Media FAQs
How are CD-Rs
different than store-bought CDs?
A CD-R is a blank "compact disc -
recordable". However, the music or
software CD-ROM is a "compact disc - read only
memory".
The CD-ROMs you buy in stores are not recordable.
They were never recorded.
Instead they were mechanically stamped or pressed,
like the old-fashioned
vinyl LP albums.
Store-bought pre-recorded CD-ROMs use tiny pits or
holes arranged in
the tracks of the disc to encode the music, video or
game software that
you play. In a similar way, your CD-R burner uses
laser-light bursts during
your recording sessions to create tiny bubbles in the
tracks around the CD-R.
The burner's laser blinks rapidly on and off, heating
tiny areas of the bottom
of the disc which expand into bubbles that closely
resemble the stamped
pits of a CD-ROM. Later, when the CD-R is played
back, the CD-R is now
actually a CD-ROM. CD players read CD-R and CD-ROM
discs equally well
in almost all cases. (A few CD players may have
difficulty reading CD-R discs,
but playback problems are usually caused by
scratches, poorly applied or
too-heavy off-center CD labels, and discs that have
been exposed to heat
or UV light.
You have probably heard of several types of CD-ROM
discs, including
those that contain music, software, video, photos,
and games.
On each of these types of CD-ROMs, the data is
formatted differently.
CD players are made to be able to read or decode each
of these CD-ROM
formats so you can easily use the disc, without
knowing much about its contents.
CD-R discs can be burned in the same formats as
CD-ROMs, and played the
same simple, easy way. CD creation software lets you
select the final format
of the disc you're creating. After you make a few
optional decisions, the
actual recording of a CD-R is usually quite simple.
See the manual for your
CD creation software for more details.
Once fully recorded or burned, a CD-R disc cannot be
erased and used over.
Therefore CD-Rs are
sometimes called "write-once" discs. There are also
erasable "re-writable CD-RW" discs.
CD-RW discs are sometimes called
"write-many-times" discs, and can be fully
erased and re-written up to
1,000 times. Unlike CD-Rs,
CD-RWs cannot be played by most CD players.
They are for data storage and editing uses in
computers.
What do disc "write speeds"
mean? (32X, 40X, 48X, 52X, etc.)
CD-R discs are described by their recording capacity
or runtime length.
You can buy both 74-minute and 80-minute CD-R discs.
Today most CD-Rs
are sold in 80-minute lengths, but you will see some
brands that offer both
74 and 80 minute sizes. The actual cost of making the
discs is about the same.
However, some of the very old CD burners do not
recognize the 80-minute
CD-Rs, so the short
74-minute discs are still offered by some makers.
Both of the discs are the same physical dimensions or
measurements -
120mm (12cm) in outside diameter, with a 21mm center
hole.
CD-Rs are also described by
their write-speed certification. A 2X speed
means that the disc can be BURNED or recorded in 1/2
the length of the
disc total runtime or 40 minutes for an 80-minute
disc, an 8X disc at
1/8 the runtime, or 10-minutes -- on down to as
little as 2 minutes or less
at 48X speeds!
CD-Rs are tested and
certified by their factories to be properly recordable
at the rated speed. Today's fastest write-speeds are
usually 48X, but 52X
rated discs are also available. The most popular
write speed purchased
in today's market is the 48X rated CD-R (2004).
Today's fastest rated discs
can burn at up to 52x speeds on 52x capable writers.
In order to burn at a given speed, your CD burner,
your computer and
your software must be able to work at that speed, as
a total CD recording
system. CD burners come rated with a triple speed
rating, often written like
"52X/16X/60X". That statement would mean
that the drive can WRITE CD-R
discs at up to 52X, RE-WRITE CD-RW discs at up to
16X, and PLAY at up to 60X.
(To read about the differences between a
"re-writable CD" and a
"write-once CD-R", see our question #12
below - What is a "re-writable CD-RW"?)
Whether or not you actually are able to achieve those
speeds depend on
many factors: The disc must be rated at that speed.
Your computer needs
to be able to handle data that fast through its
connections, cables,
motherboard and hard disc. Your CPU needs to be fast
enough to do
the work of translating the music or other signals
you're recording into
the encoding used to store the data onto the disc,
and the CD creation
software you're using needs to be able to handle the
given speed.
Each part of your system needs to be able to do its
part of the job.
Today's 800mhz or faster CPUs, with fast hard drives
and also with
state-of-the-art internal motherboard hardware, are
capable of easily
handling any 32X or faster CD-R creation task.
However, experienced
users often choose to record their discs at a much
slower speed.
This gives their system an extra "cushion"
to avoid many burning errors
that sometimes occur at the faster speeds.
Since each different software, hardware and CD-R disc
brand or type
delivers a slightly different speed and
recording-quality capability,
a little experimentation will help you decide which
speed to use.
If you change your hardware, software, burner or
other system components,
or if you begin using a new type of CD-R disc, it's
time to do a bit of
experimentation again.
Why do my DVD-Rs
only play on some DVD players and not others?
While the DVD Movie and Game discs you buy or rent in
the stores appear
to be "silver" or "gold", they
are usually made from aluminum coatings,
over a clear layer that has been mechanically pressed
with pits or holes
to encode the data that the lasers in the DVD players
decode into music
and video signals. DVD Video discs that are made this
way do not require
the light sensitive dye layer used in DVD-R discs,
and so they appear clear
on the bottom, or nearly so. They never have to be
"burned".
By contrast, the recordable DVD-R discs use a dark
dye layer to absorb
the higher powered laser in DVD burners to create the
tiny pits or holes
that encode the disc's data. This dye layer causes
problems for some
cheaper and older DVD players, but it is
none-the-less required to "burn"
the DVD-R. Most of today's DVD Players now
are able to read both the
clear bottomed DVD movie and game discs, and also the
colored dye
bottomed DVD-R discs. We have a page that lists over
200 DVD players
now in the market, rating their DVD-R playing
compatibility.
Approximately 97% of today's DVD players actually
being sold at the
moment, can play DVD-R type discs, while about 86%
will play DVD+R discs.
When you count ALL THE PLAYERS still in use, then the
numbers drop down
to 47-60% compatibility... but the older machines are
being replaced by
newer more compatible machines pretty fast.
As far as the "quality" of the DVD-R discs
themselves, we constantly test
our own DVD-Rs to ensure
their high-quality, low-errors, and consistent
workability with popular players and burners.
Which DVD recordable discs are the most
compatible with players?
Not all DVD Players are capable of playing or reading
a DVD-R format
recordable DVD disc. And, those that can play at
least one kind or brand
of DVD-R may not be able to play other brands,
regardless of quality.
Most Can... A glance at the lists linked here will
show you that about 97%
of today's DVD players actually on shelves can handle
DVD-Rs. As you
may know, the store-bought DVD Movies and Games you
have were
pressed mechanically, like old-fashioned vinyl LP
records. By contrast,
your recordable DVD-R discs are "burned"
with a laser, and have a slightly
different format than the retail DVDs you buy or
rent. Playing your burned
DVD-Rs requires an extra
feature or two that MOST but not all players have.
Little
Differences Matter... There are subtle differences between the dye
formulas and top reflectors used among DVD-R
manufacturers, as each
company struggles to find a "middle ground"
that straddles the wide
variations in laser types and logic circuitry used by
DVD players and burners.
Even though two general purpose type DVD-Rs may be well made,
they may have been made to slightly different
standards by their makers;
each deciding to be more or less compatible with
certain brands of players
and burners.
What is the difference between
DVD-R/DVD-RW, DVD+R/DVD+RW
and DVD-RAM discs?
DVD-R and DVD-RW These 2
disc types were created by the DVD Forum.
Both DVD-R and DVD-RW types generally come in the
single-sided,
single layer 4.7 GB capacity, which is roughly equal
to 120-minutes of
standard playing time.
The most common DVD-R is a write-once 4.7gb disc that
comes in two
sub-types -- "general purpose" and
"authoring". The general purpose
discs are part of the industry's copy-protection
scheme, which employ
CES scrambling to protect movies and music and game
discs from being
copied. These two types were created and are backed
by the DVD+RW
A few companies who back the DVD Forum are also
active in the DVD+RW
The oldest "plus type" DVD is the DVD+RW.
It, like DVD-RW, is a
rewriteable 4.7 GB DVD kind of disc. DVD+RW, does
have a couple of
technical advantages -- (1) lossless linking (which
enables some
editing after recording without a full erasure that
DVD-RW requires),
(2) up to 4X recording speeds on some burners, and
(3) a special
drag-and-drop file support on the desktop (otherwise
known as DVD+MRW).
Unfortunately, the DVD+R disc type does NOT even
begin to compare
with DVD-R as far as DVD playback compatibility.
However, the actual
level of DVD workability on players of DVD+RW is
claimed to be about
equal to DVD-RW. Of course, even so, neither the
DVD+R nor the older
DVD+RW discs are as popular as DVD-R and DVD-RW are.
The newer DVD+R write-once type disc is aimed at
becoming more
compatible with DVD players. However, the fact is
that so far it is only
about as compatible as DVD-R discs are. Also, the
DVD+R discs are more
expensive in today's market, and not burnable by
"1st generation"
plus-type burners, which were designed only for the
DVD+RW rewritable discs.
What is the difference between DVD+R and
DVD-R?
DVD+R and DVD-R are with different technology and
they are formatted differently. Before you purchase
the media,
make sure you know which format of the media your DVD
writer supports.
What kind of DVDR or CDR can be printed by
inkjet CDR/DVDR printer?
Only inkjet printable CDR/DVDR can be printed by
inkjet printer.
Do you have any sample I can try before I purchase
a significant
amount of certain products?
Yes, please call us to place an order for samples.
281-447-3888 or 1-800-683-3888