I’ve been a big fan of Memorex-brand Black CD-R discs for a couple years now. It’s mostly a psychological thing; for whatever reason, I think they will stand up to the test of time better than other brands. Who knows, really?
So, as a long-time buyer, I’ve seen some of the product’s evolution. Memorex started out with a really great label design with a sort of matte finish. Here is what cdrecord has to say about this revision of the disc:
ATIP info from disk:
Indicated writing power: 4
Is not unrestricted
Is not erasable
Disk sub type: Medium Type A, low Beta category (A-) (2)
ATIP start of lead in: -12508 (97:15/17)
ATIP start of lead out: 359848 (79:59/73)
Disk type: Short strategy type (Phthalocyanine or similar)
Manuf. index: 22
Manufacturer: Ritek Co.And the visual:
Not bad. Plenty of writing surface to play with. They later changed the dye and altered the label to be a bit shinier. Disc info:
ATIP info from disk:
Indicated writing power: 4
Is unrestricted
Is not erasable
Disk sub type: Medium Type A, low Beta category (A-) (2)
ATIP start of lead in: -11634 (97:26/66)
ATIP start of lead out: 359849 (79:59/74)
Disk type: Short strategy type (Phthalocyanine or similar)
Manuf. index: 3
Manufacturer: CMC Magnetics CorporationAnd photo:
A few months later, somebody at Memorex took a hit off the ol’ crack pipe. The disc info didn’t change much:
ATIP info from disk:
Indicated writing power: 4
Is unrestricted
Is not erasable
Disk sub type: Medium Type A, low Beta category (A-) (2)
ATIP start of lead in: -11634 (97:26/66)
ATIP start of lead out: 359849 (79:59/74)
Disk type: Short strategy type (Phthalocyanine or similar)
Manuf. index: 3
Manufacturer: CMC Magnetics CorporationBut the label took a turn for the worst:
Maybe they expect us to mark our CDs with white-out, I’m not sure. Yes, you can buy Sharpies for marking dark surfaces, but I’m still aggrivated at Memorex for going with style over function. Can anyone recommend an archival marker for marking dark surfaces?
Here’s a composite of the three discs, just for fun:
Some one has too much free time… (:
Come play WoW with Matt and I
i have already heard this complaint. i feel so IN
hey. i got the new memorex black cd-r..but my cd writer cant read it. u know why??
I completely agree here. What were they thinking changing the label to that black and green crap? I tried to order some of the black and gold ones from some retail website, figuring I might get the last that I could before they were gone forever, and they came today, and of course, they sent me the new ones. Does anyone know if there is ANYWHERE I can still get the black and gold ones? This always seems to happen, I find something that I really like and then it gets discontinued shortly, while everything else that sucks stays in production. WTF?
if it say memorex ITS NOT check it with nero tools!
I just tried out the new version and what I used to lable them was a silver aoutgragh sharpie. It seems to work fine. A little wet at first but was good when it dried.
At the bottom of the cd is a small silver area you write in – I like the new look, stop crying!
I don’t like it at all. Yes, I have used the unprinted area for labels, but it’s far too small to put any real amount of information.
It’s old news though. I haven’t burned a CD in months, if not a whole year.
The gold ones are great for special music recordings. The gold and black facegraphics were perfect. They looked great with the black recording side. And overall looked pro, archival quality.
I think since Mem started making those archival $8 per CD other Gold versions, they needed to differintiate from the regular black ones. So the change was extreme, they’re okayyy, but STILL the GOLD and Black ones were the best. CD label graphics do make a difference. Plus I think the writing side had a thicker texture in non-glossy form. Which will help make them last longer, AAAND when you write on them, they feel great! No slippery-ness.
Memorex had the best CD-R out there then they fucked it up. Marketing Department. ;^\
Just want to add that the Gold versions had simplistic to the point information. And the typography was pretty good. Very balanced design. You suck Memorex Marketing departmenT!
Hey there.
I’ve had similar labelling problems before but acquired PILOT Super Color permanent ink (almost like paint) pens in both Silver and Gold ink colours. Trust me, as long as you’re a little careful, the results can look VERY kül…. especially against this background.
Give ‘em a shot.
Peace, and cheers.
JOC
Here’s another point of aggravation. The Black and Gold labels were the only CD-Rs I’d ever found which would play back music I burned from my computer on my AIWA stereo system…so I depnded on them. My stereo system cannot read the Black and Green label CD-Rs. My Black and Gold CD-Rs still work today, so I know it’s the CD-Rs that are the problem, as I used up the last Black and Gold I had just a few days ago, with great results. Does anyone have any suggestions as to a brand and variety I might try? I’ve tried the Memorex White, Memorex Music, SONY Suprema, and Maxell white.
This morning I tried to burn one of these cd-r’s for the first time from iTunes on my Mac and nothing happened. My computer couldn’t read the disk and kept spitting it out. Is it just that us unfortunate few are getting bad batches? ::sigh:: Or are they not compatible with Macs? No idea….
hey i just got the new Memorex black cd-r cd’s but my computer can’t read them! ne one have any idea why?
ELH and I have the same problem.
The gold/black memorex plays like a charm in my car stereo but the new green/black cds just won’t play. That is so so sooooooo annoying. A spindle of 50 cds and none will work. I need those gold/black cds manufactured by Ritek back.
Why take something perfectly good and turn in into crap?!
Nice pcis of the cds! And the composite is cool
I’m having a nightmare about this Memorex Black CD-R, 80 min. disks.
I purchased a RCA CD home deck burner – dual, and the folks at radio shack told me that I could only use the Memorex gold & black (black bottom), on my unit. Well now I can’t buy these CD’s anywhere. I used to purchase them at Wal Mart, but they stopped carrying them sometime last year.
I go online to the Memorex web site, and they’re not available to purchase.
What is going on with this product? Can anybody tell me WHY I can’t buy these? If you have an answer, will you PLEASE email the information, so I can purchase them right away?
Any help would certainly be appreciated.
Thanks!
Please respond to:
sammydavisjr2@hotmail.com
I am not a regular to this blog but after reading a few odf the postings I felt compelled to give my two cents, so here it goess… For quite some time I stopped using Memorex branded media because of the high number of errors during recording. As a matter of fact as a Lead in a repair and testing facility here in Tennessee I made a point to avoid them because all the optical drives were giving false failures just because of the Memorex media. The same burners that testing rejected when using Memorex media passed with flying colors when using Verbatim or TDK media (to mention only other two). I know that others may disagree but this was first hands experience and I am talking about hundreds of opticals that were tested daily. Thanks for your attention.
I love both styles. if you have a problem with the writing on the CD, then don’t buy the one where you can’t write on, point blank, end of discussion.
Don’t be an asshole, Gavin.