Audio CD Burn Options

You can specify several options before burning an Audio CD. You can access the option window by clicking the "Option" button, . Make sure "Audio CD" is selected on the CD Type drop down menu.

Selecting A CD Writer

If you have more than one CD Writer installed, you can select the one to use in the burning process.

Specify Write Speed

The default setting is set to the maximum speed possible on your CD writer. 1X speed recording is comparable to the amount of time necessary to playback an audio CD. Since a standard audio CD holds 74 minutes, it will take 74 minutes to record an entire CD at 1X speed. An 8X speed recorder will take 74/8 minutes, which is about 9 minutes. If you have a 32X speed burner, it will take about 2.3 minutes to record an entire CD!

If you have slower computer or are having problems recording a CD you should choose a lower burn speed. Similarly, if you wish to do other things with your computer during a burn, such as listen to music, you should lower the write speed as well as check the Burn Proof checkbox, see next explaination. Although it is highly recommended that you do not run other applications while recording especially if you use slower computer.

Cache / Decode Files Locally

MP3s will be decoded prior to writing the track if this setting is used. PCM .wav files will be copied locally and written to a raw file before recording if this setting is enabled. Use this setting if your machine is too slow to decompress .mp3 files 'on-the-fly', or if writing audio files from a network location.

Test Mode

A test mode will simulate the writing process on the selected drive without actually writing on the blank CD-R. You will be required to put a CD-R in, but the burn laser will never be turned on, so the disc will remain unwritten. It is mainly a test to see if the data can be delivered to the CD recorder quickly enough to avoid ‘data starvation’ or the famous ‘buffer under run’ error.

If you are using the software for the first time, it is recommended that you run a burn in Test Mode to see if the software and CD Writer are working properly and to avoid producing coaster CDs.

Use Burn Proof

Enables Burn-Proof mode for buffer under-run free recording. This option is checked by default if your CD writer support burn proof technology. If the drive supports this capability, it will be almost impossible to write a bad disc!