Why is it so hard for a CD-ROM drive to extract the digital code for audio?
Mostly because of the discussions of the previous paragraphs. But it gets worse. Because digital audio does not have block address marks, it is difficult to find the same spot where you left off reading. Most computer disks are read in chunks. When you are ready for more data, you go back and find the next block, and read it. With the CD-DA, you can t do that because there is no identifier in the data to tell you which is the next block. The only real choice is to read the CD-DA (compact disk digital audio) in a continuous stream. This would require a buffer in the drive large enough to fill with data every time your computer went off to write data to the hard drive. Since this is not necessary for data disks (address marks are put on every track and sector) the CD-ROM manufacturers do not provide this buffer (it would add cost and since you wouldn t know why, you d not buy the more expensive competitor or if you buy a new system, your computer manufacturer would install the less expen
