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Questions tagged [optical-media]

37 questions
145
votes
7 answers

Why do CDs and DVDs fill up from the centre outwards?

I recently had to burn a DVD for the first time in ages and I was wondering why CDs and DVDs start in the centre and go towards the edge. Older rotating-disc media like vinyl records started from the edge and went towards the centre so it couldn't…
Burgi
  • 6,768
37
votes
8 answers

Will there ever be faster CD and DVD discs and writers?

I was thinking about the fact that in the last years I have never seen CDs and DVDs supporting writing/reading speeds higher than 52X and 16X, respectively. Is this a commercial choice (i.e. manufacturers don't care about optical discs anymore and…
user1301428
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33
votes
1 answer

What is the lifespan of DVD and Blu-ray discs?

Given that they are protected from light, humidity and excessive heat & cold, what is the lifespan range of DVD and Blu-ray discs?
Mehper C. Palavuzlar
  • 55,953
13
votes
1 answer

How to avoid unwritable CDs and DVDs?

TL;DR: Writeable optical discs have a relatively short shelf life prior to use (compared to the service life of the data you record on them). Why? And how can you avoid having a stockpile of unused discs that become unwritable? Background Half a…
fixer1234
  • 28,064
4
votes
3 answers

How to determine whether Blu-ray disc is HTL or LTH?

With a blank Blu-ray disc inserted into a Blu-ray burner drive, how can I determine whether the disc is HTL or LTH?
Aprel
  • 333
4
votes
1 answer

Can a scratched CD/DVD harm to DVD drive's laser head?

Long time ago, during the days I own my first computer in 2001, I heard that scratched CD/DVD can harm to the laser head of the DVD drives. Is it true? Is it even true for today's DVD drives? I've bought my current DVD drive this July. Can I run…
Donotalo
  • 1,091
3
votes
2 answers

How to place specific files on beginning/end of burned optical media

I am burning some DVDs and BDs with important data and, in addition to replication, I am adding parity data using PAR2 tools. However, as additional safety, I would like to place the parity files on the outer end of the burned optical media,…
FarO
  • 1,968
3
votes
1 answer

How does Windows report a CD as 7TB of size and explain under the hook for me?

What method Windows use to detect size of a CD? Does it depends on the data type of that CD (give it Audio CD, SVCD, data, etc...)? I guess yes. What mechanism used there, and how I can make a CD like that? (for study purpose). I've got a CD for…
Edward
  • 358
3
votes
3 answers

Why can't CDs/DVDs be partitioned?

Nearly everywhere it's written that it's not possible.. But why? Why can't I dump a GPT/MBR partition table in the first sector? Basically dump a disk layout with sector size 2048... Now I'm sure something of this type is possible, but of course no…
Milind R
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3
votes
0 answers

Accessible materials with same refractive index as polycarbonate

There is a common home-remedy for scratched flat-screen monitors that says to rub a bit of petroleum jelly into the scratch. The rationale being that because the jelly has a similar refractive index as the plastic of the screen, light does not…
Synetech
  • 69,547
3
votes
2 answers

How to Read Old DVDs?

I'm wondering what should I do to read old DVD-R disk written 3-10 years ago. I have to put my old data archive to a hard disk. I've tried several DVD-drives, but none of them helped me with this task. They can't see any data and treat my DVD…
Andre
  • 301
3
votes
2 answers

Why does burning a CD ISO image to DVD work?

Following on from this question: Can I burn a CD ISO to DVD? How/why does this work? Is an ISO image a physical media neutral format?
Kev
  • 2,339
3
votes
0 answers

Calculating expected overhead in UDF filesystem

I'm working on a backup-to-optical-media program that traverses a file tree and adds files to UDF images (mkisofs is the backend) to burn to optical discs, splitting large files into chunks across separate images as necessary. As such, I have…
Aprel
  • 333
3
votes
1 answer

Understand if DVD Rom is burned or Pressed

I have the following hardware and software available: Desktop Computer with Ubuntu, Windows and Mac OS X USB CD/DVD reader and writer.l Laptop with built in BD, DVD and CD reader and writer, with Ubuntu and Windows. I've got a Video (PAL) DVD disc…
Manchineel
  • 1,091
3
votes
1 answer

How optical media type is identified by the burner?

How CD-DVD Burning apps & the drive are able to identify the media type in the drive i.e. whether the inserted disk is CD-ROM or DVD-R or DVD-RW and so on? I understand that the session info is written on the disk, however does information about…
patkim
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1
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