(TV) W: CD-Rs versus CDs FYI

["Casey, Leo J" <CaseyL@VOLPE.DOT.GOV>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Philip P. Obbard 
Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 10:13 AM
To: Casey, Leo J; Keith Allison
Subject: Re: CD-Rs versus Cds FYI


Here's my quick response: Heylin is
dead wrong. I HAVE sold parts of my boot 
collection, and the true CDs always
sell faster and better than CD-Rs. In fact, 
most collectors avoid CD-Rs and
feel cheated if they get them. Here's some 
reasons why: (1) CD-R is often code
for "CD bootleg knock-off", complete with 
badly photocopied graphics ; (2) pressed 
CDs have vastly longer lifespans than
CD-Rs; (3) pressed CDs have a much wider 
compatibility with CD players and
CD-ROM drives than the cheapo CD-Rs most 
traders use now. I have some top-rated
drives (Plextor, Onkyo) that get mixed 
results with some of the CD-Rs out
there.

Collectors don't just buy CDs because 
they are track-indexed copies of shows.
Good graphics and packaging make a HUGE 
difference - and anyone who knows the
collector mentality should know this, 
like Heylin. There's a reason why a
nine-year-old Beach Boy bootleg still 
circulates for hundreds of dollars
(Vigotone's 2CD SMILE) even though the 
material on it is no longer quite as
rare. 

--Philip

--- "Casey, Leo J" <CaseyL@VOLPE.DOT.GOV> wrote:
> Heylin:
> "The distinction between CD-R and CD is an absurd one...
> The notion that CDR's lack 'artifact' value is a classic philism - tried to
> sell your boot collection recently Phil? Want to try a two-handed exercise,
> like counting how many of that three-figure haul commands the same price they
> were purchased for? Boot Cds in the main - exceptional exceptions excepted -
> have almost no shelf life. A month after your cardboard cut-out of a
> piss-poor show in Brumland has been Cdd, its 'value' qualifies if for purely
> Frisbee status. Boot CDs are bought as a convenient, reasonably durable,
> track-indexed medium for recorded sound. What matters is the material on the
> CD, the way it is organized, its coherence as a listening experience and its
> relationship to the best tape of that particular recording (something Phil
> wisely side-shuffles in his column for the simple reason he doesn't really
> have a clue how most archival CDs stack up against the best circulating
> copy)."
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