MP3 CD/DVDs vs. Audio CDs

MP3 CD/DVDs are data discs which hold .mp3 (compressed audio) files, rather than audio tracks like audio CDs have. This allows a disc to hold considerably more audio time than traditional audio CDS, which are limited to 74 or 80 minutes.

MP3 CD/DVDs are only playable on devices which support .mp3 playback. Many older or lower-end CD/DVD players will not recognize MP3 disc, and some may support MP3 CDs but not MP3 DVDs. Check with your player's manufacture documentation for supported formats.

MP3 CD/DVD Sizing

MP3 CDs can store approximately 650MB or 700MB of audio files, depending on the type of disc, while MP3 DVDs can store over 4GB. For example, an average .mp3 song will often be between 2MB and 8MB, so an MP3 CD may allow 100 songs or more, depending on the compression used for the MP3 files.

You may overburn an MP3 CD, that is write more than it's rated capacity, but you will seldom exceed 10 or 20MB extra.

Please Note:

There is no official standard for MP3 CD/DVDs. As such, playback may vary from player to player and can lead to incompatibilities and difficulty in playing discs. The following suggestions can help eliminate some problems:

- Limit the .mp3 filename to under 40 characters
- Do not use special characters (i.e. UNICODE) in .mp3 filenames

CD Types

CD-R - These are the most common and can only be written to once. This means that once a track has been written it cannot be changed.

CD-RW - These can be written to and then erased at a later time. There is a limited number of times this may be done, but it is very large (in the thousands). These make excellent test discs to help you perfect a CD. Please note many low-end CD players cannot read CD-RW discs as an additional laser is needed which increases the cost.

CD Speeds

CD burner drives and the CDs themselves are rated with a speed, for example 8x. This reflect how much faster they are than the first generation of devices that could write CDs. This speed purely reflect how fast the write is and has no affect of playback. All standalone CD players assume 1x for all reading.

Care and Handling

Do not touch the play surface of a CD (side without the label). This will leave fingerprints that interfere with the reading.

Do not expose the play surface to direct sunlight. This can cause the erasure of the data with prolonged exposure.