Why You Need Karaoke Burners
There are so many reasons why you would want to use karaoke burners.
The main reason should be to preserve the original CDGs in a new condition while playing the burned ones.
You might also need to rip them for use on your computerised systems. A karaoke burner will also rip CDGs, of course. Consequently, this page will deal with karaoke burners and list those we believe can do an excellent job.
You can’t just use any CD burner on your PC or laptop to burn karaoke discs. However, you may be able to replace your standard CD player with a suitable karaoke burner. They will be reasonably cheap, and there will be many bargains available.
CDGs (Karaoke Discs)
Karaoke discs are not like ordinary music CDs that only have audio data. Karaoke discs also have text mixed in with the audio. As a result, this is where the on-screen graphics originate. Hence, we get CD+G (CDG) – Compact Disc plus Graphics. Most CD drives should also be able to play music from a CDG. However, reading and displaying the text is another matter.
When you buy a CD drive for burning karaoke discs, you need to check the specifications. Look to see whether it supports Karaoke-CD, CD-Text, or DAO-96. If the drive has those capabilities, then the chances are that it could both read and write karaoke discs. If this is the case, you should also be able to rip or burn a karaoke disc.
There are also a few other factors to consider. For example, the choice of the CDs you buy, the software itself, or even the computer will all play a part.
In brief, we recommend Power CD+G burner software. Also, we recommend the Plextor PX-716A using Verbatim CDs. Of course, if you have other suitable combinations, let us know.
Of course, the main aim is for you to burn a perfect karaoke disc without any graphics glitches.
List Of Suitable Karaoke CDG Burners:
We list around 88 CD/DVD drives or burners that may be able to help you rip and burn karaoke discs. Significantly, they have all had positive burning tests in the past. Those tests involved ripping a disc, too. However, please bear in mind that many of these drives are old. Indeed, they may only be available on the second-hand market, like eBay.
Also, others may have had success, which does not guarantee you will. Karaoke Info does not guarantee any of the following drives will work. In other words, they are drives or burners that other enthusiasts say will rip or burn karaoke discs successfully.
HP Karaoke Drives
01) HP DVD1170e
02) HP DVD 1270
03) HP DVD200I DVD-R/CD-RW
04) HP DVD300XI DVD-R/CD-RW
05) HP 8210e (4/4/6) CD-RW (External)
06) HP 8100 CD-RW
07) HP 8200i CD-RW
08) HP 8250i CD-RW
09) HP 9150 CD-RW
10) HP 9300 CD-RW
11) HP 9500 CD-RW
Lite-On Karaoke Drives
01) Lite-ON LDW-411S DVD-RW
02) Lite-On LTR-24102B (5GS4) CD-RW
03) Lite-On LTC-48161H CD-RW/DVD
04) Lite-On LTR-48126S 2QS5 CD-RW
05) Lite-On LTR-52327S CD-RW
06) Lite-On XJ-HD166S DVD
07) Lite-On SOHW-812S DVD+/-RW
08) Lite-On SOHW-1213S DVD+/-RW
Plextor Karaoke Drives:
01) Plextor PX-W102TU CD-RW
02) Plextor PX-320A PlexCombo DVD/CD-RW
03) Plextor PX-W241040A CD-RW
04) Plextor PX-W4012TU PlexWriter CD-RW USB
05) Plextor PX-W4824TA/SW CD-RW
06) Plextor PX-W4824TU PlexWriter CD-RW USB
07) Plextor PX-W5224TA PlexWriter CD-RW
08) Plextor PX-W5224A
09) Plextor PX-708A
10) Plextor PX-708UF (Ext) DVD+-R/CD-RW
11) Plextor PX-712A DVD+-RW/CD-RW
12) Plextor PX-712UF
13) Plextor PX-716A
14) Plextor PX-716AL
15) Plextor PX-716UF
16) Plextor PX-755A
17) Plextor PX-755SA
18) Plextor PX-760A
19) Plextor PX-W8432T CD-RW
20) Plextor PX-W1210TA (12/10/32)
21) Plextor PX-S88TU (8/8/24U)
22) Plextor PX-Premium
23) Plextor PX-Premium-U
Sony Karaoke Burners
01) Sony DRU-710A DVD-RW
02) Sony DW-D22A DVD-RW
03) Sony CRX-100e CD-RW
04) Sony CRX110e (4/2/24) CD-RW
05) Sony CRX-140e CD-RW
06) Sony CRX160e (12/8/32) CD-RW
07) Sony CRX300E CD-RW/DVD
08) Sony CRX700E CD/DVD-RW
09) Sony DW-U12A (DRU-510A) DVD-RW/CD-RW
10) Sony DDU-1621 DVD
Yamaha Karaoke Burners
01) Yamaha CRW-8424E CD-RW
02) Yamaha CRW-6616 CD-RW
03) Yamaha CRW-3200 CD-RW
04) Yamaha CRW-F1 CD-RW
05) Yamaha CRW-4260 (4/2/6)
06) Yamaha CRW-4416 (4/4/16)
07) Yamaha CRW-2100 (16/10/40)
08) Yamaha CRW-2200 (20/10/40)
Best Of The Rest:
01) Acer CW5224 CD-RW
02) AOpen CRW5224 CD-RW
03) AOpen CRW5232 CD-RW
04) AOpen 1648/AAP DVD
05) ASUS CD-S520 CD
06) CyberDrive CW099D (54-24-52) CD-RW
07) GearHead 8XDVDEXT
08) Memorex 3252AJ (QW56) CD-RW
09) MSI CR488-A2 CD-RW
10) NEC ND-1300A DVD-RW
11) NEC NR-7800A CD-RW
12) NEC NR-9300A CD-RW
13) Panasonic CW-7502 CD-R
14) Pioneer A05 DVD-RW/CD-RW
15) Pioneer DVD-120 DVD
16) QSI SBW-241 CD-RW/DVD
17) Samsung SE-S224
18) Samsung SE-S084C/RSBN
19) Samsung SH-S182M
20) TDK 5200E CD-RW (Ext)
21) TDK VeloCD 12/10/32 CD-RW
22) Teac CD-W58E CD-RW
23) Toshiba SD-R2212 DVD/CD-RW
24) Toshiba SD-C2612 DVD
25) Toshiba SD-R2312 CD-RW/DVD
26) Toshiba SD-R2412 CD-RW
27) QSI SDR-081 (not reliable) DVD
28) QSI SWR-242 CD-RW/DVD
Summing Up Karaoke Disc Burners
The older Plextors are the best for ripping and burning karaoke CDGs. However, another firm took over Plextor many moons ago, and the quality of the drives was to suffer. They kept the Plextor name as a going concern. So they relied on that for sales. However, many of their newer burners were no longer CDG compatible.
HP burners are also good. Indeed, HP drives from the 7500 to 9500 series can read and write CDG. However, those model numbers ending in 50 or 90 can’t. If the model ID has a letter after the name, it will be unsuitable for your needs. For example, HP9100b 1.0c. This letter refers to a different manufacturer. It also looks like they made drives for others.
We would be grateful if you told us about your experiences with the above drives. That is because others need to rip and burn karaoke discs. Indeed, your information will help. Of course, getting hold of the correct CD drive is vital. You can see that the older models were good. But, because many of the above CD drives are old, some will be hard to find.
Hopefully, getting a suitable drive will prevent you from wasting time and compact discs (see info about coasters below).
Karaoke Burning Software
You will need decent karaoke-burning software to compliment your karaoke ripper or burner. Since this article went live, Power Burner now has its Mark 2 version available. This company makes the best ripping software, in our opinion.
We can only assume it is a better version of their older software. Should this be the case, we couldn’t promote it highly enough. Do you use the new software from Power Burner? If so, we would be happy to receive a review.
There is other karaoke burning software available, of course. If you use a different brand, let us know.
Suitable Karaoke Burning CDs
Our feedback suggests most modern CDs will give good results. However, we recommend Verbatim CDs as their reputation is second to none. Use a low burning speed for better reliability.
When you burn or rip a karaoke CDG, it should play perfectly. Indeed, everything should work properly every time. But if you are regularly getting coasters*, change your burning methods.
That also applies when ripping your CD+Gs. It should be a perfect process every time with no graphics glitches.
*A “coaster” could be a defective CD or one that did not complete a burn and is now useless. We call these coasters because their only use is to put drinks on.
Best Combination To Burn Or Rip Karaoke CDG Discs
So, on to our recommendation for the best combination to burn a karaoke disc, including ripping:
- Burner: Plextor PX-716A
- CD: Verbatim (use the top of the range if possible)
- Burning Software: Power Burner (original or Mark II)
We believe that this combination will give you excellent results every time.
Finally, We hope you understand the hardware and software required to burn a karaoke disc (CDG). Of course, if you have anything to add to our karaoke burners page, do so in the comments section below. On the other hand, you can do so in the Karaoke Forum.
