CD-R
Blank optical disc in Computers
Owners report good CD-Rs, like Kodak Gold and Verbatim, still readable after 30 years on nearly any computer; cheap ones can fail within 10 years.
6 people recommended CD-R in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 9 comments.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- mixed feelings
- 1
- warn against or regret it
- 2
The record
Recommended in 5 of 12 months
In 5 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 5 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 33% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 9 of the 11 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good discs last decades
“data on even the worst CD-Rs being still readable after 30 years ( i can personaly attest to that”
Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “A Review of M Disc Archival Capability. With long term testing results” “my memorex and verbatim still work fine after 30 years of mistreatment!”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “CD Sales Growth Outpaced Vinyl in the First Half of 2026” “I used Kodak Golds, which have lived up to their hype.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “CD Sales Growth Outpaced Vinyl in the First Half of 2026” - Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “A Review of M Disc Archival Capability. With long term testing results”
Cheap, easy physical backups
“CD-R's, which were common and made physical backups very cheap”
Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “Why your early 2000s photos are probably lost forever” “You'd use CD-R of course.”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Quake Shareware, a CD-ROM just a little too full”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Some discs fail within years
“mine are failing after ~20 years”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: How to make my website exist for 100 years?”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-DISC | 24 | 6 | 23 | 51% | 6 | — | — |
| CD-RThis page | 6 | 1 | 2 | 75% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 11 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“constantly had issues with scratches, sunlight, whatever damaging them to uselessness”
“You'd use CD-R of course.”
“I used Kodak Golds, which have lived up to their hype.”
“my memorex and verbatim still work fine after 30 years of mistreatment!”
“they had the advantage that they could be read from practically any computer”
“there have been plenty of bad CD-Rs that have become unreadable after less than 10 years”
“data on even the worst CD-Rs being still readable after 30 years ( i can personaly attest to that”
“mine are failing after ~20 years”
“CD-R's, which were common and made physical backups very cheap”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.