Expert: Keanu - 1/17/2003

Question
My question is software related.  When backing up documents on my computer and even more important when I make music compilations from my own music cd's.... is there a difference when choosing which cdr to use.  Does a less expensive cdr (ie. HiVal or Imation) burn with any less effectiveness than a more expensive cdr (TDK or Phillips).  Is there anyway these less expensive cdr's could sound inferior to the more expensive ones and most importantly could these less expensive cdr's in any way hurt my cdr writer/burner on my computer...... would this be the same for a stand alone/component burner.   Do less expensive cdr's have less of a shelf life in your opinion, and finally, do the words “digital audio recordable” have significance when choosing a cdr to back up your music or data with.  Thank you for your opinions and help- you provide a wonderful service!  

Answer
I tell you what i do:  i buy the cheapest cdr's in the market, then i burn all my files, filez... you know...
I never have any trouble with it.  Some people say "I only burn my files in hy quality cdr's", but I don't wanna spend a lot of money in these cdr's, because i burn a lot, lot, lot of cdr's in a month.
Talking of audio cd's, in my case, i'm not an expert sound engineer, and my ears aren't very exquisite.  Also, if you backup your music in mp3 compressed in 128kbps and then burn to an audio cd, the quality will be acceptable, but not exellent, then: why buy an expensive cdr if the quality won't be excelent anyway?
my answer is:  experiment by yourself, and then choose the option that fit your needs.
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one last thing... be carefully with cheap cdr's, because there, in some cases, have a thin and very sensible cover... if you accidentally scratch it with any plastic thing, even a nail... well... say good bye to your backup...