[nancyw]

if i burn directly from my hard drive to cd-r, using toast oem 4.1.2, does toast automatically equalize the volume on each song, or is that something i have to do myself in an editing process? if so, how?
also, does it make a difference what color cd you use to burn onto? it seems to me some people think it does but i'm not clear which color is supposed to be better and why.

[Cipher13]

Yes it makes a difference - for audio I use green cause they're easy for drives to read, and they're cheap, and don't hold anything invaluable.
Sometimes I use pure blue cause they rock.

Pure Gold and pure Blue are best. I like the Verbatim blues and Kodak golds.
They seem to last the longest... and the dark blues are easy to read by any drive as well. Great for audio.

But any pure colour is better than any mixture...

And no it doesn't equalise - it burns what it hears.
If you rip the tracks yourself, its fine, but if you download them, check them.
Toast can't adjust that unfortunately - Adaptec Jam can. Its specialty software for burning audio CD's, but hasn't ben updated in a while I don't think...

Cipher13

[This message has been edited by Cipher13 (edited 03-04-2001).]

[SmileyDude]

For my music CDs, I usually go with whatever is on sale at CompUSA... currently, this means a batch of 50 80min CDs that are really 79 and a half minutes... but, that's okay.. it only cost 5 bucks for the spindle...

For my data CDs, I try to go with the best I can... I like the Verbatum CDs... they work really, really well for my purposes. For best quality, go with a gold dye/gold layer disc, like the one's that Mitsui makes.

Try to avoid the aluminum layer CDs... they can become a victim of CD rot... the gold layer will last the longest.... also, the dye matters... I believe there is only three types of dye available, anything else is a hybrid. Verbatum makes their own, the dark blue dye. Mitsui also makes their own, the gold based dye. And there is another, which I can't remember...

There is also silver layer discs on the market... I've heard that these have some problems when used for audio... you can hear the difference between a gold and a silver layer CDR. But, the silver have a shelf life effectively as good as gold... a 100 years or more.

Apparently, the only stable dye on the market is the gold based dye. A gold layer/dye CDR will appear completely gold on the back. I have a couple of Mitsui's like this. I also have an Acer brand CDR that claims to be gold... but on the back, it has a green tint to it... that's a gold layer CDR, but the dye isn't gold based.

I'm not sure, but I've read that the Kodak CDs are actually Mitsui's rebranded... typically, Mitsui just manufactures CDRs for other companies who stamp their brand on them.

Oh, as far as the equalization issue, Toast doesn't equalize at all. Jam allows you to adjust the equalization, but doesn't automatically do it. iTunes also allows you to adjust the equalization for each song.

Good luck

------------------
dennis

[Stogieman]

I started using the black CD-Rs from Memorex. I don't know how they compare against Gold/Blue/Green colored CD-Rs but man are they perfect for my Playstation backups.
Plus each CD-R comes in a really slim jewel case. Best Buy has them for pretty cheap.

[jonahfish7]

Are you guys serious about the color of the CDR affecting performance?

[Cipher13]

Yep, it sure does.
Makes reading easier or harder, holds data longer... deterioration rate differs... and so on.

Cipher13

[JeffO]

As I understand it, the color has little to do with it. Disc quality and manufacturer compatability with your particular cd-r and/or audio player is the key. To say that a "green" lasts longer that an "blue" but less than a "gold" is a bit of a stretch I think.

jeff