burned CDs in factory in-dash CD player?

Can anybody else get burned CDs to work in the factory in-dash unit? They won't work in mine, but then my unit prolly has 2 lbs of dirt inside.

Oh yeah, it's a 1997.

They work fine in my '99.

they work fine in my 99 also (the stereo sounds like crap, but that's besides the point )

Working fine in '01 factory unit.

You probably know this, but make sure they are in the CD format not MP3. The other trick I have used is to set my burner to 1x speed. I've found that CD's burned at the higher speeds don't always work.

old_man said:

You probably know this, but make sure they are in the CD format not MP3. The other trick I have used is to set my burner to 1x speed. I've found that CD's burned at the higher speeds don't always work.

Click to expand...

thats funny the righteous brothers SOUND like they are one 1x speed... :laugh3:

Alex,

They work fine in my '98 as well...

Ivan

Work in my '99 as well. Check to see what type of files they are being burned as.

I also have a 1997 with the same problem.

HOWEVER...

I have found that while CD's burned on Office Depot brand CDRs do not work, there is some other cheap ass no name brand that I bought (sorry there is absolutely no name anywhere on the discs) and they work perfectly.

Bottom line, in my limited experience...

Office Depot CDRs did not work.
2 other brands DID work.

Burned CD's did not work in my 97's stock stereo either. There are lots of old CD players that cannot play burned CD's, this is a common problem, and not just in car audio. Many walkman-style handheld CD players made before about 1998 also cannot play burned CD's. I have heard different reasons as to why, and like old man said, if they are burned on slower speeds, sometimes they will work. One reason I heard was due to the actual surface of the disc after burning, apparently there are small differences that will not allow older players to recognize the disc as a CD. Anyone have other theories they have heard? I for one am curious why.
Brent.

Make sure they are CD-Rs and not CD-RWs. RWs won't play in CD players as they are for storing info. not music.

I've found there's a good deal of difference between disks, and the less blue, the better usually. The closer you can get to a silver burning surface, the better they seem to do.

jeepguy97 said:

Make sure they are CD-Rs and not CD-RWs. RWs won't play in CD players as they are for storing info. not music.

Click to expand...

Close - it's actually got to do with "Phase changing" of the substrate. Both audio segments and data files are digital data on CD...

The CD-R media works by burning microscopic pits into the aluminum substrate in the disk - which is the same as how commercial CD's are burned, both audio and data.

The CD-RW uses a laser of a different colour (and therefore energy level) and lower power, which changes the microscopic structure of the substrate from "crystalline" to "amourphous" - where the latter does not reflect the laser light, like the burned pits in the standard aluminum. The different colour laser also has the capability to change the amourphous substrate back to a crystalline structure, which is how the disk is "erased."

However, the CD-RW media requires the different colour laser to be read (although it can be read by the MUCH finer beam found in a DVD player...) The CD-RW laser will read CD-R media easily, which is why the players are backwards-compatible.

Upshot - the newer head units will read CD-R and CD-RW generally, while older ones will not. Also, DVD players will read pretty much anything.

I also concur with the colour media issue - I refuse to use coloured substrate media for anything important. Pretty much all my CD media is either silver (aluminum) or gold (which is a pain to find... Haven't had any for a while, now that I think of it...)

Make sense now, or clear as mud?

5-90

5-90 said:

Close - it's actually got to do with "Phase changing" of the substrate. Both audio segments and data files are digital data on CD...
The CD-R media works by burning microscopic pits into the aluminum substrate in the disk - which is the same as how commercial CD's are burned, both audio and data.
The CD-RW uses a laser of a different colour (and therefore energy level) and lower power, which changes the microscopic structure of the substrate from "crystalline" to "amourphous" - where the latter does not reflect the laser light, like the burned pits in the standard aluminum. The different colour laser also has the capability to change the amourphous substrate back to a crystalline structure, which is how the disk is "erased."
However, the CD-RW media requires the different colour laser to be read (although it can be read by the MUCH finer beam found in a DVD player...) The CD-RW laser will read CD-R media easily, which is why the players are backwards-compatible. Upshot - the newer head units will read CD-R and CD-RW generally, while older ones will not. Also, DVD players will read pretty much anything. I also concur with the colour media issue - I refuse to use coloured substrate media for anything important. Pretty much all my CD media is either silver (aluminum) or gold (which is a pain to find... Haven't had any for a while, now that I think of it...) Make sense now, or clear as mud? 5-90

Click to expand...

Best explanation I have heard yet, thanks!
Brent.

Thanks for the replies, guys! I'll try burning at 1x speed and see what happens. This is all new to me, I joined the 20th century last week when I picked up a used CD burner for my ancient computer.

Is Roxio a good program for doing this?

'00 worx just fine...stock head unit.
i, too, have noticed the quality of burnable cds (and cds in general) go down...thinner now.

Oh - for media, I stick to Maxell or TDK (brands) for best results. I try not to use too many other brands, and I'm REALLY picky about "stack packs" - I know that Maxell and TDK both use foam bits to keep the discs from rattling together and getting scuffed in shipping (just a donut on top to put a little pressure down, but it works,) while I've gotten other stackpacks with half of hte discs wrecked... Forewarned is forearmed...

5-90

Handlebars said:

Is Roxio a good program for doing this?

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Roxio is very good; EZ CD Creator also works well. It's been ages since I've bothered to burn an audio CD (or anything, actually) but I believe you also want to finalize or close the session so it's readable in non-writer CD devices.

Handlebars said:

Thanks for the replies, guys! I'll try burning at 1x speed and see what happens. This is all new to me, I joined the 20th century last week when I picked up a used CD burner for my ancient computer.

Is Roxio a good program for doing this?

Click to expand...

Roxio takes a backseat to Nero but Nero is a little harder to learn. I started out on my first burner years ago with Adaptec's, now Roxio, Easy CD Creator when they were on version 3. Finally at around version 3.99E it worked ok. Then they brought out ver 4 and started all over again. As others have stated try using different brands as it does make a difference and make sure your burning "music" cd's. I've used burned cd's in 3 different vw's, a 93 eurovan, 96 passat and 99.5 jetta (6 disk changers built by Panasonic). I only can remember one or two that didn't play right, they skipped.

JoBo

Handlebars said:

Is Roxio a good program for doing this?

Click to expand...

CD burning programs are like lift kit companies, everyone has one they swear by and several they swear at!! LOL My Sys. Ad. brother (red922dr) says that Nero is better than Roxio as it will copy games effectively. I use Roxio at school as it's on my machine. Works with no major problems. It'll work fine BTW windows media player 10 will let you rip and burn too.