Frequently Asked Questions: Discs
What are Blu-Ray Discs?
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the name of a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold 25GB, which can be used to record over 2 hours of High Definition TV or more than 13 hours of standard-definition TV. There are also dual-layer versions of the discs that can hold 50GB.
While current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD±R, DVD±RW, and DVD-RAM use a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray.
Blu-ray is expected to replace VCRs and DVD recorders over the coming years, with the transition to HDTV. The format is also likely to become a standard for PC data storage and HD movies in the future.
Burning a CD or DVD?
Burning a cd or dvd disc is slang for writing data to a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. A CD or DVD burner is another name for a recordable disc drive, they are used for duplication were the laser actually burns tiny holes into the disc surface layer.
What is a Dual Disc?
DualDisc is an optical disc format for storing digital data promoted by the RIAA. A Dual disc has a DVD on one side and a CD on the other. The audio-only side is not a true CD; it does not conform to CD specifications and may not play on all DVD or CD players. There is a small print area around the hub.
What is DVD10?
A DVD10 is essentially a DVD5 on both sides of the disc. A DVD10 therefore needs to be turned over in order to access the information on the other side. A DVD10 can hold about 9.4Gb of data or 4.5 hours of high quality audio and video.
What is DVD5?
A single-sided, single layer DVD that can hold up to 4.7GB (120 minutes) of high quality audio and video data. All DVDs are made from two substrates that are bonded together, and the second substrate on a DVD5 is a data-less layer that does not contain any pits.
What is a DVD9?
DVD-9 is a single sided dual layer DVD which can fit up to 8.5 GB or 7.95 computer GB. A DVD-9 disc is basicly two pressed plastic DVD-5s pressed together, they are not burned
Replicated or pressed discs?
These 2 terms are identical. Pressed discs refers to the manufacture of CDs or DVDs by making a glass master/ stamper from a cd-r / dvd-r master and using that to PRESS data onto the manufactured disc. Pressed discs are suitable for runs greater than 500.
Red Book standard?
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs (Compact Disc Digital Audio system, or CDDA). It is named after one of a set of color-bound books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.