[Slowhand] Re: Da Boss Man Pt. 2

[Almighty Geetarz]

>> At Mark's suggestion, I use Klone (gold) 700MB pro archival grade discs for my 
>> masters. They are about $1 each. I use MAM-A (650mb) and TDK (700mb) for 
>> trading. According to Mark, much of the relevence of the media has  to do with the 
>> degradation of the media over time, and he feels that Klone provides a better layer of >> protection on the business side of their disc.
 
There are a number of factors here. First, the nature of the dye used - there are a 
number of different dyes used depending on manufacturer.  Each has a different 
longevity. For instance the bright emerald green dye used on the earliest Fujis is 
legendary for "disappearing" information ... I have a number of those here where the 
data simply went away.  Luckily I backed them up. Second is the reflective layer 
used. Gold doesn't oxydize. The manufacturers add compounds to the so-called
"silver" layers to help prevent this, but even more important is the third thing - the 
clear protective coat.  Even if it looks fine to the naked eye, discs can hold many 
microscopic pores that will allow air to reach (and destroy) the dye or reflective
layers. Ask ANY of us who had huge laserdisc collections and watched many of
our collection succumb to "laser rot" because the discs were not sealed properly.
Fourth is the thickness of this protective coat - cheaper brands are much thinner, 
which is usually fine unless you have an accident, and as a friend of mine is fond
of noting, they don't call them "on purposes".  Kodak/Mitsui/Klone all use a thicker
protective layer. Last but not least, there's also the quality of the dye layer, which 
can contain dropouts etc. usually referred to as BLER or "Block Error Rate" which 
isn't a huge deal with the robust error correction on CD-ROM but with Audio CDs
unless you compare back the burned copy ... you don't know it's all there. Some
people seem to get real worked up about this subject (you should see my inbox, I 
need asbestos undies), and I just don't get it - I'm not recommending $5 discs, 
I think I just bought good Japan made T/Y (see John I ain't gonna try spelling it) for 
around .25 each and gold/golds for less than a buck with shipping.
 
When I got my DVD burner and was paying $15 each for blanks, I took a chance on 
a new cheaper brand that were only $7 each .... after I then ended up having to 
reburn every copy my friends could not play because these cheap blanks didn't like
most DVD players, and spent postage, insurance, packing, time etc. ... those $15
blanks were actually a pretty good bargain after all.
 
>> Also, there should be some explanation - we have thrown out many acronyms and 
>> terms (DAO, TAO, On the Fly) that are not familiar to everyone. 
 
Excellent suggestion, I hadn't thought of a glossary!
 
And your comment about experience hits home ... folks, every bit of advice I've
given out is from EXPERIENCE, plain and simple.  I've had more than a few normally
levelheaded friends get totally bent out of shape because I've criticized the software 
they use - my opinions of it come from experience, not heresay. My opinions on brands
and quality of blanks come from experience, not from rumor.  I'm fairly well versed
in the scientific method and am pretty good at seperating opinion from fact.
 
I sincerely wish there was a simple one-button-click program out there I could just
say "download this and you won't ever have to worry again" but unfortunately - that's
just not the way it is.  Then again - let's face it, simply operating your computer isn't
really all that simple - take someone who has never used one and try to teach them
and you all of a sudden realize how much you DO know even though you don't think 
you do. Heck - I can't use freakin' PHOTOSHOP. I *hate* that program.  Why isn't it
simple? Easy - it's as simple as it CAN be. Same with EAC, etc.
 
We have ALL been there before.  The first time I tried to configure EAC I gave up and
did something else.  But I came back - because it's what I needed to learn.  
 
Later!


		
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