Digital Media Comparison

Which media is right for you? Learn the advantages of each right here or simply contact us at 1-800-482-4788.

Pros


CDs
  • Most popular media on the market.
  • Least expensive to produce.
  • Almost every computer can read a CD.
  • Most DVD players can read CD-ROMs.
DVDs
  • Can hold up to about eight times that of a CD-ROM (totalling 4.9GB)
  • Allows for dynamic video presentations.
Flash Drives
  • Compact size makes for easy transport and storage
  • Allows you to leave attendees with branded media they can use over and over.
  • Come in many memory sizes starting at 1 GB to 4GB – the size of memory affects price.
  • Fastest media to load and browse through the the product (e.g., no spinning of the CD).
  • Can be used as a complete media replacement or to complement CD/DVDs by only producing small quantities for key committee members, speakers or VIPs.

Cons


CDs
  • Limited to 650MB of information.
  • Media is static. Nothing else can be written to it.
  • Susceptible to scratches, which can make the media unreadable.
  • Slow to load when comparing to Flash media.
DVDs
  • More susceptible to scratches than CDs, which can make the media unreadable.
  • Can only be read by a computer DVD drive. Users who don’t have a DVD drive can’t read the disc.
  • Slightly more expensive than CDs.
  • Slow to load compared to Flash media
Flash Drives
  • Substantially more expensive than CD production (e.g., about $10 per unit more) – this depends on memory size and quantity.
  • Data on the Flash drive can be deleted.
  • No user-friendly means to lock data to the drive.
  • Many companies do not allow the use of USB flash drives due to security concerns – large amounts of data can be transferred very quickly.