CDR vs CDR Audio

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by KeithNN, Jun 8, 2005.

  1. KeithNN

    KeithNN Byte Poster

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    This has bugged me for a few years and has recently raised its head again...

    The Audio CDRs you can buy actually claim on them they improve audio playback - does anyone know how? How does a CDR Audio disk store the 0s and 1s differently from a normal CDR to improve the sound quality?

    I remember buying a few many, many years ago (and I'm going back a while, when normal CDRs cost £2-50 each - a bit like Dixons nowadays :twisted: ) when the shop I was working in bought some stock in by mistake and sold them at the same price as ordinary CDRs (back then Audio CDRs cost about £10 each). I never noticed any difference in playback.

    I remember hearing something about a portion of the price of an Audio CDR went back into the music industry to compensate a little for piracy and that was the only difference... Does anyone know if there is a difference in sound quality or is this just some cynical ploy?
     
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  2. Phoenix
    Honorary Member

    Phoenix 53656e696f7220 4d6f64

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    well, tbh I have never noticed much of a difference, however im not a major audio enthusiast, and dont have 10 grand worth of speakers :)

    As far as I was aware certified media had to meet different specifications for the CD-R and CD-Audio labels to be applied

    the actual standard documents dont seem to be free to view

    but you can begin your search for the Red Book and Yellow or Orange book of the Rainbow books (Standards for compact disks)

    I started here
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Books
     
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  3. KeithNN

    KeithNN Byte Poster

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    ...and as I'm deaf in one ear could I save half that amount and buy just one speaker? :biggrin

    Thanks for the link I'll look into it... one of those things that you don't really care about but niggle at you and you just have to know... Or is it just me? :eek:
     
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  4. noelg24

    noelg24 Terabyte Poster

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    no I am like that too except with me I take a long time to let it out...and when I do I make it worse than what it really is...so you aint alone mate.
     
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  5. Phoenix
    Honorary Member

    Phoenix 53656e696f7220 4d6f64

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    i think its a geek thing
    IT bods like to know whats going on, they fiddle, tinker, and know the inner workings of 20 year old protocols, ur damned right they want to know if CD A uses some fancy shite over CD B :)

    fortunatly we have the resources available to answer most our questions, in the form of being adept users of google :)

    Half the trouble most people have with the net is finding what they need amongst all the crap
    were generally good at that, and it gives us an advantage when we ask ourselves odd questions about CD standards :D
     
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  6. EMacd

    EMacd Bit Poster

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  7. KeithNN

    KeithNN Byte Poster

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    That Kodak FAQ was quite interesting...

    soooo.... what they're saying is there isn't any difference in playback quality then! Which makes sense - CD players just read 001111000111 and convert it into audio no matter what. I'm just astounded that they can make those claims on the CD label!! :eek:

    And the rumour that the extra money went back into the recording industry was true, too!!! Wow.

    OK, here's another one... :twisted: Last week a national paper was advertising a free Oasis CD. In the small print on the TV add it says four of the tracks can be played only four times. How does THAT work?
     
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  8. EMacd

    EMacd Bit Poster

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    Hi,

    Not looked this up yet, but I would say that it's in how the CD is made. The layer that the 1s and 0s are recorded on is fragile enough to be damaged by the reading laser as it passes over, breaking it down. You might get lucky and be able to play it 5 times...you might not.

    Of course I could be completely and utterly wrong...

    This could turn into another niggle...

    Euan
     
  9. KeithNN

    KeithNN Byte Poster

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    That was my original guess, too. It's just... the way they were so specific about only four plays....
     
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  10. Phoenix
    Honorary Member

    Phoenix 53656e696f7220 4d6f64

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    Its more likely to be a copy protection system in place rather than a 'lets break the cd with the laser' system to be honest :)
     
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  11. EMacd

    EMacd Bit Poster

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    Hmmm,

    You're probably right Pheonix, but how does the CD know how many times it has been played?

    Something on the disk has to change otherwise you could just put it in another cd player and listen to it again. The only way that I can think of physically changing the disk is to 'break it with the laser'.

    Cheers

    Euan
     
  12. Stu_C

    Stu_C Byte Poster

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    The already have a DVD that self destructs after so long so it could be possible that they are using the Tech for cd`s.

    Self destructing dvd's

    Stu_C
     
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  13. Jakamoko
    Honorary Member

    Jakamoko On the move again ...

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    But in theory, if you knew you had a disk that was only going to play four times, then the first thing you woul do would be to rip it to mp3 and also copy it to another non-destructive disk ?
     
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  14. EMacd

    EMacd Bit Poster

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    Yeah, but I wouldn't point that out to THEM though! :biggrin
     
  15. SimonV
    Honorary Member

    SimonV Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    Its not the disk that is limited to the number of plays as the tracks are mp3's and need and need registration to play. I'm not sure how they make it so it can only be played a number of times and I'm sure theres somebody that can remove this protection.
     
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  16. KeithNN

    KeithNN Byte Poster

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    Never thought they'd not be audio tracks but some other format... doh! However, this kind of thing is used on audio tracks. I recall seeing a Madonna disk many years ago (before mp3 formats!) that was only playable once or twice. I think it had quite a high premium as the seller hadn't actually played it (but then again, how could you prove it without devaluing the disk?)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 2, 2015
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