free software to check your CDs
when you BURN your CD it would be nice to know that the CD is OK -
CD drives supplied in PC/Laptops are CHEAP - they are NOT meant for PROFESSIONAL recording or playback - a PRO unit can cost more than a cheap PC does, so if you use the unit supplied in your system you can expect ERRORS -
if you are MASTERING using a CD drive supplied with your PC then you are NOT MASTERING at all, you are creating a CD on a drive that will more than likely produce CDs that are not acceptable for PROPER MASTERING (making a GLASS MASTER) -
the professionals choice is for PLEXTOR drives, these drive come with software that will ACCURATELY check your CD for errors - BUT THIS COMES AT A COST that maybe out of the home producers budget -
so what can mere mortals do to check their CD quality - well very little - BUT all is not lost, i found this application about two years ago, it has recently been upgraded and is now more accurate - the Tau Analyzer is FREE - on first sight there are no instructions on how to operate it -
INSTRUCTIONS ARE IN THE HELP FILE, so reading them is the FIRST THING you have to do - then you can understand how it works (and it works very well) -
CAVIAT - although the TUA software will detect and report how many errors are on your CD it DOES NOT say what caused the errors - not all errors cause problems due to CD players oversampling the data (looking at the CD data more than once and picking the best option) however if your CD has a lot of errors then every time an error is detected this can cause the data flow from the CD to be delayed as constant resampling will cause a CD to skip or cause distorted playback -
http://www.true-audio.com/Analyzer.gui
if the TUA software shows a SINGLE ERROR and repeated attempts also show errors then you will have to PAY FOR (see below)PROPER BLANK AUDIO CDs, not cheap 50 a time spindles -
if upgrading your BLANK MEDIA does not cure the problem EXPECT TO PAY BIG BUCKS to get a PRO drive - or pay a mastering house to get it right for you -
this is the professionals choice of blank media -
http://www.veassociates.com/cpg–TAIYO-YUDEN–684.aspx
FINALLY - you CANNOT - REPEAT CANNOT USE DATA CDs for AUDIO you really do have to pay the extra for CDs marker AUDIO - NOTHING ELSE will do if you want to get it right -
M.R.
I use the free nero DiskSpeed available here to check a recorded CD. I also believe there is no difference between an audio CD blank and a data CD blank other than the audio CD blank contains a code that will make it work in standalone music recorder. The extra cost does not equate to quality, it just means the RIAA collects a royalty to make up for the pirating that is most likely being done with a standalone recorder. See this article.
yes there is a royalty on an audio CD - a DATA CD will play in a standalone player -
the coating is different between an audio CD and a data one -
a coating on a data CD is not as precise in its reaction to the laser as an audio CD should be - where a SMEAR on the edge of the pits will not affect a data CD a smear on an audio CD will give distorted sound -
M.R.
Quote:
a DATA CD will play in a standalone player
But, not all players. Many older players will refuse to play burned CDs if they don't have some bits burned that report them as being commercial CDs.
I have a Sony DVD Player and a Walkman CD Player that will not play any burned CDs by design, but the DVD will play any copied DVD not matter what. Crappy built in piracy checking. I've found the the DVD (being the bad design it is) will not play many commercial DVDs, but if I make a copy it will play them just fine. Back then those players came out there were no home DVD burners, but CD burners were the new thing.
(Yes...everyone that burns CDs is a pirate...or so the industry was thinking back then...ARGH)
I looked at the TAU analyzer and it doean’t appear to be an analyzer of the quality of your recording from a CD disk standpoint, instead the stated purpose from TAU is “The Aucdtect algorithm was developed to detect whether MPEG artifacts are present in recordings.” In other words, the analyzer is used to tell whether the recording came from a lossless wav file, or from a compressed mp3 file, such as from a download. This is used to tell whether you have purchased an authentic commercial music CD, or a pirated one made using mp3 files.
The free tools from CD Speed actually do check the quality of the bit-by-bit recording and reports errors. This software is used extensively by CDRlabs in its reviews of burners.