CD Burner Types

• The two main varieties of CD burners are internal and external. Internal CD burners are integrated devices, which manufacturers install inside of computer casings. With most desktop computer towers, the CD burner receptacle tray, which slides in and out, is on the tower's front panel. In contrast, an external CD burner is a stand-alone, portable device, which users can connect to various computers. Both CD burner types utilize the same technology and are compatible with the same media formats.
  
  

Media Compatibility

• CD burners cannot record data on to commercial, pressed-discs, which are the types of CDs that line the shelves of music stores. Instead, basic CD recorders are only compatible with two types of media: CD-R and CD-RW. CD-R, or CD-Recordable, can endure just one finishing process, which means it can save data only once. This data can include a variety of text-based and video-based files in addition to audio files. CD-RW, or CD-ReWritable, can hold the same types of files as CD-R. However, instead of providing once-only recording, users can erase and re-record data with CD-RW multiple times. Two common storage sizes for both CD-R and CD-RW are 650 MB and 700 MB, which can hold 74 minutes and 80 minutes of audio respectively.
  
  

How CD Burners Work

• A CD burner relies on a laser -- or a device that produces intense, monochromatic beams of light -- for recording digital data on to CD-Rs and CD-RWs. When recording on CD-R, this laser heats up a translucent dye, causing the dye to darken in a specific pattern. When recording on a CD-RW, the CD burner uses its laser to heat a metallic alloy, which can shift back and forth from having a lose to crystalline structure. After recording to a CD-RW, a CD burner is able to break down the crystalline structure that results by using a laser beam with a different frequency. This process cleans the existing data from a CD-RW, allowing for re-recording.
  
  

Burning Speed

• The speed at which a CD burner can record data on to discs is represented by three consecutive numbers, which are all followed by "x"s. The first number indicates the speed at which a CD burner can read data, the second indicates the speed at which a CD burner can record data onto CD-R and the third indicates the speed at which a burn can record data onto CD-RW.