I was at the local Best Buy tonite, and looked at some of the different brands for CD-Rs...of these, my impression is that the Maxell, Memorex, Fuji, and Verbatim products there might have been made by the more reputable companies (as for the other brands, they may have been as well, but I don't know). I was wondering if any of you have any idea as to which of these brands' products currently on the shelves of your local Best Buys might be made by the better companies like Taiyo Yuden, Ritek, Mitsubishi, or Mitsui...I'd especially like to find some TYs. If you have any idea, maybe you could mention what speed ratings/location of manufacture/packing details might help me to recognize a product on the shelf as the kind I'm looking for. If I recall, the Memorex CD-Rs I saw there were only 16X, somewhat old I'd guess...if so, I gather (from reading a couple of old threads) that these are perhaps not made by TY, but perhaps by CMC? If so, that's exactly what I'd like to avoid. Incidentally, I've not had good luck playing CD-Rs in the the cd player of one our cars, which is an Acura TL3.2 (2000) ... the player is Bose. I believe there's something screwy with it, as it has trouble playing store-bought CDs once in a while, and that all other burned CD-Rs have worked in our Mercedes' CD player. But, I don't know if it's this strange behavior or the media incompability which prevents those CD-Rs from playing. I'm wondering if burning at a lower speed (other than 8X in my Sony CRX700E) or trying a different media (perhaps a TY disc) will appease the Bose player. piece, rp:AUM
I'm not sure who Maxell is made by. Memorex can be Taiyo-Yuden if it has the screw on cap disc on the top or it can be Ritek or CMC. Fuji is Taiyo-Yuden if it says made in Japan. It has the same screw cap on the top except it's white instead of black as on the Memorex. The 48x Fuji's are TY even though they don't have the screw cap disc. Verbatim is Mitsubishi as Mitsubishi owns Verbatim. No idea who uses Mitsui.
I know some Maxells, at least, are Ritek, as those are what I have (40X). I went to circuit city and picked up a 50-pack spindle of Memorex 32X (Made in Japan, with the black screw-on cap): ATIP: 97m 24s 01f Disc Manufacturer: Taiyo Yuden Company Ltd. Reflective layer: Dye (Long strategy; e.g. Cyanine, Azo etc.) Media type: CD-Recordable Recording Speeds: min. unknown - max. unknown nominal Capacity: 702.83MB (79m 59s 73f / LBA: 359848) I saw this disc mentioned by someone else several months ago, but haven't heard opinions on it. I'll assume it's good since I've not heard much of anything negative regarding TYs, but if anyone has used these, I'd be interested to know if (somehow) there were any problems. For all practical purposes, a disc like this is the same as a Fujifilm TY disc, right? I might return this Memorex spindle, as I paid entirely too much, because I was stoned. Thanks for the response
I bought some Fuji at Wal-Mart last week. Came in a 10-pack of jewel cases for about 4 bucks. They appear to be the TYs you are referring to. (Pardon me, I'm a newbie to the whole burner thing and just discovered a new tool Manufacturer : Taiyo Yuden Code : 97m24s01f Disc Type : CD-R Usage : Audio Recording Layer : Dye Type 1: Long Strategy (Cyanine, AZO) Recording Speed : n/a Capacity : 79:59.73 703 MB Additional Capacity : n/a Overburn Capacity : not tested
jackangel, If you want to burn music CDs, it's much better to use either cyannie or azo dye CD-Rs at lower speed. So you should pick up either Fujifilm or Verbatim brand when they are on sale. Most other brands (such as Imation, PNY, and most Memorex spindles) are made by CMC.
