Can DVD players read CD-Rs?
The only discs that a DVD player is guaranteed to read are DVD discs. Support for CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW may be included, but is by no means guaranteed. CD-R was designed to be read by an infrared 780nm laser. DVD uses a visible red 635nm or 650nm laser, which aren’t reflected sufficiently by the organic dye polymers used in CD-R media. As a result, many DVD players can’t read CD-R media. Some DVD players come with two lasers so that they can read CD-R. CD-RW discs have a different formulation, and may work even on players that can’t handle CD-R media. If CD-R media doesn’t work, try copying the disc to CD-RW instead (assuming your recorder supports CD-RW). Some DVD-ROM drives may be unable to read multisession discs. In general, though, DVD-ROM drives (as opposed to DVD players) are able to read CD-R media. If the box doesn’t say that something is supported, assume that the feature isn’t. Look for the MultiRead or MultiPlay logos, which indicate that the DVD player or DVD-ROM drive c
(2001/07/06) CD-RW is short for CD-Rewritable. It used to be called CD-Erasable (CD-E), but some marketing folks changed it so it wouldn’t sound like your important data gets erased on a whim. The difference between CD-RW and CD-R is that CD-RW discs can be erased and rewritten, while CD-R discs are write-once. Other than that, they are used just like CD-R discs. Let me emphasize that: they are used just like CD-R discs. You can use packet writing on both CD-R and CD-RW, and you can use disc-at-once audio recording on both CD-R and CD-RW. Some software may handle CD-RW in a slightly different way, because you can do things like erase individual files, but the recorder technology is nearly identical. CD-RW drives use phase-change technology. Instead of creating “bubbles” and deformations in the recording dye layer, the state of material in the recording layer changes from crystalline to amorphous form. The different states have different refractive indices, and so can be optically disti
(2001/11/28) The only discs that a DVD player is guaranteed to read are DVD discs. Support for CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW may be included, but is by no means guaranteed. CD-R was designed to be read by an infrared 780nm laser. DVD uses a visible red 635nm or 650nm laser, which aren’t reflected sufficiently by the organic dye polymers used in CD-R media. As a result, many DVD players can’t read CD-R media. Some DVD players come with two lasers so that they can read CD-R. For a technical discussion, see [url]http://www2.osta.org/osta/html/cddvd/intro.html[/url] and [url]http://www.emedialive.com/EM1998/bennett3.html[/url] (web archive: [url]http://web.archive.org/web/20040224114428/http://www.emediapro.com/EM1998/bennett3.html[/url]). CD-RW discs have a different formulation, and may work even on players that can’t handle CD-R media. If CD-R media doesn’t work, try copying the disc to CD-RW instead (assuming your recorder supports CD-RW). Some DVD-ROM drives may be unable to read multisessi
