Feurio Questions & Answers - Feurio! CD-Writer general questions
Does an Image copy sound better that an on-the-fly copy?

Question: I have heard that an "Image copy" sounds better than an "on-the-fly copy" , is this true?

Answer: Normally: NO.
BUT: An "on-the-fly copy" makes higher requirements of the CD-ROM!

If you have got a CD-ROM which can read audio data 100% correctly and can position the read head 100% correctly, then an "Image copy" and an "on-the-fly copy" are 100% identical.

With a CD-ROM, which can not position the read head 100% correctly however it is possible that with an "on-the-fly copy" interference may be audible!

REASON:
On an audio CD unfortunately the sector marks are "missing" - the data is organized in a single, long spiral. As long as the data is read out continuously (i.e. without interruption), this is no problem for the CD-ROM - the data is read correctly. But if there is an interruption while reading the data (e.g. because the writer buffer is full), the CD continues to rotate anyway - so the laser "loses" the data track and has to "start again". And this is just the problem:
Many CD-ROMs don't always manage to position the laser head 100% exactly again after an interruption - so individual bits are left out or read twice which of course means the copy is not exactly 100% identical and thus leads to lower quality.

With an "
Image copy" the whole CD is read first - if the harddisk is fast enough there is no read interruption and the data is read continuously and the above problem does not occur.
With an "
on-the-fly copy" in contrast the CD-ROM often has to "wait" for the writer, i.e. the read head continuously has to be repositioned - which as already said, not all CD-ROMs manage to do exactly.

How can I find out if my CD-ROM positions the read head exactly?
Feurio! offer a test function here:
See also:
Questions and Answers - Feurio! CD-Writer problem-solving
Questions and Answers - Feurio! CD-Writer general questions

Questions and Answers - Main page

You are the 137. visitor of this page (today: 1)