Best 1x or 2x CD burner for PC-engine games

[missyrelm]

Hi,

I am trying to figure out the best CD burner for burning at REALLY slow speeds like 1x and 2x.

I've heard that CD-R's are very rough on the PC-Engine, but I've also heard that if you back-up your own games that they are fine, and it's only hard on them if you use downloaded ROM's because the code in those ROM's aren't right or something like that.

So I am trying to figure out the best way to back-up TurboGrafx-16/Pc-Engine CD's and I know that I should use a good CD burner on high quality media, at 1x or 2x speed.  I am trying to find an external unit that can make good burns at SLOW speeds that has a driver that can be run on XP.

Any suggestions?

[MissaFX]

I do not own a DUO, but I know 1 type of CD-R most old readers love.

Diamond Silver (ink) CD-Rs.  They are expensive, nearly 1 dollar each in 25's, but they will burn at 8X (no higher or lower) perfect burns which can be read by old game systems better than using an old drive, old media and 1X.  I backup all my scratched discs this way and I can tell you they work in the: Sega CD, 3DO and the CDI (as well as the PSX and Saturn).  I can't see why they wouldn't work in the DUO since the reason they work is they are over 80% more reflective than common CD-Rs.  They even will supposedly replace the disc (a lot of good it would do you) if they loose data on a 8X burn in less than 100 years.  Althought I have never tried to push them for a replacment.  Oh yeah, they also work perfectly in the oldest car CD players out there.  Perfectly, no skipping!

[malducci]

Good luck finding a CD writer that writes at 1x. My Plextor that's about a year old can write at 6x, but my Duo, Super CDROM2, original CDROM2 don't like it. I have to burn at 8x. Some media are better than others, but most of the problems people have with there Duo's, is that the laser is wearing out and reading CD-R's is a little harder than a normal CD (you can see where I'm going with this). If you have a Duo and the laser has a hard time reading CD-Rs, then grab a laser replacement unit.

[Ravij]

then grab a laser replacement unit.

Yep. Just fitted a new laser 2 weeks ago to my DUO - works great! 

[Michael Helgeson]

Basically you just need any type of long strategy cd-rs. Anything manufactured by Taiyo Yuden would be ideal.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/f33/taiyo-yuden-faq-178622/

[Turbo D]

I just grab a cheap spindle from Fry's. I use a stolen NeroExpress to make an exact iso copy of the disk. It burns at like 40x, haha. I've had no problems so far. I'm still on the original factory lazer too! Of course I own the superior US TurboDuo!

[GUTS]

You guys ever use Mitsui Golds?  I used to use them way back in the day and they were amazingly awesome, I don't know if they are still being made though.  I'll have to buy some of those Diamond Silver discs since I can't seem to find a CDR brand that my Duo-R likes (I have a burn of Xak III that runs great but I made it years ago and can't find the brand anymore).

[MissaFX]

You guys ever use Mitsui Golds?  I used to use them way back in the day and they were amazingly awesome, I don't know if they are still being made though.  I'll have to buy some of those Diamond Silver discs since I can't seem to find a CDR brand that my Duo-R likes (I have a burn of Xak III that runs great but I made it years ago and can't find the brand anymore).

Yes I have used the M golds and the D silvers are better.  I have really never found a better CDR.  You can even get them with printable surfaces   Just make sure to burn at 8X.

[WoodyXP]

All I gotta say is use any CD-R you want.. so as long as it's not primed for AUDIO and doesn't go over 700mb in size.  Also.. I recommend Alcohol 120% to burn your disks.. Nero and Disc Juggler are good too.. but nothing beats A120%.  And like everybody else said.. burn as low a speed as you can. 

And in the meantime.. keep an eye on ebay and internet sellers.  Every now and then you can catch somebody selling "Vintage" CD-Rs.  You know.. the old ass CD-Rs that were around before the term 1X even came to light... those are the CD-Rs that you need if you're going to be dealing with a 1x-2x drive.  Have fun. 

[spenoza]

Mitsui Golds and similar/variants are still around, but they're still expensive and not necessarily any better than some of the more modern competition, at least for longevity.

If you buy any CDRs that say "archival quality", don't buy it. There are no standards for archiving digital mediums and no standards for longevity and durability for digital mediums in relation to archiving. Just plan on re-burning your CDs every few years and you should be fine. You can use the cheapest CDs in the world as long as you have a backup/re-burn plan for every 1-2 years and you stick to it.

As for how well the TG-CD laser can read discs, advice here on this forum is probably about as good as you can get, considering I doubt anyone has studied it extensively.

[Michael Helgeson]

Mitsui Golds and similar/variants are still around, but they're still expensive and not necessarily any better than some of the more modern competition, at least for longevity.

If you buy any CDRs that say "archival quality", don't buy it. There are no standards for archiving digital mediums and no standards for longevity and durability for digital mediums in relation to archiving. Just plan on re-burning your CDs every few years and you should be fine. You can use the cheapest CDs in the world as long as you have a backup/re-burn plan for every 1-2 years and you stick to it.

As for how well the TG-CD laser can read discs, advice here on this forum is probably about as good as you can get, considering I doubt anyone has studied it extensively.

Not entirely correct. I have never had any long strategy disc go bad,but short strategy disc tend to not last me longer then 3-4 years before showing read problems. None of this is related to scratches,since I don't scratch anything. There is a definite quality difference there. Basically what this means is I have all my long strategy stuff from mid 2000 on up that is perfectly fine,but as of yet nothing on the short end that has been burned before 2003 still work well.

[KnightWarrior]

I got a Dracula X ISO, the game is out of my price range, I test it in Ootake.. didn't work

I would get the Game if it's cheap

[vestcoat]

FYI: you're bumping a five-year-old thread on a topic that gets raised once a week. You're not adding any relevant information. You're not asking a question. And you're pushing the limits of what's acceptable to discuss on the forum.

[fraggore]

best cds i have found are jvc taiyo yuden burnt them at 4 speed work perfect £2 for 10 on ebay as for a slow drive your going to find it hard to get one as most of them are old and the firmware out of date.

[KnightWarrior]

FYI: you're bumping a five-year-old thread on a topic that gets raised once a week. You're not adding any relevant information. You're not asking a question. And you're pushing the limits of what's acceptable to discuss on the forum.

Ah I see, thanks...