All vacation videos are watched on the smartphone and our favorite music, via app, shared with our friends. Who burns nowadays, with the existing online streaming services, still a CD or DVD? Why do we still need a DVD burner or a CD burner?? Aren’t these just normal, simple drives like everyone already has in their laptop or computer? We asked ourselves these and other questions, researched them for you and answered them in this article.
What is a CD burner?
A CD burner is the first burner to appear on the market and is a special drive that can store data only on CDs. By means of a CD burner, one could for the first time create one’s own playlists and save them oneself on a ‘compact disc’ – the so-called ‘burning’.
How does a CD burner work?
In the early nineties, the very first CD burner came on the market. This first CD burner changed the way we record music quite a bit, because now you could create your own playlists and then save them and give them away.
The name ‘burner’ comes from the fact that the disc in the burner, by means of a laser beam, is heated in some places until it melts a little, creating many small bumps and indentations. These so-called pits and lands are identified by the drive or player as binary code (lots of zeros and ones). The transition from a pit to a country or a country to a pit is interpreted as a binary one. Everything in between is perceived as zero.
What is a DVD burner?
The more advanced version of a CD burner is a DVD burner.
A DVD burner is a special DVD drive that can store data on Digital Versatile Discs, or DVDs for short. However, a DVD burner can also read CDs and also store data on CDs. This process of saving is also called burning, because the data is burned into the disc, so to speak.
How does a DVD burner work?
The DVD writer is the newer version of the original CD writer and can not only read and write DVDs, but also read and burn CDs. The functioning of a DVD writer is also similar to the burning technology of a CD writer, because here too the data is stored in the form of elevations and depressions, the lands and pits, in the metal layer, only the device works with a higher resolution than its predecessor.
What is the difference between a DVD burner and a CD burner??
Now if DVD writers can also read and write CDs, why do I need an extra CD writer?? Despite the multifunctionality of a DVD burner, there are some differences, albeit subtle, that one would not want to ignore.
CD recorders are often much slower than DVD recorders when it comes to writing.
In addition, a CD burner is better tuned to CDs than a DVD burner is, and therefore the burn quality and burn stability can be better when using a CD burner than when using a DVD burner. The software, between the two burners, also often differs. So if you write CDs frequently, you should rather invest in an additional CD burner.
What are the different types of DVD burners and CD burners??
The two burners, the DVD burner and the CD burner, are available both as an internal device and as an external device:
The internal burner
An internal recorder is a lot cheaper than an external recorder because it comes with far less material and manufacturers don’t have to build the recorder into a case first. In addition, an internal CD burner or DVD burner is advantageous, because it needs much less place than an external burner and an integrated model still in addition no own power outlet needs.
A model that is integrated into the PC case, however, usually has to be installed nowadays – either by yourself or by a professional – because many manufacturers do not do this. In addition, the internal burner takes up some of the computer’s weight.
The external burner
An external burner works the same way as an internal burner, but it usually costs more because it contains more material and the manufacturer has to install it in its own housing. Although external CD burners and DVD burners take up more space and need their own power socket, they save the hassle of fitting them into the computer case and can also be plugged into different PCs, making data transfer easier.
What is the difference between a DVD burner or CD burner and an ordinary drive??
Earlier versions of drives often could only play and not write. Nowadays, almost every laptop or computer that is equipped with a drive is able to burn CDs and DVDs. The only difference here is that most computers and laptops have an integrated internal DVD drive, and if you write CDs frequently, you should consider investing in an external CD burner.
What kind of burner suits me? Do I need a DVD or CD burner at all??
Whether it’s an external or internal CD burner or DVD burner, depending on the use, one model is more convenient than the other. Despite the many different movie and music platforms that exist nowadays, investing in a CD or DVD drive is not a bad idea, because there is always the one or other disc that you want to give away. Another advantage, especially for a DVD drive resp. A DVD burner is the ability to watch a movie that is not available online, often through illegal websites.
Many new computer and laptop models do not even have an internal drive, so the purchase of an external burner is very obvious.
But you have to decide for yourself if you want to buy a CD writer or a DVD writer. For me, despite countless alternatives, I still can’t imagine life without it.