CD-Recordable FAQ - Section 1

[1] Simple answers to simple questions

[1-1] What's CD-R? CD-RW?

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

[1-3] Can I create new audio and data CDs?

[1-4] Can I use it to copy my CDs?

[1-5] How much can they hold?

[1-6] Can I just copy files onto a CD-R like I would to a floppy?

[1-7] What can you tell me about DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, etc?

[1-8] Can I copy DVDs with a CD recorder?

[1-9] What's the cheapest recorder and best place to buy media?

[1-10] Can I get step-by-step installation and use instructions?

[1-11] Can I download MP3s from the Internet and make an audio CD?

[1-12] What does this term mean? Is there a glossary?

[1-13] Do I need "music" blanks to record music?

[1-14] How do I learn more? Is there a good book for beginners?

These are intended to be brief (if somewhat incomplete) answers to basic questions. More detailed information can be found later in the FAQ. For example, section (1-5), "How much can they hold?", is answered in far more detail in section (7-6).

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-Rewritable (CD-RW) allows you to erase discs and reuse them, but the CD-RW media doesn't work in all players. CD-Rewritable drives are able to write both CD-R and CD-RW discs.

All CD recorders can read CDs and CD-ROMs, just like a standard CD-ROM drive.

The CDs you buy in a store are pressed from a mold. CD-Rs are burned with a laser. They may look different (often green, gold, or blue instead of silver), they're less tolerant of extreme temperatures and sunlight, and they're more susceptible to physical damage. Whether CD-Rs or pressed CDs last longer is difficult to answer.

While they're not physically identical, they work just the same. Some CD players and CD-ROM drives aren't as good at reading CD-R and CD-RW discs as they are at reading pressed CDs, but by and large they work just fine.

By the way, you can't record on pressed discs, so you might as well throw out all those AOL CD-ROMs you've been accumulating. Buying a bunch of old CDs in the hopes of writing new stuff onto them is a bad idea. You have to buy blank CD-R or CD-RW media.

Yes. You can create CD-ROMs from data on your hard drive, and you can create new audio CDs from anything you can record into a WAV or AIFF sound file. With an audio-only CD-Recorder, which hooks up to your stereo system instead of your computer, you can record directly from CD, cassette, DAT, or whatever.

The CD-ROMs you produce will play in ordinary CD-ROM drives, and the audio CDs you create will work in your home or car CD player.

Writing to CD-Rs and CD-RWs requires a special drive. You can't write CDs with an ordinary CD-ROM drive.

One of the more popular things to do with a CD recorder is make copies of old cassettes and LPs. See section (3-12) for information about this.

Yes, both audio and data CDs can be duplicated. You can even create audio CDs that are compilations of other audio CDs (perhaps a personal "best of" disc).

Bear in mind that most CDs are protected by copyright laws.

About 74 minutes of audio, or about 650MB of data.

Some CD-R blanks can hold 80 minutes of audio, or about 700MB of data.

See section (7-6) for more info.

Yes and no. The process can be a bit more involved than that, and requires special software that (usually) comes bundled with the drive.

With "packet writing" software, and a recorder that supports it, you can treat a CD-R or CD-RW disc like a floppy. Generally speaking, you can only write to each part of the disc once, so deleting files doesn't gain any space. There are other limitations as well.

With more traditional software -- necessary if you want the broadest possible compatibility -- you usually end up writing everything to the disc all at once. When you're doing the writing you can't interrupt the drive, and you can't reclaim the space you've used. If you want to write your files in smaller bunches, you lose a fair bit of space every time you stop and start again.

Nothing. This FAQ is about CD-R and CD-RW, and only crosses over into DVD when the two technologies rub up against each other.

To learn more about DVD, see section (2-14) and check out the DVD FAQ at http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html.

Not directly. CD and DVD are very different formats, so you can't write DVDs with your CD recorder. You may be able to convert the contents into a lower-quality format though. Be wary of scams. See section (3-49).

There are devices now that can record both DVD-R and CD-R. Those are usually advertised as "DVD recorders", not "CD recorders".

I don't know. I don't track prices. There are web sites dedicated to finding the lowest prices, and you can do a little research with a web browser, starting perhaps with the vendors listed in section (8-3).

Yes, from the manual that comes with your recorder and software. There's no information of this type in the FAQ because there are far too many permutations of hardware and software, and the instructions would have to be updated with every new release of the software.

Yup. You can download MP3s, write them to a CD, and play it in anything that handles audio CDs. In fact, many of the popular CD recording programs will decode the MP3s for you.

It's also possible to take songs from a CD and convert them to MP3s for use in an MP3 player.

Section (3-27) has more details.

There are some good glossaries on the web. Try these:

Leo Pozo's Complete CD and DVD Glossary:

http://www.cdpage.com/Compact_Disc_Glossary/glossarym.html

Octave's CD-Recordable Glossary:

http://www.octave.com/cgi-bin/shop/shop.cgi/choice/html_glos_09

Roxio's CD-Recordable Glossary:

http://www.roxio.com/en/common/gloss1.html

You only need "music" blanks if you have a "consumer" stand-alone audio CD recorder. If you have a recorder attached to your computer or a "professional" deck then the "music" blanks will work no better or worse than "data" blanks.

See section (7-17) for details.

This FAQ contains a great deal of information, but it's geared toward answering specific questions rather than providing a general education. Some of the other net resources are more like a tutorial than a Q&A list, and may provide a better starting point.

Mike Richter has a primer on CD-R at http://www.mrichter.com/.

Roxio has some good information at http://www.roxio.com/en/support/.

If you're new to CD recording and are feeling a little lost, you may want to buy a book on the subject. Try one of these:

• _CD Recordable Solutions_ by Martin C. Brown. Software emphasis is on Roxio Easy CD Creator, Roxio Toast, and "cdrecord" for Linux. Visit http://www.muskalipman.com/cdrsolutions/index.html.
• _CD and DVD Recording for Dummies_ by Mark L. Chambers. Has a section on hardware installation. Software emphasis is on Roxio Easy CD Creator, Roxio Toast, and Apple iDVD.
• _The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating Your Own CDs_ by Terry Ogletree et.al. Software emphasis is on Roxio Easy CD Creator and NTI CD-Maker.