| The CD-Rs that say "music" or "audio" on them are for use in stand alone CD Burners, like the ones found in some stereo systems. Computers can burn to both types, but the stand alone recorders can USUALLY only burn the audio ones. Since the audio CD-Rs are almost assuredly being used for audio recording (gee I wonder why...LOL!) the levy on them is much higher ($0.77 each instead of $0.21 each). There are no real physical differences between the two types of CD-Rs, basically when they are being manufactured, someone flicks a switch, which sets a flag on the CD-R allowing it to be burned by the stand alone units. So yes, the price difference between standard CDs and Audio CDs is completely artificial. Most music CD-Rs burn at 12x, but there are some new ones that can be burned at 24x for "high speed dubbing". Audio CDs generally have lower burn quality on PC burners too, but I've yet to figure out why, I also don't know how well the stand alone burners perform, as I do not have one, and I don't know anyone with one :( |
