There is no such thing as a perfect CD or DVD master. There will be electronic errors on each and every disc.

Useful tips to create a CD or DVD Master Disc:

1. The burn proof feature is nice but should be disabled when burning a master. For audio disc, if this feature kicks in while the buffer is empty, it may result in pops and clicks.

2. Burn from your hard drive. Do not make on-the-fly disc to disc copying.

3. Use a good quality CDR or DVD-R. For CD-R, we highly recommend disc made by Taiyo Yuden. Taiyo Yuden invented CD-R and one of the 3 patent holders for the technology. For DVD-R, Taiyo Yuden or Ridata are recommended. A good master made will preserve of all the hard work that you put in.

4. Burn at slow speeds. We recommend 24X or 32X. Some of our customers still burn masters at 4X.

5. Use a good recorder such as Plextor, Pioneer etc.

6. Always use “disc-at-once” record mode. Do not use “track-at-once” mode especially for audio CDs. This mode may also cause pops and clicks. Some software may have “track-at-once” set as the default mode. If you are not familiar then search the help menu in order to properly set it.

7. Remember to close the disc.

8. Use write-once media only, such as CD-R or DVD-R. Stay away from rewritables.

9. Ship your master disc in good protection cases, such as a jewel case, a discsaver clamshell etc. These cases hold the disc by the inner hub and the surface of the disc does not touch anything. Scratches on the disc create errors.

10. Handle the disc properly. Hold it at the edges. Do not leave fingerprints on the both sides of the disc.

11. Avoid using multi-generation copy as a master. A copy of a copy of a copy of the original master will definitely not be the same as the original.

12. Scan for virus.

13. Finally and most importantly - do a final test of your contents to confirm it is 100% to your expectations. Check that all files are there, the autorun feature runs in different platforms as it should be and there are no freezes on the video. Take the time to thoroughly test it even if it takes hours.

Very often a client is in a hurry to get the duplicated copies in order to meet the tight deadline. The master disc is then shipped out for duplication without being thoroughly tested. It will be disastrous to only find the master was bad upon receiving the duplicated discs.

To learn how we can formulate the best strategy to meet all of your media and duplication requirements, please call us at: 604.821.0066 or email us at: info@progressmarketing.com