CD turned 25

Manny Cav · **Reply #20 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:15:22 PM

Getting enough flash drives to equal what my external hard drive has would be a complete waste of good money. I used to use CDs, but CD/DVD burners have treated me like trash over the years, so I stopped that and just got an external.

action9000 · **Reply #21 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:18:33 PM

With regards to CDs only lasting 10 years:

There is some truth to that! A commercial CD (which you buy with music, a game, etc will generally last for a very long time as Adam stated. A blank CD-R however is manufactured significantly cheaper and does not have nearly the longevity of a commericial disc.

CD-Rs are known to be unreadable within 5 years in some cases. I have both seen and experienced CD-Rs that simply refused to work after a period of time. A friend of mine recently had to back up his entire video collection again because his CD-Rs refused to work anymore. I had a similar problem with my ancient backup CDs.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #22 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:18:47 PM

CDs never really gave me any trouble, although DVD-Rs have hated me a few times and refused to burn sometimes, although it has only happened a couple times.

Malte279 · **Reply #23 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:19:09 PM

Recently I got a 4GB memory stick which served me very well when I transfered data from my damaged old laptop to a new one. In general CDs and DvDs are quite handy, but what I consider a major drawback is the fact that the data saved on a CD-ROM is not saved for eternity but may "fade out" after a few years. I lost some precious data that way.

As for the permanent development of new formats / technologies I agree with akida to some extend. It is kind of annoying that the new computer you bought in the morning is obsolete in the evening. We are living in a time of ever accelerating technological progress. There had been very slow technological progress in the millenias preceding roughly the last 200 years. Now even in the tiny space of time since my birth the world has changed very, very much. Historians of later days will remember our time as the coming of a new age (same as the Rennaisance is considered by historians today). Ever improving means of communication, gen technology, and other developments are going to have a huge impact on life in the future (if any). There are great chances but great risks as well...
I'm widely off topic I'm afraid

Manny Cav · **Reply #24 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:23:08 PM

I've got a fair collection of corrupted CD-RWs that CD burners have somehow made unusable and unerasable. It was really frustrating to have to do my weekly backup to the point where I started to stash my data on my mother's computer before finally getting an external hard drive.

action9000 · **Reply #25 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:23:43 PM

People who have had trouble getting CD-Rs and DVD-Rs to work:

How fast do you set your burn speed to? Most burners are "capable" of 16x or faster burning speeds, HOWEVER (!) I highly recommend that you never use these speeds.

If you want a good reliable disc, the 1x burning speed is the best way to go. It will take significantly longer but the disc is much more likely to be completely functional. Also, the data verification is basically a waste of time if you're burning at 1x speed so you can skip that step. I do all my DVD backing up at 1x burning speed and I've never had a problem.

Another bit of advice is to not use your computer while the disc is being recorded. If you can, do something else while it's recording because computer activity can potentially mess up the burning process. For maximum reliability, 1x speed and an idle computer is your best bet. B)

Manny Cav · **Reply #26 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:26:32 PM

I've tried that, and it was just the same song, verse two. Once in a blue moon, I could actually get a 500 MB or so burn task to successfully burn onto a CD-RW.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #27 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:29:26 PM

1X speed is out of the question for me. This is the only access to the internet we have, and when the comp is burning a DVD, no one can use the computer until it is finished because the comp is greatly slowed down.

4X, our normal speed, would take about an hour or so to complete, so a 1X would probably take about 4-5 hours to complete, possibly even 6.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #28 on:** August 22, 2007, 01:02:16 AM

I have never had any problems with burning CD's. I have dual sony dvd-rw drives in my master computer and I only use sony cd's and dvd's. I have had data become unreadable after 4 years though. That's a cd for ya. <_<

Petrie. · **Reply #29 on:** August 22, 2007, 06:00:51 AM

So we sort of have confirmed in this tech age that data cds may be obsolete. What about music ones? Do you still buy them (and those will last much longer than four years)?

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #30 on:** August 22, 2007, 07:47:19 AM

Technically, the new music CD's you buy from the store are supposed to last longer, but in all honesty, They don't. All major manufacturers have switched to chineese products. <_< The Cd's you buy now won't last too long.

Petrie. · **Reply #31 on:** August 22, 2007, 03:01:56 PM

I'd like to see you prove that one. You don't even buy music based on what you've posted. Like I said, take care of them, and pressed stuff lasts a long time.

action9000 · **Reply #32 on:** August 22, 2007, 06:38:53 PM

Quote

What about music ones? Do you still buy them (and those will last much longer than four years)?

Sure! I would still much rather buy a music CD than pay to download a Legal mp3 from some website. Even though the CD is more expensive, I just find it a nice feeling to see it sitting in my collection. I also cannot justify paying for a lossy copy of a song (as soon as a song is in mp3 format, it's less than CD quality). Whether I can hear a huge difference is besides the point; If I want to buy the song, I want to buy the highest-quality I can get my hands on...and you can't literally get your *hands* on an mp3 file, can you?

:

I wonder if DVD audio will ever replace CD audio? From the looks of things, DVD audio will never really take off. Mp3 sites seem to be the "wave of the future". What does everyone here think of legal mp3 downloading? How will we be buying music in 5 years? 10 years?

Quote

I'd like to see you prove that one. You don't even buy music based on what you've posted. Like I said, take care of them, and pressed stuff lasts a long time.

I agree. I would be more than shocked if commercial discs were to fail within 5 or 10 years. In theory, a CD should outlast a music cassette. Cassettes will lose their magnetism over time and will actually degrade. The data in a commercial CD is "carved" into the disc; it's not going anywhere for awhile. Consumer "burned" CDs don't work this way but commercial discs do.

Manny Cav · **Reply #33 on:** August 22, 2007, 06:59:19 PM

I would prefer to get a CD than do a paid legitimate download, because I know the music is ON the CD and OFF of my computer. You'd be surprised how quickly the file size of a collection of good MP3s add up. Oh, sure, you could burn the downloaded MP3 onto a blank CD-R[W] CD and format it to play like a regular audio CD, but that's just not the same as getting it factory pressed. Not as reliable, I would think. Same thing goes with downloaded movies. I would much rather have it on a factory pressed DVD than either taking up space on my computer or do a risky and likely-to-fail burn job on a DVD[insert any of the several recordable DVD prefixes they have made] that probably wouldn't last as long, anyway.

VHS tapes have been seeing the trash bin for some time, now, but they don't appear to have been completely phased out yet. They're still selling a few combo players, as well as even selling VHS tapes in some Toys "R" Us stores I've been in. I suppose cassette tapes have a similar story to tell.

Petrie. · **Reply #34 on:** August 22, 2007, 10:11:36 PM

Surprisingly, a lot of my parents old Disney VHS tapes still play very well...and these are from the 80s too...most haven't been played in years, but they still work, so I'd imagine it takes many years of just sitting there to kill commercial VHS tapes too. The stuff recorded off of tv doesn't last too long.

Quote

I wonder if DVD audio will ever replace CD audio? From the looks of things, DVD audio will never really take off. Mp3 sites seem to be the "wave of the future". What does everyone here think of legal mp3 downloading? How will we be buying music in 5 years? 10 years?

DVD-A and SACD are dead...case closed on those two. Most people wouldn't have the equipment necessary to use them and there were so many limitations, you'd just piss the rest off who did have the means to play them. I've tried some mp3 sites before (emusic, allofmp3) and I think they're only good for those albums/tracks you really like and have little chance of getting a cd copy of. Case in point...the London Symphony Orchestra released an album called That's Entertainment and you can find the tracks on emusic...I couldn't find a cd copy if I tried, and believe me I've tried to. With no other alternative, AND the proper encoding of said mp3 file (VBR, Lame), I would pay for it.

Manny Cav · **Reply #35 on:** August 22, 2007, 10:47:02 PM

Quote from: Petrie,Aug 22 2007 on 09:11 PM

The stuff recorded off of tv doesn't last too long.

Oh? And just how long would you say it lasts?

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #36 on:** August 23, 2007, 02:10:48 AM

I called the manufacter of my mom's music CD cuz it was sucking so bad and it was in china. The person on the phone said that life expectancy of a modern music CD is no longer than 4-5 years. :blink:

Petrie. · **Reply #37 on:** August 23, 2007, 06:07:07 AM

Quote from: Manny Cav,Aug 22 2007 on 09:47 PM

Quote from: Petrie,Aug 22 2007 on 09:11 PM
The stuff recorded off of tv doesn't last too long.
Oh? And just how long would you say it lasts?

Your own recorded stuff (depending on how often you view it) will maybe sound and look good for a year or two. Then you'll have all sorts of tracking issues. I taped religiously and the best time to view the show is the day after.

Quote

I called the manufacter of my mom's music CD cuz it was sucking so bad and it was in china. The person on the phone said that life expectancy of a modern music CD is no longer than 4-5 years.

I sure doubt all the stuff I bought from 2002 back is dead now. And I seriously doubt the cds will just die sitting there since I've all the tracks on my computer in flac. No scratches that way. I've had burned cd-r's die after a bit but that's because I've played them over and over (to save wear and tear on originals).

Manny Cav · **Reply #38 on:** August 23, 2007, 10:53:40 AM

Quote from: Petrie,Aug 23 2007 on 05:07 AM

Quote from: Manny Cav,Aug 22 2007 on 09:47 PM

Quote from: Petrie,Aug 22 2007 on 09:11 PM
The stuff recorded off of tv doesn't last too long.
Oh? And just how long would you say it lasts?
Your own recorded stuff (depending on how often you view it) will maybe sound and look good for a year or two. Then you'll have all sorts of tracking issues. I taped religiously and the best time to view the show is the day after.

I know I have recorded stuff lying around that's older than that and still works. Was this a long term test you did a few years ago where you got the results a couple of years later?

Quote from: Petrie, Aug 23 2007 on 05:07 AM

Quote
I called the manufacter of my mom's music CD cuz it was sucking so bad and it was in china. The person on the phone said that life expectancy of a modern music CD is no longer than 4-5 years.

I sure doubt all the stuff I bought from 2002 back is dead now. And I seriously doubt the cds will just die sitting there since I've all the tracks on my computer in flac. No scratches that way. I've had burned cd-r's die after a bit but that's because I've played them over and over (to save wear and tear on originals).

Well, it's certainly a small wonder your music CDs last so long. The way I read this is that you don't even play your CDs that often, but rather, burned copies of them. It's possible landbeforetimelover's mother's music CDs stopped working after awhile because they were played more often that your's.

Petrie. · **Reply #39 on:** August 23, 2007, 03:12:18 PM

Quote

I know I have recorded stuff lying around that's older than that and still works. Was this a long term test you did a few years ago where you got the results a couple of years later?

Most of the stuff I've forgotten when I recorded it. I just know browsing through a lot of old tapes (to throw some out) that the stuff that has been there for years, even not being played in a very long time is unusable or I already had gone and bought a dvd copy and I didn't need the tape anymore.

Quote

Well, it's certainly a small wonder your music CDs last so long. The way I read this is that you don't even play your CDs that often, but rather, burned copies of them. It's possible landbeforetimelover's mother's music CDs stopped working after awhile because they were played more often that your's.

You're right...I don't play them that often because some cost a serious chunk of change to get ahold of and one good scratch can render them a coaster. Some I just can't afford to lose, and its no surprise they're my favorites, considering some lengths I went through to get them. (Malte would remember that one time.

) CD's don't wear out because one gets played more often than others because nothing ever actually touches the back of the CD (unlike a cassette). CD's wear out because of user abuse (i.e. touch the back, cd gets scratches, left in the sun, etc).