Archiving & Preserving Digital Photography (Part 10.2) Compact Disk

Determining the quality of a CD brand - Quantity vs. Quality

Let me first say that this next section is not the final word on CD quality. This information was based entirely on research and Internet reports, not on original experimentation or my own personal scientific testing. The most important thing to come away with after reading this section is to realize that it really doesn't make a difference which brand of CD you choose, it's the maker of the actual CD. There are also several more factors that affect the storage of your data on CD. Those factors include intrinsic properties of the materials used in the disc’s construction, its manufactured quality, how well it's recorded and its physical handling and storage. It would be easy to hope that CDs are all the same with the only difference being the price and the packaging. This unfortunately is NOT true. The reasons are unfortunate and it makes our lives difficult when trying to choose a reliable brand but hopefully I can guide you in the right direction. The archival quality of compact disks range from good to utterly horrible and there are several key elements that you need to investigate before buying. Read on...

First off, you need to know that the CD brand name is pretty much irrelevant. Most CDs are usually either generic, or generic manufacturers sold under known brand names. Let's get this straight right out of the gate. Brand-names mean nothing. What you need to know is the actual manufacturer name. There are currently only around 12 actual CD manufacturers in the world. So as you browse the isles of your local techie store keep this in mind when you see all the brands available. When you're buying a Sony brand you might be buying the exact same CD that's packaged in a much lower priced brand. I'm not guaranteeing this but it is possible. Also, CD brands will sometimes change manufacturers so you might think that you are buying a reliable manufacturers CD and then next year you find out that they switched manufacturers! Ouch.

So the big question you are probably asking is "how do I know who is actually manufactured my CDs"? Very good question and one that I actually have an answer for. As you may have noticed the information is not readily available on your chosen brands packaging because obviously they want you to think that they're producing the product. If it's a good product it will further strengthen their brand name and obviously garner return business from you and others.

In the CD manufacturing world there is a standard called an ATIP code. (Absolute Time In Pre-groove) Without this information the CD cannot be used by a writer. The ATIP contains information about the manufacturer, but also technical information that's used by the CD drive to write to the CD correctly. Mission accomplished! Hallelujah! We found it! Well, don't rejoice yet. There's one small catch. See, the information is hidden in the CD data and it can not be shown via your standard CD player or computer. What you need is a special program designed to display this information. A quick search using the phrase "CD-R ATIP reader" will surely give you many options to choose from so you can quickly determine who is the real brains behind your brand. Some of the best manufacturers in the world are Kodak, Mitsui (now called MAM-A), Richo, MPO, Fujifilm, Tayo yuden, Prodisc, and Acer gold. Again, this list is not the word of god and opinions always differ but this list should give you a good start. For current information and discussion you can always visit the resources and forums sections of my web site at http://www.archivingdigital.com.

Article Author: Christopher Auman

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