What CDR or CDRW to use?

[carolnafan]

I recently got a G4 and want to start burning some CDs. Does anyone have comments on brands of CDR and CDRW to use or stay away from? Should I stick with the name brands - TDK, Sony, Memorex, Imitation or go with the generic - CompUSA, etc. Is there a difference?


Thanks

[xchanyazy]

I'd suggest looking at the bottom of this page (http://www.apple.com/itunes/notes.html). It's a list of several different burners that are supported under OS X. I would suggest a firewire drive, based on how slow and unreliable my usb burner is (iomega zip 650), especially now that the prices are coming down. If you can find the mechanism/firmware version of the generic burners, you can compare it to the list on the previously linked page to see if it will work for you.

HTH

[mervTormel]

i'll have to second x(xxx)'s opinion. avoid usb. it seems fine for keyb's, mice, some printers, but for cd-rw, it's been disastrous.

you can get a wealth of information about successes and failures at http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/

choose one that fits your rig and your problems will be minimal.

i haven't shopped for a while, but history reveals that trying to save a few bucks with a knock-off brand will cost you your constitution.

that may have changed recently, or in the future, but check the ginea pigs at xlr8yourmac and you should be well guided.

[meancode]

as for media, i would stay away from memorex and imation. very bad experiences with both i have had, yes (yoda impersination). also if you can get the gold or clear ink'd cds. the dark blue ink is also good. the light blue and light aqua green tend to only last a few years. they are much cheaper though. richoh and sony media is the best i have found, but it is usually more expensive.

as for a drive. i have owned 3 sony spressas. the one i have now is a 12x10x32, its a year old. it is firewire, and is a very reliable drive. i would recommend it for OS 9 or OS X, very good drive.

[lerkfish]

be-aware or beware of using ONLY the itunes compatibility page. I specifically ordered a TEAC 512E (internal IDE) because it was listed as compatible on that page. Turns out it wasn't completely compatible until recent upgrades, but what was worse, is it is still incompatible with retrospect for backup purposes (the cdrw is not visible).
You should decide which programs besides the OS you'll be using the cdrw with (toast, retrospect, etc.) and see which cdrws are compatible to all of them.
I finally installed a slower sony drive, but at least it can be used by every software I have.

[carolnafan]

Thanks for the info about the media - more opinions the better. I don't need info about burners, though - I'll be using the one that came with my G4.

Chad

[meancode]

oh i must have read your post wrong. oh well. also i dont think that cdrw's are worth it. they are twice as expensive and just a pain. they also dont live as long, and are only work on a cdrw drive until you close them out, wich makes them worthles as a cdrw.

[lerkfish]

agreed. Cdr's are cheaper, and since they're cheaper, you can stockpile backups...a much more secure option in my mind.
CDrws....I initially thought I'd use for renewable backups, but what people don't realize is in addition to their increased cost, it takes forever to erase one for reuse.

[carolnafan]

Sorry about the mixup in my initial post. Everyone's comments are great. I recently bought 5 cdrw for about $7. I didn't think about cost too much. I can probably get about 30 generic cdr's without jewel cases for that much.

Are the generic ones going to be as good as Memorex, Sony, etc?

Thanks everyone!

[meancode]

ive had better luck with generic cd-r's than with memorex or imation. if there is a compUSA close to you, go and get the compUSA brand cdr's. they are good, i have had great luck with them.

yea cdrw menia is friggin expensive. the idea behind cdrw's is a good one, it just does not work. as lerkfish said, it take a long time to format for reuse.

[dschep]

I have 10.1.2 and i also have toast and there is no way that i have found so far to burn CDRW's (i have a built in CDRW drive)

Schep :D

[ThinkPad]

I agree about CD-RW's also. I bought a 10 pack of Memorex at CompUSA ($14.99), thinking they worked differently than they do (I thought you could just keep adding data to them). I've always had good luck with Maxell, so I've been using them. A 20 pack with slimline jewel cases was $18.84 at CompUSA also. I've burned about 35 so far for my work collection without any problem.

[Craig R. Arko]

What I find CD-RW's good for is backing up customer systems before wiping the drive and reinstalling everything. Since it's a one-shot deal it's good to be able to erase and reuse the disc.

Otherwise, I've not had problems with any particular make of media, but my burner only supports 4X. I suppose any flaws are more obvious at higher speeds.