burned CDs on PCE Duo

[musicman130]

I've read a few things on here about CDR's and have got nothing but confused.  I just got my duo system from KC yesterday and I had some games burned that I was playing on ootake.  No issues with ootake, however on the system itself the music stops.. sometimes.  Interestingly enough, the last time I played and the longest I survived in Star Parodier the CD music never stopped.  I burned them on Verbatum CD's and the burner I have refuses to burn less than 10X.  They are silver bottom.  First question is does CD-R's really hurt the system?  I've had conflicting yes and no's even on here.  Secondly, are there better CDR's to burn with than others?  I have heard silver is best, light green is best, don't use green, just about everything you can imagine.  I want to keep my system working for many years to come, but can't afford all the games I want the way prices are soaring. 

Thank you

[Killjoyy027]

I have a duo rx and I have used Memorex CD-R burned at 10x for a while no with no issues , I did try verbatim and it had read issues. I try to still get as many real games as possible ,but your right some of the ones I would love to have real are out of sight on price . I would also be interested in what the more senior members of the forum have to say on this subject as well.

[schweaty]

Try and find an old cdr drive.  I'm in the camp that believes you need to burn as slowly as possible.  Anything over 8x is going to cause problems.  Even 8x will drop the redbook audio occasionally

[poponon]

I've found the problem rarely lies in the burning process but almost always with the quality of the dump.

[musicman130]

700MB 52X speed is about all I can find online for CD-R's.  I believe they used to be 640MB when the system came out.  Not sure if that's an isue or not, but then again, not sure where you would find anything but 700 MB.  Might try some memorex if I can find them around here just to see if they work better.

[crazydean]

Slowest possible isn't always the best. My burner will do 4x, but the discs often have sound problems. When I do 8x, there are zero problems. Try to reburn the disc at a different speed and just see what happens. CD-Rs are cheap enough that you can waste a few through trial and error.

[wildfruit]

700MB 52X speed is about all I can find online for CD-R's.  I believe they used to be 640MB when the system came out.  Not sure if that's an isue or not, but then again, not sure where you would find anything but 700 MB.  Might try some memorex if I can find them around here just to see if they work better.

I have found some 650mb cd-Rs here
http://www.jetmedia.co.uk/popprods.htm?Product=jCDTY74SR-4&popup=popup
I shall report back once they arrive and I burn a patched Ys IV

[BigusSchmuck]

If for whatever reason you cant burn less than 12x, you can try one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-External-DVD-ROM-Player-Reader-Combo-CD-RW-Burner-Drive-for-Laptop-PC-/300716370805?hash=item460417ab75:g:Ql4AAOSw2s1UreVQ

[Fidde_se]

And as I always say, there are no discussion about the differences in quality of the different pressing plants or microscopic scratches on pressed discs that causes "stress" to the laser...

A good CD-R burned at low speed is always better then a pressed one made in a cheap dirty pressing plant or a pressed one with microscopic scrathes.....

Some even clean their new cd's in a ultrasonic cleaner to get rid of that bivax (beeswax)
that are on cd's from factory so that they don't stick to each other when stacked and being
sent around the plant at ultra high speed.. there's seldom any discussion about that "optical distortion" other then in nerdy hifi circles.

Then there are those who buys original and burns it and put their original in their vault never playing the "original"...

So I'll go with Null and say Burn'n Play, everything causes "stress" to the laser anyhow.

And about 650mb vs 700mb, there should be no differences, it only uses the amount it needs, the track density is the same it just goes further out on 700mb and if the hardware doesn't support it then it doesn't go there, there's even 800-900mb cd's now, and does PCE games go over 650mb?

But 1x is the best, 2x should be fine but most modern burners do go lower then 16x, some 10x, ImgBurn seems to be the best program.

[wilykat]

The 52x labeling is just the max speed it will burn, quite often they can be burned at slower rate.  Some may be limited to minimum 8x, some may go lower.

If you try to force burn speed slower than it's rated for, it may not work well.

[musicman130]

When I tried to burn at 1X it refused to do that and burned at 16X.  Guess I just need to find a REALLY OLD cd burner.

If you try to force burn speed slower than it's rated for, it may not work well.[/quote]

[HailingTheThings]

When I tried to burn at 1X it refused to do that and burned at 16X.  Guess I just need to find a REALLY OLD cd burner.

Get one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plextor-24X-SATA-DVD-RW-Dual-Layer-Burner-Drive-Writer-Black-Optical-Drives-PX-/281998840254?hash=item41a870d1be:g:Pa8AAOSwGYVXCaBS

74min CD-Rs have never given me trouble with my DUO-R or my X'EYE, but I am using gold archival grade, if that makes a difference. #ItMight

[HailingTheThings]

Hail, you have this plextor drive? How low does it go on burn speed?

8x at least for mitsui/mam-a 74min CD-Rs.... I believe that was the lowest it would go for my Verbatim datalifeplus CD-Rs as well.

[dave_van_damn]

If for whatever reason you cant burn less than 12x, you can try one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-External-DVD-ROM-Player-Reader-Combo-CD-RW-Burner-Drive-for-Laptop-PC-/300716370805?hash=item460417ab75:g:Ql4AAOSw2s1UreVQ

BigusSchmuck - do you have this burner and if so, how low does it burn?

My external USB's lowest is x10, but I've like to go lower...

[MNKyDeth]

I have been using a LG Super Multi DVD writer.

Model: GH24NSB0
Rom Ver: LN01

I have been using some cheap Verbatim discs, they were $10 for a 50 pack. They are rated at 52x max, same as the burner.

Using ImgBurn from Nightwolve site. The slowest burn I can do is 16x. But every game that I have burned as been perfect. I am including all the games I have burned for Saturn, PS1, TG16, Sega CD etc. I have not noticed any audio drops or static or miss reads yet on any of these consoles.

Now, I know of another person that burned a lot of stuff all the time. They had issues with discs on there TG16 console and all he did was go to his laptop, which he never used the drive to burn with usually compared to the desktop. And... all of a sudden his burns were good for the console with the exact same discs.
So if you have a drive that is used a lot it may just be getting old and not burning real well or just the fact it was a completely different burner may have been enough to get the burn the console liked.

So... imo, burn it, play it, and if there are issues try something else, discs, burner, speeds, etc. They all play a factor somehow.

[NecroPhile]

So... imo, burn it, play it, and if there are issues try something else, discs, burner, speeds, etc. They all play a factor somehow.

Pretty much this.  Your best bet is a quality rip burned to quality media (like 640mb Taiyo Yudens) at the slowest speed supported by the disc and drive, but there is no perfect answer that'll work in every system.  You might have to try a few different disc manufacturers before you find one your unit likes, or you might have a system that'll never play 'em without a new laser.

[wildfruit]

700MB 52X speed is about all I can find online for CD-R's.  I believe they used to be 640MB when the system came out.  Not sure if that's an isue or not, but then again, not sure where you would find anything but 700 MB.  Might try some memorex if I can find them around here just to see if they work better.

I have found some 650mb cd-Rs here
http://www.jetmedia.co.uk/popprods.htm?Product=jCDTY74SR-4&popup=popup
I shall report back once they arrive and I burn a patched Ys IV

I cannot report back because they have sent me 700mb ones by mistake. Ffs.

[wildfruit]

Update: company have now sent me the correct 650mb taiyo youdens. Patched my copy of Ys IV and it's a nice burn. Seems to load a tad quicker than on 700mb disc  but that could just be in my head. Burned at slowest my drive will do which is 8x.

[SignOfZeta]

Retail CD-R products were invented years after the PCE CDROM2 standard was finalized. Therefore your mileage will vary. I've owned several PCEs and Turbos (since they were still in production, many years) and never had an issue playing any CD-R I've burned. Some people try everything and still can't play burns. You'll just have to deal with it. Everything is performing to its spec, it's just that playing a yet-to-be-invented pirate copy of something was not a priority for NEC when they were manufacturing the first consumer CD-ROM of all time. Likewise it is not the responsibility of the CDR companies to support ancient gear that preexisted CDR.

As for killing gear, that's bullshit. Maybe if it's on it's last legs, but probably not even then. The only non-idiot  here that pushed that theory was Tatsujin and since his personal collection of non-CDRs is worth tens of thousands of dollars I honestly think he just had an axe to grind with pirates or at least liked to pose a bit. I do the same thing when I say "Just buy legit copies, it's way easier." knowing that if every Turbo game isn't worth $100 yet they will be within the month so that isn't really practical.

[musicman130]

I, unfortunately, don't have a ton of money to spend on games.  the money I make goes to other "adult" things that I have a little to spend on fun things.  If I didn't burn them or have my everdrive I would probably have about 4 games for the system.  With the prices of hucards and cd games going up for those that got into the system late it is very hard to get legit copies.  I know burning games is illegal, but at the same time I the companies are not making money on them anymore it's just the ebay people that put them up for ridiculous prices.

[SignOfZeta]

I'm pretty sure nobody gives a shit about that anymore. The majority of these companies are dead or so restructured that you can't even recognize them.

[Keith Courage]

You said that you are using silver bottom CDs? Generally verbatim discs have light green bottoms. I find that I've had best results by using regular Sony or TDK discs. Just the regular light green bottom ones you can buy at a store. I've never had good luck with expensive CD-R discs at all.

[NecroPhile]

As for killing gear, that's bullshit. Maybe if it's on it's last legs, but probably not even then.

I don't doubt that CDRs will kill a laser if you're dumb and ignore that it's struggling.  If the drive loads the games and plays fine, you're good to go and no excess wear and tear is happening; if the laser gets lost all the time and has to seek, refocus, adjust power, reseek, etc., you're killing it.

[ginoscope]

I never had much issues burning games on turbo although some games are picky depending the system.  The PC Engine duo reads most everything but after a laser change it was much better.  The TG16 cd was really picky but that also worked fine after a laser change.

I don't buy into the CD-R kills the laser but I can for sure tell that some games take much longer to load a CD-R vs the pressed disc.  A good example of this is the Gate of Thunder 4 in 1. 

Off topic but I just ordered a Rhea (SD card to replace disc drive) for Saturn so looking forward to see how this runs.  The creator of the Rhea is suppose to be working on one for the PC Engine.  I wouldn't mind having a spare unit devoted to SD loading.

[TDIRunner]

I never had much issues burning games on turbo although some games are picky depending the system.  The PC Engine duo reads most everything but after a laser change it was much better.  The TG16 cd was really picky but that also worked fine after a laser change.

I don't buy into the CD-R kills the laser but I can for sure tell that some games take much longer to load a CD-R vs the pressed disc.  A good example of this is the Gate of Thunder 4 in 1. 

Off topic but I just ordered a Rhea (SD card to replace disc drive) for Saturn so looking forward to see how this runs.  The creator of the Rhea is suppose to be working on one for the PC Engine.  I wouldn't mind having a spare unit devoted to SD loading.

I have the Gdemu from the same guy who made the Rhea.  I've been very happy with it.  My only complaint was that it didn't have a menu like I'm used to with my Everdrives.  However, someone else solved that problem with Gdmenu which I've been using from the start.  Makes it act just like an ED.  I believe someone has developed something similar for the Rhea, but I'm not certain about that.  I hope you enjoy it.  I'm planning to eventually get one for the Saturn, but I'm in no rush since I have a mod chip in mine at the moment.

[musicman130]

Thought they were silver, but might be  light green. I'm colorblind, so I might not see them quite right.

You said that you are using silver bottom CDs? Generally verbatim discs have light green bottoms. I find that I've had best results by using regular Sony or TDK discs. Just the regular light green bottom ones you can buy at a store. I've never had good luck with expensive CD-R discs at all.