Where to get good CD-Rs?

[Sarge]

Hi, all, I have a quick question.  I recently bought a Duo.  With the help of the seller, I was finally able to narrow down some CD-Rs that don't make my system barf all the time.  I had some older Sony brand discs, and they worked like a charm.  Turns out my ultimate test is to burn the 4-in-1 disc, and if it managed to load the applause track at the start, or boot Bonk's Revenge, then I'd hit on a good one.

Well, I ordered a stack of Sony discs.  And they don't work.  I reckon it's because they were manufactured in Mexico; apparently quality control varies quite wildly.  Does anyone here have a similarly finicky system?  And where do you get your discs?  I'd love to find a brand that actually works well.

(Oh, and Taiyo Yuden discs don't work well at all.  Go figure!)

[tbone3969]

The pots on your DUO need to be adjusted.

[Necromancer]

After trying dozens of brands and product lines, I gave up on trying to find a CDR that my TurboDuo would like consistently.  Luckily my Duo-RX will play anything, though I've been feeding it 700mb Taiyo Yuden silvers because they're supposed to be good discs.

Some pot adjusting may be all you need, or you might need a cap job, or you might have to keep trying discs 'til one works.  There's sadly no magic bullet for CDRs that every system will like.  Have you tried a 650mb sized one yet?  You can get new-old-stock ones or try some from mam-a.

[Sarge]

I may try that.  I had some old TDKs and Durabrand discs I burned years ago that work swimmingly.

The system has been recapped (and S-Video/region modded), so I'm pretty sure that's not the issue, but it wouldn't surprise me if the laser might be problematic.  I think I'd have gone with an RX if I'd known how finicky the original Duo systems could be.  The seller was turbografxfan, who I think also goes by Keith Courage.  He was very helpful with a lot of the quirks I experienced (including the laser getting stuck).

I do wonder if I shouldn't just bite the bullet and sell this one, though, and just get a cheap PCE and that Super SD System 3.  Probably a lot less hassle overall, even if I lose some of the "legitimacy".  (Ironic using that word when I'm talking about burning CD-Rs, ha!)

[Necromancer]

As long as you're having fun, real or fake don't matter.

[crazydean]

Your disc burner, speed, and program can all make a difference.

If I burn a disc with my laptop, it will play but the sound is likely to cut out. However, if I use my old desktop at 8x speed, it always works.

[Sarge]

That's definitely true.  I used quite a few different combinations before finally going and purchasing a PlexWriter 16/10/40.  Burning those older Sony discs at 4x with it gave me the best results.  I tried a few different speeds with that drive (all the way down to 1x and up to 16x), and my NEC-3540A at its lowest speed (8x), and both produced results almost identical to what I got with those JVC TY discs I was using.

[Keith Courage]

Some Duos just like certain discs more than others. Some work best with better brands Taiyo yuden and sony. Whereas others can work better with generic media like Verbatim or memorex. You will just have to test some other brands.

Also, one more test you should do is to make yourself a plain old audio disc using 1 of those Sony discs you have. try this out in the system to make sure there isn't something wrong with the disc image you are using or the program/way you are trying to make them.

[Sarge]

I've got a copy of the 4-in-1 disc that I've run through TOCFixer or whichever app it is that lets you verify the rip is correct.  And I've burned it onto one of the older Sony discs, and it works almost perfectly, only occasionally missing that opening applause track.  With the same drive, program, and burn settings, it doesn't work well with the newer Sony discs.

I'll probably slowly try out some different brands, though.  And I might have found a couple of places to get the older discs, so I'll get it sorted eventually.  Thanks!

[Keith Courage]

I have no idea why but the 4-in-1 disc can be one of the most difficult to get working correctly with some drives. I think it might have to do with the intro. Sometimes if you skip this part by hitting run you can still load up a game.

[Sarge]

Yeah, that's why it's a great test disc.    I've had others that worked fine from start to finish, even on the TY discs that haven't played quite as nice.  I consistently got results with various discs (except the aforementioned older Sony ones) that would see it load Gates of Thunder or Bonk's Adventure, but miss being able to load Bonk's Revenge.  I think it's because it's a short data track towards the edge of the disc, whereas the others still end up near the inner ring.

[Keith Courage]

In some cases adjusting the lens gain pot on the lens itself makes it better. Do this only if needed. Turn it to the left(counter clockwise)ever so slightly.

[Sarge]

Found some Sony discs that match my old ones.  Occasionally misses the applause track on the 4-in-1 disc, but catches it on the re-read.  So I've got 49 shots left for burning new stuff. 

Now I need to figure out what to do with all these other stacks of CD-Rs...

Information on the discs, if it helps anyone else (not entirely sure, given the variance folks are suggesting):  Sony, copyright of 2004 on the label, manufactured in Taiwan.  700MB variety.

[HailingTheThings]

These have worked well for me. I use them for PC Engine, Sega CD, Saturn and 3DO back ups. They also have gold. There is a chance that your console needs to be adjusted as someone else suggested, but yeah these are good CDs.

https://www.mediasupply.com/mtc74lssis-ct-100.html

[penrhos]

I've been using TDK (700Mb CD-R80 blue tops) & Verbatim (700Mb 52X white tops) in My DUO & DUO-R with just a slight tweak to the pots. I tried a couple of other brands and had intermittent success (mainly skipping audio).

I do find burning at low speed seems to improve matters and if I use my trusty old Plextor SCSI burner I get better results.