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Help Me!
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Not
All Media Is Alike
I have heard many, many arguments about media - everything
from the extremes of "the only type of media that will work in a PSX is X-Brand"
to "everything works. They're all the same." What you must realize
is that those are extreme statements, and the truth lies somewhere between them. The
following information will clue you in as to what truly makes up good and bad media...
I have heard the argument that "Each CD-R CD must meet
a certain set of guidelines to be sold in the United States. Even the cheapest CD-R media
meets these guidelines." Now, while this may be true, let me give you a
compairative example (and one we can all relate to): ice cream. Ice
cream?!?! Yep. Ice cream. Example: although for a company to
label its' product as 'ice cream', it must meet some guidelines set forth by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (ISO would be the CD-R equivalent here). Now, most
large-chain grocery stores have their own brand of ice cream, right? Does it taste
as good as some big-name like Briers, or maybe Ben & Jerry's? I think not.
Well, why not? I mean, they all have to meet the same guidelines, right? They
have to have a certain chemical makeup before they can be labeled as 'ice cream',
right? So therefore they're all the same, right? Wrong! Companies like
Bryers and Ben & Jerry's use higher-quality 'materials' in their products. They
do more refining of their products. And they charge more than the bargain-brands
do. But not everyone likes the same kind of ice cream - some people think that
'rocky road' tastes like crap (or maybe it's too sweet, or something), and others would
think the same of vanilla. The same thing is true with CD-R media, folks.
Some drives like some media better than others, and, in general, the more expensive media
works better in all drives vs. the cheaper stuff. Some CD-R drives can compensate
better for the cheap stuff and will still make a good copy, where some of the cheap CD-R
drives might not be able to make a good copy on anything but the best media.
Now, I'm not saying that cheap media won't work, or is crap
- it does have to meet a certain minimum standard, and therefore will work in most
PSX's. However, some you have to mess with more, or have to treat more delicately
than others before they will work. Companies like TDK and Verbatim have better CD-R
media than Hi-Val, Memorex, etc. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE! Although this won't
stop the debate, hopefully this will open your eyes a bit more to the fact that you can't
make blanket statements about CD-R media like the quote above.
You might also want to read about the differences in color, if you haven't already. This may
also help you understand what media you should look to purchase.
Still not satisfied? E-Mail
me with your comments!
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