Are Vinyl Albums Extinct?

A Short History of SoundThomas Edison is credited with numerous inventions throughout his illustrious career as an inventor and scientist. Although, one invention of his gave birth, so to speak, to the music industry…the phonograph. This relatively simple mechanism was created to store an analog wave mechanically. He did this by having a diaphragm control a needle, which then scratched an analog signal onto a tin foil cylinder.When a sound was made, the diaphragm vibrated –much like a human’s vocal chords, causing the needle to vibrate. Those vibrations were then scratched onto the tin. During playback, the needle moved over those scratches or grooves, creating vibrations that caused the diaphragm to vibrate and re-create the sound.The gramophone’s major improvement on this was the use of records with a flat groove making mass production relatively easy.The next step was to record the music onto magnetic tape, giving a perceptually higher quality of reproduction. And, of course, now we record the music digitally and optically, giving a higher standard of reproduction yet.

The manufacturing process, however, remains essentially the same as it has for years, from lacquer cutting to pressing.

Vinyl Album Manufacturing
An artist’s master recording is first transferred to a disc, called a “lacquer”, which is 14 inches in diameter. To accomplish this, a cutting lathe is used to shape the disc. These discs are actually lacquer-coated aluminum and are often referred to as acetates.The lathe has a turntable upon which the lacquer is placed, but instead of a tone arm with a regular stylus, there is an instrument with a diamond stylus that cuts out the distinct grooves on the lacquer, under the guidance of a computer.When the disc is ready to be cut and the parameters set, the lathe moves into the proper diameter. For a 12-inch master disc it moves into 11 7/8 inches, drops the head and makes a fast spiral groove (on the outside, to guide the stylus into the playing area).The cutting stylus cuts anything that is completely left side information, although the stylus itself is vertical, at a 45* angle to the left. Anything it sees as right side information is cut at a 45* angle in a plane to the right. Anything it sees as lying in the center of the two speakers is cut completely horizontally. Any sound occurring completely in the right speaker, not appearing in the left speaker, or vice-versa, is called vertical information: the stylus moves in an up and down motion.When the master tape indicates a space, the lathe automatically puts a small spread between the tunes. After reaching the inner diameter and the cutting is finished, the machine puts in a spiral and a lock groove, ties it off and lifts the cutting head.

When the master is complete it is microscopically inspected and shipped to a pressing plant.
At the plant, the lacquer is coated with silver (electroplating). When this coating is thick enough it is peeled off to create a ‘metal master’ which is now a negative image of what was on the lacquer (it has ridges where the grooves go).

Several “mothers” are made from the metal master (again by electroplating) which are intermediate masters, and positive images again.

The process is repeated once again to form negative discs called “stampers”. These stampers, which have refinements like a depression around the edge to make the raised outer rims of the discs, are the “molds” with which the grooves are actually stamped on vinyl (under intense heat and pressure).

With this three step process, involving metal masters and mothers, you can make as many discs as possible from a single lacquer; otherwise the tricky process of lacquer-cutting would have to be repeated almost continuously, increasing the likelihood of inconsistency in the finished product.

 Jason Cole and http://www.DiskFaktory.com offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp

Total HD – “Super Disc” An update on the battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD

Alright, we’ve all been following the heated battle between the new Blu-ray and HD-DVD technologies. If you’d like a little refresher on what’s conspired so far, please refer to my article titled “New CD and DVD Technology – Blu-Ray and HD-DVD”. This will run you through how each disc type functions, why they’re better than normal DVD media, and the differences between the two types. But I digress, this article is about the industry’s newest solution to the problem of having two new, very similar products, and how they plan on solving this conflict. The solution presented is in the form of an amalgamated DVD disc type named Total HD, which holds both Blu-ray and HD-DVD information. 

Total HD – What is it? 

The main difference between Blu-ray and HD-DVD is the distance of the data layer from the surface of the disc. Both disc types use a blue laser to read the disc’s contents. The Blu-ray discs’ is located 0.1mm from the disk’s surface, whereas the HD DVD data layer resides 0.6mm deep from the disk’s surface. The solution that the Total HD disc offers is a mirror-like top layer containing the Blu-ray information that a Blu-ray player can read. But the surface also allows light to reflect through to a second layer containing the HD-DVD information, so an HD-DVD player can read and play that information as well. They are also working on a double sided disc that contains standard DVD information on the reverse side, which would cover all 3 of the different formats. This super DVD would allow movie producers to offer their films in all formats on one disc. Consumers would be more apt to purchase a movie offered in all three formats instead of having to buy one disc in each format. This has been the main concern of all film production companies since the beginning of this format war. In the end, the only thing that matters is marketability. 

What does this mean to the consumer? 

It seems that it all really comes down to the DVD players that are offered to the consumer. LG Electronics has announced that it has a combo player in the works, and better yet, the device will premier very soon. As a consumer, this pretty much solves the problem. You’ll have HD-DVD, Blu-ray, and standard DVD all on one disc that you can play in one standard player. So, there will really be no problem on the consumer’s end as soon as the battle is over and standardized. Picture that now, crystal clear, hi-definition movies played off of a home DVD player. Soon enough it will all be in our grasp. 

Jason Cole and DiskFaktory offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp

CD Burning – The Differences Between Track-at-once and Disc-at-once

All of us who own a personal computer have burned at least a CD or two in our days. Being able to download music and create your own mix CDs has been one of my favorite features since the beginning. Software such as iTunes and Nero has made this task even easier, pretty much doing all the work for us. All you need to do is insert your CD-R into your CD burner, pop open either one of those programs, drag in your audio files, and hit the burn button. In a couple minutes your CD is ready to go. But wait a second, what about these options like burn speed, and should I choose disc-at-once or track-at-once? Well, today we’ll be attempting to get to the bottom of one of these confusing options. We’ll be discussing what the differences are between these two CD burn modes; track-at-once and disc-at-once, and to decide which one is the right option to choose for your project.

Track-At-Once

This is the first option that was introduced when CD duplication software was first created. With this mode, each time a track is finished burning, the laser recording the information stops. When it stops, two run-out blocks of data are written. After that, one link block and four run-in blocks are written when the next track begins to record. With track-at-once, you may burn both data and audio on the same disc. These blocks in between tracks are not a problem when data is being read, but you may hear a click on some CD players when playing back audio. This is something that may cause you problems if you are having your disc mastered and duplicated or replicated at a professional facility. In that regard, track-at-once is best suited for CDs for personal enjoyment.

Disc-At-Once

This burn mode takes all of your data, be it audio data or regular data, and burns it all to disc in one big block. No gaps are added between tracks, the laser never stops burning the data to disc. This is a newer feature, which should be an option in most modern CD burning software. One option you have with disc-at-once mode, which is kind of interesting, is that you can place allows any amount of audio data (or no data at all) to be written in the “pre-gaps” between tracks. With this option, you can place track introductions between each song. This is cool, because you can create “hidden tracks” on the CD in the pre-gap areas, that are only accessible by rewinding backwards into the pre-gap area. This is the ideal choice for CD masters that will be going to a CD duplication or replication house.

I hope that this fully explains these two different CD burning modes for you, or at least explains it enough for you to successfully create your next CD mix or master. I was going to leave out explaining burn speed for another article, but it really is simple enough to explain at the tail end of this article. Basically, your burn speed should be15-30% of the drive’s maximum capacity. I.e. For a 52x burner, the optimal burn speed would be from 12-16x. It’s as simple as that. Thanks for reading this article, and best wishes on your next project!

Jason Cole and DiskFaktory offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp

Holographic Data Storage – The Next Generation

All data storage in modern times are done on disc, be it a computer hard drive or a CD-R disc. Blu-ray and HD-DVD have upped the ante when it comes to the amount of data that you can hold on a disc, but at some time they will eventually become obsolete. Right now our data storage needs are currently met, but as the amount of data available continues to rise, storage technology must evolve with it. The next generation of storage technology is going to be holographic data storage. It sounds pretty futuristic, what is holographic storage? 

With CD-R and DVD-R technology, data is stored on the surface of the disc as distinct magnetic or optical changes. With holographic data storage, an entire page of information is stored at once as an optical interference pattern within a thick, photosensitive optical material.  

How do they do this? This is done by intersecting two coherent laser beams, the object and reference beams, within the storage material. The object beam contains all the information needing to be stored, while the reference beam is designed to be simple to produce. The resulting interference between the beams causes chemical and/or physical changes in the photosensitive medium that the data is being stored on. Basically “burning” the information to the storage medium, this mark is called the grating. When the grating is illuminated by one of the two waves that were used to record the information, the light is refracted in a way that the other wave is reconstructed. These gratings can be stacked or superimposed in the same thick piece of media, as long as there is a distinguishing spacing or direction, allowing the stacked bits of data to be accessed independently. In addition to larger storage capabilities, holographic storage also boasts to accelerate data transfer rates to about one billion bits per second and reduce access times to just tens of microseconds. 

The benefits 

1.        Larger storage capacity – Some companies are developing a technology that enables the storage of between 100GB and 1TB of data. Compare this to Blu-ray and HD-DVD, which max out at 50GB. Amazing leap in the amount of data you can store on one piece of media. 

2.        Accelerated data transfer – The holographic data storage medium in the works boasts data transmission speeds of 100Mbps to 1Gbps. The new HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs clock in at 36.55Mbps, which is only a fraction of the holographic data storage transfer rate. 

Well, if you’re like me, you learned quite a bit about a new technology from this short article. This new technology is quite a ways off from being accessible to the common consumer, but some companies are in the process of developing holographic data storage for the corporate sector. Technology is a strange beast, always changing, always mutating. The sky is the limit, and only time will tell where we’ll be headed after the rise and fall of this yet-to-be-seen data technology. 

Jason Cole and DiskFaktory offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp

New CD and DVD Technology – Blu-Ray and HD-DVD

The compact disc has been around since 1978, developed by Phillips and Sony. The reason it was developed was to take over for the Laserdisc as the industry standard digital audio disc. Since its invention, we have seen many updates on the compact disc technology. The most recent being the CD-R and DVD discs. With the CD-R, you can now burn your own discs at home, and then modify those discs at a later date. DVD technology allows us to record video onto a disc, where we used to only be able to record audio and data. As time rolls by, and the disc industry advances, we are presented with new forms of these technologies. The two new contenders are Blu-Ray discs and HD-DVD, here’s a little information about each of these new disc types.  

1. Blu-Ray

This type of disc, also known as Blu-Ray Disc, is the next generation of optical disc. It was developed by the Blu-Ray Disc Association, a group of consumer electronic/PC/media manufacturers, including: Apple, HP, Mitsubishi, Phillips, Sony, and others. The Blu-Ray disc type was mainly developed for recording, rewriting, and playing back high-definition (HD) video. It’s also perfect for storing large amounts of data, exceeding previous DVD-R disc storage capabilities. It can hold more than 5 times the amount of information that a traditional DVD can hold, up to 25GB single layer, and up to 50GB dual layer. One of the main differences of the Blu-Ray disc is the type of laser that the disc is read with. Normal DVDs are read with a red laser, the Blu-Ray discs are read with a blue-violet laser. The main benefit of this change is the wave length of the laser types. The traditional red laser has a wider focus, so the blue-violet laser can be focused more precisely allowing more tightly packed data. This equals more data in less space on the disc, this results in the additional storage space available on the new Blu-Ray discs. These new discs are backwards compatible with regular DVDs, which they are expected to replace in the near future.   

1. HD-DVD

HD-DVD discs, High Definition Versatile Discs or High Definition Digital Video Discs, are very similar to the Blu-Ray discs. This disc type is being developed by a group of consumer electronics/PC companies, headed by Toshiba. They also use a blue-violet laser to read the contents of the disc, which results in an increase in storage capacity compared to normal DVD discs. The HD-DVD can store 15GB single layer and 30GB double layer, making their storage capacity 10GB per layer smaller than the Blu-Ray. But Toshiba has announced a triple layer disc that can hold 45GB of information, and the HD DVD discs can hold both HD DVD and regular DVD information on one disc.  

Right now these two disc types are battling it out to become the next generation of DVD disc technology, conjuring up images of the battle between Betamax and VHS in the 80’s. I guess we’re all wondering who’s going to come out on top? In my honest opinion, I believe that Blu-Ray will become the new standard. Both disc types offer HD capability and large data storage capacity, so it’s kind of hard to say which is better. The Blu-Ray, with its greater maximum storage capacity and the fact that it’s being backed by more of the large consumer electronic/PC/media manufacturers, I believe will win the battle. But it’s all still up in the air, so only time will tell.  

Jason Cole and DiskFaktory offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp

What is a CD-R and how does it differ from a CD?

We all know what a CD is, we use it to play music in our cars and home stereos. By definition it is an optical disc used to store digital data, usually 80 or 120mm in diameter. It was introduced in 1982 and is now the standard playback format for commercial audio recordings. An audio CD consists of one or more stereo tracks of audio, stored using the 16 bit PCM (Pulse code modulation), with a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz. Originally the first audio CD was going to hold 1 hour of audio, with a disc diameter of 11 ½ cm. The final length of the CD was bumped up to 74 minutes. Some say that this was because Sony’s vice-president suggested it, so that it would be able to fit the full recording of Beethoven’s 9^th symphony. But this is most likely untrue, although it sounds pretty cool! In 1988 the CD-R (also known as the CD-WO (CD Write Once)) was introduced. It retained all the functionality of the CD, plus it added the feature of being able to store both music and data. Let’s take a deeper look into the world of the CD-R disc. 

The standard CD-R disc is also an 80 or 120mm disc made of polycarbonate, with a 74 minute or 650MB storage capacity. There are also non-standard CD-R discs that hole a variety of times and amounts of information. The most widely used disc is the 80 minute type. The polycarbonate disc contains a spiral groove printed in an organic dye, which guides the laser when reading and writing the disc. On top of that organic dye is a thin layer of silver or gold, which is then topped with a protective layer of photo-polymerizable lacquer. There are 3 different dye formulas used in CD-Rs. They are: 

1.        Cynanine dyes – These dyes are mostly green in color, and for the most part are unstable. This instability makes this dye unsuitable for archival purposes, since the dye will fade and become unreadable after a period of time.2.        Azo dye – This dye is usually blue in color, and is stable, so it is typically rated with a lifetime in the area of decades.3.        Phthalocyanine dye – These dyes can be silver, gold, or light green. They are similar with Azo dyes, and are usually rated with a lifetime in the area of hundreds of years. 

There are a couple different write methods used in CD-Rs, you may be familiar with them if you have burned CD-Rs on your home computer. They are: 

1.      Disc at once – This method leaves no gaps between tracks and is “closed”, meaning that no more data can be added                                   at any later dates. This works well for live performances.2.      Track at once – This method places gaps between each track and allows for data to be written to the disc at a later date.  This method also allows for audio and data to reside on the same disc. 

Because CD-R media will degrade over time, there are a few things you must keep in mind in order to maximize the life expectancy of your CD-R. This is not a full list, but these are definitely important issues one should pay attention to when handling CD-Rs. 

                1. Handle disc edges only – This will help you to avoid bending the disc as well as help keep fingerprints off of the disc. 2. CD-R discs must be stored in a cool, dry place. The optimal storage temperature for your CD-R is 41-68 degrees Fahrenheit. 3. If you are going to write on your disc, use a felt tip water based marker. Alcohol based markers are second best, but not recommended. Xylene and toluene based markers should never be used. 

Now that you have a better understanding of how CD-Rs work and how they differ from regular CD media, you should have no trouble burning your own CDs. This article is definitely not a full explanation or analysis of CD-R media, but it contains some very important information that all computer users should know. I really hope this makes your next burn project a lot easier and more fun! 

Jason Cole and http://www.DiskFaktory.com offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp

What software should I use to create my CD or DVD artwork?

After recording your album, having it mastered and pressed, you head over to your disc duplication facility’s website to place your order. Reading up on the ordering process you notice that you have the option to have artwork printed on the disc face, and can also have tray card and insert artwork printed. This is a great idea, as it allows you to give your project a more professional look and feel. You can either hire a print designer, who will hopefully already know all of the proceeding information. Or you can have a go at it yourself, utilizing one of the many different graphics creation programs available. If you are choosing to create your own artwork, read on. 

There are many different programs out there that can be used to create print artwork. One of the more popular programs is Adobe Illustrator. Adobe Illustrator is a vector based drawing program, available for both PC and Macintosh computers. You could also use, CorelDRAW, Paint Shop Pro, or even Adobe Photoshop. I will go into a little bit more detail about what the differences are between some of these programs later on in this article, and why some of them are better suited for print design. Here is a list of 3 terms you should be familiar with before starting your artwork project. 

1. Raster Graphics

Raster graphics are also known as bitmap graphics. This form of graphics image is a data file or structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or blocks of color, on a computer monitor, or other display device. Think of a raster images as a checkers board, with each square (pixel) on the board displaying a different color. This collection of colored dots (pixels), in turn form the full picture. The quality of a raster image is determined by the total number of pixels (resolution), and the amount of information in each pixel. Raster graphics are practical for photographs and photo-realistic images because of the way that they display images. Pretty much all photos you will find on the internet, and all photos you take with your digital camera will be raster images. You may want to use photographs for your CD or DVD’s artwork, but you must mind a few certain things: 

A.       DPI – I will go into this a bit further in the “DPI” section of this article. In a nutshell, any photograph that you would like to use for print must be 300 DPI (dots per inch) or higher. DPI refers to the density of pixel information in a photograph. 

B.       Color Mode – There are two basic modes of color: RGB and CMYK. All you need to know really is that all print artwork must be created as a CMYK document, as this refers to the colors of ink that a printer uses to recreate your artwork. If you create your artwork as an RGB document, the printed document will most likely shift in color. For more info on this, please refer to my last article. What do you need to start a CD duplication project? 

1. Vector Graphics

Also known as geometric modeling, this form of graphic uses geometrical primitives such as points, curves, and lines to represent images. Instead of displaying blocks of color to represent a photo vector images rely on set points to determine the outline of an object, using mathematical formulas to determine the curve of the lines between said set points. Vector graphics are ideal for simple or composite drawings that do not need to achieve photo-realism. I suggest that you used vector objects for all of your artwork’s areas that are not photos.  

1. DPI

Dots per inch, (DPI) is the number of individual dots of ink a printer can produce within a one-inch space. This translates as, the higher the DPI, the sharper the image. Although, most commercial printers will tell you that anything over 300DPI would be considered “print-quality”. I recommend that you make sure that your artwork is at least 300DPI, with 600DPI being the optimal setting for your artwork. 

 

After all this technical mumbo-jumbo, you’re probably scratching your head, still unsure of what program to use to create your artwork. The truth is you can use pretty much any graphics program to create your artwork, providing that you correctly set the DPI and color mode of your document. Personally, I usually use a combination of Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator to do all of my print artwork. I edit all bitmap images in Photoshop and create all of my vector content in Illustrator, combining the two in Illustrator. My advice is now that you have the basic background knowledge, experiment to figure out what works best for you!  

Jason Cole and http://www.DiskFaktory.com offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp

What do you need to start a CD duplication project?

While at your local record store, browsing for CDs, you notice how slick and professionally manufactured your favorite artist’s CDs look. This may be kind of disheartening if your band’s last attempt at a demo was burned on your home computer and labeled with a black felt tip marker. Why not step it up and have your next recording manufactured professionally? There are numerous duplication and replication labs out there that are very affordable. The process is very simple, requiring only a couple of things from you. What do you need to start your CD duplication project? 

1. CD Artwork

You will need to create the artwork for your CD face and the artwork for any inserts. An insert is the artwork that is displayed in the jewel case, which includes the “booklet” that comes with many CDs. To create these files, you will need an image editing/creation program. I recommend using Adobe Illustrator, or Adobe Photoshop. But there are many different programs available for you to use that will work just as good. When creating your artwork, please take in mind that most print houses (CD duplication facilities included) print everything in CMYK format. CMYK refers to the different inks used to print your artwork. 

                C= Cyan                M= Magenta                Y= Yellow                K= Key (Black)    Fun fact: The reason that black ink is represented by a K and not a B is to prevent it from being confused with Blue. Fully explaining CMYK printing is an article in itself, and most of you will not need to understand it in any more detail. Just remember that when you open a new file in your graphics creation program, you need to set the file format to CMYK. Also, for high quality printing, your artwork will need to be at least 300 DPI. DPI stands for dots per inch, and is a measure of printing resolution, in particular the number of individual dots of ink a printer or toner can produce within a one-inch space. If your artwork is any less than 300 DPI, the final print will most likely be blurry. Refer to your CD duplication house’s documentation for any further information, as specifications vary from company to company. 

1. Audio Files

All audio is converted to .CDA format when pressed (replicated) or burned (duplicated) on to a compact disc. If you have had your music recorded professionally, they will provide you with a “master”. A master is the original copy of your recording on a disc (or tape), used to create CDs and records. CD quality audio files are usually presented to your CD duplication house in the form of uncompressed 44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo .WAV files. You will need to check with the company that is manufacturing your CDs, because like your artwork, specifications vary from company to company. 

These two items prepared correctly, will net you a fine looking (and sounding) batch of CDs. Keep in mind, video buffs, that most of these duplication companies also duplicate DVDs. I hope that all of you, musicians and filmmakers, realize now that it doesn’t take that much to bridge the gap from amateur to professional quality media. Bring your next project to the next level!    Jason Cole and http://www.DiskFaktory.com offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp

What is a Red Book standard audio CD?

When reading through the terms and conditions at your favorite CD and DVD duplication facility’s website, you come across a term you aren’t familiar with.  

“All CD duplication projects are done on Red Book standard audio media”. 

What is the Red Book of audio, what are the media standards it has set, and why is it so important?   

The Red Book is one of the nine Rainbow Books, which provide universally agreed on specifications for all types of media. The Red Book provides the standards for audio CDs, also known as CDDA (or Compact Disc Digital Audio). There are also Yellow,
Orange, White, Blue, Beige, Green, Purple, and Scarlet books in the Rainbow Book set.  These different colored books provide audio standards for:  Yellow – CD-ROM and CD-ROM XA                 Orange – CD-R and CD-RW                White – Video CD                Blue – Enhanced CD, CD+G, and CD-Plus               

Beige – Photo CD               

Green – CD-I (Interactive)               

Purple – DDCD (Double Density Compact Disc)               

Scarlet – SACD (Super Audio CD) 

According to the Red Book, a standard CD is 120mm in diameter, 1.2mm thick, and is made up of polycarbonate plastic substrate, one or more thin layers of reflective metal (usually aluminum), and a lacquer coating. The disc is divided into 3 parts – The lead-in area containing the Table of Contents, the program area containing the audio data, and the lead-out area containing no data. 

The Red Book of was developed in 1980 by Sony and Phillips to specify the physical parameters of the audio CD. This includes the optical stylus parameters, deviations and error rate, modulation system and error correction, and subcode channels and graphics. One other major CD specification set by the Red Book is the form of digital audio encoding taken on by CDs. The parameters set have become a de-facto standard in the CD duplication industry.  

All in all, most consumers probably won’t be too concerned with the individual technical specifications set by the Red Book. But as a consumer you can take comfort in knowing that there is a high standard of quality being upheld when it comes to your CD duplication, DVD duplication or data CD duplication project. Make sure that when you go to your CD duplication house you ask them if they use Red Book quality CD media.  Jason Cole and http://www.DiskFaktory.com offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp

Can’t I just do my CD and DVD duplication at home?

Hello everyone.

This week’s post is all about professional disc duplication, and the benefits of it.

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You’ve just created an mp3 audio album that you want to make CD copies of, or maybe you have a collection of home video clips you’d like to burn to DVD and pass out to your friends. As far as you know home CD album duplication and DVD duplication require just a couple of things; a computer with a burner, CD-Rs and/or DVD-Rs, and the proper software. I have all that, so why can’t I just go ahead with my home CD/DVD duplication project? Here are a couple factors to take into consideration before you jump into your disc duplication project. 

1. Speed/Volume

With your home set-up, you can burn CDs and DVDs one at a time, and you have to reload the burner manually. This is fine if your disc duplication project only consists of 1-10 pieces. (CDs or DVDs) Considering that burning one disc at 24x speed takes between 3-5 minutes, to burn a large amount of discs, you’re going to have to have a lot of time set-aside. Professional disc duplication facilities use multi-drive, auto-loading machines that can burn up to 8 discs simultaneously. This cuts down on the total cost of your CD or DVD replication package, and saves you the headache.  

1. Quality

In addition to a certified maximum burn speed, CD-Rs and DVD-Rs all have physical parameters and properties that must be taken into account. To get the absolute best quality out of your CD album duplication or DVD disc replication project, you must follow certain guidelines. The guidelines are explained in the “Red Book” of audio, one of a set of color-bound books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats. Most professional CD / DVD duplication / replication houses follow these guidelines, and will produce better quality discs more often than not. 

By all means, this article should not stop you from duplicating your CDs and DVDs at home. This is just here to educate you a little bit more about what the big guys are doing, and why it costs a tad bit more to get your discs duplicated by them. 

Jason Cole and http://www.DiskFaktory.com offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp