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Configuration and use of various CD formats with Liberty Recorder Introduction Data CDs are found in one of two major formats; the ISO data format and the UDF data format. All of the data CDs used to distribute commercial software programs are formatted in ISO and any Windows PC can read an ISO CD. ISO format CDs can also be written by Windows XP PCs with a CD burner. UDF format CDs are written by third-party software programs like Roxio Drag-and-Drop. The UDF format is an attempt to make the files on a CD appear more like the standard file structure found on computer hard-drives. ISO Format CDs ISO format CDs may be created by the Liberty Recorder when the CD is burned after recording is complete. ISO formatting cannot be used if the user wants to mirror to the CD and burn the CD in in real-time. When creating an ISO format CD, the user must enable mirroring and check "After Recording is Stopped" in the Liberty Options. If the user wants to mirror to the CD in real-time, then they must use the UDF format to burn the CD. To create an ISO format CD, the user must make sure that in the Recording tab Properties for the CD burner, the option "Enable CD Recording To This Drive" is checked. In the Liberty Recorder, the user must go to View => Options => Mirroring and under Advanced, they must check "Use ISO Data Format". If these two boxes are checked, then the CDs created by the Liberty Recorder will be written in ISO format. When using the ISO format, the user will be prompted by a number of standard Windows that will complete the burning of the CD. The user should follow through these Windows and respond appropriately to the prompts. UDF Format CDs A Universal Disk Format (UDF) CD can be created by third-party software such as Roxio Easy CD Creator. UDF Format CDs may not be readable on all other PCs. The other PCs may be required to install UDF reading software. With the UDF format, recordings may be mirrored to the CD in real-time. The user may go to View => Options in the Liberty Recorder and select "During Recording". This will allow the CD to be written, as the recording is made. UDF/ISO CD Compatibility with Roxio In the Roxio Drag-to-Disk "Advanced Options", the user may select to have Roxio add ISO support to the UDF CDs. This option is "ON" by default and most CDs created with this option will be readable on any Windows PC. The ISO formatting is done at the end of the burning process, as the CD is being ejected. Users should be aware, if the ejection process does not complete properly, then the ISO information on the CD may be missing or it may be incorrect. In such a situation, the CD will be readable, using the UDF information, on any PC with UDF reading software. But, the CD will not be readable by any PC that does not have UDF reading software. PCs without the UDF reading software will encounter various errors that indicate the CD is empty or that the data is corrupt or the files are not readable. Roxio users should also note that in V9.1 of the Drag-to-Disk product, the default UDF format changed from UDF V1.02 to UDF V2.0. The UDF V1.02 format has been much more widely supported in UDF reading software and would be the recommended setting for users of the Liberty system. At the time of writing, there was a UDF reading program on Download.com, that was written by Adaptec (which later became Roxio). This reader supported UDF V1.02, but not later versions of UDF. You can download this reader program by going to www.download.com and doing a search on "Adaptec UDF Reader". Please note, this software is not supplied by High Criteria and High Criteria does not take responsibility for its performance. Formating of UDF CDs with Roxio UDF CDs must be formatted, prior to their use with the Liberty system. In V7.5, Roxio introduced a feature called Drag-To-Disk. With Drag-To-Disk, Roxio will automatically format the CD, as Liberty begins write operations. We have tested this feature with both V7.5 and V8.0 of Roxio and there are no problems. In versions of Roxio before V7.5, the Drag-To-Disk feature was not present and with those versions, users must manually format the CDs using the Roxio Direct CD Format Utility, prior to using the CDs with the Liberty system. Data CDs and Long Term Storage Users should note that most CDs and DVDs come with a manufacturer warranty against defects for one year from the date of purchase. CDs and DVDs are not warranted for long term data storage and High Criteria does not recommend the use of such types of media for this purpose. Please contact High Criteria or your authorized Liberty Recording dealer for information on how to best address your long term data storage requirements.
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