Section 5. Advanced Features and PlexTools Professional
PX-716 Installation and Users Manual 65
Important Facts about VariRec
• Use VariRec with DVD±R or CD-R discs.
• VariRec writes in either Track-at-Once (TAO) or Disc-at-Once
(DAO) mode.
• VariRec writes data or CD-DA (digital audio) on recordable media
at lower speeds (for example, 4X or 8X for CD-R), rather than at the
full speed of the drive. For this reason, data or audio recording using
VariRec takes substantially longer than a standard audio recording.
Using GigaRec
GigaRec lets you change the capacity of a standard CD-R disc from 60
percent up to 130 percent of its standard capacity. You can use GigaRec
for CD-DA or data writing at 4X and 8X disc-at-once (DAO).
The most obvious advantage of GigaRec is that it extends the capacity
of a standard CD-R disc. For instance, a Type 80 CD normally allows
700 megabytes of data and 80 minutes of recording. But with GigaRec,
you can get up to 913 megabytes of data on a single Type 80 CD.
GigaRec also lets you burn a disc at lower-than-rated capacity. Say
you’re making an audio master that is only 490 megabytes in size. By
using GigaRec to record at 0.7x normal capacity, you “stretch” that data
to utilize the same physical space that 700 megabytes would normally
occupy on the disc. This changes the actual length of the pits and lands
used for data bits, increasing the accuracy and response of the data, and
resulting in a truer burn.
In order to use the GigaRec feature, you need:
• CD-R drive (such as the Plextor PX-716) that supports GigaRec.
• Recording software, such as PlexTools Professional, that supports
GigaRec.
• Player software that recognizes the GigaRec disc.
