preparing a master CDR for REPLICATION (glass master)

S

shackrock

New member
We will be getting our latest CD replicated (not burned with cdrs)...

Anything special I may be forgetting/not even know about preparing my master CDr for the replication process?

Right now, besides being redbook compliant in all the timing ways, I have everything hard limited at -.1db, too.
 
As long as it's compliant and you can send in a PQ sheet, that should do it.

They'll check the BLER on the way in if you haven't already.
 
Most places don't even require a PQ sheet anymore.

If the BLER is too high, they will let you know and you will have to burn a new disc for them. At that point, you might consider using different media or possibly a different burner.
 
I was reading something about CDR prep saying that your usual run of the mill CDR isn't an acceptable medium because of inconsistencies in the burning process.

It has to be burned straight through with no pauses, something I believe is a characteristic of "normal" CD burning.

Also things like error correction, which some mastering houses do in the QC (quality control) stage.

It's like Bob Katz says, "the doctor can check your pulse, but there are things going on under the skin as well".



However, Im not a mastering engineer by trade, so I can't really tell you what's right or wrong about that.
 
hm alrgiht.

what about burn speeds? I've read some articles recently about how it probably doesn't matter anymore what you burn at. I was thinking of burning at 4x-12x...somewhere in there.
 
I wouldn't burn any faster than about half the max rate that your burner can.

Slower is generally better with burns.
 
My studies found a "sweet spot" or a "window of maximum efficiency" around 20% of a drive's maximum speed with several drives and several media.

It seems to gel well with others, so that's about where I stay. 8-12x or so on your average 40-52x burner.

This assumes that the drive is "worthy" of the task (some are just garbage and that's all there is to it - See non-scientific study here: http://www.massivemastering.com/html/disc_errors.html ) but after dozens of individual tests, it was pretty clear that somewhere around that point gave the lowest BLER readings the vast majority of the time.
 
cool....I've been burning my masters with my DVD burner actually, I guess in the back of my head I tell myself "hey, it can burn dvds, it's GOTTA be more precise right?" haha.
 
why are you bothering to hard limit everything? either the audio fits or it doesn't....you are potentially adding a whole layer of unnecessary processing.
 
FALKEN said:
why are you bothering to hard limit everything? either the audio fits or it doesn't....you are potentially adding a whole layer of unnecessary processing.
Click to expand...

uhh...what?

hard limit it so it doesn't digitally clip...ever...
 
Block Error Rate

http://www.discdupe.org/i/bler.htm

Don't sweat it too much. Use good media, like Richoh, or Taiyo Yuden for the discs that you will send out for duplication, and burn them at conservative speeds and you will probably never exceed the "industry standards" for BLER.

I have burned dozens of master discs that have went to duplication without ever having one returned because of unacceptable BLER, and these were burned on average Lite-On, Sony, Plextor, NEC burners.
 
Most studies I have seen which use jitter and C1 errors as a base show that consumer CD-R/RW/DVD-RW drives burn with the best quality (on good media) at about 90% of their rated maximum speed.
Best to test for your own particular case and see what works best with your combination of burner and media.
Taiyo Yuden is about as good as it gets for media, BTW.
The stuff they normally sell at department stores is significantly worse in many respects. This ain't just an old wives tale. They are made in different factories with cheaper dyes and manufacturing techniques.
 
For those that are interested, I have been buying my CD media through www.supermediastore.com . I have been using themn for the past 9 months and have probably made about 25 orders through them. EVERY order has been shipped quickly, and perfect. They also have very fair prices. Even Taiyo Yuden disks are less than $30 for 100 packs shipped. Basically, if you think a little bit ahead, you can get great quality discs in the mail for the same as or less than most cheap discs at local retailers.
 
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