Re: filmscanners: Burning CD's

[Terry Carroll <carroll@tjc.com>]

On Fri, 6 Apr 2001 Photoburt@aol.com wrote:

> I'm just getting started in CD burning.  I saw that my options in
> blank CD are between Rewritable and Write Once Only.  Is there any
> preference between the two for photographic image storage?  My
> inclination is to think that Rewritable would be preferable because of
> the possible need to adjustments in the image.

I think everyone who starts out in CD burning initially leans toward
CD-RW, and then moves to CD-R after some experience with CR-RW.

I used to use CD-RW, using Adaptec's feature (I think it's called
DirectCD) that lets you write to it as though it were one big floppy.  
I've stopped doing that for a couple of reasons.  First, I've had
unsatisfactory results with DirectCD, inclusing lost data, and some system
hangs.  I'm not willing to blame this on the Adaptec software, though,
because my system's a little squirrelly; but in any event, I've abandoned
the use of DirectCD.

So, the sole advantage of CD-RW over CD-R is that you can reburn the media
over and over.  But what you have to do is copy the CD-RW to disk, make
your changes, erase the CD-RW, and then reburn the CD-RW.  It's just as
easy to copy a CD-R to disk, make your changes, put in a new CD-R and
reburn the CD-R.  True, you're using a new balnk media, but: 1) CD-R media
is a lot less expensive than CD-RW; 2) I think CD-R is more reliable and
has a longer life; 3) CD-R will be readable in more drives than CD-RW; and
4) the prior CD-R is still around as a backup for the one you just
pressed, whereas if you reuse a CD-RW, its prior contents are lost and
gone forever.

>From discussions with friends who also have CD-RW access, most have gone
through a similar process -- initially using CD-RW, and then eventually
moving to just CD-R.

-- 
Terry Carroll       | No representations, warranties or characterizations
Santa Clara, CA     | regarding any actual university, including any named
carroll@tjc.com     | "UC Sunnydale" or "University of California at
Modell delendus est | Sunnydale" are intended and none should be inferred.