OFF: Max. length of CD-R

[Paul Mather]

To add to the current CD-R thread, I found this info about max CD-R
length in the CD-R FAQ (http://www.fadden.com/cdrfaq/):

   Since CDs are written in a spiral, the amount of data you can get on a
   disc is affected by how tightly spaced the "groove" is. A standard Red
   Book audio CD or Yellow Book CD-ROM is designed to allow at most 74
   minutes of data. By using a tighter track pitch on the spiral "groove"
   on the glass master, manufacturers can get more data onto the disc. In
   theory this could make it harder for some CD readers to use the discs.

   There *are* 80-minute CD-R blanks, but they're very expensive, and may
   not work on all systems. The longest possible CD-R is 79 minutes, 59
   seconds, 74 blocks long, because of the way that the last possible
   start time of the lead-out is encoded. Such discs are supposedly
   available directly from TDK (USA sales +1 800 835 8273), and I was
   able to purchase a small quantity from http://www.microboards.com/.

The FAQ author then goes on to say that much CD-R software has problems
mastering such abnormally-long CD-Rs, but it *can* be done, with
persistence.

Cheers,

Paul.

obCD: Hawkwind, _The 1999 Party_

e-mail: paul at gromit.dlib.vt.edu

"I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time"
        --- James Marshall Hendrix