The second edition of Mark Chambers' CD & DVD Recording for Dummies catches up with the latest developments. Early CD burners-when the fastest was 2X-were expensive items at around $1000 and out of ordinary users' reach. How things have changed; even DVD burners are becoming affordable.

The first part of this book discusses the recording process and explains what-does-what and what-goes-with-what in language that doesn't drown the reader in techspeak. Both recorders and media have to be chosen carefully, especially if you want to distribute disks to others. Novices should find this part of the book especially informative, and anyone contemplating purchase of a CD writer/rewriter or a DVD burner will find this book well worth its cost.
 
CD & DVD Recording has been written for both Windows and Mac users and covers all recording situations: multi-session, data, audio, video, bootable, photo, hybrid (Mac/Windows), overburning, and mixed-mode.
 Formats are also discussed: ISO 9660, UDF, Joliet, and HFS. ISO 9660 is readable on all platforms (including Unix/Linux), but has some restrictions; Universal Disc Format (UDF) overcomes the filename and filesize limitation of ISO 9660 and can be read by WIndows and Mac; Joliet is a Windows format; the Hierarchical File System (HFS) is a Mac format; and hybrid systems use both a Joliet session and an HFS session, which enables Mac and Windows versions of software to be recorded on the same disk.
 
Hardware issues are discussed, covering EIDE, SCSI, USB, FireWire, and internal/external drives. There is no discussion of specific readers or recorders, which is sensible because of the rapid turnover of models and brands. However, the reader will find the information needed to make a choice based on individual needs. One software application - Roxio's Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 - is used to demonstrate various burning scenarios for both Windows and Mac.
This is a practical, comprehensive, and thorough coverage of CD and DVD recording for novice and intermediate users. For most users it will be the only tutorial-cum-reference they will need.
 

Mark Chambers: CD & DVD Recording for Dummies 2/e ISBN 0-7645-5956-7 Published by Wiley, 330 pp., RRP $44.95 incl. GST