Optical disc authoring requires a number of different technologies working in tandem, from the media to the firmware to the control electronics of the drive. This article discusses some of the more important technologies. In computing, optical disc authoring, including CD authoring and DVD authoring, known often as burning, is the process of recording source material—video, audio or other data—onto an optical disc (compact disc or DVD). ... “Optical media” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that ISO image be merged into this article or section. ... In computing, sound reproduction, and video, an optical disc is flat, circular, usually polycarbonate disc whereon data is stored. ... Optical disc authoring software is computer software for authoring optical discs including CD-ROMs and DVDs. ... In optical disc authoring, there are multiple modes for recording, including Disc-At-Once, Track-At-Once, and Session-At-Once. ... Packet writing is an optical disc recording technology used to allow writeable CD and DVD media to be used in a similar manner to a floppy disk. ... Not to be confused with disk laser, a type of solid-state laser in a flat configuration. ... CD redirects here. ... Photo Compact Disc (PCD) logo/trademark This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Compact Disc ReWritable (CD-RW) is a rewritable optical disc format. ... VCD redirects here. ... Super Video Compact Disc (SVCD) is a format used for storing video on standard compact discs or CD-Rs. ... A CD+G (also known as CD+Graphics) is a special audio compact disc that contains graphics data in addition to the audio data on the disc. ... CD-Text is an extension of the Red Book standard for audio CDs. ... CD-i or Compact Disc Interactive is the name of an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by Royal Philips Electronics N.V. CD-i also refers to the multimedia Compact Disc standard utilized by the CD-i console, also known as Green Book, which was co-developed by... See also IBMs VM operating system family, where minidisk refers to a logical unit of storage. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... A DVD+R disc The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... DVD-D is a self-destructing disposable DVD format. ... DVD-R DL (Dual Layer) (Also Known as DVD-R9) is a derivative of the DVD-R format standard. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... DVD+R DL (Double Layer), also known as DVD+R9, is a derivative of the DVD+R format created by the DVD+RW Alliance. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... JVC has announced they have gotten around to developing dual layered DVD-RW discs (DVD-RW DL). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... You can recognize a DVD-RAM immediately because visually there are lots of little rectangles distributed on the surface of the data carrier. ... A Blu-ray Disc (also called BDray) is a high-density optical disc format for the storage of digital information, including high-definition video. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... HD-DVD disc HD DVD (for High Density Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical media format which is being developed as one standard for high-definition DVD. HD DVD is similar to the competing Blu-ray Disc, which also uses the same CD sized (120 mm diameter) optical data... HD DVD-R is the writable disc variant of HD DVD, and is now currently available with a single-layer capacity of 15GB. Currently, HD DVD-R has slower write speeds than the competing BD-R format (1–2x vs 1–4x) and lower storage capacity. ... HD DVD, or High-Definition DVD is a high-density optical disc format designed for the storage of data and high-definition video. ... An example of proposed HD DVD-RAM media. ... Ultra Density Optical (UDO) is a next-generation optical disc format designed for high-density storage of high-definition video and data. ... A UMD The Universal Media Disc (UMD) is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on the PlayStation Portable. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Holographic memory. ... Schematic representation of a cross-section through a 3D optical storage disc (yellow) along a data track (orange marks). ... Although research into optical data storage has been ongoing for many decades, the first popular system was CD-ROM, introduced in 1982, adapted to data storage (the CD-ROM format) with the 1985 Yellow Book, and re-adapted as the first mass market optical storage medium with CD-R and... The Rainbow Books are a collection of standards defining the allowed formats of Compact Discs. ... ISO 9660, a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization, defines a file system for CD-ROM media. ... Joliet is the name of an extension to the ISO 9660 file system. ... The Rock Ridge Interchange Protocol (RRIP, IEEE P1282) is an extension to the ISO 9660 volume format which adds POSIX file system semantics. ... The Rock Ridge Interchange Protocol (RRIP, IEEE P1282) is an extension to the ISO 9660 volume format which adds POSIX file system semantics. ... The El Torito Bootable CD Specification is an extension to the ISO 9660 CD-ROM specification. ... Overview Apple Macintosh computers use the HFS (or HFS+) file system on hard disks, mainly. ... The Universal Disk Format (UDF) is a format specification of a file system for storing files on optical media. ... The Mount Rainier logo Mount Rainier is a format for re-writable optical discs which provides for packet writing and defect management. ... In computing, optical disc authoring, including CD authoring and DVD authoring, known often as burning, is the process of recording source material—video, audio or other data—onto an optical disc (compact disc or DVD). ... In computing, sound reproduction, and video, an optical disc is flat, circular, usually polycarbonate disc whereon data is stored. ...

Types of recordable optical disc

There are numerous formats of recordable optical disc on the market, all of which are based on using a laser to change the reflectivity of the recording medium in order to duplicate the effects of the pits and lands created when a commercial optical disc is pressed. Emerging technologies such as holographic data storage and 3D optical data storage aim to use entirely different data storage methods, but these products are in development and are not yet widely available. In optics, reflectivity is the reflectance (the ratio of reflected power to incident power, generally expressed in decibels or percentage) at the surface of a material so thick that the reflectance does not change with increasing thickness; , the intrinsic reflectance of the surface, irrespective of other parameters such as the... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Holographic memory. ... Schematic representation of a cross-section through a 3D optical storage disc (yellow) along a data track (orange marks). ...

The earliest form is magneto-optical, which uses a magnetic field in combination with a laser to write to the medium. Though not widely used in consumer equipment, the original NeXT cube used MO media as its standard storage device, and consumer MO technology is available in the form of Sony's MiniDisc. This form of medium is rewriteable. Magneto-optical disc A Magneto-optical disc and the numerous rectangles on its surface A magneto-optical drive is a kind of optical disc drive capable of writing and rewriting data upon magneto-optical discs. ... For other meanings, see Next. ... Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $66. ... See also IBMs VM operating system family, where minidisk refers to a logical unit of storage. ...

The most common form of recordable optical media is write-once organic dye technology, popularized in the form of the CD-R and still used for higher-capacity media such as DVD-R. This uses the laser alone to scorch a transparent organic dye (usually cyanine, phthalocyanine, or azo compound-based) to create "pits" (i.e. dark spots) over a reflective spiral groove. Most such media are designated with an R (recordable) suffix. Such discs are often quite colorful, generally coming in shades of blue or pale yellow or green. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A DVD+R disc The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Cyanine Cyanine is a polymer hydroxide formula achieved in 1986 by the Universal Chemical Society. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Azo compounds refer to chemical compounds bearing the functional group R-N=N-R, in which R and R can be either aryl or alkyl. ...

Rewritable, non-magnetic optical media are possible using phase change alloys, which are converted between crystalline and amorphous states (with different reflectivity) using the heat from the drive laser. Such media must be played in specially tuned drives, since the phase-change material has less of a contrast in reflectivity than dye-based media; while most modern drives support such media, many older CD drives cannot recognize the narrower threshold and cannot read such discs. Phase-change discs are designated with RW (ReWriteable) or RE (Recordable-Erasable). Phase-change discs often appear dark grey. In its most common usage, the term phase change indicates that a substance has changed among the three classical phases of matter: solid, liquid and gas. ...

Recording modes

Main article: Optical disc recording modes

Optical discs can be recorded in Disc At Once, Track At Once, Session at Once (i.e. multiple burning sessions for one disc), or packet writing modes. Each mode serves different purposes: In optical disc authoring, there are multiple modes for recording, including Disc-At-Once, Track-At-Once, and Session-At-Once. ... Packet writing is an optical disc recording technology used to allow writeable CD and DVD media to be used in a similar manner to a floppy disk. ...

• Disc At Once: writes the entire disc in one pass; preferred for duplication masters
• Track At Once: writes individual tracks with a gap between tracks; used for audio CDs
• Session At Once: writes and finalizes multiple sessions on one CD; usually not supported for CD Audio, and not universally supported by authoring software
• Packet writing: writes data to the medium on demand (see below)

Connection technologies

Unlike early CD-ROM drives, optical disc recorder drives have generally used industry standard connection protocols. Early computer-based CD recorders were generally connected by way of SCSI; however, as SCSI was abandoned by its most significant users (particularly Apple Computer), it became an expensive option for most computer users. As a result, the market switched over to Parallel ATA connections for most internal drives; external drives generally use PATA drive mechanisms connected to a bridge inside the case that connects to a high-speed serial bus such as FireWire or Hi-Speed USB 2.0. A few very high-speed drives, mostly DVD recorders, use Serial ATA. The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Scuzzy redirects here. ... Apple Inc. ... ATA connector on the left, with two motherboard ATA connectors on the right. ... The 6-pin and 4-pin FireWire Connectors The alternative ethernet-style cabling used by 1394c FireWire is Apple Inc. ... USB redirects here. ... DVR with built-in DVD recorder. ... SATA redirects here. ...

Standalone recorders use standard A/V connections, including RCA connectors, TOSlink, and S/PDIF for audio and RF, composite video, component video, S-Video, SCART, and FireWire for video. High-bandwidth digital connections such as HDMI are not yet commonplace. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... TOSLINK is a standardized optical fiber connection system. ... TOSLINK connector (JIS F05) 75 ohm coaxial cable with BNC-to-RCA adapter. ... An RF modulator (for radio frequency modulator) is a device that takes a baseband input signal and outputs a radio frequency-modulated signal. ... Composite video, also called CVBS (Composite Video Blanking and Sync), is the format of an analog television (picture only) signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. ... Three cables, each with RCA plugs at both ends, are often used to carry analog component video Component video is a video signal that has been split into two or more components. ... S-Video (also known as Y/C) is a baseband analog video format offering a higher quality signal than composite video, but a lower quality than RGB and component video. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The 6-pin and 4-pin FireWire Connectors The alternative ethernet-style cabling used by 1394c FireWire is Apple Inc. ... The High-Definition Multi-media Interface (HDMI) is an industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. ...

Overburning

Overburning is the process of recording data past the normal size limit.

Many disc manufacturers extend a recordable disc to leave a small margin of extra groove at the outer edge. This lead-out was originally intended to provide tolerance for the read head of an audio CD player should it overseek, by providing a padding of up to 90 seconds of silent digital audio.

Recording onto the lead-out is possible with some combinations of CD recorder and authoring software. The actual amount of data that a disc will hold depends ultimately on the recordable media and varies somewhat between brands of disc, with lead-out accounting for up to 10% of the total disc capacity. A CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable) is a thin (1. ... Optical disc authoring software is computer software for authoring optical discs including CD-ROMs and DVDs. ...

Almost all CD-ROM drives are capable of reading from the lead-out. For this reason, software publishers have on occasion shipped their software on similarly oversized compact discs to reduce packaging costs. Oversized discs have also been used as a form of copy protection because it is more difficult to record copies of them. The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Copy prevention, also known as copy protection, is any technical measure designed to prevent duplication of information. ...

The overburn options in CD recording software must be used when burning to the non standard 90 and 99 minute blanks that are now available as the data structures in the ATIP do not allow such sizes to be specified. Absolute Time in Pregroove (ATIP) is a method of storing information on an optical medium, used on CD-R and other writable discs. ...

Buffer underrun protection

A buffer underrun occurs during recording if the recorder runs out of data in the recording buffer. Once the laser is on, it cannot stop and resume flawlessly; thus the pause necessitated by the underrun can cause the data on the disc to become invalid, and thus unusable. Since the buffer is generally being filled from a relatively slow source, such as a hard disk or another CD/DVD, a heavy CPU or memory load from other concurrent tasks can easily exhaust the capacity of a small buffer. Therefore, buffer underrun protection was implemented by various individual CD/DVD writer vendors. With this technique, the laser is indeed able to stop writing for any amount of time and resume when the buffer is full again. The gap between successive writes is extremely small. [1] In computing, buffer underrun is a state occurring when a buffer used to communicate between two devices or processes is fed with data at a lower speed than the data is being read from it. ... In computing, a buffer is a region of memory used to temporarily hold output or input data, comparable to buffers in telecommunication. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ...

Since the techniques for protecting against buffer underrun are proprietary and vendor-specific, technical details vary. However, most vendors use one or the other of two basic approaches. Some CD burners have the ability to resume burning after a buffer underrun has taken place. But even without such a capability included in the hardware, nearly all CD burners now on the market have the ability to record at slower speeds. Many CD-burning software tools can prevent buffer underrun by monitoring the state of the buffer, and slow down the recorder as needed to avoid running out of data in the buffer. Even when the hardware has the capability to resume writing after an underrun event happens, it is safest to regard this as a fallback in case prevention fails.

Fortunately for users today, most CD-recording hardware and software now on the market is much better than it once was at preventing buffer underrun problems. Also hard drive and CPU speeds have increased by a greater ratio over the last decade than has the speed of optical drives, so most systems today are better at keeping up with the optical drives anyway. In the early 1990s recording a CD was always a somewhat risky endeavor -- one disconnected from any networks, disabled any background programs, etc., before starting to record a CD, and was very careful not to do anything else while the recording was in progress. Even with all precautions, making a useless "coaster" was annoyingly common. Today, recording a CD is much more reliable. Coaster can refer to: A glass with a ceramic coaster under it. ...

Another way to protect against the problem, when using rewritable media (CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM), is to use the UDF file system, which organizes data in smaller "packets", referenced by a single, updated address table, which can therefore be written in shorter bursts. Compact Disc ReWritable (CD-RW) is a rewritable optical disc format. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... You can recognize a DVD-RAM immediately because visually there are lots of little rectangles distributed on the surface of the data carrier. ... The Universal Disk Format (UDF) is a format specification of a file system for storing files on optical media. ... In information technology, a packet is a formatted block of information carried by a computer network. ...

Packet writing

Main article: Packet writing

Packet writing is a technology that allows optical discs to be used in a similar manner to a floppy disk. Packet writing can be used both with once-writeable media and rewriteable media. Several competing and incompatible packet writing disk formats have been developed, including DirectCD and InCD. Proposed standards include Universal Disk Format and its proposed extension Mount Rainier. Packet writing is an optical disc recording technology used to allow writeable CD and DVD media to be used in a similar manner to a floppy disk. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... DirectCD is packet writing software, originally from Adaptec and now supported by Roxio. ... InCD is packet writing software by Nero AG for Microsoft Windows. ... The Universal Disk Format (UDF) is a format specification of a file system for storing files on optical media. ... The Mount Rainier logo Mount Rainier is a format for re-writable optical discs which provides for packet writing and defect management. ...

Specific proprietary technologies

BURN-Proof

BURN-Proof (Buffer Underrun-Proof) is a proprietary technology for buffer underrun protection developed by Sanyo.^[1] Sanyo Electric Co. ...

SafeBurn

SafeBurn is a proprietary technology for buffer underrun protection developed by Yamaha Corporation. The headquarters of Yamaha Corporation Yamaha redirects here. ...

Power Burn

Power Burn is a proprietary technology for buffer underrun protection, developed by Sony. Features: Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $66. ...

• Buffer underrun protection: When a buffer underrun occurs, the drive suspends writing. The drive memorizes the end writing point and timing, and immediately resumes writing from that exact point when sufficient data is filled in the buffer memory.

• Protection from write errors caused by shock and vibration: PowerBurn's Shock Proof technology pauses writing when the device is moved, and resumes after the drive becomes stable. This allows it to work in a mobile environment.

• Optimization of write conditions: The drive detects characteristics of each individual medium and optimizes all key writing conditions such as writing speed, laser power and write strategy.

In computing, buffer underrun or buffer underflow is a state occurring when a buffer used to communicate between two devices or processes is fed with data at a lower speed than the data is being read from it. ...

JustSpeed

JustSpeed is a technology that automatically adapts the write speed to the medium inserted. It is supported by Nero Burning ROM version 6. Nero Burning ROM is a popular optical disc authoring program for Microsoft Windows and Linux by Nero AG, formerly Ahead Software. ...

Longevity

Store-bought recordable/writable optical media use lasers in optical drives to change dyes in/on the optical media whereas factory-manufactured optical media use more permanent molds/casts. Thus, data storage is merely temporary with store-bought optical media as opposed to factory-manufactured optical media. One must be wary of storing family photos and videos (or any other miscellaneous important data) solely on optical media as it may not last as long as one would expect or anticipate. Good alternatives would be to additionally backup one's media using other media technologies and/or investing in non-volatile memory technologies. Non-volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, NVM or non-volatile storage, is computer memory that can retain the stored information even when not powered. ...

See also: Compact_disc#Recordable_CD

See also: CD-R#Optimal_storage_conditions_and_expected_lifespan

CD redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

References

• Burning For The Long Haul
• CD and DVD Longevity: How Long Will They Last?
• DVD Theory - How Long Do DVD-R's Last?

External links

• Understanding CD-R & CD-RW by Hugh Bennett
• Understanding Recordable & Rewritable DVD by Hugh Bennett