CD-Rom

CD-ROM

On this page you will learn about CD-Roms / Dvd's & Burners

To the right is a list of availible cd roms

that perform in their own different way, with a variety of task that they each can perfom.

CD-ROM

CD ROM - Compact Disc Read Only Memory

This is similar to an audio CD and works in much the same way but stores data instead of music. A typical data CD can store up to 700Mb, 486 times more information than a standard 1.44Mb 3.5" floppy disk.

CD-WRITER

A CD Writer (cd burner) can save data or audio to a special type of recordable CD (CDR or CDRW), this is an excellent way of backing up your data or creating audio CDs.
You will often see CD Writers advertised as 48X-12X-50X, this means it will burn (write) at 48X, ReWrite (write again over an existing rewritable CD) at 12X, and read at 50X the normal CD speed.
For instance a 48X CD Writer will write a CD 48 times faster than normal (74min audio CD in just under 2 mins).

CDR

CDR (Compact Disc-Recordable) refers to a recordable CD ideal for backing up data, although normal CDRs can be used to create audio CDs, there are special audio CDRs which offer a higher quality of audio reproduction.

CDRW

CDRW (Compact Disc Re-Writable) refers to a recordable CD which allows the data to be overwritten numerous times (handy for daily back-ups).

DVD

DVD - Digital Versatile Disc (Digital Video Disc)

A DVD (digital versatile disc) is similar to an audio CD, but has a storage capacity far greater (up to 17Gb) and a faster access time (up to 1.3MBps) than a standard CD-ROM.
Due to the bigger capacity, faster access time and the use of MPEG compression, DVDs are commonly used as a medium for digital video.
Some DVDs can store data on both sides of the disc (4.7Gb per side / 133 mins of video with sound). Double sided, dual layer discs can hold up to 17Gb of data.

DVD-WRITERS

DVD Writers (DVD-R/RW) allow the home user to back up any old video, or create back-up copies of DVDs.
DVD Writers are often advertised as 4X-4X-12X, this means it will burn (write) at 4X, ReWrite (write again over an existing rewritable DVD) at 4X, and read at 12X the normal DVD speed.

MPEG

MPEG - Motion Picture Experts Group

A compression standard used for compressing Video and Audio files to a smaller physical size, the compression is achieved by not recording every frame but only the changes between the frames. Motion Picture Experts Group is the name given to the group of people responsible for inventing the standard.
MPEG files have either the .mpeg or .mpg file extension and are a very common format due to the high compression.
The main implementations of MPEG are:

MPEG-1 - video resolution of 352x240px at 30 frames per second

MPEG-2 - video resolution of up to 1280x720 at 60 frames per second

these are the most common and the ones you are likely to come across.