Ever get a certain brand of CD-R's and they burned ok and you purchased that same brand again and had problems?
or ever want to know is that "I never heard of brand" is manufacturered by the same company that makes the more expensive "Name Brand".
Here's a neat little "Free Ulitily" that tells you all kinds of information about the CD-R's you are using.
http://www.gum.de/cdrid/
Download the utility, run the program, select the Drive you have your disc in and Wow! .......get all kinds of information about who manufactured the CD-R, dye used, etc.
Example: I purchased TDK Discs and Pengo Discs?
Surprise, the Pengo are made by the same company who made the TDK's and is the exact same disc, but less expensive.