What is the best CD-R for the Dreamcast?

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What is the best CD-R for the Dreamcast?

Post by wuju »

I have the problem, that my Dreamcast cannot often read a burned CD. I think that's a take the wrong CD-R.

So I would like to know what blank CD-R you take. (manufacturer, label)

For example I tried TEVION 52x (700 MB) CD-R and FUJIFILM 52x 700 MB CD-R but my DC (version: 1-PAL-E) isn't really happy with it.

Please add your DC version to your answer.

- sorry for my bad english. my native language is german (i am from austria)
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Post by wuju »

sorry I want to add this topic to DCEmulation Forum Index -> Dreamcast Discussion and not to DCEmulation Forum Index -> Developmental Ideas.
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Post by az_bont »

wuju wrote:sorry I want to add this topic to DCEmulation Forum Index -> Dreamcast Discussion and not to DCEmulation Forum Index -> Developmental Ideas.
Moved to Dreamcast Homebrew Help Forum - probably a better place for it.

I can't speak in favour of a particular brand of CD-R, but I can say that you should get much better results if you burn your discs at a nice slow speed. I've used all sorts of different media in both my Dreamcasts, some of it rather poor quality, yet they've all played more or less fine - but burning the disc too fast, even on some of the best media, seems to cause them to struggle.
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Post by TechnoWolf »

I've tried most brands......Sony 700mb CD-R's seem the best (yellow packaging). Same goes for Sony DVD-R's. I can say I've never had problems w/ them. (Using NTSC DC, circa 2000).
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Post by Kammesennin »

I've mostly used Memorex CD-R's (700MB of course... honestly I've not seen less), and had good results each time with them. Other brands have mostly been good but not every time consecutively so I stick to Memorex. (Also try to burn at 4x, or less if you're willing to wait).
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Post by Green Ranger »

Sony 700mb CD-R's seem the best (yellow packaging). Same goes for Sony DVD-R's.
Sony DVDR's work in the dreamcast? :o
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Post by Cyphix »

Green Ranger wrote:
Sony 700mb CD-R's seem the best (yellow packaging). Same goes for Sony DVD-R's.
Sony DVDR's work in the dreamcast? :o
No.
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Post by XDelusion »

Memorex has always worked well for me, as did Sony, but I refuse to buy Sony products anymore so Momorex it is! :)
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Post by Smiley »

Everything I've burned with the imatation cd-r's have worked; and the same goes for memorex.

Now, does anyone know which cd-rs would work best on a 3do console?
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Post by Juan »

Smiley wrote:Everything I've burned with the imatation cd-r's have worked
What are those, imitations of the imation cds?
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Post by nakamichi »

"Imatation" (LOL) Is that a new popular no-name brand? :D

Seriously,the DC can even take the occasional POS Princo CD and read it without problems.
I had best results with Mitsubishi Kagaku Media CDRs (Verbatim for the rest of you),but Ritek and Prodisc-made ones are just as good.
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Post by Calavera »

If I had a nickel for every topic like this one..... well I'd have quite a few nickels let me tell you.
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Re: What is the best CD-R for the Dreamcast?

Post by Christuserloeser »

Hold your CDR against a bright light. If you can look through it, it's not a good CDR (which itself does _not_ mean it wouldn't run on your DC). The less you can see through it, the better is the quality of your CDR.
wuju wrote:I have the problem, that my Dreamcast cannot often read a burned CD. I think that's a take the wrong CD-R.
No, it's either because 1. of your Dreamcast's GD-ROM drive/laser wearing out
or 2. you are burning your CDRs above 8x which is not recommend and not healthy for your Dreamcast's GD-ROM drive/laser
or 3. the folder containing your app/game/emu isn't set up properly (e.g. missing files)

(Wenn Dein Dreamcast Probleme mit gebrannten CDRs hat, liegt's wahrscheinlich daran, daß die CDs nicht richtig zusammengestellt sind (also wichtige Dateien fehlen), oder Du Deine CDRs scheller als 8-fach brennst, oder daß Dein Laufwerk nicht mehr das Jüngste ist... Letzteres kann man mit einer Justierung des Lasers wirklich schnell und unkompliziert beheben.)

If it's definitly none of the other two possibilities I mentioned but really a problem with your GD-ROM drive, please check these links for a guide on how to adjust your laser:

http://www.whoneedsoxygen.net/index.php ... ion-trick/
http://www.consolevision.com/?Dreamcast ... alibration
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Post by mankrip »

Christuserloeser wrote:or 2. you are burning your CDRs above 8x which is not recommend and not healthy for your Dreamcast's GD-ROM drive/laser
That's what I thought in the past, but now I think that it actually depends on the burner you're using. I would recommend burning at the lowest speed your burner supports, but not below that.

The lowest speed available for burning CDs in my DVD burner is 16x, and that's the speed I use. Forcing lower speeds than your burner supports may damage your burner.
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Re: What is the best CD-R for the Dreamcast?

Post by BaLLZaCH »

(Never-ending discussion)

Yes most replys are correct, BUT I DO HAVE TO ADD MY 2 cents.

It 'seems' to me, that the cheaper the CD the better my DC will read it. NO MATTER what burner, what speed, what program, or what computer I use to burn a disk, some disks that I "thought" were high quality will not read in the DC... (And yes as stated above burning at the lowest speed should be MANDITORY)

I have also had some issues with the cheapies such as memorex.

The best CD that works everytime was fujifilm. It is a cheap CD and will not last 10 years or anything but works every single time, while even the expensive blacks and memorex hq;s wont read. KEEP IN MIND THAT CHEAP CDS WILL STOP WORKING OVER TIME !!! I have disc rarely used only 2 years old that will not read in the PC yet 10 year old QUALITY DISCS are scratched to hell and work great.



So not to start a revolving conversation, Im just saying that YES, IT IS possible to have the "WRONG" CD ("per-say") in the Dreamcast. Experiement until you get a good result with the SAME FILE.

Don't listen to salesmen at the store that tell you "Uhh they are all about the same" no, they are not. "Most" of the cheapies are the same, "some" of the others are the same, but they are NOT ALL the same. You can get a good reference point on where to start your research on wiki by searching cdr.


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Re: What is the best CD-R for the Dreamcast?

Post by Ex-Cyber »

The relationship between media type and burn quality depends on your burner's hardware and firmware. So does the relationship between burn speed and quality, sometimes (IIRC some years ago there was a 4x Yamaha CD-R burner that was infamous for making terrible burns at 2x, but at 1x or 4x it was fine). The best thing to do is try several types and speeds until you find a configuration that works well with your burner. You can use a tool like CD-DVD Speed to burn and scan test discs in most drives; there is also a tool called Kprobe that is specifically written for Lite-On drives. Also, in most cases you can't really trust the brand on the package to be an indicator of the actual manufacturer (the main exceptions being Ritek/Ridata and Verbatim/Mitsubishi). Usually discs made in Japan are made by respected manufacturers such as Taiyo Yuden, Hitachi-Maxell and Ricoh, but that's also just a guideline and not a guarantee.
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Re: What is the best CD-R for the Dreamcast?

Post by BaLLZaCH »

Ex-Cyber wrote:The relationship between media type and burn quality depends on your burner's hardware and firmware. So does the relationship between burn speed and quality, sometimes (IIRC some years ago there was a 4x Yamaha CD-R burner that was infamous for making terrible burns at 2x, but at 1x or 4x it was fine). The best thing to do is try several types and speeds until you find a configuration that works well with your burner. You can use a tool like CD-DVD Speed to burn and scan test discs in most drives; there is also a tool called Kprobe that is specifically written for Lite-On drives. Also, in most cases you can't really trust the brand on the package to be an indicator of the actual manufacturer (the main exceptions being Ritek/Ridata and Verbatim/Mitsubishi). Usually discs made in Japan are made by respected manufacturers such as Taiyo Yuden, Hitachi-Maxell and Ricoh, but that's also just a guideline and not a guarantee.

This is true.
I had a burner that would screw up every disc at 1x, 2x was questionable, and even though I did not 'WANT' to burn at 4x, I did because it was the slowest 'Reliable" speed. BUT make usre you understand that burn speed is NOT (IS NOT) the only factor in quality !

I have been burning CD's for 10 years and have seen the lifespan issues that are "not suppossed" to happen....

Also, as far as the Verbatum's you mentioned, the good ones are GREAT ! Verbatum USED to be excellent (This is why I pointed the member to wiki to read about dyes) but in my area GOOD QUALITY Verbatum discs can not be found. They were replaced with the 'consumer version' (El-cheap-o's) while are slightly better (maybe) than generics but not the TRUE VERBATUM quality (Even though they say Verbatum on the label).

The best luck I have had with CD's:

FROM MY EXPERIENCE ONLY !!! THIS IS ONLY MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ! YOURS MAY DIFFER....

BEST:
Verbatum "blue" - (Pro) - Absolutely Best, hands down, all around. (LAST YOUR LIFE) works in anything...
Maxell - (They make cheapies too, but all around pretty damn good)

Good:
TDK (PRO or cheapies, work great and last reasonable)
Fujifilm color (Cheapies, work great and last a while)
Sony (Cheapies, work great, also last a lilttle while)

Uhh, they work: (But don't save your life on them!!!!!)
Imation
DuraBrand
Memorex color
Verbatum cheapies
PNY colors



Nothing but problems:
Memorex (Work great in Dreamcast, but dont last long)
Memorex black (Work great in PC, but not in DC)
HiVal (Super short lifespan)
Super Cheapies
Memorex (Burn problems, 4 burners and 4 pc later ans still burn problems... I dont like memorex)





Just my experience...


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Re: What is the best CD-R for the Dreamcast?

Post by nakamichi »

Buy any brand you want,just make sure you avoid Memorex media like the plague. Their discs have the worst quality in the industry (especially the rewritable media). I'd rather buy the cheapest Princo/Generic CD than their Infodisc/Optodisc garbage.

At least when you buy (original) Verbatim or Maxell media you're sure you'll get discs produced by Taiyo Yuden,Mitsubishi or Ritek.The data burned on them will last for decades.

I don't think those "pro" dark blue (Metal AZO) Mitsubishi dyes are used anymore for normal data CD-Rs.They use phthalocyanine or a cheaper variant of AZO now.
The ultra high quality dye is now reserved for those special CDs made only for Audio.

You can buy some of those "Audio only" Verbatim CD-Rs and use them for your DC stuff.Burn at 4x-8x for maximum quality that will last you a lifetime :)
Even the mighty Taiyo Yuden discs can't come close to the quality of these.
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