[MacDV] Burning a DVD via a disc image...

[Alex]

Hi Brian

The purpose of creating a disk image is so that you can check out the 
contents of your cd/dvd or whatever
before you burn the data to its final format.
Ah! you might say, but I know exactly what is going to the final media
and in most cases you will be right on the ball there.
A disk image is useful, if an error or glitch occurs after you have 
compiled the data and are ready for burning to disc.
Once its on the disc it is too late to correct it and the burn has to 
be redone
With one off's for your own use this is 30 or 40 pence wasted on a CDR 
or DVDR, no big deal in most cases.
However if your data is going to a duplicator to be copied half a 
million times you need to be really sure you have it right.
So a disk image is useful.
These days with the cost of media being so low it is just as feasible 
to write a real disk to check it. I do.
Still disk images are useful for storage and back up as they are true 
'negatives' of the final data in one file.
They tend to be less corruptible (than a folder full of files) and the 
data within them is inviolate. (if they are read only :-)
This is why most downloads on the net, at least for the Mac, tend to be 
disk images and not the straight installer or files.

Hope this answers your query

Alex


> Sorry for being so dense, everybody, but I still don't get the answer 
> to my
> original question--why make a disc image in the first place? You have 
> your
> project, you burn a DVD, you put your project away (in your internal 
> drive,
> external drive, or burned to a DVD), and it's waiting there for you 
> next
> time you want to burn another disc. What's the purpose of taking the 
> extra
> step of making a disc image?
>
> Am I missing something obvious here?
>
> Brian
>
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