Mike Waters
Anyone who has burned a lot of CDs has undoubtedly encountered this problem. Your CD will not play in certain CD players. You’ve tried different brands of CDs. You’ve even tried switching the write speed of your CD burning software. Yet, nothing seems to work.
However, any "professional" CD purchased from a retail outlet such as Best Buy or Sam Goodies works in any type of CD player. What are they doing that we aren’t? Why won’t certain CD Roms duplicated at home play in all CD players?
There are no more ideologies in the authentic sense of false consciousness, only advertisements for the world through its duplication and the provocative lie which does not seek belief but commands silence.
—Theodor W. Adorno (1903–1969)
Believe it or not, it’s because the music industry burns their CD Roms differently. Instead of duplicating CDs, the music industry replicates CDs. Though the terminology seems synonymous, the process is completely different.
CD replication is used for mass production of CDs ( 500). Instead of writing data to a CD using a laser as with CD Rom duplication, CD replication uses a glass master to stamp (press) data onto the disc. This eliminates practically all of the issues with playability that are encountered when burning CDs at home. CD replication is a far superior process of burning CDs.
It is important to note that the superior quality of CD Roms pressed using CD replication doesn’t come cheap. Even when using independent CD Rom duplication companies such as Absolute Disc or Oasis, there is still going to be a higher cost associated with replicated discs.
For your next project, have your CD Roms replicated rather than duplicated. This will ensure that your product has the highest quality standard. Remember, that due to cost, you will have to order at least 500 CDs in order to receive this process. However, you can rest assured knowing that the quality of your disc is on the same level as the professionals.
About the author:
Mike Waters is owner of Waters Rock music studio and the senior technology columnist for Media-Tech Entertainment and You. Be sure to check out more about his music cd duplication services and data cd duplication at http://www.audio-cd-duplication.info