ΠΕΡΙ CD - DVD - BD - LightScribe - LabelFlash

[bibakos]

ΠΕΡΙ CD - DVD - BD - LightScribe - LabelFlash

ΟΛΑ ΟΣΑ ΘΑ ΘΕΛΑΤΕ ΝΑ ΓΝΩΡΙΖΕΤΕ...
ΚΑΙ ΦΟΒΟΣΑΣΤΕ ΝΑ ΡΩΤΗΣΕΤΕ....
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[bibakos]

What is LightScribe?

LightScribe (LS) is a labeling system developed by Hewlett Packard (HP). This unique technology utilizes the laser from the drive and a special printing material applied to the finished disc. To use this type of disc, after recording the data, eject the disc from the drive and flip it over and place it back into the drive (Use only LS supported drives and discs). Create a design using a variety of programs available with the drive. After a couple of seconds-minutes, the image is finished.

LS is a technology that be applied to any optical disc technology. Currently it is available for CD format and DVD formats. The next generation formats, HD DVD and BD, will be available soon. Originally there was only one color available, a light brown/beige color, but now there are other colors available, red, blue, green, yellow, and orange. The colors refer to the background of the disc not the burned image, printing is only available in black with grayscale.





Example of LightScribe Disc with image



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[bibakos]

What is LabelFlash?

LabelFLash is a labeling system supported by NEC and FujiFilm. This unique technology utilizes the laser from the drive and special dye layer applied to the dummy side of the DVD disc. The disc is applied to the drive by flipping the disc over so that the dummy side is facing down and inserted into the drive. With the support of Nero, the drive can replicate the design and burn an image onto the special dye layer.

Currently there is only a blue-dye background color for the disc and it is only available for DVDR discs. Also only a hand full of drive makers is supporting the format, NEC and Buffalo





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[bibakos]

If I bought a HD DVD player, can I use BD discs?
Or vice versa?

Unfortunately, it is currently impossible for such integration between the two formats. The HD DVD player cannot play the BD discs and the BD player cannot play HD DVD discs. Unless the player develops an entirely different pick-up head unit it shows some difficulty to integrate the two different disc technologies.

The difference in the technology is in the development of the disc. HD DVD discs utilizes a disc structure to current DVD, 0.6 mm + 0.6 mm with an Numerical Aperture (N.A.) = 0.65, while BD format utilizes an entirely new format, 0.1 mm + 1.1 mm with an NA = 0.85. Although both formats have its advantages and disadvantages, the determinacy of the dominant format is still to early to garner, most forecast a influence by the blue laser disc in around 2010. Until then, the formats will coexist until one format bows down.

Disc structure differences renders compatibility between the two formats





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[bibakos]

What is the difference between IS DL Disc
and 2P DL Disc?

2P Process

* Definition of 2P is Photo Polymerization
* Photo Polymerization refers to the step where the spacer layer is molded
into a grooved surface in order to manufacture the second layer

IS Process

* Definition of IS is Inverse Stack
* The inverse stack refers to the development of the disc when the top layer
and the bottom layer are bonded together but the top layer
is inverted compared to the bottom layer

Is there a difference?

For the end-user, the difference cannot be seen.The difference is in the structure of the disc:

* 2P the grooves of both the bottom layer and top layer coincide with each other
* IS the grooves of the top layer is inverted with the bottom layer



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[bibakos]

What is the difference between BD and HD DVD?

BD (Blu-ray Disc) and HD DVD (High Density DVD) are both blue laser optical discs (405 nm wavelength optical pick-up head). Each of the formats is higher in capacity than the current DVD and is designed for the future recording of High Definition Television (HDTV). In the market, both are available for purchase, BD has BD-R (write-once media) and BD-RE (rewritable media) available, while HD DVD has only HD DVD-R (write-once media) available with HD DVD-RW and HD DVD-RAM available in late 2006 and in early 2007, respectively.



Table 1. Information provided by http://www.bluraydisc.com -
White Paper – Blu-ray Disc Format – General



Table 2. Information provided by http://www.hddvdprg.com/hddvd/hddvd_3.html

Other than the difference in the capacity and technical specifications, the disc structures are distinct, especially for BD. HD DVD utilizes the same structure as current DVD while BD uses a 1.1 mm + 0.1 mm structure. See below for comparison.




Image 1. Comparison of (Up) HD DVD disc structure and (Down) BD disc structure.

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[bibakos]

My disc accidentally fell into a pool,
can I still use the disc after I pick it up
and wipe off the water on the surface?

It depends on the steps of how you deal with after the disc fell into the pool,
and which type of disc you used.
When you begin to dry the disc, please use cloth, or tissue paper. Wipe the disc down from the inner region of the disc towards the outer region of the disc, as shown in the picture below:



These steps can minimize the amount of scratches created upon the disc and increase the chances that the disc can be used again.
The type of disc is also important to the re-use of the disc after falling into the pool. In the market there are discs coated with hard coating (only DVD discs). These hard coated discs prevent scratches upon the reading surface, thus a fall into pool would be harmless to these types of discs (It is not recommended to soak the disc in water for a long period of time).



To prevent any missing data of your disc in the future, please store the discs in the containers (jewel case, slim case, and cake box). Then place these containers in a controlled environment which need to avoid to exposure the disc into high temperatures, humid environments, UV rays, and other contaminants.

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[bibakos]

How does one determine the manufacturer of the disc?

There 2 methods of determining the manufacturer of the disc.

Method 1:

Read the stamper number on the disc. Each company has a distinct stamper number that is unique for each company. The stamper number should be located near the protruding inner ring on the reading surface, as shown below. But this method is difficult to determine the manufacturer unless one is familiar with the company’s coding scheme.



Method 2:
There are programs that can be used to read a code placed within the disc itself that distinguishes the manufacturer of the disc. One program is DVDInfo Pro. This programs can allow the end-user to read the MID (Manufacturer Identification). All discs are required to have a MID placed within the disc and this requirements is for both DVD+R/+RW formats and the DVD forum formats.


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[bibakos]

To preserve optical discs,
is a warm environmental condition the optimal state?

The ideal state is to place an optical disc in a vacuum like environment but that is not possible. Therefore, the optimal environmental state for storage

1. Lower temperatures

2. Minimal exposure to water (lower humidity)

3. Reduce exposure to UV light

The recommendations from other sources may vary but the trend should be similar.



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[bibakos]

An optical disc have data previously burnt/recorded
into it, the disc was not used for some time, now the disc is taken out but the disc
is unreadable, is it possible to rescue the information from the disc?

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to rescue information from an unreadable disc. Overtime many discs may change in mechanical characteristics and/or the recording material degrades.

When writing important information into optical discs store, store the optical discs after writing in a container – jewel case, slim case, etc. – and place in a area with relative low humidity at room temperature and have low exposure to UV light (sunlight). Under these conditions, most discs can be stored for some time even after many years of storage.

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[bibakos]

Why does the recording speed only 8X while
I burned a 16X DVD disc with a 16X DVD recorder?

First you should check if the disc is a real 16X disc. If the disc is an 8X disc, then the 16X drive can only burn the disc at a maximum recording speed of 8X.(to determine the disc speed you should check by certain software, i.e. SmartBurn etc)

If the disc is a 16X DVD disc, the following reasons may have caused the reduction in recording speed:

(1) The drive does not support the disc manufacturer’s ID code. Every drive maker must place the disc manufacturer information into the drive so that the disc will be read and write correctly. If the drive maker doesn’t input the information into the recorder, the disc may be set to default and will under-utilize the optimum setting.

(2) Compatibility problem. Drive makers must make adjustments to their drive to specific disc manufacturers for the optimal writing speed. It is a good idea to double-check the disc manufacturer for the compatibility results of the discs to various drive makers.

(3) Inferior product. Some brand may purchase inferior product from disc manufacturer. Usually the inferior disc can be burned but may have down-speed or preservation problem.

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[bibakos]

What causes the print surface of a CD-R to peel-off?
How can this be avoided?

The CD-R print surface mainly peels-off due to the environment (high humidity, high temperature, etc.) because of the structure of the disc. Unlike the DVD which has the recording material sandwiched between 2 polycarbonates, the CD-R has the recording material applied to the top surface of the polycarbonate and then protected with a lacquer UV resin. This UV resin provides minimal protection against scratches and the affects of the environment thus causing the print surface to peel-off.
To minimize the effect of the print surface from peeling off please store the CD-R discs is a storage device like a jewel case, slim case, or a cover slip. Also place important data in a controlled environment by avoiding high temperature and high humidity areas.





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[bibakos]

How does one properly store optical discs for prolong usage?

There are many factors that affects the prolong usage of an optical disc. The following are some information on the conditions of storage for optical disc.

* Reduce exposure of light (sunlight)

The exposure of sunlight causes heat build-up in the discs’ recording layer thus degrading the disc recording quality.

* Minimize prolong periods in moisture conditions

The polycarbonate of the optical disc is vulnerable to prolong exposure in moisture conditions caused from spills, humid air, or immersion. The water may be absorbed into the disc and have an affect on the recording materials. Returning the discs to dry environment will dissipate the moisture absorbed in the disc. Warning: Water may leave behind contaminants within the discs

* Avoid strong organic solvents

It is highly recommended that all optical discs be not exposed to strong organic solvents such as acetone and benzene since these materials can dissolve polycarbonate. While limited exposure to mild solvents, like isopropyl alcohol and methanol, are acceptable for cleaning purposes due to the high evaporation of the solvent and the inability to dissolve polycarbonate.

* Effects of magnets, X-rays, and microwaves

1. Magnets should have no effects on optical discs
2. X-rays will not harm the optical discs (Airport detectors)
3. Microwaves should be avoided – it will destroy both the disc and microwave oven

* Storage of the optical disc

It is best to storage an optical disc in a case – preferably a slim case, a jewel case, a amaray case, a snapper case, etc. – the case protects the optical disc from any airborne contaminants and protects the discs from any rapid environmental changes causing stress upon the disc. For long storage, it is recommended to label the case and not the optical disc since labels may absorb moisture over a long period of time.

Information provided by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)

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[bibakos]

Is it true when the top surface of the CD-R has been damaged (scratched, peeling, etc.) the disc is useless? Is DVD disc the same thing?

Yes, it is true once the printing surface of the CD-R or CD-RW disc has been damaged, the disc is pretty much useless because of the disc structure and the application of the recording materials had been ruined. CD-R recording material is deposited on the top portion of the CD substrate which was protected by a thin layer of protective lacquer coating. Most common damages of CD-R/CD-RW disc were scratched on the top surface of the disc which would make the discs useless. Therefore, please take good care of the CD-R/CD-RW disc on the printing side.



As for the DVD disc, this problem will NOT occur because the DVD disc uses different structure. DVD disc is half thick of CDR. In order to get good mechanical character and high performance burning speed, we have to bundle a dummy disc(0.6mm thickness) above the DVD data disc(also 0.6mm). Therefore, we can print (or label) our design on DVD disc's surface (dummy side). By utilizing this method, the recording material of the disc is now sandwiched between 2 protective substrates. So, any damage to the surface of the DVD would not damage the recording material at all.



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[bibakos]

Can my 8X drive burn a 16X disc?

The burning speed of the disc is limited by the burning speed of the disc drive; therefore, an 8X disc drive can and cannot burn a 16X. The 8X drive can burn the 16X disc at an 8X recording speed but cannot burn the 16X disc at a 16X recording speed.

To be certain what recording speed the drive can utilize, double check the box of the drive to determine the minimum and maximum recording speed for each type of disc, or enter the drive manufacturer’s website to determine the recording speed limitations of each drive model.