Send corrections and updates to Andy McFadden (fadden@netcom.com).
If you have a question you'd like to see answered in here, either post it to one
of the comp.publish.cdrom newsgroups (if you don't have the answer), or
send it to fadden@netcom.com (if you do).

If you want to check out the newsgroups (which have maintained a fairly high
signal-to-noise ratio), see:

comp.publish.cdrom.hardware
comp.publish.cdrom.software
comp.publish.cdrom.multimedia



*** NOTE : You are now in FRAMES. Click your RIGHT mouse button when you want to go back one frame
Contents
========
[0] Introduction
[0-1] Legal noise (disclaimers and copyrights)
[0-2] What's new since last time

[1] Basics
[1-1] What's CD-R?
[1-2] Are they identical to normal CDs?
[1-3] Can I use it to copy my CDs?
[1-4] How much data do they hold?
[1-5] Can I just copy files onto a CD-R like I would to a floppy?

[2] CD Encoding
[2-1] How is the information physically stored?
[2-2] What is XA? CDPLUS? CD-i? MODE1 vs MODE2? Red/yellow/blue book?
[2-3] How does CDROM copy protection work?
[2-4] What are subcode channels?
[2-5] Are the CD Identifier fields generally used?
[2-6] How long does it take to burn a CD-R?

[3] How Do I...
[3-1] How do I copy a data CD?
[3-1-1] Why can't I just do a block copy like a floppy?
[3-2] How do I copy an audio CD?
[3-3] How do I avoid clicks on audio CDs?
[3-4] How do I copy Sony Playstation discs?
[3-5] How do I get long filenames onto a disc?
[3-5-1] ISO-9660
[3-5-2] Rock Ridge
[3-5-3] HFS
[3-5-4] Joliet
[3-5-5] Romeo
[3-5-6] ISO/IEC 13346 and ISO/IEC 13490
[3-6] How do I use a CD-i disc on a PC?
[3-7] How can I extract disc and track titles from an audio CD?
[3-8] How do I copy an 80-minute audio CD?
[3-9] How do I create a PhotoCD?
[3-10] How do I make a CD that will work on a PC or a mac?
[3-11] How do I get at different sessions on a multi-session CD?
[3-12] How do I transfer my old records to a CD?
[3-13] How do I transfer an audio DAT tape to CD?

[4] Problems
[4-1] What does "buffer underrun" mean?
[4-2] I can't get long Win95 filenames to work right
[4-3] I can't read the multisession CD I just made
[4-4] Write process keeps failing N minutes in
[4-5] Why did my CD-R eject between the "test" and "write" passes?
[4-6] My CDROM drive doesn't like *any* CD-R discs
[4-7] How do I avoid having a ";1" on my ISO-9660 discs?
[4-8] I keep getting SCSI timeout errors
[4-9] I'm having trouble finalizing the disc

[5] Hardware
[5-1] Which CD-R unit should I buy?
[5-1-1] Yamaha
[5-1-2] Sony
[5-1-3] Smart & Friendly
[5-1-4] Philips
[5-1-5] HP
[5-1-6] Plasmon
[5-1-7] Kodak
[5-1-8] JVC
[5-1-9] Pinnacle
[5-1-10] Ricoh
[5-1-11] Pioneer
[5-1-12] Olympus
[5-1-13] Optima
[5-1-14] Mitsumi
[5-1-15] DynaTek Automation Systems
[5-1-16] Microboards of America
[5-1-17] Micro Design International
[5-1-18] MicroNet Technology
[5-1-19] Procom Technology
[5-2] How long do CD-R drives last?
[5-3] What kind of PC is recommended?
[5-4] What kind of Mac is recommended?
[5-5] Which standard CDROM drives work well with CD-R?
[5-6] What kind of HD should I use with CD-R? Must it be AV-rated?
[5-7] What kind of SCSI adapter should I use with CD-R?
[5-8] Can I use a CD-R as a general-purpose reader?

[6] Software
[6-1] Which software should I use?
[6-1-1] Incat - EasyCD, EasyCD Pro, and EasyCD Pro MM
[6-1-2] Corel - CD-Creator
[6-1-3] Elektroson - GEAR
[6-1-4] Astarte - TOAST CD-ROM Pro
[6-1-5] CeQuadrat - WinOnCD ToGo
[6-1-6] Young Minds, Inc. - SimpliCD
[6-1-7] ? - CD-Producer
[6-1-8] Jeff Arnold - CD utilities
[6-1-9] Optical Media International - QuickTOPiX
[6-1-10] HyCD Multimedia - CDR Publisher
[6-1-11] mkisofs
[6-2] What other useful software is there?
[6-2-1] Optical Media International - Disc-to-Disk
[6-2-2] ECI - Disc Detective
[6-3] What is packet writing software?

[7] Media
[7-1] What kinds of media are there?
[7-2] Does the media matter?
[7-3] Who manufactures CD-R media?
[7-4] Which kind should I use?
[7-5] How long do CD-Rs last?
[7-6] How much data can they hold?
[7-7] Is it okay to stick a label on the disc?
[7-8] What are audio CD-Rs?
[7-9] How do CD-Rs behave when microwaved?

[8] Net Resources and Vendor Info
[8-1] Information resources
[8-2] Magazines and other publications
[8-3] Net.vendors

[9] Contributors



Subject: [0] Introduction

Subject: [0-1] Legal noise (disclaimers and copyrights)

Free distribution of this FAQ is encouraged, as are conversions to HTML or
other formats, so long as no content is removed, and additions are clearly
marked. Distribution on the Microsoft Network by permission only.

Caveat lector: the information here is derived from Usenet postings,
e-mail, and information on WWW sites. As such, it may well be DEAD WRONG,
and you are encouraged to verify it for yourself.

I take no responsibility for damaged hardware, CD-Rs turned into coasters
or frisbees, time lost, or any other damages you incur as a result of
reading this FAQ. Information on specific models of hardware and software
are based on *opinions* of other users, not scientific studies. I am
not an expert in this (or any other) field. Everything here could be a
total malicious lie, and should be treated as such. You have been warned.

I don't get paid to plug anybody's software or equipment. The sections
on "what XXX should I buy" are not here because I want to sway purchases
one way or another, they're here because the questions are asked *a lot*,
and the answers are pretty consistent. You are invited and encouraged to
investigate the capabilities and reputations of all products.

The various product and company names are trademarks of their respective
companies.


Subject: [0-2] What's new since last time

The first two parts of section 1 are now section 0, and there's a new
section 1 with introductory material that too often is assumed to be
common knowledge.

Added some great technical stuff from Rob Sims (robsims@depeche.lvld.hp.com).

Added to the Mac section. Actually, added *a* Mac section. Credit goes to
Steve Holzworth (sch@unx.sas.com).

Added section on transferring old records from post by Brian D. Chambers
(bucknife@electriciti.com), and some stuff on DAT by John Marvin
(jsm@fc.hp.com), Chris Valentine (c.p.valentine@open.ac.uk), and others.

Added a bunch of stuff from the tables in the PC Magazine review.

In short: Added [1-1] through [1-4], [3-5-6], [3-9] through [3-13],
inserted [4-1], added [4-8], [4-9], [5-1-15] through [5-1-19], inserted
[5-4], [7-3], and [8-2]. Made minor changes to most of the other sections.

This FAQ is still growing.



Subject: [1] Basics

These are intended to be brief (if somewhat incomplete) answers to basic
questions. More detailed information can be found later in the FAQ.


Subject: [1-1] What's CD-R?

CD-R is short for "CD Recordable". Recordable CDs are WORM (Write Once,
Read Multiple) media that work just like standard CDs. The advantage of
CD-R over other types of optical media is that you can use the discs with a
standard CD player; the disadvantage is that you can't reuse a disc.

A related technology called CD-E (CD Erasable) is expected to be available
in late 1996. These discs will work like CD-Rs, but will be erasable as
well.


Subject: [1-2] Are they identical to normal CDs?

The CDs you buy in a store are pressed from a mold. CD-Rs are etched with a
laser. As a result, they're less tolerant of temperature and sunlight, and
don't last as long. (But they still last a long time.)


Subject: [1-3] Can I use it to copy my CDs?

Yes, both audio and data CDs can be duplicated.

Bear in mind that most CDs are protected by copyright laws. You are allowed
to make an archival backup of software, but the same doesn't necessarily
hold true for music.


Subject: [1-4] How much can they hold?

About 74 minutes of audio, which is about 650MB of data.


Subject: [1-5] Can I just copy files onto a CD-R like I would to a floppy?

Not really. The process is usually a bit more involved than that, and
requires special software that (usually) comes bundled with the drive. Some
software does allow you to drag-and-drop, but it generally isn't used.

You don't need to write everything all at once, but when you're doing the
writing you can't interrupt the drive, and you can't reclaim the space
you've used.



Subject: [2] CD Encoding

CD fundamentals.


Subject: [2-1] How is the information physically stored?

From The Compact Disc Handbook, 2nd edition" by Ken Pohlmann:

"Write-once media is manufactured similarly to conventional playback-only
discs. As with regular CDs, they employ a polycarbonate substrate, a
reflective layer, and a protective top layer. Sandwiched between the
substrate and reflective layer, however, is a recording layer composed
of an organic dye. .... Unlike regular CDs, a pre-grooved spiral track
is used to guide the recording laser along the spiral track; this
greatly simplifies recorder hardware design and ensures disc
compatibility."

A laser in the CD recorder creates a series of holes in the disc's dye
layer called "pits". The spaces between the pits are called "lands".
The pattern of pits and lands on the disc encodes the information and
allows it to be retrieved on an audio or computer CD player.

See the net references section for pointers to more data (especially
http://www.why.net/home/araltd/whatscdr.html
has some nice pictures.


Subject: [2-2] What is XA? CDPLUS? CD-i? MODE1 vs MODE2? Red/yellow/blue book?

See the net references section for pointers. The "information" frame
in http://www.cdarchive.com/info/default.htm has useful data, as does
http://www.cd-info.com/ and the alt.cd-rom FAQ pages. The page
http://emf.net/~mal/cdplus.html is dedicated to CD Plus.

A quick summary of standards:

Red Book = physical format for audio CDs (a/k/a CD-DA)
Yellow Book = physical format for data CDs
Green Book = physical format for CD-i
Orange Book = physical format for recordable CDs
Part I = CD-MO (Magneto-Optical)
Part II = CD-WO (Write-Once; includes "hybrid" spec for PhotoCD)
White Book = format for VideoCD
Blue Book = CD Extra (sometimes refers to LaserDisc format)
CD Extra = a two-session CD, 1st is CD-DA, 2nd is data (a/k/a CD Plus)
CDROM/XA = eXtended Architecture, a bridge between Yellow Book and CD-i

MODE-1 = standard Yellow Book sectors
MODE-2 = may be of form-1 or form-2
FORM-1 = 2048 bytes of data, with error correction, for data
FORM-2 = 2324 bytes of data, no ecc, for audio/video
ISO 9660 = file layout standard (formerly called High Sierra)
Rock Ridge = extensions allowing UNIX stuff like long filenames and symlinks

In case the above seems straightforward, Yellow Book actually defines both
mode 1 and mode 2, where mode 2 contains 2336 user data bytes. Green Book
defines mode 2 form 1 and form 2. This means that mode 2 sectors may be
"formless" and are sometimes called Yellow Book mode 2.


Subject: [2-3] How does CDROM copy protection work?

There are several possibilities; as yet no developers have come forward
and announced what they're doing (for obvious reasons).

One possible implementation, given sufficient control over the reader and
mastering software, is to write faulty data into the ECC portion of a data
sector. Standard CDROM hardware will automatically correct the "errors",
writing a different set of data onto the target disc.

The reader then loads the entire sector as raw data, without doing error
correction. If it can't find the original uncorrected data, it knows that
it's reading a duplicate.


Subject: [2-4] What are subcode channels?

The P subcode channel can be controlled with the JVC/Pinnacle recorders,
but apparently isn't used for much.

The Q subcode channel includes useful information, which can be read and
written on many recorders. The user data area contains three types of
subcode-Q data: position information, media catalog number, and ISRC code.
Other forms are found in the lead-in, and are used to enable multisession
and describe the TOC (table of contents).

The position information is used by audio CD players to display the current
time, and has track/index information. This can be controlled when doing
Disc-At-Once recording.

The ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is used by the recording
industry. It states the country of origin, owner, year of issue, and serial
number of tracks, and may be different on each disc. It's optional; many
CDs don't use this. The media catalog number is similar, but is constant
per disc. Note these are different from the UPC codes.

The other subcode channels (R,S,T,U,V,W) are generally inaccessible and
unused, with the exception of CD+G (CD w/graphics, supported by SegaCD
among others).

The way these are stored on the disc is beyond the scope of this FAQ; see
the book by Pohlmann mentioned in section 2-1.


Subject: [2-5] Are the CD Identifier fields generally used?

At present, not many manufacturers use them, and not all devices can
read all of the fields.


Subject: [2-6] How long does it take to burn a CD-R?

It depends on how much data you're going to burn, and how fast your drive
is. Burning 650MB of data takes about 74 minutes at 1x, 37 minutes at 2x,
and 19 minutes at 4x, but you have to add a minute or two for "finalizing"
(sometimes known as "fixating") the disc. Remember that single speed is
150KB/sec, double speed is 300KB/sec, and so on.

If you have half the data, it will finish in (about) half the time.



Subject: [3] How Do I...

This is general information about recommended ways to do specific tasks.


Subject: [3-1] How do I copy a data CD?

Several publishers have CD-to-CD copiers. Two low-cost versions are
Adaptec EZ-SCSI, which comes with Incat's CD Copier (Incat is an Adaptec
company), and Jeff Arnold's freeware CD2CD.

The easiest and most reliable method to make copies of single-track data
CDs is also the least expensive: CD2CD runs under DOS and works very well
with a wide variety of hardware.

Software such as Arnold's and Incat's will allow you to make a CD image
on a hard drive that can then be written to multiple CDs.

The fancier packages will usually provide a way to do this as well, but
the software tends to be more complicated and harder to use.

It's important to remember that, when copying directly from one CD to
another, the source MUST be faster than the target, and must be
error-free. If the source pauses or spins down to read a marginal area of
the disc, the target may outrun the source, and the CD-R will only be
useful as a frisbee. Most programs have a "test write" feature that put
the CD-R device into a mode where it goes through all the motions but
doesn't actually write anything; it's a good idea to do this right before
copying.


Subject: [3-1-1] Why can't I just do a block copy like a floppy?

CDs don't have circular tracks. They're laid out on a spiral, with
multiple sessions composed of multiple tracks composed of sectors, and the
data in the sectors is interleaved. The sector format is standard, but
there's more than one standard.

("That's the great thing about standards... there's so many to choose
from." -- unknown)

The ability to read certain portions of a CD depends on the CD firmware.
Some CD players aren't capable of understanding multi-session discs or
reading digital audio tracks as if they were data.


Subject: [3-2] How do I copy an audio CD?

The source drive needs to support digital audio extraction, which is rather
rare among older drives. A copier such as Incat's "CD Copier" will copy
the CD track-by-track.


Subject: [3-3] How do I avoid clicks on audio CDs?

You should use disc-at-once recording. Track-at-once writes some extra
sectors, which may end up getting played by audio CD players as a click.
You need to copy all of the tracks to a hard drive, and then write them all
at once using a program like Arnold's DAO.EXE or Incat's Easy-CD Pro 95.

If you are getting clicks in the middle of a track, they are either being
added when pulling the data off the disc or when writing it. If the .WAV
(AIFF on the Mac) file plays without clicks, then your CD recorder may be
suffering from buffer underruns during the write process.


Subject: [3-4] How do I copy Sony Playstation discs?

Jeff Arnold has a utility for doing this; see his web page at
http://www.mainstream.net/~jarnold/cdrom/cdrom.html.

Note that this software does NOT defeat the copy protection.

Current versions of HP 4020i firmware (v1.20) and Philips CDD2000 firmware
(v?) have some bugs in disc-at-once recording, which makes disc-at-once
copying of PSX games impossible.


Subject: [3-5] How do I get long filenames onto a disc?

There are several different ways, most of which make the disc unreadable
on many systems.


Subject: [3-5-1] ISO-9660

Level 1 ISO-9660 defines names to be the familiar 8+3 convention that MS-DOS
users have suffered through for many years: eight characters for the name,
a period ("full stop" for those of you in the U.K.), followed by three
characters for the file type, all in upper case. Many special characters
(space, hyphen, tilde, equals, and plus) are forbidden. There's also a
file version number, separated from the name by a semicolon, but it's often
ignored.

Level 2 ISO-9660 allows longer filenames and deeper directory structures
(32 levels instead of 8), but isn't usable on some systems, notably MS-DOS.


Subject: [3-5-2] Rock Ridge

The Rock Ridge extensions to ISO-9660 define a way for UNIX-isms like long
mixed-case filenames and symbolic links to be supported.

Because it's still an ISO-9660 filesystem, the files can still be read by
machines that don't support Rock Ridge; they just won't see the long forms
of the names.

Rock Ridge is supported by UNIX systems and the Mac. DOS and Windows
currently don't.


Subject: [3-5-3] HFS

HFS is the Hierarchical File System, used by the Macintosh. This is
used in place of the ISO-9660 filesystem, making the disc unusable on
systems that don't support HFS.

At present, the only systems that can read HFS CD-ROMS are Macs, Amigas
(with AmiCDROM, available from ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/aminet/disk/cdrom/),
and the Apple IIgs.

Some authoring packages for the Mac and Windows allow the creation of
"hybrid" CDs that have both an ISO-9660 filesystem and an HFS filesystem.


Subject: [3-5-4] Joliet

Microsoft, being Microsoft, created their own standard called "Joliet".
This is currently supported by Win95 and WinNT.


Subject: [3-5-5] Romeo

Incat's software allows creation of discs in "Romeo" format. It's not
clear how widely this is supported.


Subject: [3-5-6] ISO/IEC 13346 and ISO/IEC 13490

These are new standards intended to replace ISO-9660. So far they're not
widely used. See http://www.mv.com/users/kaikow/.


Subject: [3-6] How do I use a CD-i disc on a PC?

Short answer: you don't, unless you have a CD-i add-on board. Even if you
have a CD reader compatible with the CD-i (Green Book) standard, there are
still a number of obstacles in your way. The filesystem used isn't
ISO-9660, and CD-i players are based around a 680x0 CPU and have special
hardware for video and audio.

Longer answer: it depends on what kind of disc it is, and what you mean
by "use".

PhotoCD and VideoCD discs are CD-ROM/XA "Bridge Format" discs that play on
CD-i players as well as dedicated players and computers. These use the
ISO-9660 file system, and can be read with commonly available PhotoCD
software and MPEG-1 players.

DigitalVideo discs from Philips manufactured before June, 1994 are in CD-i
format, not VideoCD format, and require additional hardware to be played
on a PC.

If your CD-ROM drive supports raw 2352-byte sector reads, it's possible
to pull tracks off of a Green Book format disc, and extract audio or
MPEG data.


Subject: [3-7] How can I extract disc and track titles from an audio CD?

Typical Red Book audio CDs don't have this information. Computer audio CD
software like that provided by Adaptec or Microsoft require you to type in
the information, which is stored in a database on your hard drive. Some
FTP sites carry databases full of CD info.

Some newer formats, such as CD Extra, allow or even require such
information to be included on the CD.


Subject: [3-8] How do I copy an 80-minute audio CD?

Since CDs are written in a spiral, the amount of data you can get on a
disc is affected by how tightly spaced the "groove" is. A standard Red
Book CD is designed to allow at most 74 minutes 33 seconds of audio data.
By using a tighter spacing on the "groove" on the glass master, or by
adjusting the sizes of the "pits" and "lands", manufacturers can get more
data onto the disc, but this may make it harder for some CD readers to
use the discs.

CD-R's have a pre-formed spiral track, and the sector addresses are
hard-coded into CD-R media, so there's no flexibility.

(Apparently there HAVE been sightings of 81-minute CD-R blanks, but so
far nobody is advertising them on the net.)


Subject: [3-9] How do I create a PhotoCD?

You need special software, like Incat's Photo Theatre or Corel CD Creator 2.
Not to mention a way to get your images digitzed in the first place.
Digital cameras like the Apple QuickTake are a solution here.


Subject: [3-10] How do I make a CD that will work on a PC or a mac?

If it's just a disc full of data (like JPEG images), writing the disc in
minimal ISO-9660 should work. You may have to master it without the volume
number (e.g. ";1") at the end of the name.

If you need the format to be more flexible, you'll want to build a
"hybrid" CD that has two sets of files on it. Astarte's Toast for the
Mac is widely recommended for this. See section 6 for other options.


Subject: [3-11] How do I get at different sessions on a multi-session CD?

As always, it depends.

MS-DOS lets you see the first data session. Win95 lets you see the last
data session.

Some CD creation software (e.g. Incat/Adaptec EasyCD Writer) writes a
complete table of contents in each session, some of which refers back to the
files from the previous session, allowing a form of incremental backup.

Incat's Easy CD Pro will allow you to combine the contents of several
previous sessions by creating a new session (use RCD's Load Contents
option to read the file/directory info from more than one session, then
write and close a new session with that directory structure).

Some of it depends on the SCSI driver you have installed.

( Anybody feel like giving a free dissertation on the various aspects of
multisession discs? )


Subject: [3-12] How do I transfer my old records to a CD?

You need to connect the analog output from your record player through a
pre-amp (which both pre-amplifies the signal and equalizes it to RIAA
standards) to a board in your PC that can digitize analog audio and store
it on a hard drive.

You can use the A/D (digital-analog) converter built into a sound card
like a SoundBlaster 16, but the sound quality will not be very good.
The sound cards from Turtle Beach (Tropez, Tahiti, and CrystaLake) are a
step up, and a Digital Audio Labs CardD+ is about as good as it gets for
internal A/D cards. If you're really serious, you should get an external
A/D converter such as the Symetrix 620, and feed the digital output from
that into the computer (another way of accomplishing the same thing is
to record to an audio DAT tape and then use the digital output on the
DAT recorder; see the next section for details).

During playback, try to get as much signal as possible. Normalization
will bring the signal level up, but can't replace parts of the signal
that were lost. Sound editing utilities, such as GoldWave or Cool Edit,
can be used to equalize, normalize, and even perform noise reduction on
your recordings.

The following method has been suggested for PC users:

- Record directly into Cool Edit, using the highest possible input
level that doesn't exceed the maximum.
- In the "noise reduction" dialog, set FFT size to 8192, FFT precision
to 10, and #of samples to 96.
- Select a silent passage between songs or from the end of the record.
It may have some crackling but no huge pops. Set the noise level.
- Select the entire track and perform noise reduction at about 70%.
- Select the entire track and normalize it.
- Manually remove any big pops (easily located by zooming in to the general
area and switching to "spectral view" in the edit menu) by zooming in on
them and amplifying them to about 8%. You only need to select the
channel (left or right) in which the offending data occurs. If it occurs
across BOTH channels, you may get a better result by deleting that part
of the track and reconstructing it in such a way that it remains
smooth... if that's not possible, make one channel smooth and then
amplify the other to 8%.

Cool Edit currently leaves a blob of data at the end of the .WAV file, which
is legal in the file format but not expected by some utilities. You may
need to use "CoolFix" to remove it before creating the CD. Note also that
the 16-bit and 32-bit versions of Cool Edit do things differently, and
CoolFix may not work with the 32-bit version.

Bear in mind that CD audio is 16-bit stereo at 44KHz, and will chew up
disk space in a hurry. See section 3-3 for some tips on avoiding clicks
when committing the audio to CD.

For those of you wondering what the deal with pre-whatever is, this little
tidbit is courtesy mikrichter@interramp.com:

"Preemphasis has been used since the earliest days of commercial recording.
In general, the high-frequency content of the music (or whatever) being
recorded is low and the noise is high. Therefore, treble was boosted and
lows were cut by a preemphasis curve which was removed in playback. The
standard RIAA curve for turnover and rolloff (the amount and frequency for
treble and bass, respectively) was not accepted universally until the 50's,
and some fine preamps offered selectable values with presets for the common
curves into the early transistor era."


Subject: [3-13] How do I transfer an audio DAT tape to CD?

Buy a card that will allow you to go from DAT to hard disk digitally.
Make sure you get one that can handle the same digital standard the
DAT recorder uses, i.e. S/PDIF (Sony/Phillips Digital Interface Format,
sometimes referred to as "domestic") or AES/EBU ("professional").

Possible solutions for the PC are the DigiDesign AudioMedia, the Zefiro
Acoustics, or the Digital Audio Labs CardD+, the latter of which comes
highly recommended (see http://www.digitalaudio.com/products.htm).

Record from the DAT onto your hard drive, and then record the CD from
there. If you try to do it directly you'll likely end up with a lot of
wasted CD-Rs due to buffer underruns or minor mistakes. You should use
Disc-At-Once recording for best results; Jeff Arnold's DAO software is
recommended for this on the PC.

There ARE CD-R drives that have analog inputs, but you probably don't want
one. See section [7-8].



Subject: [4] Problems

Problems that arise when burning a CD-R.


Subject: [4-1] What does "buffer underrun" mean?

It means you have an attractive new coaster for your table.

The CD writing process can't be interrupted in mid-session. To prevent
this from happening, the makers of CD recorders put a write buffer in
the drive, usually 512K or 1MB. Data read from the hard drive, tape,
or another CD is stored in the buffer, and pulled out as needed by the
recorder.

If the recorder requests data from the write buffer, but there's none there,
it's called a buffer underrun. The disc is still spinning, but there's no
data to write, so the recording process aborts.

You can still use the disc with multisession CDROM drives by closing the
session and starting another, assuming there's enough space left on the CD,
and assuming your pre-mastering software didn't choose to finalize the disc
for you.

Advice for preventing buffer underruns is scattered throughout this FAQ.
A brief summary:

- Use a fast, AV-rated hard drive (i.e. one that doesn't do slow thermal
recalibrations).
- Record at a slow speed - it takes longer to empty the buffer when
recording at 1x.
- Don't do anything else with the computer while recording. Don't record
on a file server!
- Defragment your HD.
- Depending on your setup, putting the recorder and your hard drive on
separate SCSI controllers may be necessary.


Subject: [4-2] I can't get long Win95 filenames to work right

Typical symptoms can be described like this:

- Works fine in Win95 Explorer
- Under DOS the directories are visible, but instead of "dirname1"
you get "dirname57". Attempting to read them results in errors.
- Typing 'cd dirname~102' may fail while 'cd "Long File Names without the ~"'
will work.

It appears that Win95 and DOS 7.x are simply screwed up.


Subject: [4-3] I can't read the multisession CD I just made

The SCSI driver needs to believe that the CDROM drive can handle
multisession discs. Most likely you will need to update your SCSI drivers
before this will work.

(This problem was reported with an HP4020i and a Buslogic BT946C controller;
if you have an HP drive you should get the c4324hlp.vxd driver from the HP
web site. See section 6 for the address.)

Also, if the final session on the CD isn't closed, standard CD players may
become confused (the NEC 6Xi certainly does under Win95). This doesn't mean
that the *disc* must be closed, just that the *session* must be closed.


Subject: [4-4] Write process keeps failing N minutes in

There's a couple of possibilities. One is that your data source can't keep
up with the CD-R; try using disc-at-once writing and writing at 1x. If it
seems to be getting worse over time, you may just need to defragment your
hard drive.

If that fails, a number of people have discovered that the problem is a
faulty CD-R unit (similar behavior has been reported on Sony and HP units,
which have different mechanisms). You should try 1x writing from a fast
source and with different sets of data before contacting the manufacturer,
since they will likely tell you to do exactly that anyway.

Be sure that there aren't environmental factors creating difficulties.
CD-R units are usually built to handle small shocks, but having a set of
speakers playing loud music on the same table as a CD-R may cause it to
skip, resulting in a failed write. Sonic booms, heavy construction
equipment, and nuclear detonations may have similar effects.

It's also possible that you simply have a bad batch of media. Try a
different type and brand of disc. Some distributors (e.g. dataDisc) will
exchange media that's provably defective.


Subject: [4-5] Why did my CD-R eject between the "test" and "write" passes?

Most CD recorders need to clear their memory between the "test" pass and
the "write" pass. For some recorders, the only command that does this is
"eject". If the recorder has a tray it just goes out and back in, but if
it uses a caddy manual intervention is needed.


Subject: [4-6] My CDROM drive doesn't like *any* CD-R discs

A very simple test is to take a CD that DOES work, copy it, and try both
(this ensures that your problems aren't being caused by, for example, a
drive that doesn't support multisession CDs).

If it fails with both green and gold media, chances are your drive simply
doesn't work with CD-R discs. This is rare but not unheard of. In one
case, returning the drive for an identical unit solved the problem.


Subject: [4-7] How do I avoid having a ";1" on my ISO-9660 discs?

The ISO-9660 standard says the version number (a semicolon followed by a
number at the end of every filename) has to be there. Most operating
systems simply ignore it, but until recently the Mac didn't, causing some
problems.


Subject: [4-8] I keep getting SCSI timeout errors

The advice given to someone with a Philips CDD2000 (same mechanism as
HP4020i) with an Adaptec SCSI controller was:

- Put the writer on SCSI ID 2
- Turn off Fast SCSI, SCSI Linking, SCSI Disconnect, etc for the writer


Subject: [4-9] I'm having trouble finalizing the disc

This was happening frequently with the HP4020i running off an AdvanSys SCSI
card under Win31. The solution here was to remove IFSHLP.SYS from the
CONFIG.SYS.



Subject: [5] Hardware

The numbers after the model name (e.g. "CDR-102 (2x4/512K)") refer to the
read and write speeds of the unit and the size of the write buffer. "2x4"
would be a double-speed writer that's also a quad-speed reader. If it just
says "2x", the write speed is double-speed and the read speed isn't known
(but presumably at least 2x).


Subject: [5-1] Which CD-R unit should I buy?

Based on the experience of users posting to the comp.publish.cdrom.hardware
Usenet newsgroup, the models to get are, in order:

(1) Yamaha CDR-100/CDR-102
(2) Sony 920S
(3) Philips CDD522
(4) Everything else

( I'd like to give the HP4020i better standing, but there are still way too
many "I sold the stupid thing and bought a Yamaha" posts. )

These are discussed in the next few sections. See also the "CD Recorder
Specification Chart" frame on http://www.cdarchive.com/info/default.htm,
and the (somewhat Adaptec-specific but still useful) "CD RECORDABLE
SUPPORT" section from ftp://ftp.adaptec.com/pub/BBS/dos/ezlist.txt.
See http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Industry/Mfgrs/RecorderManufacturers.html
for company contact information.

If you have specific needs, you should verify with the manufacturer that
the drive will do what you need.

Many of the devices are simply OEM versions of another company's recorder.
It's unwise to assume that the units are equivalent, however: in many cases
the firmware has been changed, and may not work as well as related models.

PC Magazine recently reviewed several of these. The review was flawed
for a number of reasons, but it did conclude that the two best *packages*
for overall features, ease-of-use, and support for the hardware and the
bundled software were the 1002 and 4000 models from Smart and Friendly.
Since these use the recorder mechanisms listed as #1 and #2 above,
these would seem to be excellent choices for people who aren't familiar
with computers or don't want to spend a lot of time struggling with
configuration issues.


Subject: [5-1-1] Yamaha

See http://www.yamahayst.com

Models are the CDR-100 (4x4/512K) and CDR-102 (2x4/512K). The CDE-100
is just the CDR-100 in a Yamaha external case (note the Yamaha case has
room for an external hard drive).

It has been reported that the CDR-102 is the same mechanism as the CDR-100,
but with the 4x writing feature disabled.

Note Yamaha doesn't do customer service. The dealer you purchase the drive
from is expected to do this.


Subject: [5-1-2] Sony

See http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/ccpg/storage/cdr/920.html

Models are the CDW-900E (2x2) and Spressa CDU920S (2x2/1MB).

The CDW-900E has a separate connector that allows multiple "slave" drives
to be daisy-chained, allowing multiple CD-Rs to be written in parallel.


Subject: [5-1-3] Smart & Friendly

See http://www.smartandfriendly.com/

Models are the CDR1002 (2x2/1MB, based on the Sony CDU920S), the CDR1004
(4x2/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-102), and the CDR4000 (4x4/512K, based on
the Yamaha CDR-100).


Subject: [5-1-4] Philips

See http://www.philips.com/pkm/laseroptics/cdd522.htm

Models are the CDD2000 (2x4/1MB) and CDD522 (2x2). The CDD521 is an older
model (if you use one, the firmware upgrade is strongly recommended).

The CDD522 does not support reading of subcode-Q data.

Drivers are available (at least for the CDD2000) from:
http://www.philips.com/sv/pcaddon/cdr/


Subject: [5-1-5] HP

See http://www.corp.hp.com/Publish/isg/cdr/html/prodinfo.html
See http://hpcc998.external.hp.com/isgsupport/cdr/index.html

Model is the SureStore 4020i (2x4/1MB) (sometimes identified as part number
C4324), based on the Philips CDD2000 mechanism.

The early HP4020i recorders had buggy firmware (v1.14) that caused a great
deal of difficulty, especially when combined with an Adaptec 2940 SCSI
board and Win95. The v1.20 firmware fixes most common problems, but still
has some problems with Disk-At-Once recording.

On the bright side, the 4020i has flash ROM, so firmware upgrades are easy,
and they have a web page for customer service.

Drivers, software, and firmware upgrades are available from:
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/information_storage/surestore/cd-writer/


Subject: [5-1-6] Plasmon

See ?

Models are the RF4100 (2x2, based on the Philips CDD522) and CDR4220
(2x4/1MB, based on the Philips CDD2000).

The RF4100 does not support disc-at-once recording.


Subject: [5-1-7] Kodak

See http://www.kodak.com/cgi-bin/webCatalog.pl?product=KODAK+PCD+Writer+225
See http://www.kodak.com/cgi-bin/webCatalog.pl?product=KODAK+PCD+Writer+600

Models are the PCD200 (2x), PCD225 (2x) and PCD600 (6x).

The Philips CDD522, Kodak PCD225, and Kodak PCD600 will interface with the
Kodak Disc Transporter, which supports unattended duplication of up to 75
CD-Rs, making it a useful combo for CD-R production.


Subject: [5-1-8] JVC

See ?

Models are the XR-W1001 (1x), XR-W2001 (2x), XR-W2010 (?), and XRS-201
(2x2/1MB).

( XR-W2010 == XRS-201?? )

Bundled with JVC "Personal Archiver" or "RomMaker" software.


Subject: [5-1-9] Pinnacle

See http://www.pinnaclemicro.com/

Models are the RCD-202 (1x, based on the JVC XR-W1001), RCD-1000 (2x, based
on the JVC XR-W2001), the RCD-5020 (2x2/1MB), and the RCD-5040 (2x4/1MB,
based on either the Philips CDD2000 or the JVC XR-W2010, depending on who
you listen to).

RCD-1000 units shipped after Sept 1995 can do audio extraction if they have
firmware v2.35 or later. An upgrade is available from their BBS.

Pinnacle earned a bad reputation after shipping drives with buggy firmware,
a poorly ventilated enclosure, and bad customer support.

Pinnacle customer support is reported to be almost nonexistent, except
for some recent tech support via e-mail.


Subject: [5-1-10] Ricoh

See http://www.ricoh.com site down

Models are the RS-9200CD (1x), RO1060C (2x?), and RS1060C (2x2/512K).

The RS1060C does not support Disc-At-Once recording, reading of digital
audio, or subcode-Q data. (One user reported that his RO1060C *could* read
digital audio, but the drive took a little convincing.)

The RS1060C is also the Creative Labs CDR2000.


Subject: [5-1-11] Pioneer

See ?

Model is the DW-S114X (4x4/1MB).

Does not support Disc-At-Once recording. Mainly sold in large jukebox
systems.


Subject: [5-1-12] Olympus

See http://www.olympusamerica.com/ no product page yet

Model is the CDS615E (2x2/1MB). The CD-R2 is the CDS615E in an external
case.


Subject: [5-1-13] Optima

See ?

Model is the DisKovery 650 CD-R (2x2/1MB), based on the Sony CDU920S.


Subject: [5-1-14] Mitsumi

See http://www.mitsumi.com/ (couldn't find product info)

Model is the CR-2200CS.


Subject: [5-1-15] DynaTek Automation Systems

See ?

Model is the CDM400 (4x4/512K), based on the Yamaha CDR-100.


Subject: [5-1-16] Microboards of America

See ?

Model is the PlayWrite 2000 (2x2/1MB, based on the Sony CDU920S).


Subject: [5-1-17] Micro Design International

Model is the Express Writer (2x2/1MB, based on a Pinnacle (i.e. JVC) drive).


Subject: [5-1-18] MicroNet Technology

Model is the MasterCD Pro (4x4/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-100).


Subject: [5-1-19] Procom Technology

Model is the PCDR-4X (4x4/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-100).


Subject: [5-2] How long do CD-R drives last?

The MTBF on these drives is typically 25,000 to 50,000 hours, and they come
with a 1 year warranty. Compare that to hard drives rated at between
500,000 and 1,000,000 hours with a 3 or 5 year warranty and that should
give you some idea.

Most of the drives available weren't meant for mass production; notable
exceptions are the Philips CDD 522, Kodak PCD 600, and Sony CDW-900E.

Incidentally, MTBF is not an estimate of how long the drive will last.
Rather, it's an estimate of the failure rate of the drives during the
expected lifetime of the device... after a year or two, the anticipated
failure rate increases. If you have new drives with an MTBF of 25,000
hours, and you run 1000 units for 100 hours, you can expect to see four of
them fail. It does NOT mean you can expect them to run for 2.8 years and
then all fail at once.


Subject: [5-3] What kind of PC is recommended?

If you're about to buy a computer system and are seriously thinking about
buying a CD-R, here are some things to keep in mind. (See the next section
if you're interested in buying a Mac instead of an IBM PC.)

CPU: buy a Pentium, the faster the better. This is true in general, since
systems tend to be outdated after a year and obsolete after three or four.
A '486 is a *minimum* configuration for a CD-R system; a Pentium gives you
some breathing room.

Motherboard: get one with PCI slots. Not only can PCI cards move data
more quickly, they're much easier to configure.

SCSI: you need a SCSI interface, not just IDE/EIDE. Whether it's built into
the motherboard or on a separate card, make sure the host adapter supports
ASPI and ASPI for Windows (see section [5-7]). Don't bother with Wide SCSI
unless you're planning to buy a disk array or fancy devices - even current
7200rpm drives don't exceed the limits of 8-bit Fast SCSI anyway.

Sound: the Creative Labs SB16 and AWE32 boards are widely supported and
very popular, but if you're thinking seriously about recording sound
through it, you'll want to consider alternatives. See sections [3-12]
and [3-13] for other options.

Hard drive: needs to be fast, and large enough to hold whatever data you
plan to put on a CD. See section [5-6].

Video card and monitor: depends on what you want to do. A PCI-based video
card is a good idea, and a 15" or 17" monitor will work fine for most
applications. There's a WIDE range of products that fit in this description,

CDROM: for a variety of reasons, you'll probably want a SCSI CDROM rather
than an IDE CDROM. See section [5-5].


Subject: [5-4] What kind of Mac is recommended?

Any Mac of Quadra 700 or higher capability with a reasonably fast disk
should be suitable for 2x writing (PowerBooks excepted). All PowerMac-class
machines, and probably most Mac clones, should work fine.

Block-by-block copies are the best way to create discs. If your
pre-mastering software has to assemble files and build an ISO filesystem on
the fly, you will need a high-end PowerMac. The above hardware may still be
suitable for such on-the-fly mastering, but as a general case, building a
prototype image to a disk or disk partition will be safer.

Using the "simulated cut" feature available on Toast and other software is
also prudent.

(Macintoshes, as a rule, have lousy I/O, notably in the filesystem and
network. Fortunately, the lack of preemptive multitasking keeps things
flowing at a constant rate.)


Subject: [5-5] Which standard CDROM drives work well with CD-R?

Besides the obvious question - can it read CD-R discs that you create -
there's also the question of how well the drive works as the source device
when copying discs. To be more specific:

- Does the drive support digital audio extraction?
- Does the drive hog the SCSI bus, obstructing writes to the CD-R?
- Does the drive support multisession discs?

Toshiba and Plextor SCSI models generally work well.

NEC models tend to hog the SCSI bus. Older NEC models (especially the NEC
3x) and some Mitsumi models have trouble reading CD-Rs.

There is one hard and fast rule for direct CD-to-CD duplication: the
source drive must be faster than the target drive (i.e. source 4x if
target is 2x, source 6x if target is 4x).


Subject: [5-6] What kind of HD should I use with CD-R? Must it be AV-rated?

Most people recommend an AV-rated drive. What this means is that the
drive doesn't do thermal recalibration in the typical way.

Your basic hard drive will pause for up to half a second (or even up to a
full second, depending on who you believe) every so often to adjust the
head positioning to the current operating temperature. For most
applications this goes unnoticed, but when recording a CD-R you must write
the current track to completion without interruption. AV drives deal
with the problem in a way that doesn't disrupt the disk activity.

A drive that does a quick thermal recalibration is acceptable if the system
is otherwise fast enough or the buffer in the CD-R unit or in the recording
software is large enough (early drives had only 64KB, while current drives
have 512KB or 1024KB, making it much less of an issue). You need to be
sure that the recorder's write buffer won't empty during the recal period.

If your recorder's buffer is less than 512KB, or you're planning to record
at 4x or greater, you should seriously consider an AV drive. Otherwise,
it probably won't matter. Also, don't believe everything you hear from a
salesman -- verify that the drive model is AV-rated with the manufacturer.


Subject: [5-7] What kind of SCSI adapter should I use with CD-R?

Using different SCSI adapters for the HD and the CD-R used to be
recommended, but may not be necessary with non-ISA adapters. If your CD-R
hogs the SCSI bus the HD may not be able to keep the write buffer full.
Under some operating systems, particularly OS/2, devices that support SCSI
disconnect will work better than those that don't.

In general, the faster the better. PCI or VLB is better than ISA, and the
board should support (and have enabled) SCSI disconnect. The Adaptec 2940
(PCI) is a popular choice, though some users have reported problems with the
Adaptec 2840 (VLB). See the README that comes with Adaptec EZ-SCSI v4.0 and
later for some things to try with SCSIBench to make sure that you're going
to get enough throughput on a single SCSI bus.

The adapter MUST support the ASPI standard (ASPI provides an interface
between software and the SCSI controller) for both DOS and Windows.


Subject: [5-8] Can I use a CD-R as a general-purpose reader?

You can, but it's not clear that you'd want to. The seek times tend to be
slower than a standard CDROM drive because the head assembly is heavier.
There's also not much need for rapid seeks when writing a disc, so there's
little reason for manufacturers to try to optimize this. Some users have
reported jerky video playback on a CD-R drive.

The MTBF on CD-R units tends to be low, so it may be wise to use a
different drive for general use.

In addition, if you're using Win95, some CD-R devices don't show up as
readers without additional drivers, or show up as 8 separate LUNs (Logical
UNits, useful for CD jukeboxes). HP and Philips supply drivers for their
units, Corel supplies a bunch for different devices, and the Sony 920S works
as-is. If you don't have the drivers, you can still get it to work by
loading the real-mode drivers like this (example is for an Adaptec 2940):

In Config.sys:
DEVICEHIGH=C:\SCSI\ASPI8DOS.SYS /D
DEVICEHIGH=C:\SCSI\ASPICD.SYS /D:ASPICD0

In Autoexec.bat:
LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:ASPICD0 /M:12



Subject: [6] Software

The general consensus is, avoid Win95-based programs for now. While some
people have had great success under Win95, you stand a greater chance of
having things work if you use DOS or Win31.

Mac System 7.x works well. UNIX variants (notably FreeBSD and Linux)
work, but there aren't a lot of people using it to create CD-Rs.


Subject: [6-1] Which software should I use?

Generally speaking, you get what you pay for; the more expensive software
has more features. However, this isn't always the case, and the software
with more features isn't necessary more reliable.


Subject: [6-1-1] Incat - EasyCD, EasyCD Pro, and EasyCD Pro MM

Platforms supported: Windows (3.1, 95/NT), Mac
See http://www.digibank.it/incat
See http://www.cdarchive.com/hwsw/default.htm (demo available)

A version of EasyCD is part of the Adaptec EZ-SCSI 4.0 utilities.

Easy CD Pro is generally considered to be the best of the PC software.
It's probably best to stick with the Win31 version though.


Subject: [6-1-2] Corel - CD-Creator

Platforms supported: Windows, ?

Includes drivers that allow CD-R units to be used as general CD readers
under Win95.

Version 2 is a considerable improvement over version 1.


Subject: [6-1-3] Elektroson - GEAR

Platforms supported: DOS, Windows, UNIX, Mac.
See http://www.oneoffcd.com/cdprod/gear.htm

This is bundled with some drives. It has been described as "low end".


Subject: [6-1-4] Astarte - TOAST CD-ROM Pro

Platforms supported: Mac.
See http://www.cdarchive.com/hwsw/default.htm (demo available)

This package is recommended for making Mac/PC hybrids, and is the most
popular package for the Mac. It has also been sold as "CDitAll".

Software updates are available on the web.


Subject: [6-1-5] CeQuadrat - WinOnCD ToGo

Platforms supported: Windows
See http://www.cdarchive.com/hwsw/default.htm (demo available)

Has been described as "low end", but has the fastest VCD (Virtual CD)
database creation.


Subject: [6-1-6] Young Minds, Inc. - SimpliCD

Platforms supported: Windows
See http://www.cdarchive.com/hwsw/default.htm (demo available)
See http://www.ymi.com/

Has been described as "low end".


Subject: [6-1-7] ? - CD-Producer

Platforms supported: Windows
See http://www.cdarchive.com/hwsw/default.htm


Subject: [6-1-8] Jeff Arnold - CD utilities

Platforms supported: DOS.
See http://www.mainstream.net/~jarnold/cdrom/cdrom.html

These run under DOS. A freeware CD copier is available, as well as
low-cost track-at-once and disc-at-once utilities for sound and data.

These come highly recommended for creating audio CDs.

Updates for the software are available on the net.


Subject: [6-1-9] Optical Media International - QuickTOPiX

Platforms supported: Windows (3.1, 95/NT), Mac.
See http://www.oneoffcd.com/cdprod/qt.htm
See http://www.cdarchive.com/hwsw/default.htm

Mac versions can make "shared" hybrids.


Subject: [6-1-10] HyCD Multimedia - CDR Publisher

Platforms supported: Windows, Mac, UNIX
See http://www.cdr1.com

Can create Mac/PC/UNIX hybrid CDs, as well as bootable CDs for PC and UNIX.


Subject: [6-1-11] mkisofs

Platforms supported: UNIX
See ftp://tsx-11.mit.edu/pub/linux/BETA/cdrom/mkisofs-1.05.tar.gz

This allows creation of a prototype ISO-9660 filesystem on disk or tape,
which can then be copied to a CDR. It supports the Rock Ridge extensions,
and can be configured to ignore certain facets of the ISO standard (like
maximum directory depth).

The package includes a "cdwriter" program that is apparently used by
Yggdrasil to produce their UN*X distributions. It requires a working worm
device driver. The program was developed on a Philips CDD52x, and success
has been reported with the HP 4020i under Linux and FreeBSD.

Users without a supported drive can still write the image to an MS-DOS
drive, and then use a program like Arnold's FILE2CD to write the image.


Subject: [6-2] What other useful software is there?

Software related to CD-Rs that isn't a direct part of the premastering
process.


Subject: [6-2-1] Optical Media International - Disc-to-Disk

Platforms supported: Windows (3.1, 95/NT), Mac.
See http://www.oneoffcd.com/cdprod/d2d.htm

Fancy extraction from audio CDs.


Subject: [6-2-2] ECI - Disc Detective

Platforms supported: ?
See phone:415-691-4466

Useful for testing CDs and CD-Rs after recording.


Subject: [6-3] What is packet writing software?

Packet writing is an alternative to writing entire tracks or discs. ( Need
more info here. )

Drives based on the Sony 920S and Philips CDD2000 mechanisms are capable
of packet recording.

Announcements of software that use this can be found at:
http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/Premastering/flexcd.html
http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/Premastering/SonyCD-RFS.html



Subject: [7] Media

This section covers recordable CD media.


Subject: [7-1] What kinds of media are there?

The basic building blocks of CD-R media are "green" dye (cynanine) and
"gold" dye (phthalocyanine). Taiyo Yuden produced the original green CDs,
which were used during the development of CD-R standards. Two companies
currently manufacture gold CD-Rs, Kodak and Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals (the
latter invented the process).

There are gold/gold, green/green, and green/gold CDs.

A new kind of media, silver/blue (metalized azo dye, also based on
cynanine, with a silver alloy substrate) exists but is still somewhat
rare. It appears to have a very low BLER (BLock Error Rate), comes with
a scratch-resistant coating, and is reputed to be more resistant to UV
radiation, but their lifespan relative to green and gold media has yet
to be determined. The process is patented by Verbatim.

Some CDs have an extra coating (e.g. Kodak's "Infoguard") that makes the CD
more scratch-resistant, but doesn't affect the way information is stored.


Subject: [7-2] Does the media matter?

Yes. There are three factors to consider:

(1) How long does it last before it starts to decay?
(2) What's the typical block error rate for the media?
(3) Which CD readers can use it?

Some audio CD players (like the ones you'd find in a car stereo) have
worked successfully with one brand of gold media but not another. Some
players fail completely with green, some fail completely with gold.

Some people have found brand X CD-R units work well with media type Y,
while other people with the same unit have had different results.
Recording a disc at 4x may make it unreadable on some drives, even though
a disc recorded at 2x on the same drive works fine.

To top it all off, someone observed that discs burned with one brand of
CD-R weren't readable in cheap CDROM drives, even though the same kind of
media burned in a different device worked fine.

A number of specific discoveries have been posted to Usenet, but none of
them are conclusive.


Subject: [7-3] Who manufactures CD-R media?

Taiyo Yuden made the first "green" CDs. They are now manufactured by
TDK, Ricoh, Verbatim, and Kodak as well.

Mitsui Toatsu made the first "gold" CDs. They are now manufactured by
Kodak as well.

Verbatim made the first "blue" CDs.

Most CD-R brands (e.g. Yamaha and Sony) are OEMed from one of the above
manufacturers.

( Did I miss anyone? )


Subject: [7-4] Which kind should I use?

The Orange Book standard was written based on the original "green" discs
from Taiyo Yuden. Green media is more forgiving of marginal read/write
power variations, making them easier to read on some drives. TDK's media
is a popular (if not the most popular) choice.

Gold media has a longer lifespan and may work better in higher speed
recording. Mitsui's gold/gold discs are recommended by some vendors.

Trying samples of blanks is strongly recommended before you make a major
purchase. Remember to try them in your reader as well as your writer; they
may not be so useful if you can't read them in your normal CD-ROM drive.

See also "Is There a CD-R Media Problem?" by Katherine Cochrane in the
Feb '96 issue of CD-ROM Professional.


Subject: [7-5] How long do CD-Rs last?

The manufacturers claim 75 years (green dye) or 100 years (gold dye).

A Finnish computer magazine estimated the actual lifetime at between 3 and
28 years, but the validity of the results has been questioned by people in
the industry.

Exposing the disc to excessive heat, humidity, or to direct sunlight will
greatly reduce the lifetime. In general, CD-Rs are far less tolerant of
environmental conditions than pressed CDs, and should be treated with
greater care.

See also http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/Media/Longevity.html


Subject: [7-6] How much data can they hold?

There are 21-minute (80mm), 63-minute (120mm), and 74-minute (120mm) CD-Rs.
These translate into data storage capacities of 184MB, 553MB, and 650MB,
respectively (note these numbers are approximate).

Folks interested in "doing the math" should note that only 2048 of each
2352-byte sector is used for data; the rest is used for error correction
and other misc fields.

Factory-recorded CDs hold up to 74 minutes of data (but see section (3-8)).


Subject: [7-7] Is it okay to stick a label on the disc?

Only if you're careful. Some adhesives can dissolve the protective lacquer
coating if the adhesive is based on a solvent that the lacquer is
susceptible to. Specific information can sometimes be found on the back of
the jewel case that the discs come in; the TDK CDR-74 discs have the
following warning:

[...]
2. Do not attach labels or protective sheets, or apply any coating
fluids to the disc.
3. When writing titles and other information on the label (gold)
side of the disc, these should be written in the printed area using
an oil-based felt-tipped pen.
[...]

Other brands say "use a permanent felt-tipped pen" or words to the effect
that the ink shouldn't smudge. Most important part is to use a felt tip
pen and not a ball-point, because the top layer is somewhat delicate.
Several people have reported good luck with Sanford "Sharpie" pens, but
make sure you don't etch the surface accidentally if you have an "Ultra
Fine" pen.

Only use labels made specifically for recordable CDs. Attempting to remove
the label once attached is probably a bad idea. ProSource Sales &
Marketing, Inc. sells labels and an applicator that are reputed to work
well.


Subject: [7-8] What are audio CD-Rs?

An audio CD-R recorder is similar to normal CD recorders, except that it's
more expensive, requires special audio CD-R blanks that cost considerably
more (roughly $25 vs $6) and only hold 60 minutes of data, and may employ
SCMS (Serial Copy Management System) to prevent making copies from a copy.

The difference in price is due to licensing agreements and volume. The
manufacturer pays a royalty to a studio consortium under the assumption that
everything recorded to an audio CD-R is pirated material. The technology is
identical; the "audio" discs just have a mark that says a royalty has been
paid.

A less expensive solution for audio recording is to get a good audio
digitizer (the SoundBlaster does NOT count), record onto a hard drive, and
then write the recorded data onto a CD as digital audio data. The Digital
Audio Labs CardD+ is highly recommended, but is also rather expensive.


Subject: [7-9] How do CD-Rs behave when microwaved?

Disclaimer: I'm not recommending you put a CD into a microwave. CDs may
contain metals that will cause your microwave to arc, destroying the
microwave emitter (see cautions about metal objects in the manual for your
microwave). Don't try this at home. Better yet, don't try this at all.

The basic process is, take a disc that you don't want anymore, and put it
shiny-side-up on something like a mug of water so it's nowhere near the top,
bottom, or sides of the microwave. (Actually, you may want to leave it
right-side-up if the disc doesn't have a label, because the foil is closest
to the top of the CD). Turn off the lights. Program the microwave for a
3-second burst, and watch the fireworks.

Performing this operation on replicated CDs results in blue sparks that
dance along the CD, leaving fractal-ish patterns etched into the reflective
aluminum. For those of you not with the program, this also renders the CD
unreadable.

Trying this with a green/gold CD-R gives you a similar light show, but the
destruction patterns are different. While pressed CDs don't show much of a
pattern, the TDK CD-R I'm looking at (stupid Incat error handling) shows
some definite circular patterns.

On a different note, CD-Rs seem to smell worse, or at least they start to
smell earlier, then replicated CDs. The materials used are non-toxic, but
breathing the fumes is something best avoided.



Subject: [8] Net Resources and Vendor Info

Some of these sites have both technical information and product sales;
they're listed twice.

Subject: [8-1] Information resources

The CD-Info bibliography at http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Bibliography.html
is updated more frequently and will probably be more accurate than this
section.

http://www.cd-info.com/
Information about CDs and CD-Rs, especially technology and industry
stuff.

http://www.cdarchive.com/
Lots of information on CDs and CD-Rs.

ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/cdrom/faq
Information and FAQs from the alt.cd-rom group.

http://www.why.net/home/araltd
Product information plus some nifty graphics.

http://www.hsv.tis.net/disc/
Technical info.

http://emf.net/~mal/cdplus.html
Info on CD Plus (a/k/a CD Extra).

http://www.tc.umn.edu/nlhome/g496/eric0139/Papers/paper.html
Highly technical data on CDs.

http://www.compulink.co.uk/~xi/hp4020i.htm
Site dedicated to the HP4020i.

http://www.telalink.net/~epool/mtc/mtc_02.html
Information about CD-R in general and MTC media in particular.


Subject: [8-2] Magazines and other publications

http://www.onlineinc.com
CD-ROM Professional magazine.


Subject: [8-3] Net.vendors

http://www.mainstream.net/~jarnold/cdrom/cdrom.html
Jeff Arnold's CD-R page; freeware and inexpensive DOS-based software

http://www.com/mediasource/
Hardware and media.

http://www.cdarchive.com/
Hardware, software, and media.

http://www.mediacity.com/NCA/6removables.html
NCA's online catalog.

http://www.oneoffcd.com/
One-off CDs and CD reproduction; also hardware, software, and media.

http://www.datares.com/cretek.htm
Media and hardware.

http://www.why.net/home/araltd
Media and hardware.

http://www.inter-look.com/prosource/
Media and hardware.

http://sweb.srmc.com/andys/index.html
grasser's SCSI wholesale page.

http://www.microtech.com/
CD-R duplication hardware and services.

http://www.netzone.com/syntrillium
Cool Edit (.WAV editing) software site.

http://www.calweb.com/~gray1
Media and hardware.

http://www.digitalaudio.com/products.htm
Hardware useful for transferring audio from DAT or analog sources.

http://www.hk.linkage.net/~metro
Hardware, software, and media.



Subject: [9] Contributors

Most of the information contained in this FAQ was culled from the Usenet
newsgroups comp.publish.cdrom.* and the WWW sites mentioned in the previous
sections.

Please remember that the author is NOT a CD-R expert, so sending him mail
won't get you very far. Please *post* questions to comp.publish.cdrom.*.


This FAQ was assembled by:

Andy McFadden fadden@netcom.com

HTML Conversion/Links of FAQ by:
McEwan piper@protostar.com

With a great deal of help from:

Katherine Cochrane katherine@cd-info.com
Hal Rottenberg hal@mediasourceinc.com
Georges Brown Georges@cdarchive.com

And information and suggestions -- mostly in the form of posts to
comp.publish.cdrom.{hardware,software,multimedia} -- from:

Pierre-Yves Andri PierreYves.Andri@ping.be
Jeff Arnold jarnold@us.oracle.com
Blaine blam1@aol.com
Jim Blietz entexse@interaccess.com
Peter 'Pedro' Blum peter@microtech.com
Eric Jan van den Bogaard bogaard@euronet.nl
Scott Bracken scott@oneoffcd.com
Simon Brownlee simon.brownlee@jrc.it
Brian D. Chambers bucknife@electriciti.com
Dave Chung dtchung@vms6.sci.csupomona.edu
Russell Duffy rad@gulf.net
Jonathan Edelson winnie@teleport.com
Grant Erickson eric0139@itlabs.umn.edu
Tung Siu Fai sftung@metro.com.hk
Frank Feder fwfeder@deltanet.com
Joel Finkle jjfink@skcla.monsanto.com
Emile Gardette egardett@freenet3.scri.fsu.edu
Colin Gordon gordonc@oldpeter.agw.bt.co.uk
Jac Goudsmit jacg@xs1.xs4all.nl
Gary E. Grant ggrant@crl.com
grasser grasser@srmc.com
Patrick Green patrick@bbs.fornext.com
Richard Green srcemag@gate.net
Dave Grimes dgrimes@cts.com
Ron Gustavson rongus@tiac.net
Russ Harper topquark@niia.net
Steve Holzworth sch@unx.sas.com
Malcolm Humes mal@emf.net
Tapio Keih{nen dio@snakemail.hut.fi
Roger A. Kendall kendall@ucla.edu
Jerry Kohoutek jerryk@rmii.com
Mike Linhart mlinhart@rsl.ukans.edu
Torbjörn Lindgren tl@funcom.com
John Marvin jsm@fc.hp.com
Anthony McCarthy anthony@xi.compulink.co.uk
Doug McFadyen dmcfadye@kea.bc.ca
Gene Miller gmiller@vnet.ibm.com
Mikrichter mikrichter@interramp.com
David Oseas davido@aimla.com
Dana Parker danapark@ix.netcom.com
Jeff Pearson lumpofcoal@aol.com
Jason Petrait petrait@u.washington.edu
Jaap v.d. Pol jaap.van.de.pol@tip.nl
Kevin Purdy kpurdy@voicenet.com
Paul Rubin phr@netcom.com
Michael Rubin mickster@li.net
Torsten Sander ints@sun.rz.tu-clausthal.de
Nick Sayer nsayer@quack.kfu.com
Shawn shawnl@jax.jaxnet.com
Brett Sherris bsherris@li.net
J. Robert Sims, III robsims@depeche.lvld.hp.com
Eric Smith eric@goonsquad.spies.com
Deirdre' Straughan 74431.2004@CompuServe.COM
Ron Stuurman rons@bart.nl
Gregory Theulings marcomlo.pkm@nl.cis.philips.com
Kevin Patrick Thibedeau thibedek@wpi.edu
tRIs sis5264@sis.port.ac.uk
Louis Tumbao tumbao@usa.pipeline.com
Chris Valentine c.p.valentine@open.ac.uk
Wanderer wanderer@li.net
Gerald E. Weber geweber@hiwaay.net
Jerome H. Whelan whelanj@oasys.dt.navy.mil
Royce White cd001456@interramp.com
Zohar Ziv zziv@actcom.co.il

My humble apologies to anyone I've omitted. ++ATM 960408



fadden@netcom.com (Andy McFadden) (These are strictly my opinions.) PGP

Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn't the work he is
supposed to be doing at the moment. -- Robert Benchley