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Selecting the right disc
An optical drive supports optical discs (CDs and DVDs). CDs, used to store digital data, are also used for commercial audio recordings and are convenient for your personal storage needs. DVDs are used primarily for movies, software, and data backup purposes. DVDs are the same form factor as CDs but have at least 8 times the storage capacity.
NOTE: The optical drive on your computer may not support all the types of optical discs discussed in this section.
CD-R discs
Use
●Distributing large presentations
●Sharing scanned and digital photos, video clips, and written data
●Making your own music CDs
●Keeping permanent archives of computer files and scanned home records
●Offloading files from your hard drive to free up disk space
After data is recorded, it cannot be erased or written over.
CD-RW discs
Use a
●Developing and maintaining large documents and project files
●Transporting work files
●Making weekly backups of hard drive files
●Updating photos, video, audio, and data continuously
DVD±R discs
Use blank DVD±R discs to permanently store large amounts of information. After data is recorded, it cannot be erased or written over.
DVD±RW discs
Use DVD+RW discs if you want to be able to erase or write over data that you saved earlier. This type of disc is ideal for testing audio or video recordings before you burn them to a CD or DVD that cannot be changed.
LightScribe DVD+R discs
Use LightScribe DVD+R discs for sharing and storing data, home videos, and photos. These discs are
Selecting the right disc 13