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   Compact Disc, a digital medium formed of a 12cm polycarbonate substrate, a reflective metalized layer, and a protective lacquer   coating. The physical format of CDs is described by the ISO9660 industry   standard. CD-Recordable discs also have   an organic dye data layer between the substrate and the metal reflective layer.Compact Disc-Recordable. This term is used to describe the technology of   recordable CD as well as the equipment, software and media used to make recordable discs.ross talk This is a measure of the amount of interference coming from neighboring pit   tracks on a CD. As track pitch is tightened (when tracks are packed closer   together to put more data on a disc), cross-talk increases. A maximum value of   50% is allowed by Red Book specifications. CyanibeOne type of organic dye used to form   the data layer in CD-R discs. Cyanine was   the first material used for these discs, but presently a metal-stabilized   cyanine compound is generally used instead of "raw" cyanine. An alternative   material is phthalocyanine.Data layer In CD-R, the organic dye sandwiched between the polycarbonate substrate and the metalized reflective layer of the . CD-Recordable discs do not have any data on them until   they are recorded. Instead the recording laser selectively melts "pits" into the dye layer -- but rather than burning   holes in the dye, it simply melts it slightly, causing it to become   non-translucent so the reading laser beam is refracted rather than reflected   back to the reader's sensors. In pressed CDs, the data layer is part of   the polycarbonate substrate, and is pressed into the top side of it by a "stamper" during the injection moulding prosses. 
      A CD is only a medium on which to store   information; you can think of it as a very large, write-protected floppy disk.   The difference is that, while DOS floppy and hard disks are written using the   DOS file format, CD-ROMs are written using a standard format called ISO 9660.   This standard is so widely accepted that it can be read back on any computer   platform including DOS, Macintosh, and UNIX. This is one of the advantages of   ISO 9660. 
    In an ideal world, you shouldn't have to think   about ISO 9660 at all when you write a CD; there should be an operating system   command similar to the DOS COPY command which would simply copy files from hard   disk to CD. The world of recordable CD-ROM isn't ideal quite yet, so you need an   entire software package to do the job. However, we've done our best to make it   easy for you  | 
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   CD Recordable This method of producing CDs uses a desktop recorder to   put a premastered image on a disc that has a polymer dye layer, using a laser to   burn the data into the dye. Recorders are available that work at single speed   (76 minutes for 650MB of data or 74 minutes of audio/video including time to   record leadout), 2x, 4x and 6x. 2x drives are the most common, requiring 39   minutes for a full 650MB disc 
     CD Replication This is the process of making a glass master from a premastered image, creating   stamplers from the master, then pressing discs with the stamper using injection   molding. Once the stamper is made and the machine is set up, a disc can be   produced in a matter of seconds.. 
    CD Duplication Duplication produces many copies of a disc at once. Duplicators use CD-R media,   and usually a bank of recorders controlled by a single processor. The number of   recorders that can be in a single array is limited by SCSI protocols, and   usually cannot exceed 17 plus one reader for the source material. 
    Although Double Layer 8.5GB DVD-ROM and DVD video discs   have been available for some time as part of the DVD read-only standard, it was   thought impossible or at least improbable that a similar technology could be   developed for personal DVD recording. However, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM),   parent company of Verbatim Corporation, and Philips have recently proven that a   Double Layer DVD recording system is feasible utilizing the DVD+R (write-once)   format. This technology is named Double Layer DVD+R, or DVD+R DL. DVD+R DL   hardware and media products will enable consumers to store up to 4 hours of   DVD-quality video, 16 hours of VHS video quality or 8.5GB of data on a single   disc—without having to stop and turn the disc.The development of reliable DVD+R DL media materials and   manufacturing processes is the key technology enabler for Double Layer DVD+R   recording. This white paper discusses each component of the DVD+R DL media   structure and the challenges involved in producing compatible DVD+R DL   media.The basic challenge was to develop materials and manufacturing processes for   multi-layer DVD+R DL discs that allow the properties of two unique layers, once   recorded, to meet the DVD read-only specifications for DVD-ROM drives and DVD   video players. During recording (and reading), each layer can be targeted   without disrupting data on the other layer (see Figure 1). The first recording   layer (L0) of the Verbatim DVD+R DL disc is semi-transparent, providing enough   reflectivity for writing/reading data on the first layer, yet transmitting   enough laser power to read/write on the second layer (L1) by refocusing the   laser.  | 
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   Professional CD mastering is first and foremost a   decision-making process, and then of course it's about making key changes to the   sound. You can kind of look at a mastering engineer as a 'third ear’ guy, an   over and above producer if you will. The mastering engineer comes in right at   the end of a project and needs to make key decisions, and suggestions on the   overall sound and layout (song sequences, pauses, etc.) that will be presented   on an album. Producers, audio engineers, A&R persons, labels and artists all   trust the mastering engineer to ensure that they put out a top sounding album   with maximum impact. For this reason a mastering engineer needs more than just   experience in audio engineering, experience in other aspects of the industry is   vital. A mastering engineer not only needs a good ear, but also a good feeling   for what works and what doesn’t, a good understanding and feel for different   genres of music, a good grasp of how to make an album ‘flow’ from the first to   last track, and much more. 
     This layer plays the important role of reflective layer   for L0—but must transmit enough light to read/write on L1. To provide stable   reflective and transmitted light, the thickness of R1 must be precisely   controlled. 
     As a leading manufacturer of optical media which require   thin metal film stacks like MO (magneto-optical) and DVD+RW, Verbatim/MKM have   developed a special silver alloy material for semi-transparent properties and   have tightly controlled thin-film uniformity by optimizing the metal sputtering   process.The optically transparent layer between R0 and L1 is   called the spacer. The groove for L1 recording is formed in the spacer layer and   it is very important to minimize any noise caused by the spacer. Spacer   thickness uniformity must be tightly controlled for clear recording on L1.Drawing on its experience as one of the largest material   developers for optical discs, Verbatim/MKM applied a suitable material for the   spacer and successfully developed a noiseless, uniform and transparent layer.   Verbatim/MKM also developed a manufacturing process for application and stamping   of the spacer layer 
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