Glossary
Bit rate
The bit rate expresses the amount of information transferred
per second as a number of bits. The greater the quantity of
information, the higher the bit rate.
The unit is "bits/second". "kbps" indicates "kilo (1,000) bits/
second".
Emphasis
The software used for recording has an "emphasis" capabil-
ity, which when turned on writes emphasis attributes on to
the audio track. When the emphasis bit is set the sound has a
smooth characteristic. However, at the current time almost all
CD players lack support for this function. It is no problem to
play back an audio track recorded with emphasis on with a
player not supporting emphasis.
Extension
In Windows and DOS personal computers, several charac-
ters are placed at the end of each file name to indicate the
type of file.
The extension consists of a period followed by three alpha-
numeric characters. The extension differs depending on file
type. The extension for MP3 files is ".mp3".
ID3 Tags
This is a data format that allows a file name, title and artist
name etc. to be added to MP3 files.
This unit supports SONG ALBUM and ARTIST for Versions 1
and 2.
Multi-Session
When data is written on a CD-R disc, the data written from
the time writing starts until the time writing finishes is regarded
as a bundle called a session. The Track at Once Method al-
lows data to be added to a single disc one track at a time,
with each recording of a track being a single session.
The term multisession refers to the method of recording the
data for two or more sessions on a single disc. We recom-
mend that this unit be used for up to 30 sessions.
Structure of Folder Hierarchy
To keep data within a computer organized, related files may
be put into a folder, but in addition to files, a folder may also
have other folders put into it. Folder B may be put into folder
A, and folder C may be put into folder B so as to create a
"hierarchical structure". The number of hierarchical levels that
can be recognized differs depending on the computer operat-
ing system. ISO9660 specifies up to 8 levels.
VBR (Variable Bit Rate)
MP3 files are normally encoded with a fixed bit rate (eg
128kbps etc.), however VBR encoding during which the bit
rate is varied while encoding is also possible. That is to say,
during periods of violent variation of sound the bit rate is in-
creased and during soundless periods the bit rate is de-
creased. Encoding in this way allows file size to be curbed
while maintaining high sound quality. However, some players
do not support VBR, so caution is required when using VBR.
Types of CD
• Audio CD(CD-DA)
This is the format used for audio CDs that can be played on
ordinary audio CD players. It is also called CD-DA (Com-
pact Disc Digital Audio).
• ISO9660 Format CD-ROM
ISO9660 is a CD-ROM standard file system determined by
ISO (International Organization for Standardization). CD-
ROMs with this format can be played by Windows and
Macintosh operating systems and also by UNIX operating
systems.
• HFS Format CD-ROM
This is a CD-ROM conforming to the HFS (Hierarchical File
System) used by Macintosh Mac OS.
• Hybrid CD-ROM
This is a CD-ROM containing a mixture of ISO9660 format
files and HFS format files.
• Mixed Mode CD
This is a CD-ROM containing both data files and audio files
on the one disc.
Mixed Mode CD is a standard developed for personal com-
puter use so the audio files on the CD cannot be played
with CD players that do not support Mixed Mode CD.
• CD Extra (Enhanced CD)
This differs from Mixed Mode CD in that the audio files are
followed on the disc by data files. CD Extra was standard-
ized by Sony and Philips to allow the audio files to be played
with an audio CD player and the data files to be read by a
personal computer.
E-13