Frequently Asked Questions About CD-R and CD-RW Discs

Please contact Media Sciences if your questions are not answered on these pages.

I am told by some suppliers that all CD-R discs are the same. Others tell me that gold discs are best, another states that blue discs are of the highest quality, and some say that silver is unacceptable. What discs are best?

Many of these performance claims are unsupported, or are based only upon readability testing in a few drives. Scientific tests by Media Sciences have established that although all discs are not the same, quality is not related to visible color (see CD-R Media Survey.) Instead, goodness of discs depends upon the care taken by the manufacturer and by the experience of the factory. Some media is of excellent quality, some is marginal, and an alarmingly high percentage do not conform to Orange Book Part II.

When the market for CD-R discs was small, discs of a given brand were made only at one location. This is no longer true. Rapid growth in the market for CD-R discs have required new facilities that may or may not produce media of the same quality. Some suppliers may ship mixed products, some made in their plants and some made by others. Many vendors do not manufacture discs that they sell, but resell products from one or more suppliers.

Consequently, Media Sciences does not recommend specific brands or colors. When quality is important, only vendor qualification and monitoring using scientific testing based on Orange Book Part II will provide satisfactory results. Decisions based on rumors or unverifiable vendor claims often lead to interchange and longevity failure.

If it would help, Media Sciences will test one recorded sample at no charge. Please follow the free test instructions on our web site.