Harman-Kardon CDR 2 owner manual CD Recording Basics, 14CD RECORDING BASICS, Disc Types

CD Recording Basics

CD Recorders (CDRs) are similar to standard CD players, with the addition of the features and controls needed for recording. Functions such as play, search and programming for playback will be familiar, but the recorder will function slightly differently than what you may be used to for magnetic tape recorders.

Disc Types

Unlike a conventional CD player, the CDR 2 uses three types of discs, and it is important to understand how each one plays.

Both decks in the CDR 2 will play back any conventional CD that bears this logo.

Recordable Discs that bear this logo may be recorded on one time, and when they are final- ized they will play in either deck in the CDR 2 or in any conventional CD player, including home, car and portable models. the Record Deck % on the CDR 2 may also be used

to record on these discs, and it will play CD-R/Audio discs even if they have not been finalized.

ReWritable Discs that bear this logo may be recorded on, and they may also be erased and reused. They may be recorded on or played on the Record Deck % of the CDR 2 and in other CD-RW recorders or CD-RW compatible players. They will NOT play back in most current CD players unless the player is CD-RW compatible.

Recordable ReWritable Discs designed for use in computer CD-R drives may not be used for recording in the CDR 2. Only discs specifically designed for use in consumer CD audio recorders may be used. If you attempt to use a blank-computer-type recordable disc for recording on the CDR 2 you will see a DISC ERROR message in the Information Display K and recording will not be possible. However, discs that have been recorded in the CD-R drive

of a computer may be played in the CDR 2, provided that they have been properly finalized in accordance with audio standard IEC958.

Note that the CDR 2 is specifically designed for the recording and playback of consumer audio discs, and cannot be used to copy data discs, DVD discs, or other optical discs used by video- or computer-game systems.

CDR Terminology and Display Messages Compact disc recording has its own terminology, and some of the messages you will see when using the CDR 2 may be new to you. Before using the CDR 2, you may wish to familiarize yourself with some of the terms used by the CDR 2. Additional error message displays may occasionally appear. Please see page 23 for a complete explanation of those messages.

Finalize: This term refers to the process that completes the recording of a disc by recording a final Table of Contents and prepar- ing the disc so that it may be played on other machines. A CD-R disc may not be played on other CD players until it is finalized. However, once the finalization process is complete, a CD-R disc may not be recorded on again. CD-RW discs only may be “Uunfinalized,”

so that additional tracks may be recorded on a disc.

TOC: Stands for Table of Contents and it refers to the data recorded on each CD that tells the player how many tracks are on the disc, the total time of the disc and the running time of each individual track. Each time a disc of any sort is placed in the CDR 2, you will see a TOC to indicate that the unit is reading this data from the disc. This is required to copy the track information to any recording.

OPC: Stands for Optical Processing Calibration. When you see this message in the

Information Display for the Record Deck

K, it means that the laser transport inside the unit is making the calibrations and adjustments needed so that the recording process is optimized for the specific disc in use.

BUSY: When you see this message, it means that the Record Deck is completing part of the record operation. When you see this message, do not press any buttons; simply wait until the message clears from the display.

DISC FULL: This message will appear when there is not enough room left on an unfi- nalized disc to record all the tracks you have programmed. When you see this message you may either erase tracks from a CD-RW disc to make room, or you must use a fresh CD-R or CD-RW disc.

14CD RECORDING BASICS