Burning software

[cosmicdust]

Hello all,
I am newbie to the DVD burning but trying to catch up. At least I have read the FAQ

Which burning sowftware is the best pick for using with my PX716A drive?
Do I have to use exclusively PT in order to utilize all benefits of the drive (like AutoStrategy and such) or I can use any other burning software like Roxio or Nero?

Can someone answer this or direct me to the right source ?
Thanks

[G11]

Which burning sowftware is the best pick for using with my PX716A drive?
Do I have to use exclusively PT in order to utilize all benefits of the drive (like AutoStrategy and such) or I can use any other burning software like Roxio or Nero?

Most software applications out there work with the Plextor drives. I personally use Nero 6 for data DVD burns, PlexTools for audio and data CD's and CloneDVD or DVD Decrypter for burning my DVD-Video discs. Other software I use is AnyDVD (to automatically decrypt my DVD-Video discs so I can load them into CloneDVD). I think it all depends on personal experience so my advice would be to just try some different applications and see which one you like best.

As to the advanced settings of your drive, yes you need PlexTools. Although Nero can control some options of your drive (like bitsetting and PoweRec) you can only control the advanced features such as SecuRec, GigaRec and AutoStrategy with PlexTools. Once you get used to PlexTools it's a great program, I use it a lot for DAE (audio ripping) and burning audio discs.

Good luck!

[escalator]

I like Feurio for Burning AUDIO-CDs with my PX716.

Still one of the best Burningsoftware for Audio.

[bulletx]

G@M3FR3@K:

Interested to know:

1) What advantage does PlexTools have over Nero in making an Audio CD out of MP3's, FLAC's and SHN's? (Not ripping an Audio CD)

2) What advantage does PlexTools have over Nero in making data CD's?

3) If you have VOB files already, what advantage is there in using CloneDVD or DVD Decryptor over Nero to burn a DVD Video disc?

[G11]

@ bulletx, there is no advantage of using one software package over another. I was just talking about personal preference. I like how PlexTools lets me create audio discs because its interface is so much simple than Nero's version. And for DVD-Video discs I think CloneDVD is much better than Nero. In the earlier Nero 6 versions there were a lot of problems with creating DVD-Video discs and although this has probably been fixed in the latest versions, I still prefer CloneDVD. This is because 1) it always creates working discs and 2) its interface is so simple and easy to use. And last but not least, when I want to create a back-up of a DVD5 discs, there is nothing easier than DVD Decrypter. Set it to read in ISO mode and then write in ISO mode. Super easy and I like it that way!

[bulletx]

G@M3FR3@K:

Thanks for the reply. I was wondering if there was some sort of advantage in producing even lower error-rate burns with those apps you mentioned. Sounds like it's an "ease of use" decision on your part. I can dig that.

[Poaalpina]

@ bulletx [QUOTE=] Interested to know:

1) What advantage does PlexTools have over Nero in making an Audio CD out of MP3's, FLAC's and SHN's? (Not ripping an Audio CD) QUOTE]

Automatic write offset correction.

[bulletx]

@ bulletx [QUOTE=] Interested to know:

1) What advantage does PlexTools have over Nero in making an Audio CD out of MP3's, FLAC's and SHN's? (Not ripping an Audio CD) QUOTE]

Automatic write offset correction.

This took me a bit to find a good explanation concerning "offset": http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eacoffsets00.htm.

If I understand this correctly, every ODD has a read and write offset which can be compensated for by certain software such as PlexTools and EAC. Obviously, burning an Audio CD of already extracted files will cause a WRITE offset that may produce an Audio CD where a few milliseconds of audio will be lost to the listener, either at the beginning of track one or at the end of the last track.

Would there not also be a READ offset incorporated into the burn that is independent of whether the files to be burned are from a harddrive or a source CD?

If so, wouldn't it be important to correct BOTH read and write offsets when burning MP3's or FLAC's from the harddrive to the blank CD?

If PlexTools can correct for these offsets, and does it automatically (very cool), then I will surely reinstall it and start using it to improve the "correctness" of the audio tracks. (I know that offsets have nothing to do with the quality of the burn, just quantity, so to speak.)

Also, am I correct in assuming that correcting for offsets will make the burned CD more compatible for a variety of players? I already understand that lead-in or lead-out areas utilized for offset placement of audio can not be read by a lot of players. My question is more about being able to skip to a different track and have the player go to precisely the beginning of the track.

An offhand question, prompted by the fact that the first track's audio can be missing the initial few milliseconds due to offsets, I have experienced a few milliseconds of missing audio at the beginning of the track that is on my harddrive after double clicking the file and opening it up with Windows Media Player 9.x. If I start the audio over again from within WMP, all is well. Is there a problem with WMP, my harddrive, onboard Realtak 97'Audio, MSI Neo2 Platinum motherboard,etc?? Doesn't happen often, just is strange.