CD Writing Software

[KidD01]

I've just obtain a CDRW from a friend, just a 4x4x24. So i'm planning to run some test on it. And of course I'll make use of it while I got it.

So my question is : Can you refer to me what's the best software for CDwriting ? I've got CloneCD ver 3.3.4.1 it's a good software. I'm more interested for audio conversion sofware (MP3 to audio or audio to MP3) But I'm open to suggestions for which sofware is the best to do CD copying.

I've also heard there's a software which enable to copy a DVD into a CDR or CDRW. Anyone can give me the details ?

Thanks

[Rob-hin]

I would advice Easy CD Creator 5, it's a good program. If you'r running on XP, then you should d/l drivers though.
Don't use the writer thats build in in XP, it sucks. I've heard they build in Easy CD creator but I don't know if it's tru.
Nero is good too. but I haven't got mutch experiance with it.

BTW, does that clone stuff work like they say it does? Copying cd with cd writer protection and all?

[HighLordDave]

For copying CDs and creating data CDs, I use Easy CD Creator 3.5c (I got it new several years ago, but I think it's freeware now) and NTI CD-Maker 2000 version 4.2.66 which I got with my CD-RW. I have never had problems with either burning data CDs, although I would not recommend NTI to burn audio CDs (it puts skips and ghost echos into songs).

For burning audio CDs, I use MusicMatch Jukebox 6.0 which is a very good program and has an easy to use intuitive interface. I also got it free with my CD-RW, but I had to pay for the upgrade that enables you to burn at full speed; the demo only burns at 2x.

If you go to C|NET they have some freeware demos that you can download to take for test-runs. I recommend against Media Jukebox; it's interface is clumsy and awkward to navigate, although it is a very functional program.

As for burning DVDs onto CDs; you really can't do it from a practical standpoint. You can copy the files from a DVD to a CD, but the storage capacity of a DVD is so much greater than a CD (4.7 GB as opposed to 700 MB) that the process is cumbersome and generally a waste of your time and media. Both use basically the same technology. However, when the CD standard was established over 20 years ago, the lasers they used weren't as precise as they are today. Consequently, they couldn't read as much data on a disk as a DVD can.

Think of it this way: If you took an vinyl album and cut the grooves in the record so they are one-eighth the size they are now, you would need a new needle to listen to the album, right? That's the difference between DVD and CD; the DVD storage standards are that much more exact. That's also why drives configured for the CD standard cannot read DVDs; the lasers aren't meant to read DVDs.

What you can do is this: If you know which files you want from a DVD, you can copy those files to a CD-RW. However, you will need eight or so CDs to store the same amount of data. If you are copying a commercial DVD (which is illegal and the discussion of which is against the GameBanshee Forum Rules, specifically rule #2), you will run into problems because the root directory will be off and will not know where to go when you go to change scenes or look for the special features. However, since I will assume that you are talking about copying DVDs that your brother made while on vacation in Hawaii at the Pro Bowl, I will recommend that you just buy a DVD-RW for $500 or get your brother to burn you two.

[Demis]

I use Nero for a couple of years now and i haven't had any problems with it, it makes thing easier. I suggest you give it a try. CloneCD works great when you need to duplicate CDs.
Both programs work on XP.

[KidD01]

Copy protected CDs

Originally posted by Rob-hin
<SNIP>BTW, does that clone stuff work like they say it does? Copying cd with cd writer protection and all?

First of all, I'm not trying to promote pirating software or any CDs. But to answer your question, I haven't try that yet since I've got no copy protected CD on my disposal. But here's something that I 've read from the CloneCD FAQ :

When reading some CDs, CloneCD reports hundreds of Read-Errors, is this normal?
This depends on the CD you are trying to read. Read Errors can indicate that the CD is damaged or that your Reader isn't fully compatible with CloneCD, but errors might be placed intentional on the CD as part of a copy protection. If read errors are intentional, you can ignore them. The copy will work.

Are the backup copies still copy protected?
Yes. CloneCD does not modify, decrypt or descramble the data while reading or writing in any way. Copies created with CloneCD cannot be copied with other CD replication software. Only CloneCD can copy these CDs again.

Is there a generation loss if I backup a disk which is already a copy created with CloneCD?
In theory - yes. CloneCD does real 1:1 copies, including all errors or other anomalies which might belong to a copy protection mechanism. You could think of CloneCD making something more like an analogue copy than a digital copy. However, you would need several generations to actually notice a difference.

I have a game console which uses CDs. Can I copy these CDs with CloneCD?
Sure you can copy them! But the question should be - will they work? And the answer is: No. CloneCD does not disable the boot protection found on console CDs. As we already said, CloneCD does not modify the data it reads or writes in any way.
However, if you have modified your game console already to accept backup copies, copies created by CloneCD will work. There is even a nice side effect: Almost any *additional* copy protection (apart from the boot protection) will be copied, too. Backup copies created with CloneCD will therefore work better than copies created by a different program. However, CloneCD was designed to make Safety Backups of PC-CDs, not for game console CDs.

[Quark]

Unless laws recently changed, it doesn't really matter if something is copy-protected or not.

Copyright laws say that people are allowed to have a backup of the original in case of a problem that destroys an original CD, Tape, Disk, etc ...

You can copy anything you want, as long as it's yours and you don't give the copy to somebody else. That's why many ROM sites can't be taken down - they can't prove that the person who runs the site doesn't own those ROMs (without reasonable, and costly, investigating).