CD and DVD Recording For Dummies^®

by Mark L. Chambers

• ISBN13: 9780764516276
• ISBN10: 0764516272
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

This friendly guide covers everything the recording novice needs to select, buy, install, use and troubleshoot a CD-RW or DVD-R drive -- including software selection, optimization, built-in software like iTunes and iMovie 2 and much more.

Author Biography

Mark L. Chambers has been an author, a computer consultant, a BBS sysop, a programmer, and a hardware technician for more than 20 years. (In other words, he's been pushing computers and their uses far beyond "normal" performance limits for decades now.) His first love affair with a computer peripheral blossomed in 1984, when he bought his lightning-fast 300 bps modem - now he spends entirely too much time on the Internet and drinks far too much caffeine-laden soda. His favorite pastimes include collecting gargoyles, watching St. Louis Cardinals baseball, playing his three pinball machines and the latest computer games, supercharging computers, and rendering 3D flights of fancy with TrueSpace - and during all that, he listens to just about every type of music imaginable. (For those of his readers who are keeping track, he now has more than 1,200 audio CDs in his collection.) With a degree in journalism and creative writing from Louisiana State University, Mark took the logical career choice and started programming computers; however, after five years as a COBOL programmer for a hospital system, he decided that there must be a better way to earn a living, and he became the documentation manager for Datastorm Technologies, a well-known communications software developer. Somewhere in between organizing and writing software manuals, Mark began writing computer books; his first book, Running a Perfect BBS, was published in 1994. Along with writing several books a year and editing whatever his publishers throw at him, Mark has recently branched out into Web-based education, designing and teaching a number of online classes, called WebClinics, for Hewlett-Packard. Mark's rapidly expanding list of books includes Building a PC For Dummies, Scanners For Dummies, The Hewlett-Packard Official Printer Handbook, The Hewlett-Packard Official Recordable CD Handbook, The Hewlett-Packard Official Digital Photography Handbook, Computer Gamer's Bible, Recordable CD Bible, Teach Yourself the iMac Visually, Running a Perfect BBS, Official Netscape Guide to Web Animation, and Windows 98 Troubleshooting and Optimizing Little Black Book. His books have been translated into 12 different languages - his favorites are German, Polish, Dutch, and French. Although he can't read them, he enjoys the pictures a great deal. Mark welcomes all comments and questions about his books - you can reach him at [e-mail] or at his Web site: MLC Books Online, at http://home.mlcbooks.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(6)
Part I: Shake Hands with Your Recorder!	7	(76)
Optical Storage: It's All in the Pits	9	(22)
Buying Your CD Recording Beast	31	(22)
DVD Is Not a Bad Word	53	(12)
Poof! You're a Computer Technician	65	(18)
Part II: It's All in the Preparation	83	(48)
Letting Loose the Software Elves	85	(12)
Fine-Tuning Can Be Fun	97	(18)
Getting Ready for the Ball	115	(16)
Part III: Hang On --- Here We Go!	131	(52)
Taking Easy CD Creator for a Spin	133	(26)
A Step-By-Step Guide to...Toast?	159	(12)
Using DirectCD: Avoid the Hassle!	171	(12)
Part IV: So You're Ready to Tackle Tougher Stuff?	183	(80)
Heavy-Duty Recording	185	(26)
BAM! Add Menus to Your Discs!	211	(20)
Storing Megastuff with DVD	231	(18)
Adding That Spiffy Touch	249	(14)
Part V: The Part of Tens	263	(36)
Ten Hardware Troubleshooting Tips	265	(6)
Ten Software Troubleshooting Tips	271	(10)
Ten Things to Avoid Like the Plague	281	(6)
Ten Nifty Programs You Want	287	(12)
Part VI: Appendixes	299	(16)
Appendix A: Recorder Hardware and Software Manufacturers	301	(4)
Appendix B: Glossary	305	(10)
Index	315