As I understand, the "issues" (we won't call them "problems") trace the recent history of the
company, as the Gold product line has been sold several times in the last five years. I'm not
clear enough about that history to recount it, but my impression is that the underlying troubles
are not "greed" but distraction. CD manufacturing and CD-R manufacturing in particular, is
extremely competitive. Price vs. costs are driven more by survival than by squeezing the last
penny out of the customer. Whatever the reason, our collective concerns are with the ends, not
the means -- we don't buy media because a company makes less money than another, we buy it
because it's "better." "Better" to most consumers is "cheaper". And, sorry for this dose of
reality, there aren't enough folks in archives demanding "higher quality" to show up as dither in
the sales data for CD-R. Which is where developing relationships to a niche player (like MAM-A)
is potentially good. Keeping in mind of course, my tiny media supplier moves 500,000 blank CD-R
every month. Or probably more than every CD-R used in preservation world-wide every year.
We've had serious concerns about the "Mitsui Golds" for some time. We have test equipment here
and have been monitoring their media. It varies very widely from batch to batch, and have
returned batches with poor results. We also find best results vs. burn speed vary from batch to
batch. So we lose a few dozen discs from each batch to find the best process window. (Although
the MAM-A Gold, according to the company, is rated to 52x, lately we're finding the best results
at 16x. They generally have scored badly at low speeds, 1x and 2x) A new shipment just came in,
so we'll be going through this again this week.)
We have found MAM-A very responsive to our worries, have never hesitated to replace media, and
seem to appreciate the feedback and test results.
I'm not here to be apologist for MAM-A. Back in the day when they gained their reputation they
made exceptionally fine CD-Rs, better than anything we tested (and we do testing ALL the time --
for some projects, every single disc; and routinely on all our burners to monitor aging and
process window).
For consistency and exceptionally low error rates (across the board, BLER, E11, E12, E21, E22,
E31 and E32), TY takes our prize. They're consistently so good I haven't bothered lately to
bring in other cyanine discs for comparison. But they do stand in stark contrast to MAM-A.
Typical of CD-Rs, MAM-A Golds have high E12 errors. Atypical of CD-Rs, TY's have very low E12
errors (I'm told no one knows why CD-Rs have characteristically high E12 errors).
But does any of this matter? Does the error rate increase? Does it increase perpetually or does
it plateau? Does it accelerate exponentially? Has entropy been repealed by polycarbonate? By
the time the error rates get high enough to be un-correctable (whether the discs last for 50, 100
or 300 years), will there be hardware to play them on? What do accelerated aging tests tell us?
(Did accelerated aging tests predict Sticky Shed Syndrome?) Any good mathematicians out there
who can tell us, in relation to the available error correction power of the format, how much is
being spent correcting for these variations in manufacturing? Is all this a tempest in a tea
pot?
Are we worried about the right problem?
G
Tom Fine writes:
Not disputing your facts at all. However, I find it curious that Mitsui
would see such a need for
cost-cutting.
Of course, I am not privy to the corporate meetings that led to this
decision, but I'd love to go back in time and preempt it!
It's probably all about market share and dwindling profits. We
professionals aren't driving this market and will be marginalized
accordingly.
When I get the chance to contact Mitsui directly about all of this, I'll
report to the list whatever I discover.
Chas.
--
Charles Lawson <clawson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Professional Audio for CD, DVD, Broadcast & Internet
--
Nominated for Grammy Award 2003:Best Classical Album
Philadelphia Orchestra, Schumann Orchestra works
Producers: George Blood & Simon Woods
George Blood
Safe Sound Archive
George Blood Audio, L.P.
21 West Highland Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
(215) 248-2100 (v)
(215) 242-2177 (f)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS MESSAGE IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE INDIVIDUAL(S) TO WHOM IT IS ADDRESSED AND MAY
CONTAIN INFORMATION THAT IS PRIVILEGED, CONFIDENTIAL AND/OR EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE UNDER
APPLICABLE LAW. If you are not the intended recipient or agent responsible for delivering the
message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution
or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in
error or there are any problems, please notify the sender immediately. Neither the sender, his or
her employer nor any affiliated entity is liable for direct, special, indirect or consequential
damages arising from alteration of the contents of this message by a third party or as a result
of any virus being passed on.
--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.15.15/581 - Release Date: 12/9/2006