Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Note
Original PlayStation games came on discs that were tinted black for appearance. Soon blank
CD-R recordable discs were also available with this same black tint in the polycarbonate.
The black tint is purely cosmetic—it is invisible to the infrared laser that reads/writes the
disc. In other words, “black” CD-R discs are functionally identical to clear discs and can be
made using any of the industry-standard dyes in the recording layer. The black tint hides the
recording layer visually, so although the laser passes right through it, the black tint prevents
you from directly observing the color of the dye in the recording layer.
Ultimately, although the various color combinations have their advantages, the best way
to choose a media type is to try a major brand of media in your drive with both full-disc
and small-disc recording jobs and then try the completed disc in as wide a range of drive
brands and speeds as you can.
Note
If you are planning to record music mixes for use in automobile based or portable CD play-
ers, be sure to test compatibility in these devices as well.
The perfect media for you will be the ones that offer you the following:
• High reliability in writing (check your drive model's list of recommended media)
• No dye or reflective surface dropouts (areas where the media won't record properly)
• Durability through normal handling (scratch-resistant coating on media surface)
• Compatibility across the widest range of CD drives
• Lowest unit cost
If you have problems recording reliably with certain types of media, or if you find that
some brands with the same speed rating record much more slowly than others, contact
your drive vendor for a firmware upgrade. Firmware upgrades can also help your drive
recognize new types of faster media from different vendors.
CD-R Media Recording Speed Ratings
With CD-R mastering speeds ranging from 1x (now-discontinued first-generation units)
upthroughthecurrent48x-52xrates,it'simportant tocheckthespeedrating(x-rating)of
your CD-R media.
Most branded media on the market today is rated to work successfully at up to 52x re-
cording speeds (some are limited to 48x). Some brands indicate this specifically on their
packaging, whereas you must check the websites for others to get this information. If ne-
cessary, install the latest firmware updates to reach maximum recording speed.
