Dave Platt wrote:
In article ,
David Nebenzahl wrote:

Generic data-type CD-R blanks won't work in standalone CD recorders,
because the recorder firmware is required by law to reject 'em.

OK, I stand (sit) corrected. How long has this been true?

Roughly 14 years - since the passage of the Audio Home Recording Act
of 1992.

The Act was a big piece of political and economic compromise. The
music producers won some restrictions: home digital-audio taping or
CD-burning requires the use of equipment and blanks on which a royalty
has been paid (in order to compensate the artists and publishers for
the loss of revenue) and the recorders are required to implement and
honor the SCMS single-generation copy-control technique.

Consumers won out with some legal protection. If you use
consumer-audio recording devices and blanks (and computer CD burners
generally do _not_ qualify), and make copies only for in a
noncommercial context (e.g. personal backups, or to give to friends),
then you cannot be prosecuted for copyright infringement.
Noncommercial analog copying (e.g. on cassette tape) is specifically
legalized, with no copy protection or royalties required.

Except now you can buy what used to be called "audio only" as "dual use" or
"all-purpose" CD-R's, which eliminates the need for dual inventories. The
price of the audio types had fallen quite a bit in recent years anyway.

Mark Z.