Just installed Digsby! So far, I'm liking it! My hope is that I can start to you programs like this to keep up with all of these social media sites, etc.
Here's the link in case anyone see this post or wants to try this application.
Digsby.com
I'll be in touch!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Facts About Ordinary CDs and DVDs
Most people would agree that they have experienced problems with CDs and DVDs at one time or another. Whether it was from scratches, abrasion or they just didn’t record or play after you know you have recorded something on them.
When office networks became commonplace and companies began installing LANs and WANs (Local Area Networks and Wide Area Networks), a method for backing up the entire system needed to be installed. Usually, this consisted of a backup tape that someone needed to change daily and/or weekly.
But, even magnetic tape backup systems would fail from time to time. When CDs became more prominent and popular, people began backing up their own data on CDs just in case the tape backup system didn’t network correctly and get the most recent revisions from a workstation.
Have you ever bought a pack of CDs or DVDs and every once in awhile you came across one that for whatever reason just wouldn’t record anything? And then, came across some that said they recorded your data, only to find later that the disc still appeared blank? Yet, at that point, even though it appeared blank, it read as though you had already recorded on it, only to have to discard yet another disc.
That was the point where you and I both began to feel that CDs and/or DVDs were not as reliable as we once thought they were. I mean, isn’t a disc just a disc? Aren’t all discs created equal?
The truth is, most DVDs and especially CDs lost their value early on. Back when CDs were first introduced, they were practically giving them away with new computer purchases just like Microsoft WindowsTM. Back then, if you bought a new computer with a CD player/burner, you may have gotten a coupon for free CDs or a discount on a particular brand of CDs with your computer purchase (nowadays most computers come standard with a dvd player/burner).
I know that the disc industry frowns on my telling you this, but for years now, you and I have been buying a mixture of grade A, B, and even grade C discs from the local office supply store and especially cheap discs online. But, the truth is the truth and that’s what happens. The manufacturers began “mixing” the great with the good and the bad in order to keep their costs down and to get the general public accustomed to using CDs.
Now that CDs and even DVDs have become ‘the norm’ for recording music, images, photos, and even home videos, people are becoming more aware that there has to be a better way to store all of these things.
So, here’s the jist of all of this. Bad discs are bad simply because they are manufactured in mass production runs and at the end of these runs, the stamper die which includes the silver metal layers, the media dye, and the plastic substrate that the disc is attached to, are not pressed as accurately as the those in the beginning of the production run.
In order to save money and in order to make a ‘complete run’ most manufacturers considered 500,000 to be the threshold. Which means that the last 100,000 or so, would be less effective than the first 100,000.
In 2007, Mitsubishi created a new disc, which we call the Century Disc. This disc is not only fine-tuned to be accurate every single time you use it, it has so many features that I almost have to write a book about it.
The Century Disc has ultra-precise groove tracking simply for one reason. This reason is that Mitsubishi did a lot of testing over the years and decided that 25,000 discs per production run is the threshold where they feel the stamper die (more on this below) begins to lose its near-perfect impression power.
Every manufacturer has to use a machine that ‘stamps’ the metal layer and the media dye on the substrate (the plastic part of the disc). The difference is in how well the stamper die is manufactured, the media dye being used, and the recording layer (which is usually silver or semimetallic form of silver/alloy).
The machine presses each substrate at a high rate of speed and stamps each disc like a cookie cutter. Each time it presses a disc, it creates pits and grooves on the recording surface and these are the areas the laser writes your data to. If you have a misprint like an offset penny or coin, then you can relate to this analogy and how important it is to get it right from the onset.
If you have an offset or misprint disc and it is not detected, then, your data either gets recorded incorrectly or not at all, and the end result is the same. No recognizable data on your disc either way.
Years ago, this didn’t seem to be a problem. Why? Because none of us (at least not the average person) knew that there was a difference in disc quality. I, for one, always thought that a disc was just a disc and there was no difference between them.
There is a difference and that’s why a lot of recording professionals prefer one brand over another and computer geeks prefer another brand over other generic brands. Unless you researched this, you probably didn’t know and had no reason to check into it. I know that I didn’t give it any thought until I came across the Century Disc. Now, I seem to absorb everything I come across about discs, substrates, media dyes, and anything related to optical media.
If you read my article on “Why The Century Disc Became So Important To Me” you will understand my passion for this product. I don’t want to get into all of that right now so that I can stay on subject.
If the average or ordinary CD or DVD is manufactured at the rate of a half-a-million or more at a time, using the same stamper die/press, and at the end of that run you end up with a mixture of A-rated, B-rated, and C-rated discs all boxed together, how can you tell which of these discs will be good or bad?
You can’t tell by looking at them, you just have to take your chances, throw some away, hope that the ones you have recorded to are good ones and end up with 10% or more being trash. That’s the way it used to be.
With the Century Disc, only 25,000 discs are manufactured per stamper die run. Which means, even though you may pay more for a more precise and more accurate disc, you get the peace of mind in knowing that every disc you use is dead-on accurate. No worries about whether or not your presentation, video, critical data, or even your photo images are actually on your disc.
The peace of mind to me, is worth the extra cost. I hate it when I used to think that I backed up my files onto a disc, deleted those files from my hard drive (assuming I had them on disc), and later found that I no longer had those files because they were nowhere to be found.
You get the idea. Have you ever had to copy your files, whether photos, data, etc. more than once? I’m sure if you’ve used discs you have already experienced this problem. I look at what my time is worth and realize that I would rather buy an expensive disc that I can count on each and every time then to buy cheap discs only to rerecord something I thought I had already recorded.
The fact that the BLER (Block Error Rate) on the Century Disc is consistently tested at 15 BLER per second or less, compared to the average decent disc which inherently and consistently has 30 - 50 BLER per second, this leads me to believe that the Century Disc is always at least twice as good as any other disc I could buy.
What is Block Error Rate anyway? First of all, all discs have Block Errors. Block Errors are what determines whether a disc works or fails. The industry has determined that a disc (CD or DVD) is trashed at the rate of 220 BLER (block errors per second).
I don’t want to get into the technical aspects of block error rates in this discussion, but I will tell you that block errors are one major factor in determining whether a disc is A++ grade like the Century Disc or a low C-grade as in many other mass-produced discs. Since CDs and DVDs have ratings, why don’t they put these ratings on the packaging? So far, I have never walked into an office supply store and seen a CD or DVD package that states “A, AA, AAA, or A++ rated discs.
The Century Disc is an A++ rated disc which also has the same scratch-resistant protection as the new Blu-ray discs. I say this because it is manufactured at the same facility as our TDK OEM Blu-ray discs and the hard coat is applied using the latest technology and newest equipment available today.
The Century Disc is a truly archival media. It has a 24-karat gold layer that encapsulates and protects the silver recording layer. It is tested to last well over 100 years. I know, we won’t be here then and why should we care? I used to think exactly the same way. Then, I began to think, “Hey! I can save all of my family photos for my grandkids and I can save all of my mom and dad’s photos from when they were young and pass them on too.”
Not only is the Century Disc designed to last a lifetime (over 100 years), but it is also designed to be compatible with almost every CD and DVD recorder/player on the market today and yesterday. Why? Because, the Century Disc uses Mitsubishi’s patented DRL (Dual Reflective Layer) Technology. Most discs have a silver reflective layer, the Century Disc takes that into consideration and gives you a 24-karat gold protective layer on top of a real silver (AG) metal reflective layer for extra compatibility. Now you get the best of both worlds all in one disc.
The Century Disc has a unique, universal printable surface. This means, you or I, can make labels on the computer for our discs, save them on to a disc and take them to a printer or someplace that can print onto the disc surface for us. Now you can have custom looking discs without having to mess with labels that throw your discs out of balance, get crinkled, or smear from the ink not being dry yet. Inkjet printers with a built-in disc printing tray are becoming more popular and are more affordable for the average person now.
Personally, I never use those do-it-yourself labels to make disc labels. Partly, because I didn’t know that you weren’t supposed to write on the top side of CDs. Like I said, I was an optical media novice. No one ever told me not to write on my CDs with a permanent marker, that it could eventually ruin the recording. Now I know.
So, let’s recap.
Ultra-Precise Groove Engineering gives you a higher quality near-perfect disc everytime. Only 25,000 discs manufactured per stamper die run compare to mass quantities of 500,000 (yes, literally a half-a-million).
Ultra-Hard Coat protects your recording surface from scratches, fingerprint smudges, and other elements that could easily render your discs useless.
Universal Print Surface allows you to use the Century Disc with an inkjet printer, thermal printer, have them mass-produced by a silk-screen company, or write on the top of the disc with a permanent marker and none of these processes effect the recording.
Near-Perfect rotational balance because of the design and substrates used, I thought this was worth mentioning because some discs actually have flaws and are warped but undetectable to the average eye. The Century Disc is designed in such a way that it has a near-perfect rotational balance which causes less wear and tear on your laser servo and disc drives overall.
That just about covers it. Did I mention how great they look too? There’s something about the look of the disc that it even looks sharp and unique without printing.
So, here’s my offer. I know you figured there had to be a pitch somewhere right? This offer is actually to your benefit.
I challenge you here and now, buy the Century Disc, available in CD-R or DVD-R and if you do not think it is absolutely the best disc you have found, then return them for a complete refund for up to one-full-year from the date of purchase.
I promise you that each and every disc will perform as it is supposed to perform; and each and every disc will work every single time you use it. It will burn accurately the first time you burn to it and it will read on every CD or DVD player you play it on, or I will gladly refund your money. No bones about it.
When office networks became commonplace and companies began installing LANs and WANs (Local Area Networks and Wide Area Networks), a method for backing up the entire system needed to be installed. Usually, this consisted of a backup tape that someone needed to change daily and/or weekly.
But, even magnetic tape backup systems would fail from time to time. When CDs became more prominent and popular, people began backing up their own data on CDs just in case the tape backup system didn’t network correctly and get the most recent revisions from a workstation.
Have you ever bought a pack of CDs or DVDs and every once in awhile you came across one that for whatever reason just wouldn’t record anything? And then, came across some that said they recorded your data, only to find later that the disc still appeared blank? Yet, at that point, even though it appeared blank, it read as though you had already recorded on it, only to have to discard yet another disc.
That was the point where you and I both began to feel that CDs and/or DVDs were not as reliable as we once thought they were. I mean, isn’t a disc just a disc? Aren’t all discs created equal?
The truth is, most DVDs and especially CDs lost their value early on. Back when CDs were first introduced, they were practically giving them away with new computer purchases just like Microsoft WindowsTM. Back then, if you bought a new computer with a CD player/burner, you may have gotten a coupon for free CDs or a discount on a particular brand of CDs with your computer purchase (nowadays most computers come standard with a dvd player/burner).
I know that the disc industry frowns on my telling you this, but for years now, you and I have been buying a mixture of grade A, B, and even grade C discs from the local office supply store and especially cheap discs online. But, the truth is the truth and that’s what happens. The manufacturers began “mixing” the great with the good and the bad in order to keep their costs down and to get the general public accustomed to using CDs.
Now that CDs and even DVDs have become ‘the norm’ for recording music, images, photos, and even home videos, people are becoming more aware that there has to be a better way to store all of these things.
So, here’s the jist of all of this. Bad discs are bad simply because they are manufactured in mass production runs and at the end of these runs, the stamper die which includes the silver metal layers, the media dye, and the plastic substrate that the disc is attached to, are not pressed as accurately as the those in the beginning of the production run.
In order to save money and in order to make a ‘complete run’ most manufacturers considered 500,000 to be the threshold. Which means that the last 100,000 or so, would be less effective than the first 100,000.
In 2007, Mitsubishi created a new disc, which we call the Century Disc. This disc is not only fine-tuned to be accurate every single time you use it, it has so many features that I almost have to write a book about it.
The Century Disc has ultra-precise groove tracking simply for one reason. This reason is that Mitsubishi did a lot of testing over the years and decided that 25,000 discs per production run is the threshold where they feel the stamper die (more on this below) begins to lose its near-perfect impression power.
Every manufacturer has to use a machine that ‘stamps’ the metal layer and the media dye on the substrate (the plastic part of the disc). The difference is in how well the stamper die is manufactured, the media dye being used, and the recording layer (which is usually silver or semimetallic form of silver/alloy).
The machine presses each substrate at a high rate of speed and stamps each disc like a cookie cutter. Each time it presses a disc, it creates pits and grooves on the recording surface and these are the areas the laser writes your data to. If you have a misprint like an offset penny or coin, then you can relate to this analogy and how important it is to get it right from the onset.
If you have an offset or misprint disc and it is not detected, then, your data either gets recorded incorrectly or not at all, and the end result is the same. No recognizable data on your disc either way.
Years ago, this didn’t seem to be a problem. Why? Because none of us (at least not the average person) knew that there was a difference in disc quality. I, for one, always thought that a disc was just a disc and there was no difference between them.
There is a difference and that’s why a lot of recording professionals prefer one brand over another and computer geeks prefer another brand over other generic brands. Unless you researched this, you probably didn’t know and had no reason to check into it. I know that I didn’t give it any thought until I came across the Century Disc. Now, I seem to absorb everything I come across about discs, substrates, media dyes, and anything related to optical media.
If you read my article on “Why The Century Disc Became So Important To Me” you will understand my passion for this product. I don’t want to get into all of that right now so that I can stay on subject.
If the average or ordinary CD or DVD is manufactured at the rate of a half-a-million or more at a time, using the same stamper die/press, and at the end of that run you end up with a mixture of A-rated, B-rated, and C-rated discs all boxed together, how can you tell which of these discs will be good or bad?
You can’t tell by looking at them, you just have to take your chances, throw some away, hope that the ones you have recorded to are good ones and end up with 10% or more being trash. That’s the way it used to be.
With the Century Disc, only 25,000 discs are manufactured per stamper die run. Which means, even though you may pay more for a more precise and more accurate disc, you get the peace of mind in knowing that every disc you use is dead-on accurate. No worries about whether or not your presentation, video, critical data, or even your photo images are actually on your disc.
The peace of mind to me, is worth the extra cost. I hate it when I used to think that I backed up my files onto a disc, deleted those files from my hard drive (assuming I had them on disc), and later found that I no longer had those files because they were nowhere to be found.
You get the idea. Have you ever had to copy your files, whether photos, data, etc. more than once? I’m sure if you’ve used discs you have already experienced this problem. I look at what my time is worth and realize that I would rather buy an expensive disc that I can count on each and every time then to buy cheap discs only to rerecord something I thought I had already recorded.
The fact that the BLER (Block Error Rate) on the Century Disc is consistently tested at 15 BLER per second or less, compared to the average decent disc which inherently and consistently has 30 - 50 BLER per second, this leads me to believe that the Century Disc is always at least twice as good as any other disc I could buy.
What is Block Error Rate anyway? First of all, all discs have Block Errors. Block Errors are what determines whether a disc works or fails. The industry has determined that a disc (CD or DVD) is trashed at the rate of 220 BLER (block errors per second).
I don’t want to get into the technical aspects of block error rates in this discussion, but I will tell you that block errors are one major factor in determining whether a disc is A++ grade like the Century Disc or a low C-grade as in many other mass-produced discs. Since CDs and DVDs have ratings, why don’t they put these ratings on the packaging? So far, I have never walked into an office supply store and seen a CD or DVD package that states “A, AA, AAA, or A++ rated discs.
The Century Disc is an A++ rated disc which also has the same scratch-resistant protection as the new Blu-ray discs. I say this because it is manufactured at the same facility as our TDK OEM Blu-ray discs and the hard coat is applied using the latest technology and newest equipment available today.
The Century Disc is a truly archival media. It has a 24-karat gold layer that encapsulates and protects the silver recording layer. It is tested to last well over 100 years. I know, we won’t be here then and why should we care? I used to think exactly the same way. Then, I began to think, “Hey! I can save all of my family photos for my grandkids and I can save all of my mom and dad’s photos from when they were young and pass them on too.”
Not only is the Century Disc designed to last a lifetime (over 100 years), but it is also designed to be compatible with almost every CD and DVD recorder/player on the market today and yesterday. Why? Because, the Century Disc uses Mitsubishi’s patented DRL (Dual Reflective Layer) Technology. Most discs have a silver reflective layer, the Century Disc takes that into consideration and gives you a 24-karat gold protective layer on top of a real silver (AG) metal reflective layer for extra compatibility. Now you get the best of both worlds all in one disc.
The Century Disc has a unique, universal printable surface. This means, you or I, can make labels on the computer for our discs, save them on to a disc and take them to a printer or someplace that can print onto the disc surface for us. Now you can have custom looking discs without having to mess with labels that throw your discs out of balance, get crinkled, or smear from the ink not being dry yet. Inkjet printers with a built-in disc printing tray are becoming more popular and are more affordable for the average person now.
Personally, I never use those do-it-yourself labels to make disc labels. Partly, because I didn’t know that you weren’t supposed to write on the top side of CDs. Like I said, I was an optical media novice. No one ever told me not to write on my CDs with a permanent marker, that it could eventually ruin the recording. Now I know.
So, let’s recap.
Ultra-Precise Groove Engineering gives you a higher quality near-perfect disc everytime. Only 25,000 discs manufactured per stamper die run compare to mass quantities of 500,000 (yes, literally a half-a-million).
Ultra-Hard Coat protects your recording surface from scratches, fingerprint smudges, and other elements that could easily render your discs useless.
Universal Print Surface allows you to use the Century Disc with an inkjet printer, thermal printer, have them mass-produced by a silk-screen company, or write on the top of the disc with a permanent marker and none of these processes effect the recording.
Near-Perfect rotational balance because of the design and substrates used, I thought this was worth mentioning because some discs actually have flaws and are warped but undetectable to the average eye. The Century Disc is designed in such a way that it has a near-perfect rotational balance which causes less wear and tear on your laser servo and disc drives overall.
That just about covers it. Did I mention how great they look too? There’s something about the look of the disc that it even looks sharp and unique without printing.
So, here’s my offer. I know you figured there had to be a pitch somewhere right? This offer is actually to your benefit.
I challenge you here and now, buy the Century Disc, available in CD-R or DVD-R and if you do not think it is absolutely the best disc you have found, then return them for a complete refund for up to one-full-year from the date of purchase.
I promise you that each and every disc will perform as it is supposed to perform; and each and every disc will work every single time you use it. It will burn accurately the first time you burn to it and it will read on every CD or DVD player you play it on, or I will gladly refund your money. No bones about it.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Test Results of a Scratched Century Disc DVD-R are In
Today, I scratched a Century Disc DVD-R seven ( 7 ) times with a razor knife.
Then, I played it on my DVD player. It played flawlessly. It has a resin-based scratch resistant recording surface (SRS Technology) that protects your recordings from fingerprint smudges, scratches, abrasions, and other elements that could easily render a disc useless.
After playing the disc in the DVD player, I tested it on my laptop using VSO Inspector. I first ran the 'Surface Test' which showed absolutely no flaws, errors, or problems. Immediately after the Surface Scan Test, I ran the 'File Test.'
Again, no errors, no problems. The software didn't even detect the scratches. My disc drive didn't skip a beat.
Check out the report and screen shots at
http://rmgproducts.com/store/Scratched_CenturyDisc_Results.html
Then, I played it on my DVD player. It played flawlessly. It has a resin-based scratch resistant recording surface (SRS Technology) that protects your recordings from fingerprint smudges, scratches, abrasions, and other elements that could easily render a disc useless.
After playing the disc in the DVD player, I tested it on my laptop using VSO Inspector. I first ran the 'Surface Test' which showed absolutely no flaws, errors, or problems. Immediately after the Surface Scan Test, I ran the 'File Test.'
Again, no errors, no problems. The software didn't even detect the scratches. My disc drive didn't skip a beat.
Check out the report and screen shots at
http://rmgproducts.com/store/Scratched_CenturyDisc_Results.html
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Keepin On!
Friday is supposed to be my day to take a little time and blog about the Amazing Century Disc. As you can see, it has been almost a month since I have posted a new blog.
I have been a bit overwhelmed with things. I have been learning how to be an affiliate manager. If you have never managed an affiliate network or affiliate program before, I suggest getting some help. That in itself can be a full time job.
Then, there is the new Century Disc Rewards Program I have been developing. This is a program that will allow consumers (hopefully like you) buy the Century Disc at a discount, using a coupon code. This coupon code will allow you to either earn points (which can be converted to cash), or allow you to donate your points to your favorite charity or non-profit organization.
The trick is, once we launch this program, we need to have every single item in place beforehand. So, I have been working on the database program that will allow us to update all of the organizations or charities into a searchable webpage so you can see if yours already exists in case you want to donate to them, and hopefully be able to add them to your signup form with the click of a button.
This program will also allow us to keep from having too many redundant entries in the list. Who knows how many people may want to sign up to donate to one of the thousands of churches in the country by the same name in different locations.
So, I am working on organizing the categories each will go into (like adoption, children services, housing, homeless, and so many more), the search criteria, and all sorts of other things related to keeping this organized once we launch.
Then, there is the “Landing Page.” Not only do we need a landing page for people to come to and get excited about the program, we need them to be able to immediately see why the Century Disc stands out from all other competitors and want to buy it for themselves.
So, we need a landing page for the products (Century Disc CD page and a Century Disc DVD page), we need a landing page for the program, we need autoresponders to notify people that they have been accepted into the program. Then they need some sort of page they can put up on their own website if they want, we need a professional looking email document so we can email people with their personlized coupon code, and so many things that have to be created and put online before a program of this caliber can actually be launched.
In addition to all of this new venture, I have my regular duties in fielding calls and emails from promoters, web SEO and SEM companies, designers, video people, and all sorts of other services everyone seems to think we need. I am sure we could use all of them and more but we would have to have an enormous budget to implement all of these things.
As the marketing director for RMGProducts.com and the Century Disc, it is my job to sort through all of these offers as well as present these options to the money man. If the money man doesn’t think we need it or diesn’t want to put it in our marketing budget, it probably will be put on hold.
I am also working on a proposal/letter to send to The Big Idea with Donny D. So, Donny, if you're out there, check out the Amazing Century Disc, we have the exclusive on this product and no one else has it unless they got it from us. We need your help buddy! You're Awesome!
So, even though I may sound like I am venting, I am not. I am just updating the blog so those of you who read this know that we are still working away and are getting ready to make some serious noise online.
Thanks for tuning in, I’ll try to get back soon.
I have been a bit overwhelmed with things. I have been learning how to be an affiliate manager. If you have never managed an affiliate network or affiliate program before, I suggest getting some help. That in itself can be a full time job.
Then, there is the new Century Disc Rewards Program I have been developing. This is a program that will allow consumers (hopefully like you) buy the Century Disc at a discount, using a coupon code. This coupon code will allow you to either earn points (which can be converted to cash), or allow you to donate your points to your favorite charity or non-profit organization.
The trick is, once we launch this program, we need to have every single item in place beforehand. So, I have been working on the database program that will allow us to update all of the organizations or charities into a searchable webpage so you can see if yours already exists in case you want to donate to them, and hopefully be able to add them to your signup form with the click of a button.
This program will also allow us to keep from having too many redundant entries in the list. Who knows how many people may want to sign up to donate to one of the thousands of churches in the country by the same name in different locations.
So, I am working on organizing the categories each will go into (like adoption, children services, housing, homeless, and so many more), the search criteria, and all sorts of other things related to keeping this organized once we launch.
Then, there is the “Landing Page.” Not only do we need a landing page for people to come to and get excited about the program, we need them to be able to immediately see why the Century Disc stands out from all other competitors and want to buy it for themselves.
So, we need a landing page for the products (Century Disc CD page and a Century Disc DVD page), we need a landing page for the program, we need autoresponders to notify people that they have been accepted into the program. Then they need some sort of page they can put up on their own website if they want, we need a professional looking email document so we can email people with their personlized coupon code, and so many things that have to be created and put online before a program of this caliber can actually be launched.
In addition to all of this new venture, I have my regular duties in fielding calls and emails from promoters, web SEO and SEM companies, designers, video people, and all sorts of other services everyone seems to think we need. I am sure we could use all of them and more but we would have to have an enormous budget to implement all of these things.
As the marketing director for RMGProducts.com and the Century Disc, it is my job to sort through all of these offers as well as present these options to the money man. If the money man doesn’t think we need it or diesn’t want to put it in our marketing budget, it probably will be put on hold.
I am also working on a proposal/letter to send to The Big Idea with Donny D. So, Donny, if you're out there, check out the Amazing Century Disc, we have the exclusive on this product and no one else has it unless they got it from us. We need your help buddy! You're Awesome!
So, even though I may sound like I am venting, I am not. I am just updating the blog so those of you who read this know that we are still working away and are getting ready to make some serious noise online.
Thanks for tuning in, I’ll try to get back soon.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Century Disc Hard Coat Protection
I find it interesting that "Hard Coat Protection" for CDs and DVDs has been available since at least 2005. It appears that TDK, Mitsubishi, and others had been developing the hard coat protection coating for the new Blu-ray discs knowing that the surface would have to have this protection in order for us to adapt to the new blu-ray media. Blu-ray first came out in a cartridge because even the slightest of fingerprint smudges would render the disc useless.
Then, they started using the coating on DVDs, TDK first introduced their hard coat version back in 2005. RMGProducts (us) introduced this disc as the LuxPro. It is and was a very good disc. It was a basic TDK shiny silver DVD with a heavy duty hard coat protection on it. It protected the recording surface from some serious scratches and fingerprint smudges.
The problem was that TDK shut down the Luxembourgh plant and discontinued that version of the hard coat DVD.
Last year, Mitsubishi introduced us to the Century Disc, which we now have the exclusive distribution rights in the U.S.A.
The Century Disc is not just another shiny silver DVD with a hard coat. It is a truly Archival Gold Layer Disc with a shiny silver layer for compatibility. The reason we have found that the hard coat version of other discs hasn't really taken off is because you have to have a really excellent disc to start with.
The Century Disc works because every disc is one of only 25,000 produced per stamper die run. Which means, they make 25,000 nearly-perfect discs before they add the hard coat resin which protects the recording surface.
I'm not sure why the other manufacturers' hard coat discs haven't really taken off but I can tell you there really hasn't been a whole lot of hype about them. Until the introduction of the Century Disc, I didn't even know there was a hard coat disc that actually worked, let alone knowing that there was such a thing.
I an tell you that Mitsubishi tells us that this hard coat protection is many times harder than the disc itself. I can tell you that I tried to scratch it with my car keys and it wouldn't even scratch. I can tell you that I have taken razor blades, a serated butter knife, a pair of scissors, and other items to scratch the surface and all of them play flawlessly even after some serious scratches.
The Century Disc uses a spin-coat technology that allows the resin to be poured onto the disc, then spun at high speeds in order to create an even coat all over the recording surface.
This resin is another product which Mitsubishi Chemical Corp created for their blu-ray discs. This resin dries clear and is so transparent, it barely adds additional block errors (BLER) to the Century Disc. Which goes to show you, if you have an excellent, near-perfect disc to being with, adding a clear coat to protect the recording surface may take away a little bit from the clarity, but in this case, it really is only a little bit.
We have had the Century Disc tested and each one is only 15 BLER (Block Errors per Second) or less. The results stated that on average the BLER for the Century Disc is 15 and at least one out of ten has an even lower BLER of about 10.
Considering Taiyo Yuden discs, which are an excellent product, have an average of 40-50 BLER and doesn't have a hard coat, I'd say the Century Disc's doing something. In fact, at there rates, I have to say, the Century Disc blows away its competition. There is no other disc on the market that even compares. If I am wrong, please feel free to let me know and I will post those results here.
I digress. I started this conversation about the hard coat and got a little sidetracked. The Century Disc has a scratch-resistant coating which we call SRS technology. It is a resin applied to the surface exactly the same way they put the Ultra Hard Coat on the new blu-ray discs. It is a proprietary spin-caot process which applies an very even coat over the entire surface ensuring clarity, even thickness throughout, and is so clear, you cannot even tell there is a coating on it until you scratch it.
Even with scratches like I have never seen on a playable disc before, the Century Disc still plays. In fact, it play flawlessly even with scratches and multiple fingerprint smudges. I wasn't aware that oily fingerprint smudges could, over time, render a disc (especially DVDs) useless. I guess it only makes sense that since a DVD has grooves 7 times smaller than a CD, that it is easier to damage and render useless.
So, I guess in all of this rambling (it's late and It's past my bedtime) I really only wanted to share how amazing this hard coat protection really is. I always think of the Century Disc as the predecessor to the Blu-ray disc.
It has precise groove engineering, which if the blu-ray didn't have, it couldn't work because the grooves on the blu-ray are about 35 times smaller than those of an ordinary CD. So, in this respect, the Century Disc is not only a near-perfect product (Thank God someone finally began making one), it also has the hard coat option using the exact same material used on the blu-ray discs. The Century Disc also has a deep dye color due to the newly formulated AZO Media Dye. Which some tests state that supposedly the Pthalocyanine media dye lasts longer, not! I don't care what 'they' say. We live in Florida and our sunshine is intense Y'all. Our company stuck many varieties of discs out in the sun for days at a time and at the exact same time of day, every day. When all was said and done, the only discs still working at the end of the study, were the Mitsubishi discs (including the Green Tune for Audio Mastering CD-R) that used the newly formulated AZO Media dye.
Because of the hard coat, the deep purple/blue media dye, the 24-karat Gold Archival layer that protects the silver compatible layer, and the Universal Printable label surface on the Century Disc, and the Ultra Precise Groove Engineering that goes into every Century Disc made, are the reasons I call this the predecessor to the Blu-ray disc.
I like to say "The Century Disc, is an ALL-Options Inclusive disc, and Failure is not an option.
Did I mention this is an A++ rated disc? It is the highest rated disc quality on the market in terms of any CD or DVD made.
Read my article on why ordinary discs fail. "Ordinary CDs and DVDs Exposed!" This article will give you a little insight to disc ratings and why most ordinary discs have such a high failure rate. You can also download the Disc Grade Chart from the PDF downloads page.
Then, they started using the coating on DVDs, TDK first introduced their hard coat version back in 2005. RMGProducts (us) introduced this disc as the LuxPro. It is and was a very good disc. It was a basic TDK shiny silver DVD with a heavy duty hard coat protection on it. It protected the recording surface from some serious scratches and fingerprint smudges.
The problem was that TDK shut down the Luxembourgh plant and discontinued that version of the hard coat DVD.
Last year, Mitsubishi introduced us to the Century Disc, which we now have the exclusive distribution rights in the U.S.A.
The Century Disc is not just another shiny silver DVD with a hard coat. It is a truly Archival Gold Layer Disc with a shiny silver layer for compatibility. The reason we have found that the hard coat version of other discs hasn't really taken off is because you have to have a really excellent disc to start with.
The Century Disc works because every disc is one of only 25,000 produced per stamper die run. Which means, they make 25,000 nearly-perfect discs before they add the hard coat resin which protects the recording surface.
I'm not sure why the other manufacturers' hard coat discs haven't really taken off but I can tell you there really hasn't been a whole lot of hype about them. Until the introduction of the Century Disc, I didn't even know there was a hard coat disc that actually worked, let alone knowing that there was such a thing.
I an tell you that Mitsubishi tells us that this hard coat protection is many times harder than the disc itself. I can tell you that I tried to scratch it with my car keys and it wouldn't even scratch. I can tell you that I have taken razor blades, a serated butter knife, a pair of scissors, and other items to scratch the surface and all of them play flawlessly even after some serious scratches.
The Century Disc uses a spin-coat technology that allows the resin to be poured onto the disc, then spun at high speeds in order to create an even coat all over the recording surface.
This resin is another product which Mitsubishi Chemical Corp created for their blu-ray discs. This resin dries clear and is so transparent, it barely adds additional block errors (BLER) to the Century Disc. Which goes to show you, if you have an excellent, near-perfect disc to being with, adding a clear coat to protect the recording surface may take away a little bit from the clarity, but in this case, it really is only a little bit.
We have had the Century Disc tested and each one is only 15 BLER (Block Errors per Second) or less. The results stated that on average the BLER for the Century Disc is 15 and at least one out of ten has an even lower BLER of about 10.
Considering Taiyo Yuden discs, which are an excellent product, have an average of 40-50 BLER and doesn't have a hard coat, I'd say the Century Disc's doing something. In fact, at there rates, I have to say, the Century Disc blows away its competition. There is no other disc on the market that even compares. If I am wrong, please feel free to let me know and I will post those results here.
I digress. I started this conversation about the hard coat and got a little sidetracked. The Century Disc has a scratch-resistant coating which we call SRS technology. It is a resin applied to the surface exactly the same way they put the Ultra Hard Coat on the new blu-ray discs. It is a proprietary spin-caot process which applies an very even coat over the entire surface ensuring clarity, even thickness throughout, and is so clear, you cannot even tell there is a coating on it until you scratch it.
Even with scratches like I have never seen on a playable disc before, the Century Disc still plays. In fact, it play flawlessly even with scratches and multiple fingerprint smudges. I wasn't aware that oily fingerprint smudges could, over time, render a disc (especially DVDs) useless. I guess it only makes sense that since a DVD has grooves 7 times smaller than a CD, that it is easier to damage and render useless.
So, I guess in all of this rambling (it's late and It's past my bedtime) I really only wanted to share how amazing this hard coat protection really is. I always think of the Century Disc as the predecessor to the Blu-ray disc.
It has precise groove engineering, which if the blu-ray didn't have, it couldn't work because the grooves on the blu-ray are about 35 times smaller than those of an ordinary CD. So, in this respect, the Century Disc is not only a near-perfect product (Thank God someone finally began making one), it also has the hard coat option using the exact same material used on the blu-ray discs. The Century Disc also has a deep dye color due to the newly formulated AZO Media Dye. Which some tests state that supposedly the Pthalocyanine media dye lasts longer, not! I don't care what 'they' say. We live in Florida and our sunshine is intense Y'all. Our company stuck many varieties of discs out in the sun for days at a time and at the exact same time of day, every day. When all was said and done, the only discs still working at the end of the study, were the Mitsubishi discs (including the Green Tune for Audio Mastering CD-R) that used the newly formulated AZO Media dye.
Because of the hard coat, the deep purple/blue media dye, the 24-karat Gold Archival layer that protects the silver compatible layer, and the Universal Printable label surface on the Century Disc, and the Ultra Precise Groove Engineering that goes into every Century Disc made, are the reasons I call this the predecessor to the Blu-ray disc.
I like to say "The Century Disc, is an ALL-Options Inclusive disc, and Failure is not an option.
Did I mention this is an A++ rated disc? It is the highest rated disc quality on the market in terms of any CD or DVD made.
Read my article on why ordinary discs fail. "Ordinary CDs and DVDs Exposed!" This article will give you a little insight to disc ratings and why most ordinary discs have such a high failure rate. You can also download the Disc Grade Chart from the PDF downloads page.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
We recently joined an Affiliate Network mainly to push the Awesome Century Disc. We decided to go with the PepperJAM Network due to their ease-of-use Web 2.0 interface, their attraction to top-level affiliate marketers and a whole lot of other reasons.
When we first started, it took us a few weeks to get past the 'Learning Curve' and not only learn how their interface works, but to learn that there are a whole lot of things we still need to learn. At least we are willing to learn.
Which only means that we still have a lot to do, a lot of changes and additions, and this is like anything else in life. Depending on what you put into it, will determine what you can expect to get out of it.
The first major holdup we ran into was getting their sales tracking code to interface with our ShopSite Shopping Cart.
We were having problems with the Pixel Integration. First we tried to implement the code ourselves in the back office of ShopSite. It wasn't tracking correctly. Then, we called our ISP. The ISP put us in direct contact with one of the founders of ShopSite who referred us to Michael. It's not that they did not want to handle this in-house, because the people at ShopSite are great to work with. But, this just happened to be one of those perplexing problems that ShopSite had not run into before and it would probably have taken them longer to get back to us then the solution they gave us.
For some reason, our integration with PJN was a little different than other integrations they had encountered. So, Gary, a really nice guy, sent us to Michael Masin, who got us up and running in about 20 - 30 minutes.
Michael wrote us a script that didn't alter the PJN pixel code but incorporated it smoothly. A simple solution but, not simple to someone who has not worked online in over seven years now (and really didn't have time to figure this one out).
If you have a ShopSite problem or would like a new template created for your ShopSite shopping cart interface, contact Michael Masin through his development website @ www.ssdev.us.
Not only will Michael treat you right, his honesty, integrity, and work ethics in the way he does business is well worth the price. Which by the way, his prices are probably the most reasonable I've seen in months and highly recommend Michael Masin to anyone.
I just met him last month during this situation so I am not touting his services because he is an old pal or anything of that nature. He is a 'find' in this industry and we look forward to working with him for our new templates (he writes the code, your artist has to do the design work) for our RMGProducts.com Shopsite shopping cart.
I asked Michael if he would mind sending us a little background info? This is what he sent me. I hope this will help someone find him if they need his specialty services. We are glad we found him. Thanks Michael!
I’m a ShopSite Certified Developer. I build and maintain ShopSite stores, custom templates, Order and Shipping APIs, and programs for processing XML, importing/exporting data, etc. I work with end-users, end-user’s designers and other ShopSite providers on any size projects from a whole store to a small template change.
When we first started, it took us a few weeks to get past the 'Learning Curve' and not only learn how their interface works, but to learn that there are a whole lot of things we still need to learn. At least we are willing to learn.
Which only means that we still have a lot to do, a lot of changes and additions, and this is like anything else in life. Depending on what you put into it, will determine what you can expect to get out of it.
The first major holdup we ran into was getting their sales tracking code to interface with our ShopSite Shopping Cart.
We were having problems with the Pixel Integration. First we tried to implement the code ourselves in the back office of ShopSite. It wasn't tracking correctly. Then, we called our ISP. The ISP put us in direct contact with one of the founders of ShopSite who referred us to Michael. It's not that they did not want to handle this in-house, because the people at ShopSite are great to work with. But, this just happened to be one of those perplexing problems that ShopSite had not run into before and it would probably have taken them longer to get back to us then the solution they gave us.
For some reason, our integration with PJN was a little different than other integrations they had encountered. So, Gary, a really nice guy, sent us to Michael Masin, who got us up and running in about 20 - 30 minutes.
Michael wrote us a script that didn't alter the PJN pixel code but incorporated it smoothly. A simple solution but, not simple to someone who has not worked online in over seven years now (and really didn't have time to figure this one out).
If you have a ShopSite problem or would like a new template created for your ShopSite shopping cart interface, contact Michael Masin through his development website @ www.ssdev.us.
Not only will Michael treat you right, his honesty, integrity, and work ethics in the way he does business is well worth the price. Which by the way, his prices are probably the most reasonable I've seen in months and highly recommend Michael Masin to anyone.
I just met him last month during this situation so I am not touting his services because he is an old pal or anything of that nature. He is a 'find' in this industry and we look forward to working with him for our new templates (he writes the code, your artist has to do the design work) for our RMGProducts.com Shopsite shopping cart.
I asked Michael if he would mind sending us a little background info? This is what he sent me. I hope this will help someone find him if they need his specialty services. We are glad we found him. Thanks Michael!
I’m a ShopSite Certified Developer. I build and maintain ShopSite stores, custom templates, Order and Shipping APIs, and programs for processing XML, importing/exporting data, etc. I work with end-users, end-user’s designers and other ShopSite providers on any size projects from a whole store to a small template change.
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