Re: OT re:CDR870/audio CDR discs

[David Myers <dmgraph@bway.net>]

Thanks to Bret for these tips from some 10 days back--finally got some time
free & picked up a couple "normal" CDRs for testing.  I'll be durned--works
like a charm.  Of course you must record the entire disc & finalize it
before the machine is shut down, but still, at a price as low as 99 cents
for 74 minutes of digital recording, can this be beat?  Anyone out there
shopping for a DAT machine, think this over.  How much do you pay for a 74
min. DAT tape?  And can you jump to tracks instantaneously?  Suffered from
tape dropout?  The CDR870 is cheaper than pretty much *any* DAT machine I
know of, and--for me--being able to play the disc on any CD player is a BIG
plus.

Only problem: SCMS!  Of course want to put my freshly-recorded CDR into my
CD deck and make copies.  Does anyone know of a good source for a SCMS
stripper?  In NYC, Manny's didn't know what I was talking about and Sam Ash
Pro Audio just put me on hold for about an hour.  I know there are kits
around for under $100, but my soldering hand is exhausted & I've heard a
ready-to-go stripper might be $200....

I told my girlfriend I was looking for a scum stripper and she thought it
had something to do with my bathroom.  More like she was *hoping* it had
something to do with it....

>Loopsters,
>David Myers asked where to find a good price on Audio CDr blanks for
>use with the Phillips 870 CD recorder.
>
>I can't help you with the Audio CDr blanks, but you may not have heard
>that there is a trick you can use in order to record with the Phillips
>870 using data CDr blanks (the cheap ones).
>
>I learned about this via the Roland VS-880 mailing list.  Some of the
>folks there have the Phillips 870 and have successfully used this trick.
>
>The difference in the Audio CDr blank and the data CDr blanks is that
>the Audio discs have information written to them that tells the 870
>(or similar Pioneer consumer CD recorders PD04, PD05) that the disc is
>a Consumer disc (and tariffs were paid).  Without that data, it will
>not allow you to enter record mode.
>
>I don't have a CD recorder, so what I tell you now is based on my
>reading others accounts, and leveraged from a similar trick my kids
>use to play Japanese Playstation CD roms in an American Playstation.
>
>You will need an Audio CD blank of the same capacity (time) as the
>Data CD blank you want to record to.
>
>1.  Put the Consumer blank into the recorder.
>2.  It will read the identification information, and will indicate you
>can record.
>3.  Reach under the CD tray door and slide the tray open (manually, do
>not use the tray open button).
>4.  Remove the Consumer CD blank
>5.  Place the Data CD blank on the tray
>6.  Manually close the tray completely
>7.  Record
>8.  Do not remove the CD until you finalize it, or it will not play.
>You cannot remove it, and reinsert it later to record.
>
>Again, this is from others accounts, I cannot tell you the nuances of
>this trick.  Others say it is easy, works, and has not harmed their
>recorders.  Proceed at your own risk.
>
>The only caveat I have heard regarding this procedure has to do with
>calibration.  When a blank disk is inserted into a stand alone CD
>recorder, the recorder performs a calibration on the blank.  This
>calibration consists of writing and reading a reserved area of the
>blank in order to determine the optimal laser intensity for that exact
>disc.  This is done because there is unit to unit and manufacturer to
>manufacturer variations in the CD blanks' dye layer.  The cal insure
>the holes burned in the dye layer will be of the correct size (depth?)
>in order to be read later without error.  Since this trick requires
>you swap discs AFTER the calibration, there is some risk the burn will
>not be optimized to the proper level for the second (actual record)
>disc.  So far, anecdotal information says this has not been a problem.
>
>Again, proceed at your own risk.
>See
>http://www.stereophile.com/shownews.cgi?83
>for stereophiles article on 'CD Recorder's Dirty Little Secret'.
>
>bret
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