CD-ROM is the closest personal computers have come to Star Trek's fanciful universal translator: CD-ROM supports a host of data types - including that space-hungry pair, digital audio and video - and delivers them in a format that's accessible to millions of computer users, on Mac and PC platforms, using a wide variety of operating systems and application software. The ability to create CD-ROMs gives you the potential to span the chasm to that vast federation of PC users to deliver your message, demonstrate your product, or pitch your next box-office blockbuster.
CD-ROM is also an extremely durable (nearly indestructible) medium that's well suited to archiving important data. The ability to create CD-ROMs allows you to store your precious files on a nearly indestructible medium that withstands far greater variations in heat, humidity, and magnetic interference than storage alternatives such as floppy disks or tape.
Finally, CD-ROM is a conveniently high-capacity storage medium, with room enough to consolidate the files stored in that brickyard of floppies in your office. The ability to create CD-ROMs means that you can rein all those fonts, clip-art collections, audio files, and QuickTime movies into an easily manageable, short stack of silvery discs.
CD-ROM recorders, or "burners," are now in their second generation, and with plummeting prices and more-mature software, CD-ROM mastering is going from the arcane to the mundane. Personal CD-ROM mastering, for backup as well as authoring purposes, is upon us -- and we recently put the latest crop of tools through their paces.
To get a handle on personal CD-R (CD-recordable) systems, we took eight machines for a spin. Each was based on a dual-speed mechanism and most were priced around $1,500 (and falling fast). We sized up each system's ability to back up and archive files and to store data in Mac and PC file formats. In evaluating the drives, we timed each one recording data and considered overall ease of use plus the quality and flexibility of software, documentation, and vendor customer-support policies.
All the drives we tested support multisession recording (see the "Mastering the Jargon" sidebar). Each CD-R system comes with the necessary power cord, SCSI cable (25-/50-pin system cables only), terminator, blank recording disc, and disc caddy (except for the tray-loading Smart and Friendly CD-R 2000). Three (the Smart and Friendly CD-R 1002, the FWB hammerCDR 2X, and the Optima DisKovery 650CDR) are built around the Sony CDU920S mechanism. All the CD-R drives are remarkably similar in appearance -- squat, square desktop boxes.
It's the Software, Stupid
What, then, serves to distinguish one CD-R system from another? Externally, the Smart and Friendly CD-R 2000, with its automatic tray disc loader, is the only unit that differs substantially from the others. Under the hood, however, there is one significant difference -- hardware-cache size. Six of the eight recorders come with 1 MB of cache. The MicroNet Master CD Plus offers half that, 512K, whereas the Smart and Friendly CD-R 2000, which is designed specifically for multimedia-disc recording, comes with 2 MB of cache (which can be expanded to as much as 32 MB). A hardware cache acts as a kind of shock absorber that prevents interruptions in the data flow from your hard drive to the CD-R drive during a recording session. This can be critical, since a data disruption can ruin a recording session and reduce your blank disc to an oversized tiddledywink that'll cost about $10 to replace. CD-ROM recording is an irreversible process that requires long, uninterrupted writes. Unlike with a hard disk, where a data-transmission glitch might cause an error that is easily and automatically overwritten, a miswrite on CD-ROM is forever.
The recorders' cache sizes didn't affect our recording tests, which we conducted with a fast Power Mac, an 8100/80, using a relatively speedy FWB hammer 1-GB hard drive for our data source. Your Mac setup may prove more sensitive to data spikes than ours, however, depending largely on the speed of the hard drive you use for your data source. You must have a hard drive other than your boot drive to store the data you intend to record on the CD-ROM. To store a full CD-ROM's worth of data, you need at least 650 MB, but we recommend having at least 1 GB. Most 1-GB drives sold today are fast enough for 2x-CD-ROM mastering, but if you want to use an older drive (which is likely to be slower than today's typical gig drives), a larger cache will afford you an additional margin of recording reliability.
In general, it's the software that's bundled with the recorders that sets the sheep apart from the goats. All come with mastering programs that control the data-recording process; several vendors additionally supply other useful programs. The Pinnacle RCD-1000, for example, ships with two mastering programs as well as a data-backup program and a collection of video clips. The FWB hammerCDR 2X is bundled with FWB's versatile CD-ROM ToolKit driver software, for playing back CD-ROMs, and by the time you read this article, the bundle will also include Dantz Development's Retrospect backup software. The most generous software bundle comes with the Smart and Friendly CD-R 2000, which includes a couple of multimedia-authoring programs (the "lite" version of Macromedia's Authorware and the full version of Macromedia Director).
Although some of these extra programs may prove useful, depending on how you plan to use CD-R, we found that the mastering software is by far the most important determinant of success in recording CD-ROMs. In our opinion, the quality of the mastering software should be your No. 1 consideration when selecting a CD-ROM recorder. And our favorite mastering program by far is Astarte's Toast CD-ROM Pro.
Proposing a Toast
Toast ships with five of the eight recorders (the FWB hammerCDR 2X, the MicroNet Master CD Plus, the Pinnacle RCD-1000, and both Smart and Friendly models). It's also available as a $100 option with the Dynatek CDM 200. There's at least one good reason why Toast is so popular with CD-R-drive vendors: It's top-notch. It's versatile, powerful, and easy to use, offering support for the full range of CD formats.
Toast supports single-session, multisession, and multivolume recording. What really sets it apart, however, is its ability to create a soft partition, for simplifying CD-ROM-recording sessions. This partition is a temporary, CD-ROM-sized volume that appears on your Mac's desktop and that Toast uses as a template for the CD-ROM-mastering session. You copy the files you want to put on CD-ROM into this partition, arrange them as you like, and then tell Toast to burn a copy onto the disc. When you have finished recording, the partition goes away and the hard-disk space it occupied is freed up.
Toast also automates and simplifies the tricky process of creating a Hybrid CD-ROM, for viewing on Macs as well as PCs. It automatically renames Mac files to follow ISO naming conventions for PC files (a Mac file called Business Plan Spreadsheet might be renamed BUSINESS.XLS, for example). In addition, the software sets up aliases to shared files in the Hybrid volume's Mac directory. These processes aren't flawless and require careful double-checking, but Toast's automation saves loads of time.
Grinding GEAR
Elektroson's GEAR software, the Toast competitor that ships with the Olympus Deltis CD-R2 and the Dynatek CDM 200, supports the same formats and recording modes as Toast, but it lacks the ability to create soft partitions. Worse, GEAR requires every recording session to be a copy of a complete HFS (Hierarchical File System) volume. This means that if you want to back up only selected folders from your hard disk's root directory, you cannot simply select them and drag them into a temporary folder or volume; instead, you must first copy them into a new folder, copy the new folder to the CD-ROM, and then trash that folder at the end of the recording session. This approach is tedious and is especially awkward for incremental-backup chores. Furthermore, GEAR lacks the ability Toast has to set up Hybrid volumes automatically and its manual offers inadequate guidance for doing it manually. Important details for complicated procedures are scattered in different places in the manual, and the skimpy index makes them hard to find.
In addition, GEAR proved unreliable with the Dynatek CDM 200 recorder, due to an incompatibility with Power Macs that Dynatek acknowledged and addressed by having us edit the GEAR Preferences file. Dynatek will ship Toast instead of GEAR for an additional $100, and we eventually switched to Toast to complete our tests of the CDM 200 -- a step we recommend for anyone considering the drive. In short, we found nothing compelling in GEAR to recommend it over Toast. If you can choose the mastering software that comes with your unit, opt for Toast.
The Pinnacle RCD-1000, in addition to coming with Toast, includes some proprietary software: RCD and Backup. RCD is general mastering software, similar to Toast or GEAR. It behaved quirkily in our tests, however, resulting in occasional quits, and we do not recommend it -- especially since Toast is provided as an alternative. Pinnacle's Backup utility simplifies the use of a CD-R system for backing up hard disks, by performing incremental updates to CD-ROM at scheduled intervals. The idea of combining an automatic backup utility with a CD-R system is good, but we found that discs created with Backup often contained corrupted files. Perhaps the results will be better with the proven Dantz Retrospect software, which FWB plans to ship with the hammerCDR 2X.
Backup Is Simply a Drag
The mastering software supplied with the Optima DisKovery 650CDR is a different beast altogether from Toast and GEAR. Optima's proprietary, innovative CD-R Access software is a control panel that lets you use a CD-ROM as if it were a floppy. When you insert a blank disc into the recorder, an alert tells you the disc is not formatted. Click on OK to start formatting, and in a few minutes, the disc's icon appears on your Mac's desktop.
You "record" simply by dragging files and folders onto it. You can add more files by dragging at any time, and you complete a recording session by issuing the Finalize command, which completes the write process by creating a new, updated directory on the CD-ROM. CD-R Access is incredibly easy to use and is ideal for personal-backup purposes. Its main drawback is that it can create discs only in the Mac HFS format, so PC users aren't able to use CD-ROMs created with CD-R Access. Furthermore, even other Macintosh users must install a special control panel in order to read CD-R Access discs. Nevertheless, for casual use for backing up files to disc, it's difficult to imagine an easier or more Mac-like procedure. You are completely shielded from all of the intricacies of multisession recording.
At the time we tested these recorders, the Optima CDR650 didn't work with Toast software, but Optima tells us that by the time you read this, you should be able to use Toast, in addition to CD-R Access, with the Optima drive.
In addition to the program(s) that ship with a given CD-R drive, you can purchase mastering software from third parties. Toast and GEAR are available as stand-alone products. Another alternative is the $199 PowerPC-native CD Constructor, from Sony Electronic Publishing. Like CD-R Access, this program restricts you to the HFS format (both single-session and multisession), but it offers a soft-partitioning feature lacking in the far more expensive GEAR. CD-It! All, from Optimage, is essentially just a repackaged version of Toast with Optimage's icons and splash screen substituted for Astarte's. The somewhat rewritten manual is only a slight improvement and isn't worth the $100 premium Optimage charges over Astarte's $699 list price for Toast. Not all third-party mastering software works with all drives, so shop carefully.
Burning Speed?
We conducted a variety of tests with each drive, including creating Hybrid HFS/ISO discs (except with the DisKovery 650CDR, whose CD-R Access software supports only the HFS format), in order to test ease of use, and making complete backups of a 115-MB hard-disk partition, in order to test raw speed.
To comply with the manufacturers' recommendations, we kept the SCSI chain pretty simple: the Power Mac 8100/80 with a 500-MB internal hard drive (the startup drive), the FWB hammer 1-GB external drive, and the terminated CD-R unit. Initial tests showed that any chain more complex than this invited faulty recording sessions that trashed blank master discs. Extra SCSI devices can compete with your data-source drive and the CD-R drive for CPU attention, causing disc-wrecking interruptions in data flow. Removing extra devices also keeps the SCSI chain as short as possible, minimizing signal noise. We used System 7.5's Extensions Manager to create a CD-R-only configuration of the system that turned all extensions off except those needed for the CD-R unit to work properly. Keeping the usual rogues' gallery of extensions loaded during recording sessions almost guarantees failure.
For the speed test, we transferred a 115-MB hard-disk volume to CD-ROM, and with the exception of the Optima drive, all the drives took 9 to 10 minutes to do the recording. The DisKovery 650CDR stood apart as the slowest unit, taking almost 3 minutes longer than the top-speed hammerCDR 2X and 1.5 minutes longer than its slowest rival, the MicroNet Master CD Plus. With the exception of the Optima drive, the CD-ROM recording speed is consistent with a general rule of thumb: Recording a full 650-MB CD-ROM takes 74 minutes on single-speed drives, half as long on dual-speed drives such as those we tested, one-quarter as long on quadruple-speed drives, and so on. (Quadruple-speed recorders are available today and may be desirable if you generate a high volume of CD-ROMs, but with prices around $4,000, they're still too expensive for personal use.)
The Write Choice
The FWB hammerCDR 2X earns our top recommendation as a great all-around value. The fastest drive we tested, it ships with Astarte's ultra-easy-to-use Toast CD-ROM Pro mastering software; the planned addition of Dantz's Retrospect backup software completes a truly versatile package.
The Optima DisKovery 650CDR also earns our recommendation, despite some significant limitations. Its clever CD-R Access software, which allows drag-and-drop copying of files to CD-ROM, is slow and limits you to the Mac-only HFS format. Nevertheless, using it is clearly the most painless route to CD-ROM mastering for many Mac users.
Also worthy of attention is the speedy Smart and Friendly CD-R 1002, which dropped in price by nearly $200 as this article went to press and which offers speed almost identical to that of the FWB recorder.
Finally, if you are interested in exploring multimedia-disc production, consider purchasing a $2,500 Smart and Friendly CD-R 2000. It's respectably speedy, offers a 2-MB cache, and comes with Macromedia Director and Authorware software. It's the only CD-ROM recorder in this bunch that is fully equipped to produce multimedia projects and its software bundle makes it a good value, but serious multimedia producers who are cramming discs full of data should most likely consider moving all the way up to a quad-speed recorder.
The only recorder we tested that we're hesitant to recommend is the Dynatek CDM 200 -- at least in its base configuration with Elektroson's GEAR mastering software. If you're considering this drive, plan to add $100 to the price tag for an upgrade to Toast. It's well worth it.
Whichever recorder catches your fancy, keep in mind that CD-R isn't yet a mass-market technology, despite its growing popularity. The systems still present a somewhat intimidating learning curve for some and are still too expensive for occasional users. But CD-R is very nearly here for the rest of us and, for pioneering spirits, can be a valuable and practical alternative to tape or floppy disks for backup and data distribution.
MacUser contributing editor Gregory Wasson concluded many hours of CD-ROM-recorder testing by consolidating his vast floppy clip-art library onto one CD-ROM.
The Bottom Line
In deciding which two CD-ROM recorders stood out from the pack, our judging criteria boiled down to two essential factors: software and -- always important -- price. The quality of the mastering software (specifically Astarte's reliable, easy-to-use Toast CD-ROM Pro software) proved to be the single most important factor for ensuring successful CD-ROM mastering.
FWB hammerCDR 2X
Best Buy
Rating: Very Good/Outstanding (4.5 of 5 mice)
Price: Outstanding
Software: Outstanding
Ease of Use: Outstanding
Support: Outstanding
The speediest recorder we tested, the FWB hammerCDR 2X (list price, $1,549; estimated street price, $1,499) offers reliable performance and good value. Its software bundle, which includes the great Toast program and the CD-ROM ToolKit driver, will soon improve with the addition of Dantz's Retrospect backup software.
Optima DisKovery 650CDR
Best Buy
Rating: Acceptable/Very Good (3.5 of 5 mice)
Price: Acceptable
Software: Outstanding
Ease of Use: Outstanding
Support: Acceptable
The Optima DisKovery 650CDR (list price, $1,595; estimated street price, $1,440) lacks support for PC file formats, but Optima's unique CD-R Access mastering software, which allows you to write data to CD-ROM simply by dragging and dropping it onto a disc icon, makes it ideal for hassle-free personal backup.
Smart and Friendly CD-R 1002
Rating: Very Good (4 of 5 mice)
Price: Outstanding
Software: Outstanding
Ease of Use: Outstanding
Support: Acceptable
Smart and Friendly CD-R 2000
Rating: Very Good (4 of 5 mice)
Price: Poor
Software: Outstanding
Ease of Use: Outstanding
Support: Acceptable
MicroNet Master CD Plus
Rating: Acceptable/Very Good (3.5 of 5 mice)
Price: Acceptable
Software: Acceptable
Ease of Use: Outstanding
Support: Outstanding
Olympus Deltis CD-R2
Rating: Acceptable/Very Good (3.5 of 5 mice)
Price: Outstanding
Software: Poor
Ease of Use: Acceptable
Support: Acceptable
Pinnacle RCD-1000
Rating: Acceptable/Very Good (3.5 of 5 mice)
Price: Outstanding
Software: Outstanding
Ease of Use: Acceptable
Support: Acceptable
Dynatek CDM 200
Rating: Poor/Acceptable (2.5 of 5 mice)
Price: Acceptable
Software: Poor
Ease of Use: Acceptable
Support: Acceptable
Listing is alphabetical within groups of equal mouse ratings.
Mastering the Jargon / terms every CD-ROM author should know
The Mac keeps you blissfully unaware of the many CD formats when you're playing a disc, but when you're creating one, you need to be mindful of them. The terminology of CD-R technology can be intimidating and confusing for novices, so here are explanations of the main CD-R options:
CD-DA: An audio-only format used for audio CDs and built on the ISO 9660 CD-ROM format. This is the format used for playback on audio- CD players.
CD-i (CD-interactive): A fairly recent CD format used for game and entertainment discs that work with special players connected to television sets.
HFS (Hierarchical File System): A format that creates an exact copy of a Mac volume, complete with nested folders, long filenames, and icons. HFS-formatted discs can be read only by Macs. The HFS format is the most convenient format in Macintosh-only settings, since it retains the Mac Finder's look and feel. This format is ideal for back-ing up, archiving, and distributing material to be used only on Macs.
Hybrid: A format that combines HFS- and ISO 9660-format data on a single disc. It's a clumsy, cross-platform workaround that bypasses the limitations of ISO 9660 for Mac users. No matter what software you use, creating a Hybrid disc can involve the creative juggling of aliases, HFS soft partitions, and ISO 9660 files. The potential for mistakes and ruined discs is greater than with HFS- or ISO 9660-only discs.
ISO 9660: A generic, cross-platform format that is looking longer and longer in the tooth. Although ISO 9660-formatted discs can be read on PCs as well as Macs, the format imposes some limitations, such as the DOS filenaming convention of 8 + 3 characters, that may force Mac and Windows 95 users to preprocess files and folders before mastering a disc. ISO 9660 is still ideal for the distribution of large amounts of text.
Mixed Mode: A combination of audio and any of the other formats already mentioned.
multisession: Multiple recording sessions placed in separate passes. The first session has about 22 MB of overhead (the lead-in and lead-out), with the data, or session, sandwiched between the lead-in and the lead-out. Subsequent sessions, which can be recorded later to update or add data, have about 14 MB of overhead each and are linked to the other sessions. Multisession-capable readers see all the sessions as one. Some older CD-ROM drives and drivers cannot fully recognize multisession discs and display only the first session.
multivolume: Refers to a disc that has multiple sessions, but each session, rather than being linked to those on the rest of the disc, is mounted as a separate volume on the Mac's desktop.
Photo CD: A format for storing photographic images. Mac CD-ROM drives ship with software for reading this format, but mastering Photo CD discs requires special software from Kodak.
single-session (disc-at-once): A single, all-or-nothing recording. Once you've created a single-session disc, you can never add more data. Disc-at-once recording is generally more reliable than multisession recording, which includes links between sessions that can sometimes be lost or not recognized by some readers.
Astarte's Toast CD-ROM Pro, the mastering software bundled with many CD-R recorders, allows you to conduct a test write before you burn a new CD-ROM, to ensure that your system's data-transfer rate will be adequate for a successful write.
The Right Spin / steps for a successful CD-ROM recording
The prospect of a recording error's trashing your blank disc makes CD-ROM recording a little daunting. And with blank discs going for about $10 each, mistakes are expensive. Preparation is the best precaution: Set up your recording system appropriately; follow these steps and tips; and with a bit of patience, successful recordings can be yours.
Step 1: Prepare your system. Keep the recording environment as bare-bones as possible for the CD-R unit. Remove from your SCSI chain all SCSI peripherals except for the internal startup drive, an external drive for storing the data you'll be recording onto CD-ROM, and the recorder itself. You cannot record from the startup drive.
Tip: Defragment (optimize) the hard-disk volume that
contains the data you want to transfer to disc. A
fragmented volume can cause CD-R write failures.
Tip: Turn off AppleTalk and all network connections.
CD-R units demand your Mac's full attention.
Tip: Turn off all extensions except those absolutely
necessary for the recorder to function. You may want to
create a CD-R-only set with an extensions manager.
Step 2: Identify your audience, and select the appropriate recording format. You'll probably use one of three formats -- HFS, ISO 9660, or Hybrid. If the CD-ROM is strictly for personal use (as with system-backup archives) or will be distributed only to Mac users, go with HFS. If you're distributing basic text or numerical data files for viewing by Mac and PC users, go with the older ISO 9660 format. If you want Mac and PC users to be able to view complex graphical data, choose the sophisticated (but tricky) Hybrid format.
Step 3: Organize your data, and prep the files for the format you've chosen. HFS files are easiest for Mac users, requiring only that you arrange folders as you wish the audience to see them. ISO 9660-format filenames must conform to the DOS filenaming convention of 8 + 3 characters; Hybrid discs require adherence to the 8-+-3 convention too, as well as pointers to files that will be shared by Mac and DOS applications.
Tip: Check and double-check the filenames and folder
structure of your data before you commit it all to disc.
Make sure each folder is organized exactly as you want the
viewer to see it (including window sizes and open status,
view-by options, and so on).
Step 4: Run a test write. If your software supports it, perform a test write to ensure that your hard drive can keep up with the data-transfer demands of the CD-R drive. Test writes can uncover problems before you ruin any blank media.
Tip: If the test write fails, be sure you're using the
possible. It's more reliable than the multisession process.
Tip: Use the blank media recommended by the drive
manufacturer.
Step 5: Burn the disc. When all signals are go, start the mastering, or burning, process; sit back; and wait.
Tip: Do not use your Mac for other tasks during
mastering. Recording cannot take place in the background.
Step 6: Test the disc before you distribute it. If your software supports disc verification, let it verify the disc and the integrity of the files immediately after the mastering process.
Tip: In addition to performing a software-based
integrity check, spot-check the disc yourself to ensure
that files are intact, by opening a few files and checking
their contents.
All-in-One Boxes / dedicated systems combine CD-R recorders and hard drives
If you plan to use a CD-ROM recorder only in single, predictable bursts of activity -- such as for archiving your files once a month or for churning out a handful of discs at the same time each week -- you can probably live with the limitations imposed by a low-cost system: having to disconnect all other external SCSI devices, disable file sharing and electronic mail, and turn off all but the essential system extensions. However, if your work calls for quick production of discs at short notice or at irregular intervals, when reconfiguring your Mac is more than just a chore, you may want to consider a dedicated CD-R system.
Such a system combines a CD-R drive and a high-capacity hard drive in one compact box. Although their prices are more than twice those of comparable burner-only systems, remember that these units eliminate the need for a dedicated hard drive for storing files for transfer to disc. They also simplify SCSI connections and conserve desktop space.
The $3,295 JVC Personal RomMaker integrates a double-speed JVC CD-R recorder and a 1-GB Fujitsu hard drive in a single minitower. JVC's proprietary software includes archiving/mastering software that offers a fine degree of control not only over format but also over file placement on disc (letting you place important files closer to the center of the disc, for faster access). The JVC recorder and software do not handle CD-ROM XA or CD-i recording. For info, call JVC at 714-261-9690.
By the time you read this, Dynatek should also be offering a similar all-in-one system, the CDM 4000. This complete CD-R system, expected to list for $7,499, combines a 1.1-GB SCSI hard drive, a quad-speed CD-ROM drive, a quad-speed CD-ROM recorder, and a special controller that frees your computer from the rigors of the mastering process. The controller lets you disconnect the entire unit from your SCSI chain after you've created a CD template and finish processing off-line, so you can resume working on your Mac. Dynatek promises that once the CDM 4000 has completed the first copy of a CD-ROM, you'll be able to make additional copies by swapping in a new blank disc and pressing a single button. The CDM 4000 comes with proprietary software based on Elektroson's GEAR. 800-461-8855 or 416-636-3000.
Elektroson's GEAR offers some of the same features as Astarte's Toast CD-ROM Pro, but it lacks a soft-partitioning feature, which simplifies the recording of subsets of Mac volumes.
The Power to Burn / features of CD-ROM recorders
Dynatek c FWB MicroNet Olympus c Optima Pinnacle Smart and Friendly Smart and Friendly
CDM 200 hammerCDR 2X Master CD Plus Deltis CD-R2 DisKovery 650CDR RCD-1000 CD-R 1002 CD-R 2000
List price $1,695 $1,549 $1,499 NA $1,595 $1,495 NA NA
Optima Technology's CD-R Access, which lets you treat CD-ROMs like floppy disks, is a control panel that offers a surprising breadth of features, including a thorough online help system and a variety of tools for configuring and searching the HFS-formatted CD-ROMs it creates.
