about black cds

[serjer]

hi,
does anyone know of what is made CD-R which have a black coating instead of the blue azo?
Moreover what are the advantages do those black CD-R provide?
thx in advance

[elpresidente]

I think they r better for PS one Backups ... ?!

[serjer]

ok,but are they better than blue azo ,which is supposed to the 'best ' at the moment?
thx

[Blane]

As posted on the newsgroup rec.games.video.sony- "The PSX compact discs have a black-polymer coating. This is not really an anti-copy protection mechanism. The black (actually, very dark blue) colour that is added to the polymer that covers the underside of the disc does very little to change the refraction of the light from the reading mechanism. It is really more of a visual aid in easily determining if a compact disc is pirated."

[LTR12101B]

Black, or any other colour CD-R are normally just an IR-transparent colouring in the polycarbonate, rather than in the dye.

Some peple like them, some say they're better - and perhaps as a premium product, they may be on the best of the production lines - while the shrinkwrap unbranded make do with the older lines.

[VIPER_1069]

makes no difference what so ever with playstation apart from they look er pretty well er not even that ! makes no difference to the reflectivity of the lazer what matters is the dye layer quality, but cheapo cds are just as reliable as some of the branded nowadays anyhow

[ChiMusic]

CDs going back to look like floppies! Maybe I will bein demand as OLD.

[Fox Mulder]

"Subject: [7-24] Are 'black' discs different from other discs?
(2002/12/10)

Yes and no. Your eyes can tell you that the disc is different, but the laser in the CD player can't.

A "black" disc, popularized by the tint added to Playstation games, has had color added to the polycarbonate layer. The tint looks very dark to the eye, but so long as it doesn't absorb or disperse too much light in the laser wavelength it won't interfere with disc performance.

Some people have suggested that, by blocking other light, the coloration enhances the performance of the disc. This makes about as much sense as drawing around the outside of the disc with a green magic marker (a popular myth from the 1980s).

If you find that "black" discs work poorly or especially well, you haven't discovered anything different from what most owners of CD recorders know: some discs just work better than others. The tint in the plastic isn't likely to be involved."

Taken from the "CD-Recordable FAQ"
http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq07.html#S7-24

A nice reference doc IMHO.

[serjer]

thx for all the info guys