Section 4. Using Your PlexWriter
20
PlexWriter 8/8/24U Installation and Users Manual
Playing a CD Using Utilities
You can use SimpliCD to play CDs. Other alternatives for playing CDs include
audio utilities designed into your operating system (Media Player or CD Player in
Windows, for instance) or various other utilities that can be purchased commercially.
Playing a CD On a Macintosh
Mac users can run a program such as CDT Remote (which is typically included with
FWB’s CD-ROM toolkit).
Writing to CD-R and CD-RW Media
In conjunction with your PlexWriter drive, mastering or packet writing software such
as SimpliCD, EasyCD Creator and DirectCD allow you to write audio, video, data,
or other information to writable (CD-R) or rewritable (CD-RW) media. The
PlexWriter 8/8/24U writes to new high-speed CD-RW media, as well as to
conventional CD-RW media.
IMPORTANT: Most CD-ROM drives manufactured since 1997 can read both
conventional and the new high-speed CD-RW discs. Drives manufactured before
1997 cannot read CD-RW discs.
Plextor CD-ROM drives beginning with the 12/20PleX and newer can read CD-RW
discs, including the new, high-speed discs.
Advantages of BURN-Proof Technology
The PlexWriter 8/8/24U incorporates BURN-
Proof (Buffer Under-Run Proof )
technology, which guarantees that you can
write discs at high speed, and still use your computer for other tasks while you’re
writing.
The Problem: When you use a CD Recordable or CD ReWritable drive to write to a
CD-R or CD-RW disc, the disc needs a constant, steady flow of data to make a
successful write. If this flow is interrupted, you wind up with a disc that is unusable.
You’ve just created a coaster for your table!
To prevent the interruption of data, every CD-R/RW drive has a buffer, a memory
chip that acts as a kind of “holding area.” (Typically, the buffer size is 2 MB or 4
MB.) However, this buffer can be emptied quickly when you write at high speeds. It
can also be emptied if you use other applications (like surfing the Internet or playing
games or watching movies) while writing; or if your source drive cannot read data
fast enough because of its read ability; or because the source disc is poor quality and
read errors slow down the data streaming. Any of these factors can produce what is
known as “buffer underrun error.” Simply put, the buffer is drained of data, the flow
to the disc is interrupted—and you wind up with a useless disc.
