What is the difference between a 2x CD-R disc and an 8x CD-R disc? Can I not write to any CD-R at whatever speed my hardware will write?
Answer:
A 2X CD-R disk is older technology whereby the dye that is burned by the CD recorder's laser is not sensitive enough to be burned with the shorter burst of energy that would come from writing at 8x. Remember the faster you write, the less time the laser has to burn the pits on the disk. So while it is generally okay to use 8x certified media at 2x, the reverse is not true. You have two choices: Buy 8x certified media or slow down the write speed of your CD recorder and use 2x or 4x disks (4x far more common). By the way, there is now 12x certified media - and some 12x capable CD recorders. The same story applies to 12x as 8x, of course.
Used with the permission of Octave Systems
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