Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Yamaha made only motorcycles. Oh okay, they may well have made other things, but outside of Japan, no one knew. The most common were small machines that uses to scoot around like motorized sewing machines going yamahamahamahamahamaha... We riders of real bikes, BSA, Norton, Triumph, etc., did not take them very seriously.

I think my first realization that the world had changed, was when a close friend, a concert flautist, invested in a new Yamaha flute because she said it was the best. By now Yamaha motorcycles were quite formidable, and most of the "real bike" manufacturers had gone the way of the dodo. Of course, in modern times, Yamaha make a wide range of high quality products, and many people consider them the best. That is certainly the case with the Yamaha CRW8424SXZ external SCSI CD-RW recorder.

In the following review, I would like to discuss this recorder, its capabilities and use. I will also cover some of the reasons I chose this particular model. Although I am using it on a Win98 PC, almost everything I say is just as applicable to other platforms, and, also, to MAC users. In fact, the MAC has one extra capability, which I will cover later.


The Basics.

The information in the section applies to all CD-RW recorders.

A CD-RW Recorder is a device that can read, write and rewrite CD disks. You can use it to record data or music. Music CDs will play in your home audio system or Walkman.

There are two types of disk, CD-R and CD-RW. You can only write to a CD-R once. Once written, you cannot delete or change the contents. CD-R disks will work in almost all existing equipment. Typical cost is about $1 a disk.

CD-RW costs a little more than a CD-R, but you can read, write, delete and change data just like a giant floppy. However, most, older equipment cannot read CD-RW disks. Check that yours can, before you make a major investment in time and money. Typical cost is about $1.60 a disk, but this price is dropping fast.

A disk will store about 640MB of data or 74 minutes of audio, New slightly larger disks have begun to appear that will hold 700MB of data or 80 minutes of audio. Most new CD-RW recorders will handle the larger disks. You can buy the blank disks almost anywhere. I got mine at Staples. The disks must match the speed and density of the recorder. It is a good idea to pay a little extra for quality disks. The ultra cheap brands tend to become coasters.

There are three numbers associated with a CD-RW device, usually written as 8/4/24. The first number is the speed it can write a CD-R (8), the second is how fast it can write at CD-RW (4), and the third number is the speed to read a CD (24). All these number are relative to the speed of an audio CD. If an audio CD takes an hour to play, then it would take 30 minutes to copy at 2x, 15 at 4x, and 7.5 at 8x. Of course, it takes a little longer than 7.5 minutes because you still have to read the original and do a little formatting.

It should be noted that these speeds refer to the capabilities of the recorder, they my not be representative of its performance on your system. Older systems, with slower CDs and/or disk drives, will not be able to reach the top speeds. My year old, 450 P3 system had no trouble reaching 8x recording.


Why CD?

CD is the archiving media of choice these days, because of price, flexibility, portability and stability. There are three common archiving methods, removable magnetic media, such as the Orb Drive from Castlewood, Tape Cartridge Drives, and CD-ROM.

Price: 640MB for $1 compared to $30 for 2.2 MB on an Orb drive. Tapes are even more expensive. There is no comparison. Soon writeable DVD will totally blow away the market.

Flexibility: Data on a CD is immediately accessible, like a magnetic drive. Tapes are slow and clumsy to create and access.

Portability: Your tape or magnetic cartridge is only portable to someone else who has the same unit. The CD will play on any CD player on any machine. Virtually everyone you know can access it.

Upgradability: When you buy a 240x CD player in two years, it will still read your CDs. Once you upgrade your magnetic or tape drive, all the old cartridges are garbage.

Stability: Tapes are easily damaged and notoriously fickle. They can sense fear, and will fail when you need them most. All magnetic media, tape and cartridge, are sensitive to magnetic fields, and will soon atrophy with time. CDs are very sturdy, hard to damage, compact and easy to store. A CD-R will last at least 200 years, and even CD-RW will last for 30, if not physically damaged. This is what they say on the box, so you know you can probably double these numbers

For the record, all your paper notes, prized books and comics are going to self-destruct in 100 years or so. Modern paper is made from an acidic formula that has a relatively short life span.(For a few cents more, they could have made acid free paper.)

Your photographs are going to fade. Ever looked at any photographs from the twenties? Guess what, they did not look like that when they were taken. Those digital images you take, and archive on a CD-R are going to look exactly the same in the year 2200.

As for music, the copies you make are digital. They are exactly the same as the originals, no snap, crackle or pop. That's a far cry from taping an album, only to have it degrade each time you play it. Even if your stereo does not eat the tape, it will be unplayable in 10-20 years.


What's External?

An external device is a stand alone, with its own box and power supply, and does not go into a slot in your computer. External devices are slightly more expensive than internal ones.

There are three reasons that we chose an external system: multiple computers, computer upgrades, and CD-RW upgrades.

Multiple computers: My wife and I each have our own system, and we have a couple of old systems that are not totally dead yet. An external device allows one CD-RW to support all the systems.

Computer Upgrades: An external device allows easy transfer data from an "old" system to a new system, without having to dismantle either system.

CD-RW Upgrades: This is still relatively new technology. In two years time we will probably be able to get one twice as fast for half the price.

You might also want an external device if you PC had no available ports, or if its existing power supply is inadequate.


What's SCSI?

For those not familiar with SCSI, it is a type of communication interface. You usually need to buy a card, which will fit in a slot in your computer, and have a connection port sticking out the back for a cable. A single controller card can handle about seven devices. The devices are connected in a daisy chain, with each device being connected to the next. The first and the last devices in the chain need to be "terminated." A terminator can be a plug, a type of connector, a switch, and some devices are auto terminating. Every SCSI device you buy will come with some form of termination. Make sure you read your manual.

To can get single device SCSI cards, often supplied with scanners. These for the most part, are not worth the effort. I highly recommend Adaptec cards, because I have had a lot of success with them.

Always make sure the power is off to your computer and all devices before connecting devices to the chain. SCSI is not a forgiving standard. Connecting or disconnecting with the power on, will often cause permanent damage to one or more devices.

Although USB is probably the way of the future, it is still significantly slower than SCSI. SCSI is old technology, thoroughly tested, and freely available. SCSI cards are relatively cheap. As it happens, both main our systems already have SCSI ports available for use with scanners and portable magnetic storage.


What's in the box?

The CD-RW recorder is an almond colored rectangular box 6.7" wide, 2.8" high, and 12.9 inches deep. On the front is the slide out tray for the CD, the power switch, an eject button, and a mini jack socket for headphones, with its own volume control.

On the back is the power input, the SCSI ID, a terminator switch, the input/output SCSI connectors and two audio phono-out connectors.

You also get an instruction manual, a power cable, several CDs containing the installation software for both MAC and PC use, and same CD-R and CD-RW blank disks. Adobe Pagemill/Photodelux Software is included, which I have not installed yet, and is beyond the scope of this review.

You do NOT get a SCSI card, a SCSI Cable, or a phono cable. You will need to purchase the first two and install the card before you can use this unit.

The recorder has a HD50 connector. The cable will need a Male HD50 connector. The other end must match the connector on the device to which you plan to connect it. This may be the card, or some other SCSI device you already own. Double and triple check you have the right connector while you are at the store, SCSI cables are a lot more expensive than printer cables. The manual with the unit shows most common types very clearly.


Requirements.

IBM PC:

200 P1 or faster
19ms Hard Drive or faster
CD ROM Drive (to load software)
Available SCSI Port
Win 95/98 or NT.

MAC:

System 7.5 or newer
Available SCSI Port


Connecting your Unit.

READ THE MANUAL!

AFTER MAKING SURE THAT THE POWER IS OFF, you plug in the unit, and connect the cables. The phono-out is only required if you plan to use the unit to play audio CDs. (I already have a 40x player so I did not bother.) You should connect it to the input of your sound card, or directly to an amplifier or self-amplifying speakers. The SCSI ID needs to be set to a unique number, but this is automatic on Win 95/98 and NT. You need to set the Terminate switch ON if it is the first or last unit in the daisy chain. Don't forget to un-terminate the prior unit, if you are putting it at the end of a long, pre-existing chain.

Remember, only the first and last device must be terminated.

My unit fit nicely on top of my mini tower case. I put an old mouse pad between them to prevent any vibration transferring.

Once everything is connected, switch on and power up your PC. Install either the MAC or PC software, as usual, and then re-boot the machine.

These are two-three pages of tests to run in the manual. They take about 30 minutes, but are well worth the effort. They will confirm a successful installation, and tell you what speeds your system can support. The software is going to run at 2x until you prove your system can handle more.


Recording Audio CDs.

There are two easy methods to record audio CDs. The CD copier will copy and CD in your normal CD drive, to one or more CDs. Allowing it to make a full copy on your hard disk will speed up multiple copies. You can also use the recorder for the input CD, so you could make this the only CD drive you own, if money was tight. You should set the speed to the highest you can, based on your test. If you did not do the test, then you can run the software in test first mode, which takes a little longer. It took me about 20 minutes to record a full CD-R. It might go quicker once I play with the options.

Easy CD creator provides an Explorer like interface, where you can drag-and-drop tracks from various CDs onto your new CD. When you are ready, just press create. Once again, don't forget to set the speed, or use test first. You can also copy the input to hard disk as an image, and create the CD later. I am not going to go through all the features, but anyone who has been using Windows for more than five minutes should have no problem.

CD-R and CD-RW work the same way, except CD-RW disks have a delete disk option, which takes about 2 minutes.

Old, slow systems may not run fast enough to be able to create audio CDs.


Recording Data.

There are two easy methods to record data. You can use the Easy CD creator. A tab brings up the data controller and you have an Explorer like interface. Once again, CD-RW allows you to clear the disk. It took me about 10 minutes to record a full CD-R.

The other method is only applicable to CD-RW. Using Direct-CD, you can format a CD-RW disk to function as a giant floppy. This takes about 40 minutes, and uses 100+ MB of storage. However, once you have done so, you can read, write and delete files on that disk with any Windows or DOS program, handling it just as you would the A or C drive.

Please Note. Easy CD disks are transferable between platforms. You can create one on Windows 98, and read it on Win3.1 or MAC. Direct-CD disk may only be read on the platform that created them. One created on Win 95/98 CANNOT be read on Win3.1 or MAC.


ARRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!

According to the manual, MAC users can plug a cassette player, or turntable into their computer, and create CDs. Imagine, being able to take all those old vinyl records, and make nice, semi-indestructible CDs out of them. I think this is because of a piece of software called Simple Sound that comes installed on a MAC.

Okay. There has to be a way to do this on a PC. Come on all you experts out there in epinion land. Leave a comment, and point me in the right direction on this one. I bet Adam Woolcott (awoolcott) knows.


Summary.

The drive is neat, quiet, fast and does exactly what it claims. I had no trouble of any sort installing it on my computer. It worked well with my existing SCSI card, which is a relic from my prior PC. The unit is relatively inexpensive, and received excellent reviews from every source I could find. It has a large, 4MB, read/write buffer and it has its internal software in Flash ROM, so it can be upgraded with downloads from the Internet.

The software installed flawlessly on Win98, is well documented, and intuitive. Any experience Windows user should have no problems. The manual is well written and complete. There are plenty of other options and features, but I have documented the key ones here. You can even make WAVs with it.

The manual claims that it will read most types of Photo CD, and video CDs too. I do not have any available for testing. The Audio CD-R disks I have recorded work on every player in my house, of greatly varying ages. The Audio CD-RW that I tried, only worked with the newest CD players, but this will be true for any CD-RW recorder.

I would advice users to use CD-R media for recording music, because of its extreme portability. I would also use CD-R for making permanent archives of your system every few months. I would use CD-RW to make daily back up of what has changed on your system since the last full archive. For a few dollars in media a year, you get better protection than any virus checker or firewall can provide.

I also recommend the unit for making back ups of your audio CDs for playing in portable players or in the car. For photographers, this is the ideal medium for making secure, semi-permanent copies of you photographs. My camera normally stores a 640x480 image in about 30K. That means that I can store about 2100 images on a single disk costing $1, that will last 200 years and take less room than an old 5 1/4 inch floppy. That sure beats they heck out of buying film, developing it, and stuffing it in a drawer.

Okay folks. That's it for now. I am gonna go take my Yamaha for a spin. See ya later... Yamahamahamahamaha.....




Recommended: Yes