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Looper's Delight
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Loopsters, David Myers asked where to find a good price on Audio CDr blanks for use with the Phillips 870 CD recorder. I can't help you with the Audio CDr blanks, but you may not have heard that there is a trick you can use in order to record with the Phillips 870 using data CDr blanks (the cheap ones). I learned about this via the Roland VS-880 mailing list. Some of the folks there have the Phillips 870 and have successfully used this trick. The difference in the Audio CDr blank and the data CDr blanks is that the Audio discs have information written to them that tells the 870 (or similar Pioneer consumer CD recorders PD04, PD05) that the disc is a Consumer disc (and tariffs were paid). Without that data, it will not allow you to enter record mode. I don't have a CD recorder, so what I tell you now is based on my reading others accounts, and leveraged from a similar trick my kids use to play Japanese Playstation CD roms in an American Playstation. You will need an Audio CD blank of the same capacity (time) as the Data CD blank you want to record to. 1. Put the Consumer blank into the recorder. 2. It will read the identification information, and will indicate you can record. 3. Reach under the CD tray door and slide the tray open (manually, do not use the tray open button). 4. Remove the Consumer CD blank 5. Place the Data CD blank on the tray 6. Manually close the tray completely 7. Record 8. Do not remove the CD until you finalize it, or it will not play. You cannot remove it, and reinsert it later to record. Again, this is from others accounts, I cannot tell you the nuances of this trick. Others say it is easy, works, and has not harmed their recorders. Proceed at your own risk. The only caveat I have heard regarding this procedure has to do with calibration. When a blank disk is inserted into a stand alone CD recorder, the recorder performs a calibration on the blank. This calibration consists of writing and reading a reserved area of the blank in order to determine the optimal laser intensity for that exact disc. This is done because there is unit to unit and manufacturer to manufacturer variations in the CD blanks' dye layer. The cal insure the holes burned in the dye layer will be of the correct size (depth?) in order to be read later without error. Since this trick requires you swap discs AFTER the calibration, there is some risk the burn will not be optimized to the proper level for the second (actual record) disc. So far, anecdotal information says this has not been a problem. Again, proceed at your own risk. See http://www.stereophile.com/shownews.cgi?83 for stereophiles article on 'CD Recorder's Dirty Little Secret'. bret _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com