Dan Gistenson wrote: (snip) Regarding a cdrw: What does: "4x / 4x / 24x" mean? What's the functional difference between the "24x", above, and "32x"? If many of the cd drives are "40x", is a cdrw with either of the two specs above limiting which cd drives will recognize the disks I'll create? Regarding dvd: Is "8X/32X" the current standard? (snip) 4x\4x\24x @ 150k per equals: 600k/sec rewritable media speed (CDRW disc must support 4x to write at this speed reliably) 600k/sec recordable media speed (CDR disc must support 4x ... etc.) 3600k/sec read speed (this is not the physical speed, but the buffered speed allowing bursts of data transfer at this rate) Also, 2x rewritable discs can be found for just a little more than cd recordables: Kodak is excellent. 4x rewritable discs are much more and supported by fewer brands. As far as DVD, 5th generation 10x/40x Pioneers are the newest, but like CD's they play a given "movie" at the speed it was recorded at - 1x or 2x for example. So I wouldn't call it a standard. Last DVD 8x is a much higher rate than a CD at 8x. -yui PCBUILD's List Owner's: Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]> Drew Dunn<[log in to unmask]>