Burning CDRs for classic systems: is it really bad for your console

Massive Urethra Chode

Disciple Of Orochi
Joined
Aug 27, 2013
Posts
3,264
I’ve always heard it said that burning CDRs is bad for vintage systems, however some people I’ve run into speak of using CDRs on their PlayStations since the 90s with no problems... I’ve been burning Saturn games and it got me wondering, am I damaging my laser/console by playing these games. Perhaps this only applies to Dreamcast, as games were designed to run from GD-Roms... but then I’ve heard some PCE CD horror stories... others say the brand of CD makes a difference... in the end I can’t find a conclusive answer

Have any of you guys run into problems arising solely from playing CDR’s on your consoles?

Some say it makes the laser work “harder” but I dont see how a beam of light reflecting off a surface can work any harder or less than it’s designed to...
 

RAZO

Mayor of Southtown
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Posts
8,788
Yes, CDR quality matters. Also, how old your burner is and how good it is matters. The Iso you downloaded or ripped could sometimes have errors which could affect how hard your laser works. I've used cdrs on some consoles and could hear the laser working overtime to read and when I used a pressed disc of the same game, the laser would work normal. I've had cdrs work with zero issues. It all depends.
 

titchgamer

Guerilla Warrior
Joined
May 31, 2018
Posts
1,731
I researched this quite a bit and it seems to have lots of variables.

However the main thing seems to be the quality of the rip.

I have used copied CD'rs on my PS2 for years with no issues, And last year I brought a Dreamcast for my collection and tried to play a copied version of Sonic Adventure and the first thing I noticed was the Laser was constantly seeking which made me think that aint good and sent me off in search of answers.

I read that the DC is especially prone to laser failure (with or without burnt media) but more so because alot of the rips were bad, Basically all the info was there but fragmented structure so the laser was having to work harder to find the info instead of just progressing onto it the way it was designed.

I also have a Sega CD which plays rips with no issues, And a recently acquired Neo Geo CD which also seems ok.

I have however gone and brought spare Lasers for all my CD consoles (Except the DC, I picked up a GDEMU for that) to future proof them before they become un-obtainable.
 

Massive Urethra Chode

Disciple Of Orochi
Joined
Aug 27, 2013
Posts
3,264
I researched this quite a bit and it seems to have lots of variables.

However the main thing seems to be the quality of the rip.

I have used copied CD'rs on my PS2 for years with no issues, And last year I brought a Dreamcast for my collection and tried to play a copied version of Sonic Adventure and the first thing I noticed was the Laser was constantly seeking which made me think that aint good and sent me off in search of answers.

I read that the DC is especially prone to laser failure (with or without burnt media) but more so because alot of the rips were bad, Basically all the info was there but fragmented structure so the laser was having to work harder to find the info instead of just progressing onto it the way it was designed.

I also have a Sega CD which plays rips with no issues, And a recently acquired Neo Geo CD which also seems ok.

I have however gone and brought spare Lasers for all my CD consoles (Except the DC, I picked up a GDEMU for that) to future proof them before they become un-obtainable.

Yeah I need to stock up on Saturn lasers now that you mention it!!! I don’t care about other retro systems nearly as much lol...
 

titchgamer

Guerilla Warrior
Joined
May 31, 2018
Posts
1,731
Yeah I need to stock up on Saturn lasers now that you mention it!!! I don’t care about other retro systems nearly as much lol...

The guy who makes the GDEMU makes one for the Saturn to, Think its called Rhea?

Much more future proof :p
 

titchgamer

Guerilla Warrior
Joined
May 31, 2018
Posts
1,731
Dang.... I still need to buy my first Saturn LOL

One day ile pick one up :p
 

Kid Panda

The Chinese Kid
Joined
Jun 13, 2010
Posts
12,514
Yea I bought a saturn when it first came out, still have that same one.
 

RAZO

Mayor of Southtown
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Posts
8,788
Yea I bought a saturn when it first came out, still have that same one.

The Saturn is built like a tank and the laser is top-notch. I also love how quiet it reads discs unlike the dreamcast.
 

GohanX

Horrible Goose
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2001
Posts
12,490
Yea I bought a saturn when it first came out, still have that same one.

I still have my OG system too, although it did lie broken (plastic lid) for several years until someone on here gave me the parts I needed. I'm afraid I'm a part of the Saturn hoarders club though, mostly because I've adopted broken systems and made working ones out of them. I think I have 3 working systems and two busted ones right now.

The second Saturn I bought (probably around 99 or so) to replace the one with the broken lid still has the price tag of $29.95 on it.
 

Massive Urethra Chode

Disciple Of Orochi
Joined
Aug 27, 2013
Posts
3,264
The Saturn is built like a tank and the laser is top-notch. I also love how quiet it reads discs unlike the dreamcast.

The saturns build quality is one of the main things I like about it other than the games. Better than other consoles of its era in that regard.. aside from the n64 obviously... I’ve pulled a working N64 from a dumpster.
 
Last edited:

RAZO

Mayor of Southtown
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Posts
8,788
The saturns build quality is one of the main things I like about it other than the games. Better than other consoles of its era in that regard.. aside from the n64 obviously... I’ve pulled a working N64 from a dumpster.

You should have left the N64 in the dumpster. That's where it belongs.
 

titchgamer

Guerilla Warrior
Joined
May 31, 2018
Posts
1,731
N64 is well built, I pulled my original one out of a very dusty attic a year or 2 ago, Other than a strip down and clean the thing worked great, Took me about 3 hours to clean all the contacts of the Console and Carts though LOL
 

Tech&Music

Another Striker
Joined
May 14, 2016
Posts
325
Some say it makes the laser work “harder” but I dont see how a beam of light reflecting off a surface can work any harder or less than it’s designed to...

People claim this because CD-Rs are less reflective than a regular CD, which is what the consoles are tuned to reading, but, I've also seen counterarguments that the system can't drive more voltage to the laser than what is set with the tuning potentiometer. However, if it has a harder time reading a less reflective disc, I imagine it might need to sometimes re-read something, which adds some wear on the laser, that while insignificant on its own, could add up in the long run.

The trick is to use higher quality CD-Rs. The lesser quality ones are less reflective than the higher quality ones, so they are harder to read. I just recently had a friend burn Dreamcast games to a few Sony CD-Rs, and he couldn't get them to work. He then bought Staples brand discs (which are CMC Magnetics discs, lower quality brand, but I have used them without any problems myself), and they worked a treat. Here is a list of CD-R OEMs rated by quality. It's a bit older, but it probably still holds true for the companies in the list still making discs (or those that did until recently). To find out what OEM made your disc, open ImgBurn, go to any of the burning tabs, pop in the disc, and the gray text box on the right of the window should list it along with more information on the disc.

As many, many others have said, Taiyo Yuden is the best CD-R brand. They were actually the first company to make them, when they worked with Sony and Philips to establish the CD-R standard. Sadly, Taiyo Yuden got out of the optical media business a few years ago, but some stores will likely have new old stock. I know B&H Photo still sells cakeboxes, ironically sold by CMC Magnetics (no idea why Taiyo Yuden allowed them to sell their discs). Verbatim is another brand known to have higher quality CD-Rs.
 
Last edited:

Jibbajaba

Ralfredacc's Worst Nightmare
10 Year Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2009
Posts
5,611
I have like 6 or 7 Saturns out in my garage that all have busted lasers. That's how I got them though, so I don't know what their life history was like. I took them off of a friend's hands because I incorrectly assumed that I could just buy new laser assemblies for them.

Edit: I've had the best luck with Maxell CD-r's. Never tried Taiyo Yudens or anything, though. But I've never had a problem playing burned games, and have never had a laser die on me.
 
Last edited:

GohanX

Horrible Goose
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2001
Posts
12,490
ironically sold by CMC Magnetics (no idea why Taiyo Yuden allowed them to sell their discs).

CMC owns the patents and the equipment now, Taiyo Yuden sold it to them. Producing media was a shrinking part of Taiyo's business and they wanted out, while CMC's main business is optical media and they seized their chance to become the best through acquisition.
 

GohanX

Horrible Goose
20 Year Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2001
Posts
12,490
Edit: I've had the best luck with Maxell CD-r's. Never tried Taiyo Yudens or anything, though. But I've never had a problem playing burned games, and have never had a laser die on me.

If you were using the Maxell pro discs (the gold looking ones) they were rebranded Taiyos. They were awesome and fairly cheap.
 
Top