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Dvd Burning Tips
By Jasmine Ong
CD and replication is a process that works by creating discsfrom scratch. Not to be confused with duplication (the act ofburning information onto readymade, commercially-available blankCD-Rs and DVD-Rs), replication relies on the use of molds toproduce actual discs that already contain digital data. It isthe preferred and recommended mode of mass production forquantities in excess of 500 units.
Replication begins with a painstaking process called glassmastering. In this step, a laser is used to copy data onto alight-reactive glass plate. The plate’s photosensitive glazereacts to the heat of the laser, thus etching several gigabytesworth of digital information for permanent storage. The dataencoded on the glass master comes in binary form, a series of 1sand 0s. While these 1s and 0s may seem like gobbledygook to theaverage human, it is the language that CD and playersunderstand. Once scored onto the plate via laser, binaryinformation appears as very tiny depressions of varying depths,similar to the grooves on a vinyl record.
Since a glass master cannot be altered once it is completed,great care must be taken when preparing one. As a qualitycontrol measure, it has to be made in a clean room environment.Any defects or impurities on the glass master will definitelycompromise the integrity and playability of the final CDs orDVDs.
A glass master is considered too delicate to be used forheavy-duty and large-scale disc production. Instead, it is usedto create several sturdier, more durable metal molds calledstampers. In a process known as stamping or pressing, eachstamper is injected with a transparent plastic substance calledpolycarbonate. The excess plastic is then removed, leaving anexact impression of the mold.
To make the polycarbonate disc suitable for playing, it is thenfinished with a coat of reflective material. Once thereplication process is completed, the disc is finally ready forlabeling and packaging.
Replication is considered to be superior to disc duplication. Assuch, it is regarded as the industry standard. This is becauseit offers greater consistency in production quality and discplayability than the burning process. In a sense, burning may belikened to photocopying while replication may be likened tocloning. Replicated discs are exact and faithful reproductionsof their glass masters; duplicated discs, on the other hand, maydiffer from their source depending on the quality of the blankmedia used.
However, due to the complicated and tedious nature of CD and DVDreplication, its turn-around or completion time is considerablylonger than that of duplication. Depending on the number ofcopies, discs may be duplicated within a matter of minutes. Incontrast, a batch of discs can take two to four weeks toreplicate.
Replication is also best left to the experts. Owing to the needfor clean rooms and special equipment, the startup expense andpreparation can be costlier as well as resource-intensive. Butin the long run, replication yields a lower per-unit-cost thandisc burning.
For more information ond duplication services, please visithttp://www.easydvdburning.com/dvdduplication/index.html
About the author:Jasmine Ong is based in the Phillipines, she is a leadingtechnology and software reviewer and has previously had articlespublished in Businessworld and other periodicals. She currentlywrites for http://www.easydvdburning.com, the best softwareresource on the web.
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