What To Consider When Choosing CD Burning Software?Jan 31 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Always check for compatibility and try to at least evaluate the software before purchase.
The emphasis on today’s mastering software is making audio CD’s from MP3’s. Most software packages will include various forms to accomplish this task. We can all thank Napster for this. Adaptec’s Easy CD Creator This can be considered the whole package. I have used several CD Recording packages with varying success. For the compilation of MP3’s to CD, I suggest Adaptec’s Easy CD Creator v 4 or later. Earlier versions forced you to manually convert these MP3’s to WAV files, with no way to normalize the audio. I’ll talk more about normalizing below and why I think it’s so important. The ability to normalize audio prevents one track from playing either lower or louder in volume than another. By normalizing tracks to say 98%, all of the tracks will play at the same level, keeping your volume control knob from breaking off in your hands. ;) If you want to convert old LP’s or 8 track tapes (ha!) to CD, then Adaptec has the answer in the form of their Spin Doctor. With minimal effort, one can convert an entire collection to CD with the ability to remove hiss or pops from vinyl or analog tape recordings. This works great. I’ve tried it. Just go easy on the pop removal slider; too much of anything isn’t always a good thing. NTI CD-Maker 2000 Professional If Easy CD Creator has any real competition, it has to be NTI’s CD Maker. The software is easy to configure and use. It contains all the basic features of similar packages, CD Data Copy, Audio Copy, Video CD, Mixed Mode, etc. The drawback is you’ll have to deal with a little guy wearing a chef’s hat. ;) WinOnCD by CeQuadrat (Adaptec) Since being taken over by Adaptec, support seems to be less of a priority. Maybe Adaptec saw WinOnCD as the only true competition to its software. I’ve used this particular package in the past with great success. Packet Writing Packet writing is probably one of the most useful tools of owning a CD burner. Utilizing the Universal Writing Format, UDF for short, you can use this disc in any machine that supports a multi-read CD for CDRW. On CDR, it can be read on virtually any machine. Packet writing is my main use for CDR’s and RW’s. Using Adaptec’s DirectCD, I am able to format a CDRW or CDR to support packet writing. In a nutshell, packet writing enables your burner to become a never-ending hard drive. Well sort of! ;) Not quite as fast as your HD, and limited to the speed of your burner, and the speed in which your media supports. I’ve tinkered with Prassi’s abCD with little success. It seems the abCD is not capable of enabling packet writing for CDR’s, just CDRW, which is not too good if you intend on utilizing inexpensive CDR’s. These can be had for as little as 15 cents each! The drawback to using CDR’s for packet writing?-The inability to erase the data as you would re-writable. You can make it disappear from the directory, but the space is lost forever! abCD claims to be compatible with DirectCD. I think not. I have lost a ton of data by trying to use both. I have found DirectCD to be the most compatible with systems I’ve introduced media to. This may be because DirectCD automatically installs the necessary drivers on the host computer should it require it. Older versions of DirectCD, v2 and earlier needed a manual install. FileCD, which comes with NTI CD-Maker Pro accomplishes the same task but needs to be manually loaded each time. Again, it only allows incremental writing to CDRW media, not CDR’s like DirectCD. Nero uses a UDF system called InCD, but again for CDRW’s only. A real disadvantage if you desire to incrementally save to CDR. For me there is no other choice but DirectCD. A link below for a list of features. http://www.roxio.com/en/products/ecdc/dcdfeatures.html Things To Keep In Mind An issue of compatibility comes into play when deciding on CD Burning software. If you purchase a newer drive, chances are you’ll be limited to the software that was included with your drive until a suitable driver can be written for you drive. This I found out after purchasing a newer drive with limited support by third parties. Be sure to check if your drive is supported before purchasing any software. In order for companies to keep their drives inexpensive, they can sometimes include below standard mastering software, forcing you to seek out a software package that suits your needs. Many times the support is less than adequate. It would be best to download a demo and test one of the many titles available. It could save you time, cash, and a headache in the long run. Overall If you’re a beginner and want an all-inclusive package, I recommend Easy CD Creator v4. At $69, it’s well worth the money. http://www.roxio.com/en/products/ecdc/index.html If you desire more control over burning, and like to tweak settings, try Nero Burning ROM. This is the choice for many Playstation fanatics out there. ;) I am unable to use Nero because of its incompatibility with DirectCD. :( http://ahead.de/en/index2.htm My main purpose for burning is to backup necessary files to reconstruct my system should it ever fail. Most of the contents of the hard drive can be reconstructed without loss of data. This saves me the time and the headache of backing up my entire system. Not to mention I’m too lazy! ;)  |
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