Confusion about CD Text on your CD manufacturing Master
In the past year there has been a noticeable increase in audio clients who are creating their own Master CDs for CD manufacturing or duplication. While it seems most of the audio clients have an understanding of what CD Text is, there is still a lot of confusion about how to create CD Text and where you can view it. This article was written to clear up some of the confusion.
What exactly is CD Text?
CD Text is a technology that is used on audio CDs which enables low bit rate information such as the song name and the name of the artist to be stored on the within the disc itself. If CD Text is included on an audio CD, specific devices and applications that are able to read and display this information will recognize this information, retrieve it and, in turn, display it to the user.
Is CD Text visible on all players and programs?
No – and this happens to cause a great deal of confusion and worry for clients, because they often think there is something wrong with their CDs due to the the CD Text not being displayed. A particular culprint for such anxiety is Windows Media Player – while it is one of the most commonly used computer programs for playing music, it doesn’t display CD Text unless you install a plug-in. (FYI – when you do see song and title information being displayed by Windows Media Player, it’s not actually CD Text that is generating that data).
Creating CD Text
It’s actually quite simple to create your audio Master for CD duplication or CD replication, but you need to be using a disc burning program (such as Toast or Nero) that allows you to enter in the appropriate data.
I’ve already made my CD Master – can I add CD Text to it?
No, it is not possible to add CD Text after you’ve already created your audio Master. If you’ve already created your CD Master and you want to add CD Text after-the-fact you will have to create a new Master.
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Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. provides factory-direct DVD and CD manufacturing, DVD and CD duplication, eco-friendly print and packaging. Located in the Surrey, B.C. (a suburb of Vancouver) we ship to clients throughout Canada and the U.S. daily.
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