Anyone buy lately, or have experience with a CD recorder? I still create "best of" tapes on my trusty cassette deck. I was wondering what they cost, how user friendly are they, how well do they perform?

 

I have a brand new sony CD burner in the box 12 write speed never used. I'm sick of staring at it make me an offer if you want it.

 

what brand is it?
well, now, the only 2 brands I will buy is Plextor and Teac SCSI surface...
and, I think you guys know why..!!
however, is your CD burner the Plextor or Teac SCSI that could run CloneCD? let me know.!!

 

I have the iomega cd burner external with usb...a little slow, but it works well. Plus, it can be moved from recording on other computers in the office.

 

Lucid; Thanks for the offer. At this point I am just trying to figure out if this is the way I want to go. Let me get some info. and if I go that way and you still got your unit we will talk. Let's have some input on the fine points on these things guys.

 

well - first off they are vey easy to use once installed. Use Easy CD Creator for your software to record and it is very simple. You can also buy a cd stomper kit at costco for $20 or so to make labels and covers if you are so inclined. It's easy to make them look just like the real thing with a little photoshop work.

The big challenge you will find if you have an older cd player in your car or home it most likely will not play a cd-r or cd-rw. Of my two cars, my 1997 alpine cd won't play any of the cd-r's I create, howver my s2000's stock stereo plays them all. My home stereo - sony cd player 300 discs works fine - but I have seen some older units tht won't work.

You'll also need to download a free mp3 decoder if you plan to download songs from the internet to convert them to work in cd players as well - otherwise, you will need an mp3 player only.

But the big advantage of a cd recorder is not just for music - it is the data storage you can do. I would not buy a new computer without one. It's an easy way to backup your data and documents on a monthly/weekly basis. It makes it great to do a system restore or re-install windows or upgrade your windows without worrying about lossing your data. And the cds are much cheaper than zip or jaz discs.

I would not buy a no name brand cd-rw burner - sony, plextor, teac and all good. SCSI is faster I believe, but USB is the easiest and still pretty fast. Most current technology cd-rw's in usb format will meet your needs - you don't have to spend $500. If someone tries to sell you one that works off a parallel port - walk away!! FAST!

Hope this helps

 

I have been using one to create best of CD for years now. JPotts pretty well summed up everything.

Regarding how well they perform....well just like a regular CD but you get to choose the music. Try it, you'll like it.

 

btw, a few other notes. you mentioned "cd recorder" this implies that it is not computer connected. I do not recommend in any way shape or form, going this route. you buy different blank CD's. they have a premium which goes to the MPAA for each blank cd you buy - approx $1.25/ea.

Some of the music cd creators these days are expierimenting with CD media that will NOT work on a computer. Just look for a warning label on new cd's. Its experimental and being pushed through some of the chains these days.

 

Mac, Windows, or stereo? Avoid Stereo (ie, no computer connection).

MacOS has way fewer problems burning, but some of the newer Windows software is OK. Adaptec Toast is the king, and I've not found any burners that ship with it to be bad.

I've had to Yamaha's that worked fine, but developed heat problems (ie, need to have have more airflow in order to work). My generic BP drive is great. I'd also recommend getting a CD-R/CD-RW drive, they are the same price, but CD-RW media is re-writable (apx. 1000 times).

Finally, avoid Parallel drives at all costs. IDE also seemed to be very problematic last I looked. USB is not capable of keeping up with the newer drives, esp. under Windows. USB 2.0 might work better, but your computer and drive would have to both have 2.0 interfaces, drivers, etc. Firewire or SCSI are really the only drives I'd ever recommend. Internally they are all basically the same, but the connection determines data transfer speed, reliability, and continuity.

 

Pretty much everything that al ready been stated above. I'll reiterate the external CD burner thing - don't get a parallel and stay away from USB if you can help it. Unless your computer is barand spankin new you'll have the older USB standard (1.2 I think) which is not well suited for moving data at high rates. With that said, you'll be fine with a IDE (SCSI is a PITA and doesn't bring much to the table for an average consumer) drive. I've been very happy with the HP drives. And yes - you can burn from CD-ROM direct to CD-R with IDE which didn't used to be the case.

If you want some help locally, let me know.