Preparation Tips

The master CD or DVD disk, is the one you will
provide to your CD or DVD vendor for either
replication or duplication of the media. Below,
you will find some tips designed to help you
create a high quality master disc:

1. Always use the highest quality media that you
can obtain, as all media isn't the same. Do
your research, take your time, then choose a
brand that will produce a high quality disc each
and every time you duplicate or replicate.

2. Avoid copying from a network source. If the
source files for your disk are on a network
drive, copy the files to your local disk before
you burn a disc. If you can't move the files
to your local drive, try using the copy to hard
drive first feature. When doing this, your
burning software will create a temporary image
file during the burning process. Once the
burning has been completed, the temporary file
will be deleted.

3. You should always avoid burning on a laptop
computer that is running on low battery power.
The fluctations that will occur in the available
battery power may cause you to have poor results
in your duplication.

4. Always make sure that you finalize your
disc. If you fail to finalize, the disc won't
play back. Finalizing will also help increase
the reading compability in other CD-ROM drives.

5. Never use the packet writing method to burn
a master disc. This method is very common with
burning drives that have re-writing capabilities.
This method will produce discs that can't be
read on many CD-ROM drives.

6. Avoid any type of impact or movement of the
drive during burning. Doing so can cause the
laser to skip or jump tracks, which will lead
to errors or a bad disc.

7. If available, use the "burn-proof" feature.
This feature will allow the drive to slow
down the burn speed in the event the computer
can't supply the data fast enough. Although
this can increase the burn time, the quality
of the disc will be much better.

8. You should avoid having multiple applications
open when burning, especially those that
access the Internet or a network. This can
hinder your computer's ability to supply data
to the burner drive at the necessary rate.

If you follow the above tips, you should
produce a master disc of excellent quality. A
master disc is something you'll want perfect,
which is why you shouldn't take any risks.

There are many more fixture articles in our fixture section. There is more specific information in the links at the beginning of this article. They can guide you where you need to go.