by Dale Farris, President, Golden Triangle PC Club
August 2001

Program Overview

With the proliferation of CD-R and especially CD-RW drives, computer users have begun to work with exciting new technology that has opened up the capabilities of these optical drives far beyond the original CD ROM days when CD ROM discs were used only for reading data from the disc. With CD-R and CD-RW drives, now we can begin to use CD-R and CD-RW discs as backup storage devices, and the data storage capabilities exceed the storage limits of usual removable storage devices such as Zip drives (100MB or 250MB) or other similar devices.

With CD-R and CD-RW drives, users can now look at a drive storage capability of around 650MB, depending on the level of compression, and with the CD-RW drives, we can now re-use these drives over and over, and depend on it just as if it were another computer drive and for use as a backup option.

The CD-RW drive technology has also helped stimulate sales of PCs, primarily due to the potential to burn (write) data to relatively inexpensive CD-Rs (CD Recordable) that can usually flawlessly play in almost any CD player. This opened up the market for sharing music on computers, since now with these drives and the discs, you could literally create your own audio CD to play whatever collection of music you wished. Rushing to fill this newly created market interest, the now well known Napster site exploded onto the music scene and caused a major transformation in the entire music recording industry, an issue only recently legally resolved. All this was fundamentally driven by CD-R and CD-RW technology.

Besides the need to add tons of now relatively inexpensive RAM and super-sized hard drives to machines today, to take advantage of the full potential of these CD-R and CD-RW drives, one has to also add the right software application used to store music or data files to the drive, restore data, or write over the data.

As the abundance of CD-R and CD-RW drives continues to deluge the market, there has also occurred a natural parallel increase in software designed to allow owners maximize the capabilities of the drives. While for so long the mainstay application in this market, Adaptec's Easy CD Creator, showed up on just about all the machines with these new drives, the CD Maker Professional 2000 program from Newtech Infosystems, Inc. has become a serious contender for anyone with either a CD-R or CD-RW drive.

With the heightened interest in finding and storing music files onto a customized audio CD disc, CD Maker 2000 Pro can of course support this process of ripping (extracting) music tracks from audio CDs and then burning (writing) the files to a CD-R disc that can then be played in most all extant audio CD players.

In addition, the program supports data archiving to CD-RW discs and packet writing (drag-and-drop file transfers to CD-RW discs). In addition, one of the most important aspects of this program is its relative ease of use, especially important to new users of this technology.

Extracting (ripping) audio tracks from CD to the important MP3 or WAV file format is very easy. Once you choose the Audio CD option, you just right click one of the CD tracks in the Explorer-like upper pane and choose Convert Audio Format. You can also select the track's name and destination folder, along with its quality setting of up to 320Kbps (kilobits per second) if it is an MP3 file.

CD Maker 2000 Professional can access the Gracenote online database to automatically name tracks from many CDs.

Burning CDs is as easy as ripping. Just drag audio tracks from the upper right pane to the play list pane. The program can automatically decide, by default, what's best for the CD you are burning. You can choose to record a CD using the track at once, disc at once, or session at once choices, or let the program make the choice. 

The program also handles the dreaded "buffer underrun error" problem quite handily. In a buffer underrun, the computer doesn't supply data quickly enough to the CD-RW drive and the temporary storage cache runs empty, resulting in a flawed disc, and the now famous term, CD "coaster."

CD Maker 2000 Professional can also verify that the data on your new CD matches the source files. The program is compatible with most newer CD-RW drives with Burn-Proof, or Just-Link technologies, which eliminates the concern for buffer underruns on most all drives.

For the growing number of audio CD aficionados that desire to maximize the power of their computer to create their litany of audio CDs, CD Maker 2000 Professional is one of the more easier programs to learn, while providing a super assortment of powerful features that are handy for more than just creating audio CDs. With this particular program, you can not only make audio CDs, an important first feature of concern to most computer owners, but in addition, you can make data CDs, video CDs, and even live audio CDs.  

NEW Features in Version 5

File CD 2.0 - turn a CD into a high capacity floppy-like storage device with this advanced packet writing software

Audio CD - on-the-fly MP3 recording, CD Text support, MP3, WAV, CDDA support, MP3 decoding, Audio play list support, Multi-CD compilation

MP3 Encoding - from WAV or CD, click, pop, hiss filters

Music Cafe - audio sampler and play list builder, play list management, digital playback, online music database support

Overburn Support - burn CDs BEYOND standard media specifications on supported drives

SVCD Support - make VCDs (video CDs) using MPEG-2 format instead of MPEG-1

File CD - as easy as a floppy, drag-and-droop packet writing , send to CD direct from Windows

CD Copy - make as many CD copies as you want, supports just about all CD formats, use the CD Image Reader/Writer to save an image of your CD or to record from a CD image

Data CD - complete Data CD support

CD Extra - mix data and audio on the same CD

Custom CD - record your own custom CD images to CD using drag-and-drop interface

Advanced Caching - advanced buffering algorithm used to minimize "data buffer under-run" errors

Playlist (M3U File) Support - burn your favorite music playlists onto CDs using an easy drag-and-drop

Burn an audio CD using any of the most popular formats, including MP3, WAV, CDDA

Store all your important data on CDs - video, music, documents, digital images

Live Audio - record ANY sound from the line-in or mic connectors of your sound card and burn it in Real-time

Create your own CD labels and inserts - included CD labeling utility, Jewel-Case Maker

Well-Known CD Maker 2000 Features

Extreme Audio - decode MP3 files into WAV or CD-DA tracks, encode CD-DA tracks or WAV tracks into MP3 files, optimize the sounds of your disc using the pop/click/hiss filter, and view how much time remains on CD, live audio recording to CD from LP, tape, stereo, or mic

Total Data - all features in previous versions continue, redesigned user interface, convenient at-a-glance usage bar to see how much room remains on a CD, powerful Disc Info & Tools utility to read and compare individual data tracks and files, FileCD, ultra-simple CD copy function

Powerful Video - full support of Super Video CDs (SVCD) and Video CDs (VCD)

Highly intuitive and user-friendly, EASYSTEPS graphical interface

Automatic Smart Decision on writing methods

Latest CD burning technologies - Overburn, BurnProof, JustLink, Seamless Link support

CD Maker 2000 Versions

Newtech Infosystems, Inc. (NTI) produces three versions of this super CD recording program.

CD Maker 2000 Standard includes support for making audio CDs, the Music Cafe feature, File CD, CD Copy, Data CD, CD Extra, and support for Mixed-Mode. The trial version adds support for MP3 Encoding.

CD Maker 2000 Plus adds to these features support for Video CD/Super VCD, and the Jewel Case maker. The trial version includes support for MP3 Encoding.

The CD Maker 2000 Professional addition adds to these features the Live Audio capability, and the Custom CD recording capability.

Targeted Customers and Typical Uses

With the tremendous growth in sales of CD-RW drives, this has opened a new market of computer users wishing to use the expanded data storage capacity of a CD disc, as well as create their own audio CDs that can be played in their audio CD player. With the parallel explosion in the MP3 file format and the opening up to computer owners of music files that can be shared across the Internet, this created a need for software that would allow the computer owner to convert their MP3 files to audio CD format, so they could listen to the music on their audio CD player, or even special MP3 file players.

In addition to this important entertainment function, the CD-RW drives also have become a first choice among computer owners as their device used to store a backup of their data files. All these important features are supported in this super program that will likely support just about all newly created CD-R and CD-RW drives now sold on most new machines.

The program is excellent for long-term archived data storage, creating low-cost CD R discs that can be read in any CD ROM drive, creating audio CD-R discs that can be played in any audio CD player, short-term data storage and backups, and for recording, erasing and re-using data on CD-RW drives and discs.

However, as the company makes clear, owners of this program will need to remember that they alone bear the responsibility for determining the legality of reproducing material onto CD-R or CD-RW discs using the program. The company assumes the customer owns the copyright or has obtained legal permission to copy files from the copyright owner.

NTI takes no responsibility for any illegal use of their product.

Install and Setup

The installation worked fine on my machine, and should pose no difficulty to most customers. The only possible concern may arise on older, "legacy" machines with older drives. However, this should be minimal, since the entry of CD-R and CD-RW drives is still relatively new. The included PDF User's Guide provides a very detailed, extensive discussion of CD ROM drives, CD-R and CD-RW drives, and all the necessary information regarding operations of the program.

Depending on how you obtain this program, the standard, retail product will likely be version 5.0. NTI makes available at this link, via download, updates to their latest version 5.08.

Price

$69.99 full version 5.0
$39.99 upgrade from CD Maker Standard/Plus 3.0
$29.99 upgrade from CD Maker Pro 4.0

Volume licensing is available for the server and the workstation products. Also, NTI offers super combination package pricing that provides CD Maker Professional and their Backup NOW! software.

Minimum System Configuration Requirements

Windows  95, 98, 98 ME, NT 4, 2000, XP
IBM or compatible 486 33Mhz or higher processor
32MB RAM or higher
20MB free hard disk space
NTI Supported CD-R/CD-RW drive

This link will take you to the NewTech Infosystems, Inc. Web site where you can search the NTI database of information on the large number of drives this software supports.

Note that all versions of NTI's CD Maker 2000 also include advance buffer management to reduce data buffer under-run errors for high-speed drives, "Smart Decision," that automatically sets the right writing method (TAO, SAO, DAO), over burn support to burn beyond natural limits of your CD, and support for the latest buffer under-run error protection technologies (BurnProof, Justlink, SeamlessLink, ExacLink, SuperLink).

About NewTech Infosystems, Inc.

NewTech Infosystems, Inc. (NTI) is a worldwide leader in developing and delivering innovative software solutions for the digital media market. The company is a major software developer for CD-R/CD-RW, and future DVD-RW devices, and has been delivering complete software solutions for CD-RW recording and backup since its inception in 1993.

The company strives to build their products based on the concept of power with simplicity, and user friendly interfaces, all to enable users to explore the power of CD-R and CD-RW functionalities.

The products are available in multi-language versions and are distributed through OEM, retail and volume end-user licensing channels. On June 4, 2001, NTI announced that their CD Maker 2000 program would be shipping with Intel Desktop Boards.

In addition to CD Maker 2000 Professional, NTI also produces CD Maker 2000 Plus, CD Maker 2000 Standard, Backup NOW!, FileCD, and DriveBackup. All these products sport the user-friendly "EasySteps" interface.

Contact Information

Christopher Want
Marketing and Sales Assistant
NewTech Infosystems, Inc.
1395 Warner Ave.
Tustin, California 92780
714-259-9700, ext. 216
FAX 714-259-9727
chrisw@ntius.com
www.ntius.com

You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.