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CD Duplication & Technology Articles...
Compact Disc (CD) Terminology
By Stew Crossen
If you've been shopping for blank CDs or blank DVDs
recently, you may have found yourself a bit
confused by all of the choices - CD-R, CD-RW,
DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW. Trying to
figure out the abbreviations between them can be
a bit mind racking indeed.
To make matters worse for those who aren't up on
the lastest marvels of technology is the rate at
which the industry of technology is evolving.
Just when you think you've caught on to the
concepts of MP3s and burning CD and DVD media,
new twists on blank media hits the market and
you found yourself confused more than you were to start with.
Below, you'll find the most common terminology that relates to CD duplication.
Even if you are new to duplication, the terms below may help you learn more.
CD
CD is the Compact Disc, a digital medium that's formed of a 12cm polycarbonate substrate, a reflective metalized layer, and a protective lacquer coating.
CD-R
Compact Disc-Recordable. The term CD-R is used to describe
the technology of recordable CDs along with the equipment,
software, and media that are used to make the recordable disks.
A CD-R can only be recorded once. The "R" found in CD-R and
DVD+/-R media stands for recordable. It will tell consumers
that these disks are blank recordable media. You can record
movies, data, music, and photos on the disc, but the discs
cannot be erased.
CD-RW
Compact Disc ReWritable. A CD-R that is capable of being erased
and rewritten to. The "RW" on CD-RW and DVD+/-RW media stands
for rewritable. This lets you know that media with RW on them
can be recorded and erased several times.
DVD / DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD+R / DVD+RW
Digital Video Disc. An optical disc storage media format.
Its main uses are video and data storage. DVDs are the same
dimensions as compact discs (CDs) but store more than six
times as much data. The biggest source of confusion stems
from DVD-R and DVD-RW and how they are different from DVD+R
and DVD+RW media. Each DVD type can record movies just like
the next type. DVD+R and DVD+RW are a newer more expensive
technology that offers a few technical advantages over DVD-R
and DVD-RW. DVD-R has greater compatibility with more DVD
players than any other format of blank DVDs.
BLER
Block Error Rate. This is the raw digital error rate before any type of error correction.
Data layer
With CD-R media, this is the organic dye that is sandwiched between the polycarbonate substrate and the metalized reflective layer of the media. CD-R disks don't have any data on them at all until the are recorded.
Injection Molding
This is a manufacturing method where the molten material is forced into a mold, normally under high pressure, then cooled so that the material will take on the shape of a mirror image in the mold.
Media or blanks
CD-R media are the disks that are used to record digital information using a special recorder and premastering software with a computer. These discs are made of a polycarbonate substrate, a layer of organic dye, a metalized reflective layer, and a coating of lacquer for protection.
Organic dye
The data layer of CD-R media is made from a dye that is melted during the process of recording. Where the dye is melted, becomes opaque or refractive, scattering the reading laser so that it isn't reflected back into the reading sensors.
Reflective layer
This is the metal later that sits on top of the dye that reflects the laser beam back to the reading assembly. This is normally 24k gold in CD-R disks, although it can be silver as well.
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