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The Harmony Central Guide to CD-R for Audio
CD recorders are powerful tools, but if you don't know the difference between Track-at-Once and Disc-at-Once, we've got you covered
by Philip De Lancie
August 1, 2000
'With high capacity and low cost, it's little wonder that CD recording has caught on so rapidly.'
When it comes to optical storage for music and data, the compact disc is the undisputed champ. And the same factors that have established the CD for prerecorded applications -- music albums and software distribution -- make the format very appealing for recording as well. CD players and CD-ROM drives are so widespread that the music CDs you record can be played back just about anywhere. And you can create hybrid CD-ROMs that will play across multiple computing platforms, making CD a near-ideal data-interchange format (especially with the high speed of current CD-ROM drives). Throw in high capacity (74 minutes of audio or 650MB of data is ample for most uses) and low cost (blank discs are available in bulk for less than a dollar each), and it's little wonder that CD recording has caught on so rapidly.
 When the CD Recordable (Orange Book) systems first came on the scene in the early 1990s, they were hugely expensive, particularly for checking music and CD-ROM projects before mass production. Eventually, CD-Rs became important for making source masters to take to CD plants for replication. But as prices for drives and discs have fallen to mass market levels in the last few years, the tasks for which CD-Rs are used have diversified. CD-Rs make excellent demo discs for artists to send out to labels, radio stations, or performance venues. They may also be used for storing samples and for backing up (archiving) all kinds of data, including audio workstation or sequencer sessions.
Variations and Options
Today's CD recorder market breaks into three broad categories. The most popular are computer-hosted CD-R drives designed for integration into a computer/workstation environment, where their operation is controlled by CD recording software. These "desktop" drives may record both CD-Audio and CD-ROM discs, and they double as audio/ROM playback drives. The second common format is the standalone CD recorder, which comes packaged as a separate audio component with front-panel hardware controls and the ins and outs required for dealing with audio signals. Standalones record CD-Rs in CD-Audio format only, not CD-ROMs. In addition to these two main types, CD-R duplication systems are available that allow users to record tens or hundreds of discs in a day.
An important variant of the CD-R concept is CD Rewritable (CD-RW). Recordings made on CD-R are permanently fixed, but CD-RW allows a disc (or parts thereof) to be re-recorded up to 1,000 times. CD-RW drives generally also record CD-Rs, and many standalone recorders include both CD-R and CD-RW capabilities. However, CD-RWs do not play back on most CD-Audio players, and only play on some CD-ROM drives. So while CD-RW has its merits for data applications, it lacks the universal compatibility that makes CD-R ideal for the distribution of audio. The same holds true for another rewritable option, DVD-RAM. (DVD-RAM drives can play prerecorded CDs, but they don't record CD-Rs.)
Recording on an optical format like CD-R can be a great tool for both audio and general data use. But with the wide variety of hardware and software options out in the market, not every solution will be a good match for your particular situation. Before taking CD-R for a spin, then, it's important to understand how the available approaches differ, and what your own needs really are.
Next Page: Computer-Hosted CD-R Drives....
Philip De Lancie (phildelancie@harmonycentral.com) is a freelance writer whose feature articles on production techniques and technologies appear regularly in magazines such as Mix (where he is New Technologies Editor), Millimeter, and EMedia Professional. Philip was a CD premastering engineer for 13 years at Fantasy Records, where he also designed and produced Web and CD-ROM multimedia, and he has recorded on-location music for records, video, and film.
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