Hardware and Software for Optical Discs
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Optical discs have become so common that there are practically hundreds, or even thousands of obscure brands out there. Some discs you might even purchase are literally blank and anonymous bundles and are often the cheapest. They're not exactly the most reliable either. If you're a bit brand-conscious mainly because you’ve been treating optical discs as a serious, long-term storage and backup solution, it is wise to invest in a name you can trust. For starters, Mitsui can be considered one of the most reliable and popular choices out there. Other consumer favorites include TDK, Taiyo Yuden, and Kodak. Be careful about blindly picking out branded discs though: some manufacturers produce two or more lines of discs, and at least one of those is poorer in quality than the others. Also read up on the lifespan of discs for more information.
Hardware mentioned here are applicable to both compact discs and digital video/versatile discs, sometimes even both, since they are the most common types of optical media available today. (For more information about other types of optical media, read our article here.)
Optical Disc Drives/Readers
What good is a disc without the device that reads the data and converts it into meaningful things for you? Disc drives go hand in hand with the discs themselves and have become an indispensable part of computers. External drives are handy if you move around often.
Optical Disc Burners, Writers, or Recorders
CD or DVD disc burners, also called recorders, or writers, are special disc drives that can write to and read from discs that are also generally readable in other ordinary (non-burning) drives or players. Note, however, that not all discs or burners are completely compatible with every other drive reader—even if they’re supposed to be. Here's a compatibility chart [link] from Wikipedia for comparison.
Disc Reader/Writer Brands:
- 4kus
- Asus
- BenQ
- HP
- Iomega
- Liteon
- LG
- Memorex
- NEC
- Samsung
- Sanyo
- Sony
- Panasonic
- Philips
- Pioneer
- Plextor
- Ricoh
- Toshiba
- Verbatim
- Yamaha
Optical Disc Duplicators
Duplicators are simply special machines that can perform heavy-duty disc burning on a relatively larger scale than ordinary disc burners. They are often considered more cost-effective and reliable, especially for small to medium-scale businesses in need of a pretty serious disc-authoring device.
Optical Disc Burning/Recording Software
Burning software allow you to create and control what goes into the discs you'll be burning, whether it's hi-quality audio, video, photos, or an assortment of documents. Some burning suites even have additional tools such as cover designers or disc image copiers (also called cloning software), and even custom software that walks you through the process of backing up your files from the hard drive to your discs. Probably the most popular burning software out there is Nero Burning ROM. Other notable names in the burning software category include GEAR, NTI, Roxio, Pinnacle, and 1Click.
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