Your CD writer can be used for more than just backing up data and making audio CDs. Alex Zaharov-Reutt shows you how to unleash the power of your CD writer on your PC or Mac...
A blank CD can hold any type of data you want. You can save your music, documents, mp3s, downloads, photos, video, slideshows, video postcards, other files or even back up your entire hard drive onto CD. You can also make backup copies of your valuable CDs while the originals are stored away for safekeeping, as well as custom CD labels and jewel case inserts.
The software that came with your CD writer can do many of these things already. Some functions, such as video, require a separate program or an upgrade to the newest version of your current software. The latest versions have improved interfaces, greater ease of use and more inbuilt features.
Back up your data to CD
No matter which software package came with your CD writer, it will allow you to copy files from your hard drive to CD. Software on PCs and Mac allows you to drag and drop the files and folders you wish to back up into the CD writer software. As you fill your CD with data, a gauge shows how much free space is left on the CD. You can fill a CD to capacity the first time you use one, or you can create a CD with multiple recording sessions, letting you fill the CD at your leisure. Press the red "record" icon when ready to create your CD.
Use your CD as a big floppy disk
For this, you'll need a CD-rewritable disc, known as a CD-RW. All CD writer software comes with the option to use CD-RW discs like a floppy disk. You can copy, paste, delete and move files around. First you need to format your CD-RW disc, which gives you 511Mb of space. It's a little less than the normal 650Mb or 700Mb you get on standard CD-R discs, but it's what is left after the required format to use the CD-RW in this special mode. The CD-RW is now available to all programs. Save files, Internet downloads, mp3 files whatever you want onto your new large “floppy disc”. This disc is only readable in CD-RW drives until you “close” the disc, which is done using your CD writer software. This lets you use the disc in ordinary CD-ROM drives.
Make custom audio CDs
Most CD writer software can take an audio CD, and transfer each song on that CD as a file to your hard drive. This process is known as “ripping”. Modern CD writer software can also automatically find out the track names of your audio CD from an online database. These databases store the track listings of millions of different CDs. When you copy your songs to your hard drive, it will copy the name of each song as well. This saves you from manually typing in each name yourself.
Choose the tracks you want to copy from your CD to your hard drive, and press the record button. After a few minutes, you have a series of files. You can also download mp3 files from the Internet, and use your CD writer software to convert the mp3s along with your ripped music files into a custom audio CD of your favourite hits.
Make mp3 CDs
As a CD can hold hundreds of megabytes of data, and many mp3 tracks are around three to five megabytes in length, you can store dozens of songs in the mp3 format on a single CD. This can easily amount to around 10 CD albums worth of music. You can then play this CD in your computer's CD player, or use the new portable mp3 CD players to take the equivalent of a 10-stacker CD player with you wherever you go. It's also a great way to reclaim hard disk space.
Make custom CD covers
Most CD writer software comes with a CD labelling program built in. This takes the names from your songs, and automatically puts them in a list, like on a store-purchased CD. You can customise the front and back labels of the CD jewel case, as well as customising the actual CD label itself. Often a range of pre-designed templates is included, complete with custom backgrounds and graphics. You'll need special CD label stickers to print CD labels onto, available at any stationer. The front and back jewel case inserts can be printed on regular paper, or slightly thicker card for that more professional look and feel.
Turning LPs into CDs
This works in much the same way as converting audio CDs into music files. You'll need to hook up your turntable to your sound card using an RCA cable, and use the CD writer software to record each track as a file. Once done, you can use the inbuilt “scratch, pop and click” eraser to wipe out those pops and clicks common with older LPs. Then you can transfer the files to a CD, and presto, you've digitally re-mastered your old LPs.
Record audio directly to CD
Some CD writer software allows you to take a live source, for example from a microphone, and record directly to CD. However it's usually better to record straight to the hard drive as a file, clean up (edit) the file using the music editing software that comes with the newest CD writing packages and then copy that file to CD.
Create slide shows, photo albums, Web albums and video postcards
First you need to get your personal photos and/or videos onto your PC. For photos, you can use a scanner or digital camera, or you can have your photos transferred to CD by the photo processing lab. For video, you'll need to attach your video camera to a video capture device. Video capture devices are widely available at many computer stores. Once the digitised photos and/or videos are on your PC, use your CD writer software's inbuilt “wizards”, which guide you through the process of creating slide shows, video postcards and Web albums. Slide shows and video postcards are created as self-running programs that start automatically when inserted into a CD-ROM drive. Web albums can be viewed with a standard Web browser such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.
The Web albums, video postcards and slide shows you put on CD can easily be shared with others; family and friends can view cherished photo and video memories automatically on their computers. They don't need any special extra software, as it's all already included on the finished CD.
Scanning other import-ant documents and saving them onto CD
Make a digital backup of your important files by scanning them. Birth certificates, awards, warranty forms, important receipts and other files can be scanned in and saved to CD for safekeeping. The copies are unlikely to be regarded as legal copies, but it's still a worthwhile backup to make.
Custom-sized CDs
You can buy blank CDs in a range of shapes, sizes and colours. Use them for birthdays, party invitations and other promotional uses. See www.cardiscs.com for examples of custom-size CDs. You can buy custom-shape CDs at computer retailers.
Software for PC and Mac
Windows XP and Mac OS X come with very basic CD burning functions, but they're slow and don't allow you to do many advanced functions.
Companies like Roxio, NTI and Nero have professional “premium” or “deluxe” versions of CD writer software. They let you create video CDs, they come with audio and possibly even video editing tools, download updates from the Internet, make CDs with a combination of audio and data, create text labels for each track that will display on capable audio CD players (like your hi-fi system) and more. While these packages do cost between $100 - $200, they are useful purchases if you want to make use of these extra features.
PC
- Roxio Easy CD Creator 5 Premium , RRP $165.00 inc GST. www.roxio.com or www.goback.co.nz (formerly Adaptec Easy CD Creator). Suitable for Windows 95 to XP.
- Nero Burning Rom 5.5 , RRP $199.95 inc GST www.nero.com Suitable for Windows 95 to XP.
- NTI CD-Maker Professional 5 RRP $99.95 inc GST. www.ntius.com. Suitable for Windows 95 to XP.
Mac