CD and DVD burning software and basics

Posted 10.10.10

I wrote this for a friend, so I thought I would stick it here.

Some important terms explained

• iso file: A disk image. It's one large file with the .iso extension that is easy to burn and creates an exact copy of a physical cd or dvd.
• mount: More or less means the computer connects to a disk so it can be read. Often used when talking about virtual disks, like when using virtualclonedrive to mount an iso. This means that it loads the file so that the computer can see it and use it as if it was a real dvd that you put in.

The software

More information can be found at their respective websites. All should be free.

• avi2dvd - mainly for converting an .avi video file to an iso that you can then burn (takes a long time for a movie, like 2 hours or so on my computer)


• cdex - To extract audio from a cd


• mediacoder - convert audio and video from one format to another. Not the easiest program to use


• dvdflick - dvd creation - easy to use, but was buggy last time I used it. New version may be better http://www.dvdflick.net/


• dvdshrink - I think this one is mostly usefull for ripping a real dvd into an iso.


• imgburn - I use this one a lot, pretty easy to use. Easiest way to burn an iso onto a cd or dvd, or rip an iso from a cd or dvd. Does some other stuff too.


• infrarecorder - http://infrarecorder.org/ - see the website for a feature list. I think it does burning and ripping.


• videoinspector - just shows you a lot of information about a video file, like format, codec, bitrate, etc.... You probably won't need it.


• virtualclonedrive - Lets you mount (use) an iso file as if it was a real, physical cd or dvd

some tips

• Some versions of windows hide file extensions by default. This makes your life harder when you're trying to figure out what kind of file you're dealing with. To fix this, follow these directions:
  
  
  • Windows XP: http://www.fileinfo.com/help/windows-show-extensions.html
  
  
  • Windows Vista or 7: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Show-or-hide-file-name-extensions
  
  
• There is a difference between burning video files onto a dvd and making a dvd that will play in a dvd player. Same for CDs. The good thing about this is if you just burn video (or audio) files and only need to open them on another computer - then you can fit a whole lot more on there. Like for a CD you can fit over 100 songs instead of 16. (I forget exactly how much more)
• You should know that a video is basically 2 files - video, and a sound file to go along with it. (There can be more parts like subtitles or sound tracks in other languages too). They are linked together. This is good to know becuase if the sound is out of synch then there is usually a setting where that can be fixed.

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