?? UNDERSTANDING THE BURNING PROCESS ???????

[mol3000]

Even though i have been coming here for a while there is a question i always wondered but never ask... not untill now and my friend bought a dvd recorder. The question is about cd and dvd burning. My friend has a HP DVD-WRITER DVD 100I and we finally burn a dvd last nite but it didnt work on his dvd he just got (which is a new SONY souround sound system) and his portable dvd player. My question is this WHAT DO COMPANIES USE WHEN THEY BURN DVDS AND CD'S ??? I mean whats the big difference???? Is it the media we use or is it the hardware that makes cd-r/rw and dvd-r/rw NOT compatible with all drives????? ALSO IS THERE A CERTAIN DVD FORMAT MY FRIEND CAN BUY SO WHEN HE DO BURN HIS DVD THAT IT WILL PLAY N ALL DVD'S EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS NOTHING ABOUT PLAYING DVD-R/RW ???????????

[alucard2050]

i don't know this for sure but i was told by a salesman at a Best Buy that DVD's that are copied on the DVD recorders are only playable in the recorder they were copied on. he said the reason for this was another tactic to keep people from just being able to copy dvd's that they've rented or borrowed. much like the macrovision tactic. i don't know if its true or not so maybe someone else can enlighten us............

[Hollywood004738]

Discs are (I believe) actually molded. Thus when creating the master/press the copies there is a dust-free environment
that is needed.

Gold-Disc is the Master's Master
other "master discs" are created for the replication process.

[RogerWabbit]

My understanding is that home PC's burn at a different frequency that professional DVD's.

The lasers on a DVD player is set to read at a certain frequency range, thus they read the professionally burnt frequency.

A dual laser DVD will read at 2 different frequency ranges, 1 at the professional frequency and one at the CDR frequency.

[mol3000]

Hollywood004738, i really dont fully understand you ??!?! but RogerWabbit if thats true them it seem like some company would get smart and fit their burner with that kind of lazer... that company would be the UNDISPUTED WINNER.. i mean it doesnt make sence they would make so much money... but one thing i wanna say... i have a friend n the music business (kinda) and he was showing me these tower machines that copy a bunch of cd and dvd's for companies that produce music or dvd/s but they cost n the thousands... but i no they must be able to play on all players if they cost that much

[videoguy79]

Let's clear up the confusion here. . first of all, a DVD or CD disc that one buys at the store is NOT a burned disc. Rather, it is stamped/moulded from a glass master to produce a disc with physical pits in the polycarbonate layer. All DVD players are then expected to be able to read the difference between the laser's 650nm light hitting a pit or a land. Burned DVD's (and/or CD's) operate in a completely different manner. A CD-R or DVD-R is a disc that has a layer of organic dye between the metal layer and the polycarbonate layer. Upon being hit by a burner's laser, a dark spot is left that is supposed to simulate the pit on a "real" disc. Most players have no problem and are easily tricked. However, depending on the exact wavelength/power of a particular brand of laser, some players cannot read these discs. Some brands of discs work better than others; it would be worth experimenting with a few if it means being able to play them on your DVD player. Also, as far as the comment about dual-laser systems, one laser is set at 650nm for DVD, the other at 780nm for CD. Players without the 780nm laser that cannot recognise CD-Rs can sometimes read CD-RWs, due to the lower reflectivity of those discs. Hope this helped--good luck!

[mol3000]

videoguy79, you da man... thanks... but a couple of more questions... does it not also have something to do with the dvd burner???? Also can your recomend any brands of dvd-r that might work wit all burners??? It seems like some company that could make a dvd-r/cd-r that is so close to comercial dvd and cd's. One more thing.. I talked to a friend that is in the music industry and he said those recording towers (big tower looking box that copy so many dvd/cds a hour) plays on all players.... so how is that???

[kinneera]

I think what you are probably referring to with respect to the burner is the various competing formats:

DVD-RAM: the first rewriteable DVD standard to hit the market. Generally double-sided and in a cartridge (much like the old days of CD-burning with caddies). They theoretically can be removed from the cartridge and used in a standard tray, but compatability with DVD movie players is almost nil. So they are generally targeted for data storage.

DVD-R/RW: currently available in the form of fairly expensive burners. Moderate but flaky compatibility with DVD movie players, they are basically to DVD what CD-Rs are to CD. Currently only single sided, 4.3GB a disc. Not to be confused with...

DVD+R/RW: distinguished only by the difference between '-' and '+', they are basically comparable to DVD-R/RW, but a slightly different standard pushed by a different set of companies. Only just now are these hitting the markets.

Each format will require its own burner, although convergence of technologies should be such that it won't be long before you see recorders that handle both, or all, in addition to CD-burning.