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Class Nine: August 2, 2007

 

All About CDs and DVDs

 

 
 
Questions about CDs and DVDs

1) In everyone's opinion, what is the easiest/cheapest/best CD copying software available (recognizing that the answers may not be the same for those three adjectives)?

2) Now that 8-tracks are gone and cassettes are on the way out, how long will CDs and DVDs be here, and what is coming down the pipeline instead?
 
I have created multiple audio CD's at home using software that came with my computer. It is practically idiot proof so I have never had a problem. However, I have never attempted to burn a data CD. This is where I will need some help. I know my software has the option to burn a data CD, but I would like to know more about my options using CD-R and CD-RW. I read all the articles pertaining to these topics and they confused me even more (all the technical jargon). I am bewildered by open and closed discs, multi-session recording, packet writing, and how to burn audio and data on one CD. I'd really like some explanation before I burn my Photo Story because I want to make sure I do it correctly for my presentation in class.
 
1) Does the general coating of a CD influence the reading by the CD-Rom, and why? I had a machine that would only read the golden CDs but not the green ones.

2) Is there any way that you can read a DVD+R/+RW format in a player for DVD-R/-RW? What do you have to modify/do?

3) Why do we have one time write dual layer DVDs, but you cannot find rewritable dual layer DVDs? I am assuming they eventually will exist, or maybe they do already and I don't know.
 
I was hoping the next thing to replace CDs and DVD's would come out soon and then I wouldn't have to learn anything about CDs and DVDs. How does a CD and DVD differ, except that a DVD holds more info and DVDs are generally for movies and CDs for music?
 

With technology improving so fast, I think that soon everybody will have access to CD and DVD players or maybe like David says a new tool arrives that could be less complicate and less expensive.

In the meantime I'd like to learn how to burn a data CD and my Photo Story presentation.
 
My sister sent me a DVD from Europe, and I was able to rip it, etc., and it plays on my computer, but not on my DVD player hooked up to my TV. The problem is, I think, that I need a PAL to NTSC conversion. Is that true?
 
If you cannot see the DVD because of the region (USA region 1, Europe region 2) there is a way to make your DVD player region free. Some professionals have a sort of "laser beam device" which is able to erase the region encoded in the DVD player making it region free. We bought a DVD player for my mom in Amsterdam and the guy just did it. The second possibility involves money, but not that much. We bought here in the States a DVD player that is capable of reading PAL and NTSC. If I don't remember wrong we paid around $80-100. DVD players sold in the States generally are region 1, irrespective of whether capable of playing PAL or NTSC. If you have a region 2 DVD in PAL, have a region 1 PAL/NTSC DVD player (like us), you could rip the DVD in your computer such that it becomes region free, and then burn it to a DVD. If you don't have a PAL DVD player, you also need to convert it to NTSC with your computer. For this last part you can use TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress, they offer a trial version for 14 days (I guess it should be fully functional).
 
The current big format war for DVDs is the Blue-Ray vs. HD-DVD format war... this is heating up to be a repeat of the VHS vs. BetaMax war of the 1980s. Blue-Ray (pushed by a consortium including Sony) will store much more information than a conventional DVD and the upcoming PS3 (PlayStation 3) will have a Blue-Ray drive... in fact, for the near future, even at $600.00 the PS3 may be the cheapest blue-ray drive you can find on the market. Microsoft (and others) are pushing the competing standard, called HD-DVD, which is essentially the same sort of thing... a DVD-like device that can hold much more than the 8gb of information you can fit on a dual-layer DVD.

The question is: does anybody really care? Some of you may know about the SACD (Super Audio-CD) that basically is a supersized CD that is recorded with a much greater kbps rating and, therefore, should sound much better than a regular CD. Despite the theoretical advantages of having "better" sound on CD, the format has mostly languished with audiophiles and hasn't made it into the mainstream. It might be that the BluRay and HD-DVD thing will turn out the same way... theoretically a better format, but if most people are happy with what they currently have (i.e. DVD) and don't have the thousands to spend on the hardware it will take to upgrade their equipment to play (and appreciate) HDDVD and BLURAY then it's going to be pretty much a moot point.
One of the articles mentioned a "random access" CD, which is what I think I was after when I first bought a computer. I wanted to be able to save various articles and other resources to a CD over a period of time and was never able to do that. Another article included a section on multi-session recording; that's what I'm after, but I've never seen that option on my computer. It seems like such a waste of space if you don't need to copy enough data, for example, to fill up a whole disc. That shows how far I am from being able to understand the "PAL to NTSC conversion" discussion!
 
 
What happens if I try to copy too much to a CD?
 

 

 
 

All About CDs (Compact Discs)

There are many different types of CDs, including Data CDs, Audio CDs, Mixed-Mode or Hybrid CDs, Video CDs (VCD), Super Video CDs (SVCD), and PhotoCDs. The chart below describes several popular CD types.

CD Type

Playback Options

Storage Capacity

Miscellaneous

Data CD (also known as CD-ROM: Compact Disc Read Only Memory)

Can be played in any computer CD drive.

650 to 700mb

Used to store text and other computer data, such as software and large files. Can also be used to store digital audio files in formats such as MP3.

Audio CD

Can be played in any computer CD drive or any home or car CD player.

74 to 80 minutes

Used to play music recorded in digital format. Audio CDs typically use audio in the WAV format. MP3 encoding is a way to compress Wav files so that they require less space on media and less time to download from the Internet.

Mixed-Mode CD

Can be played in any computer CD drive.

varies depending on content

Mixed Mode CDs usually contain a data track followed by one or more audio tracks.

Video CD

Can be played in some computer CD drives and some DVD players.

60 to 74 minutes

Picture quality comparable to VHS. VCD 2.0, introduced in 1995 adds higher resolution, other options; more popular in Asia than USA.

Super Video CD

Can be played in some computer CD drives and in some DVD players.

30 to 60 minutes

SVCD has similar video and audio quality to DVD but fewer features.

PhotoCD

Can be played in most computer CD drives and in some DVD players.

 

Manufactured by Kodak, Photo CDs allow you to store high-resolution photographs in digital format in  on a CD for display on a computer or television.
 

Mini-CD

Can be played in any computer CD drive. Fits into inner circle on CD tray.

180mb 21-minutes

Used in devices such as Sony's CD-R digital camera.

Business Card CD

Can be played in any computer CD drive, although sometimes irregularly shape discs cause jamming problems when spinning inside CD drives.

50mb 5-minutes

More of a novelty than a useful alternative to full-sized CDs.

 

 

 

 
  • The Difference between Audio CDs and Data CDs

Audio CDs most commonly contain music or other recorded material (such as speeches, narration, audio books, etc.) and can be played on CD players (such as the ones found in cars or homes). These discs can also be played on computers using CD playing software like Windows Media Player, Winamp, Yahoo Player, and many others.

  • Photo CDs and Picture CDs

Photo CDs and Picture CDs are special types of compact discs that contain digitized photographs. The Photo CD format was developed by the Eastman Kodak Company, and today when you are having a standard roll of film developed, one option is to have the processed images stored on a CD in addition to the paper prints that come from the roll of film. Photo CDs generally store the same image in a variety of different resolutions which provide different levels of image quality. Picture CDs are similar to Photo CDs but usually only one medium resolution image of each picture is stored on the disc.

Photo CDs can be played back on just about any computer and viewed and modified with image editing software such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, and some newer DVD players also will play these CDs so you can display your still images on your television set.

  • Recordable CDs (CD-R) vs. Re-Writable CDs (CD-RW)
     
  • What's a Multi-Session Disc?

Some CDs are recordable only one time. These discs are called CD-R, which stands for Compact Disc Recordable. You can record information onto these discs until you reach the capacity of the disc.  Usually, after information has been recorded onto a CD, the CD is finalized and no more recording can take place.

According to the HP website:
 http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?lc=en&cc=us&docname=bph04995&dlc=en&lang=en&printable=yes&encodeUrl=true&

A multisession disc is a writing method allowing recordable discs to be written to more than once (more than one recording session). For example, you can save files to a CD-R disc, and then later, save more files in a future session.

 

According to the Sony website:
http://sony.storagesupport.com/cgi-bin/sonysupport.cgi/M1QyNUjPDA4dzatpCN5uJ=xjZSMlgW60/faq/view/410

"Not all CD-ROM drives read Multi-session discs, though, especially those legacy (older model) drives. These drives can only recognize the content within the first session. Check your CD-ROM drive's specification and feature for more detail."
 

CD/DVD Authoring Software Programs

Although there are many to choose from, two of the most popular CD burning software programs have been Easy CD Creator and Nero Burning ROM. However, today both of these software programs are able to burn both CDs and DVDs and have added numerous other capabilities to deal with digital media files.

Explore the reviews below to learn more about these programs.

 

If You Don’t Want to Spend any Money on Software …

You can also burn your own CDs without any additional software if you are using the Windows XP Operating System. The directions for creating a CD this way are shown below.

But first, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03september16.mspx

and follow the instructions to make sure that the Enable CD recording on this drive is checked in the CD Drive Properties dialog box.

To copy files and folders to a CD using the Windows XP operating system tools.

1.     Insert a blank, writable CD into the CD recorder.

2.     Open My Computer.

3.    Click the files or folders you want to copy to the CD. To select more than one file, hold down the CTRL key while you click the files you want. Then, under File and Folder Tasks, click Copy this file, Copy this folder, or Copy the selected items.  

If the files are located in My Pictures, under Picture Tasks, click Copy to CD or Copy all items to CD, and then skip to step 5.

4.     In the Copy Items dialog box, click the CD recording drive, and then click Copy.

5.     In My Computer, double-click the CD recording drive. Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD. Verify that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD appear under Files Ready to be Written to the CD.

6.     Under CD Writing Tasks, click Write these files to CD. Windows displays the CD Writing Wizard. Follow the instructions in the wizard.

 Notes:

  • To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
     
  • Do not copy more files to the CD than it will hold. Standard CDs hold up to 650 megabytes (MB). High-capacity CDs hold up to 850 MB.
     
  • Be sure that you have enough disk space on your hard disk to store the temporary files that are created during the CD writing process. For a standard CD, Windows reserves up to 700 MB of the available free space. For a high-capacity CD, Windows reserves up to 1 gigabyte (GB) of the available free space.
      
  • After you copy files or folders to the CD, it is useful to view the CD to confirm that the files are copied. For more information, click Related Topics.
     

For an illustrated tutorial on using the CD burning capability of Windows XP, see:

How do I burn a CD-R in Windows XP
http://dallas.tamu.edu/e-learn/WinXP-CD_Burn.html 

 

 

 

 

All About DVDs (Digital Video Discs)

DVD stands for "Digital Video Disc" or "Digital Versatile Disc," depending on who you ask or what you read. DVDs are the exact same size as CDs and if there is no label on the disc, it would be difficult to tell if the disc is a CD or a DVD.

Is it a CD or a DVD?

However, they are quite different media. Whereas a CD can store up to 700 megabytes of data or 80 minutes of music, a standard, single layer blank DVD can store 4.7 gigabytes of data, almost 7 times more information or about an 2 hours of high-resolution video.

DVDs come in both single and double-layer forms.

  

Double layer discs, (sometimes called dual layer) are used for most DVD movie discs. They hold about 9.3 gigabytes of data and this extra space can be used to add supplemental information such as multi-language soundtracks, extra scenes and other "bonus" material. In addition, the large amount of storage space allows DVDs to support higher quality audio and video content than older video storage media such as VHS tapes. DVDs are also more versatile than VHS tapes, since any point on the disc can be accessed very quickly and there is no need to rewind the disc as there is with a standard videotape.

  • What do the different formats like DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-ROM, and DVD-RAM mean?

Unfortunately, there are several related, but still quite different DVD formats. DVD-R (which is usually pronounced "DVD minus R" or "DVD dash R") and DVD+R (which is pronounced "DVD Plus R") are write-once, recordable formats--which means they can be used to record data one time and then the data become permanently stored on the disc.


 

These formats work in a similar way but are not always compatible. For example, DVD-R discs will work on Apple iMac computers, but DVD+R discs will not. The same is true for some recent DVD recorders, such as those made by Panasonic, Pioneer, and Toshiba, which will playback DVD+R or DVD-R discs but will let you record new content only in one particular format, either DVD-R or DVD+R, but not both.

DVD-RW and DVD+RW mean that you can re-record on these discs. Just like with recordable CDs, the "RW" stands for "Re-writable."

Many recent DVD burners that work with computers, as either internal or external drives, support both recordable DVD formats and will work whether you use a blank DVD-R or DVD+R. But regardless of which format disc you choose, when video files are added to the disc and burned and finalized, the disc becomes a DVD-Video disc that is playable in most current home DVD players attached to a TV set.

DVD-RAM is a format that is supported by some technology companies (including Panasonic and Toshiba) and are re-writable DVDs that are mostly recorded on computers and some home DVD recorders. This format is not universally supported, which means that many DVD players and even many computers will not be able to read or play the discs. DVD-RAM discs usually work best when they are played back on the computers or DVD recorders on which they were recorded. Since they are re-writable, they can be used to record a program or data, then accessed, and finally, written over with new content.
 


Understanding Recording Speeds for CDs and DVDs

 The amount of time it takes to record (burn) a CD or DVD depends on a number of variables:

  • the speed of the recording device (burner)
  • the writing method
  • the type of and amount of information being written
  • the type of disc being written to

Recording speed is usually measured in increments of X, which stands for times (just like in math). For CDs, 1X means the data is being written at a speed of about 150KB per second. 2X recording allows data to be written at about 300KB (twice 150KB), 4X, at 600KB per second (four times 150KB). etc. all the way up to 48X, which writes data at 7,200KB (or 7.2 megabytes) per second. The higher the writing speed, the faster the CD or DVD will be burned.

Be aware that the numbers that are written on the drive are simply the maximum transfer rates that the drive supports. The actual transfer rate will be also affected by the specific disc that you are using. So if you have a CD burner that supports a transfer rate of 52X, for example, and you are burning your files onto a 16X blank CD, the maximum speed your burner will be able to use is 16X, even though the burner is capable of burning at a faster rate.

DVD Recording Speeds

You should also be aware that measurement of DVD read/write speeds is different from CDs. For CDs the “X” equals 150 KB/sec, but for DVDs the X is 1.32 MB/sec. So, basically, a 4x DVD is equivalent to a 36x CD in terms of speed/radial velocity. Of course, then you can get into the reality that the heads write at difference rates depending on where it is (e.g. 4x near the inner part of the disc, increasing to 10x near the outer part.) And that may be more information than we need to worry about at this time.

One of the best resources I've found that explains most of what you will want to know about CD and DVD burners is:

And if all of the previous information was not enough to make your eyes glaze over, you may or may not appreciate the fact that the DVD as we know it today looks like it will disappear over the next few years.

That is because of two new DVD formats that are just beginning to become available: HD DVD and Blu-Ray DVD. A format war between these new formats is likely as they battle each other to become the dominant DVD format for the foreseeable future.

    

These next-generation DVDs will have extremely high storage capacity, high-definition picture quality. Both formats are just beginning to be sold in the US and as of this writing (in April, 2006), they are both expensive and require high end equipment that most people and schools do not yet have. It is expected that Blu-ray DVDs will hold approximately 25 to 50 GB of data, while HD DVDs will hold approximately 15 to 30 GB, with the smaller number being for single layer discs and the larger number describing dual-layer disc capacity.

More information:

Additional CD and DVD Resources

 

 
 
Online Discussion Assignments
 
Posting Assignment 6 - Due Thursday, July 19, 2007
  • Go to the CUIN 6345M Online Discussion System (http://eclassrooms.coe.uh.edu/forum/index.cfm?forumid=1) and post a reply in which you discuss your reaction to digital storytelling. Do you feel that this is a technology tool you can use? If so, how? Or if not, why not? Do you think it's a valid tool for medical/dental education? Do you have any other technical or pedagogical questions or comments about digital storytelling?
     

Posting Assignment 7 - Due Thursday, August 2, 2007

  • Using one of the online survey tools listed above, or any similar tool you find on your own, create an online survey that includes at least 10 different questions. The topic of the survey may be anything you want, although as always, it would be helpful if you selected a topic that is either educationally meaningful or related to your professional work. When you have created the survey, go to the CUIN 6345M Online Discussion System (http://eclassrooms.coe.uh.edu/forum/index.cfm?forumid=1) and post a reply in which you discuss your experience with this assignment and be sure to include a link to the survey so that the rest of the students are able to view the survey and respond to the questions.

    Finally, each student should try to respond to at least 3 different surveys created by other students.
 
Hands-On Assignments
 

Hands-On Assignment 6 - Due August 2, 2007:

  • After reviewing the Photo Story 3 Tutorials (listed on the Class Six web page), download and install the free Microsoft Photo Story 3 Software for Windows XP http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx and begin creating a digital story related to your work or instruction. If the computer you normally use is not running the Windows XP operating system, try to find a PC that you can use that has Windows XP installed and where you can download, install and begin using the Photo Story 3 software.

    If this is not possible, you may want to try creating a digital story with PowerPoint, but please do this only if you have no other choice.
     

    Saving the Project File in Photo Story 3 (.wp3)
    When you are at a point where you are satisfied with your progress, you should save the project file. This will produce a   .wp3 file, which can only be opened with Microsoft Photo Story 3. It is important to save this project file so that you can come back to the project later and continue working on it.

    Click on the Save Project button from any of the screens in Photo Story and you will be prompted to save the project file. As we discussed in class, be sure to pick a descriptive file name, rather than the default file name the program offers, and choose a location where the file will be easy for you to find.

     

    The saved .wp3 file is the actual work that you have put into the digital story (picture editing, customized motion, transitions, narration, music, etc). You can save this as a working copy and come back to edit it later.


    Saving your Completed Story (.wmv)
    Next, you will need to perform a final save that puts all of the elements of the story together and allows you to view the finished piece. This save will create a .wmv file (Windows Media Video) that will be playable with Microsoft's Windows Media Player.

    In order to perform  final save will, you must click the next button until you reach the final screen--it will say Save your story at the top left. At this point, you are able to make some choices about how to save the complete story from a series of choices presented in a pull-down menu. Most of the time, you will want to select: Save your story for playback on a computer, as this will give you the best quality. However for this assignment, you should select: Send the story in an email message, so that you can submit a copy of your digital story to me via email, at: brobin@uh.edu 
     

    One More Thing...
    At the bottom left of the Save your story screen, you should see a Settings button.


     

    When you click on this button, another screen pops up with several choices for what size (in pixels) that you want to save your story. I suggest that you try either the 240x180 setting or the 320x240 setting when you save your story. Because you will be sending your story via email, the file size of your finished .wmv file should not be too large. You should experiment with the different settings to see which setting works best with your story.



    For more information on saving the project file, refer to the tutorial on saving a project in Photo Story 3.

    When you have completed the digital story, use the online submission system at: http://eclassrooms.coe.uh.edu/assignments/ to submit a brief report in which you describe your initial work with Photo Story 3, including:

    • what topic you selected and why,
    • what kinds of images you decided to use and where you found them,
    • what type of audio you included, if any, and
    • a description of your experience using the Photo Story software and whether or not you had any problems with the creation of your story.

    Then be sure to send a copy of the .wmv file to me via email at: brobin@uh.edu

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are creating a digital story for your final project, you should still create and submit a digital story file for this assignment.  This may be an incomplete draft version of the final project or a digital story on a different topic.

 

Final Semester Project

Final Projects may be on any educationally-relevant topic and should include either:

  • An "enhanced" PowerPoint presentation - which contains several of the following items: word art, clip art, new slide backgrounds and/or templates, action buttons, motion paths, web links, narration or other additional features.

    or

    • A digital story - either as a stand-alone project or inserted into a PowerPoint slide presentation. If you choose a stand-alone digital story for your final semester project, you should also create a written document or a PowerPoint slideshow in which you briefly describe the following:
       

      • the graphics that have been created or modified for your story

      • the audio you included (did you narrate all of the slides or only some, did you use computer-generated music or other music?)

      • did you create an online survey during the semester that might be used in conjunction with the digital story?

      • did you find any useful links to other Web 2.0 resources that also might be used in conjunction with the digital story?

      • and any other information you think would be helpful to include.

        or
         

    • A web site - as has been discussed, we didn't cover creating a web site in this course, but it is an option for those who already know how to create one.
       

    UPDATE: Each project should include several of the following components we covered in class this semester. There is no specific amount of items that must be included in the final project, although you should try to include as many as are applicable to the project.

    1. Graphics that have been created or modified

    2. A digital audio segment (narration, music or both)

    3. A link to an online survey

    4. A CD or DVD version of your project

    5. Plus links to any of the following Web 2.0 resources:

    • A set of your own images uploaded to a web resource such as Flickr  

    • A set of del.icio.us tags that you create on an educational topic

    • An audio episode that you recorded on Gabcast or any similar web resource

    • An online, narrated slide show you created on SnapGenie or any similar resource

    • Any podcast, blog, or wiki (that you or anyone else created) on an educational topic; or

    • any other web-based resource you select.

    IMPORTANT NOTE ONE: Please bring a copy of your final project on a Flash Drive or CD with you to the final class meeting on Thursday, August 9, 2007.


    Final Semester Project Report

    Each student should submit a 2 to 4 page written final project paper that describes the project, and includes the following information:

    • A description of the specific items (graphics, digital audio, link to an online survey, etc.) that you included in your final project;

    • The goals and purpose of the project;

    • The intended audience for the project and a brief description of where and when it will be used;

    • The curricular goals and objectives of the project, if applicable;

    • A description of the challenges you faced creating your project;

    • The most significant things you learned from this course and from completing the final project.

    If all components of your project are not completed, you should include some descriptive information about the components that are still in development and describe your plan for completing this work.

    IMPORTANT NOTE TWO: Please use the eClassroom Online Submission System at:

    http://eclassrooms.coe.uh.edu/assignments/  

    to submit your Final Semester Project Report. It is Assignment 7A.
     

     

    ©Copyright, 2007
    For more information about this course or the materials presented within this site,
    please contact Dr. Bernard Robin via email or at (713) 743-4952.

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