Proper CD Etiquette
- Thread starter mkillio
- Start date
Neither - place it in the box or, if you can't, on something flat and non-abrasive (like a piece of clean paper).
Generally speaking it's often more likely to be fatal if you damage the back (label) side of a CD as this screws up how the laser reflects. Small scratches on the front, so long as they don't penetrate the resin, can usually be corrected with standard error correction. That's my understanding, though I could be wrong
Generally speaking it's often more likely to be fatal if you damage the back (label) side of a CD as this screws up how the laser reflects. Small scratches on the front, so long as they don't penetrate the resin, can usually be corrected with standard error correction. That's my understanding, though I could be wrong
I find the 'scratching the label == bad' statement...umm....wrong.
Some CDs don't have labels. Some do. As long as you don't scratch the foil inside the disc itself, you can do whatever the heck you want to the top of the disc.
Some CDs don't have labels. Some do. As long as you don't scratch the foil inside the disc itself, you can do whatever the heck you want to the top of the disc.
As Natoma says, those are crappy CDs. No purchased disk I know of has the foil as the top of the disc. Its inside the resin, just about at the mid point.Diplo said:
I've heard that theirs actually a little layer around the outside of the disk that allows you to place it Data down becaue it raises it just enough that the Data side doesn't physically touch the surface....but of course it has to be sitting on a completley flat surface the doesn't have debri on it that breaks up the flat surface...
These days I don't think you'll get even dirt cheap CD-R's where the top layer is the reflective layer, but it was true not too long ago. I have some CD's lying around that are not more than a couple of years old that make a big fuss on the packaging about how they're now new and improved with a Buzzword[TM] protective layer above the reflective layer.DiGuru said:
Bigus Dickus
Regular
RussSchultz said:
I doubt it. The foil (reflective) layer is much closer to the label side than the "bottom" side. The resin on the top/label side is much thinner, and much easier to scratch through. Thankfully most CD's do have labels which offer additional protection for that side.
It's a tough question to answer properly though. Small scratches on the label side have no effect at all. Small scratches on the bottom side may cause data reading errors. Large scratches on the top are much more likely to cause gross reading errors than large scratches on the bottom. And finally, scratches on the bottom can be removed or lessened by polishing since there is no label and thicker resin. Scratches on the top you are generally stuck with.
Wow. Color me wrong.
I took out an old MSDN CD from 1997, and sure enough, you scratch the top and the foil disappears and it stops working.
I took out an old MSDN CD from 1997, and sure enough, you scratch the top and the foil disappears and it stops working.
Looking through my CD and CD-R collection.
I can't find a single one with an internal layer.
I don't have lots of CD-R brands here, and I admit that the CD-R's are cheap ones.
Coud someone name a brand of CD-Rs that have a internal layer and I'll see if I find one.
PS
Just ripped the foil of a Verbatim Crystal Surace + Super AZO Double Protection CD-R. (Yes it's cheap.) And yes, the data layer is there right under a thin foil. (You can remove it with an eraser.)
AFAIK all the different protection metods are based on making the foil tougher, but never to hide the data layer well inside the disc.
I can't find a single one with an internal layer.
I don't have lots of CD-R brands here, and I admit that the CD-R's are cheap ones.
Coud someone name a brand of CD-Rs that have a internal layer and I'll see if I find one.
PS
Just ripped the foil of a Verbatim Crystal Surace + Super AZO Double Protection CD-R. (Yes it's cheap.) And yes, the data layer is there right under a thin foil. (You can remove it with an eraser.)
AFAIK all the different protection metods are based on making the foil tougher, but never to hide the data layer well inside the disc.
Oh, forgot that part of the name. The CD-R I just tortured did have the DataLifePlus label on it also.
I wouldn't be surprised if that image is a correct description of my CD-R too. But that the reflective layer and those above can be ripped off as one foil (after some scratching). In that case the protection is only good for rather mild physical abuse.
It might be that those protective layers are there for chemical and/or UV protection.
I wouldn't be surprised if that image is a correct description of my CD-R too. But that the reflective layer and those above can be ripped off as one foil (after some scratching). In that case the protection is only good for rather mild physical abuse.
It might be that those protective layers are there for chemical and/or UV protection.
Diplo said:Generally speaking it's often more likely to be fatal if you damage the back (label) side of a CD as this screws up how the laser reflects. Small scratches on the front, so long as they don't penetrate the resin, can usually be corrected with standard error correction. That's my understanding, though I could be wrong
That's always been my understanding too. You even have to be careful with those self-adhesive CD-R labels sometimes, because if you place them wrongly the first time you can accidentally remove the reflective layer when trying to reposition.
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