just go with the no-name brands and save myself a boatload of cash.

For reference, I pay about $40CAD for a spindle of 100 Maxell CD-Rs.  There is a computer liquidator here in town that sells random no-name CD-Rs I've never heard of for $10CAD per 100 count spindle.

Also, since I'm on the subject -- every once in a while I have to transfer stuff from my computer to another.  Since they aren't networked, I always just use a CD-R for the task.  Should I invest in a few CD-R/Ws instead of wasting a CD-R each time?  Just how many times can one reliably re-burn a CD-R/W?
[right][snapback]70571[/snapback][/right]

I've always used name-brand media (3M-Imation), because I'm most concerned with longevity. Most of my discs are for achival purposes.

Here's a fear-mongering article that's kept me away from buying Brand X media
LINK

[loonygloss]

I've always used name-brand media (3M-Imation), because I'm most concerned with longevity.  Most of my discs are for achival purposes. 

Here's a fear-mongering article that's kept me away from buying Brand X media
LINK
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That article is quite correct, with one caveat - it only really applies to DVD media. There is currently a wide divide between good and bad DVD media. I wouldn't even think of buying Dual-layer, no matter how expensive it is, as it's probably mediocre compared to Single layer DVDRs. The best DVDRs currently are manufactured by Taiyo Yuden. I recently picked up 100 for $AU61.
CDRs on the other hand have a much small delta between good and bad qualities, and even the bad ones are pretty good. I have never had a coaster, even buying the nastiest of the nasty. What I HAVE had happen is the top foil coating peel off on certain cheap brands, so look out for that! Mostly it's only a corner, and the CD is not full, but it does provide an incentive to keep an eye on your CDs. Nowadays I mostly pick up namebrands on good specials.
The biggest issue is the drive. I currently have a Pioneer 108D - one of the nicest DVD writers out there. Previously I had a lite-on CD writer at the peak of their reputation. The Pioneer 109 is now out, if anyone's looking for a drive that can burn anything until HD-DVD comes out.