LATEST RELEASE COMMENTS :

04/03/2002 Version 1.2.3 - Bugfix, updates and a little new feature

* New translations added (greek, chinese)

BUGFIXES :

patin-couffin driver

* The Win9x driver has a new protection against crashes during loadtime. If the driver cause system to reboot during its initialization phase, the driver won't load anymore, preventing your system to reboot constantly if something goes very wrong with the driver. The control panel configuration applet will handle the case and warn you.

Blindread

* The very last 2 seconds of an audio CD could be badly extracted (depending on the cd reader)

* A possibility of lockup at the very beginning of the extraction process have been removed

Blindwrite

* MP3 files burned as blank audio tracks (bug introduced in 1.2.2 release)

* Some weird internal stuff corrected

* During CD erasure, the "Exit program" button generates a warning before quitting

FEATURES ADDED :

Blindread

* New button at the end of the reading process to launch directly blindwrite

Blindwrite

* New algorythm for the sector enhancer. There is more weak sectors that are supported and corrected now.

* LiteOn-it writers added - so far, that is the only writers serie to write perfectly any weak sectors

20/02/2002 Version 1.2.2 - Bugfix and small updates

* New translations added

Blindwrite :

Fixed

* Nothing appearing in Write Mode tab when using an unknown CD writer (introduced in release 1.1.0.5)

* Error "Rezero unit has timed out" removed.

* DAO PQ mode ability falsely detected, but ended up in 05 26 00 error.

* Cd blanking improved, resist more efficiently to software shutdown,

* Image verifier find files from HD image even if they were moved.

Support added for Plextor PX-W401240A (the very first 40x writer)- Plextor S88T (a cool USB 2.0 writer, 24*8*8), TDK Cyclone (24*10*40), Sony CRX 175E(24*10*40), plus some bogus informations corrected in the CD database.

Write log receive new informations.

01/02/2002 Version 1.2.1 - This is a bugfix release

Patin-couffin driver :

* Fixed problems with Patin-couffin, under Win9x and Me, with SCSI devices (bug introduced with precedent release)

* Fixed problems using some third-party ASPI layer, that caused sometimes the system to hang (bug introduced in Release 1.1.0.6)

22/01/2002 Release 1.2.0 - A pretty big one...

Installer system :

* Completely new installer system, with the new 2000/XP design.

* All the install / uninstall tasks are now correctly handled.

Patin - couffin engine :

* Stability and robustness issues fixed under all OS (Win 9x, Me, 2000, XP)

* Better support for ATAPI and IDE drives

* Faster initialization time

* Control panel icon to select / test the access layer to choose

Blindread :

* some bogus code about subcode detection has been removed. there is still a big issue in blindread about subcodes, but the changes required to improve this are so deep down into the blindread code that it requires a major modification of the read engine. this modification is planned, but may take one or two extra release before it takes effect.

* CD containing more than 90 tracks are now correctly recognized

* In some condition, the very last sectors of a CD where not extracted. This is now corrected.

Blindwrite :

* Image verifier - there is now a simple checklist that helps you finding out if your CD image will be correctly burned.

* Report - the write report is now completely in English. this is required as we experience some problem reading reports in other languages

12/12/2001 Release 1.1.0.9 (for magazine)

* Extended Trial period

* ATAPI compatibility improved.

04/12/2001 Release 1.1.0.8 (for magazine)

*Extended Trial period

*Drive locking both for read/write operations has been enhanced

*Small bug corrected concerning the handling of user CD database

02/12/2001 Release 1.1.0.7 

A nice feature has been added to Blindwrite : Weak sectors enhancement. 

Most CD writers can fail to reproduce groups of sectors that contains a special mathematical pattern. Up to now, only a few CD writers can reproduce this kind of weak sectors. Blindwrite now is able to modify the way these sectors are written to the media, to give almost any cd writers the ability to correctly reproduce such weak sectors. There is only a very few cd recording softwares that provide such a features.    

Cd unit database in Blindwrite can be now modified by a user. If your CD unit works properly with some alternate settings, or if your cd unit was unknown to us, you have now the opportunity to enter yourself your cd unit into the cd database, so you'll get a "not supported" warning only once. 

the event log at the end of a writing contains more information that will help us adding new / unknown units to our database, and help us finding out more efficiently the problems. 

The trial version of this current release will expire on January the 15th, 2002

Problems yet to be solved : We are aware that the subcode extraction detection algorythm fails on some drives (some drives that can extract PQ or PW subcodes are not detected to be able). This algorythm has reached his limits, changing something will make it fail on other drives. We are working hard to correct this and provide a full solution for all drives, but it takes time and it was not possible to include this fix in the current release. We are commited to solve that issue as a prioritary task. 

29/11/2001 Release comments

Version 1.1.0.6 - special build for magazine.

12/11/2001 Release comments

A problem in our version checking mechanism has caused the release of a bogus Blindwrite 1.1.0.4 - It took some time to figure that out, as our internal version that was supposed to be the released one was not bogus.

So, this one shall correct all the CD-RW emptiness misdetection, and dramatically reduce time to erase a CD-RW. Nothing else has changed, but to avoid confusion, we increase the release number to 1.1.0.5.

Also, we had some queries about Patin-couffin engine version number. The version checking of the PC-Engine is not (yet) 100% automatic, so you shall go to the access layer selection dialog , that triggers the automatic version checking mechanism.

06/11/2001 Release comments

General changes :

* Patin-couffin engine for Win2K/XP interact less aggressively on computers, but drive reservation for exclusive access is not as strong as it was. Especially, the exclusive lock will fail if anything accesses the drive at the time we try to lock it. This issue is currently under heavy investigation.

* Patin-couffin engine for Consumer windows (9x, Me) had a bug that caused the computer to lockup in some situation. This shall be now fully fixed.

patin-couffin engine is currently version 1.0.0.2. To upgrade the driver, just go in the BR or BW configuration screen, click on the Access layer configuration button, and click on Install/Update button. You will eventually have to reboot

You can also manually update the driver by simply copying the appropriate file over the existing one :
- VSO_IOCD.VXD in Windows\system\IoSubSys , for Consumer windows
- VSO_IOCD.SYS in WinNT\System32\Drivers , for Windows NT, 2K, XP

* Hardware access layer selection is redesigned for better comprehension. Scan of whole drives is no longer required if you choose either patin-couffin engine or the aspi we ship with BR/BW.

* Protection scheme : The registration reminder stay longer on screen (exactly the number of successful extraction/write, in seconds). Once again, we are NOT happy to implement a restriction, but the current download/licensing rate is actually too low to provide enough funding for the BR/BW improvement. On the other hand, the trial version still remain fully functionnal.

* New languages added : Finnish, hungarian - other languages updated.

Blindwrite 1.1.0.4

* Changes in the way CD-RW are erased - Under Win98, the computer may look freezed for a while, but it shall come back to normal as soon as the cd is erased.
* Newer cd recorders added (mostly waitec)
* Changes in the behaviour of the CD image selection combobox
* Some cosmetic changes

25/10/2001 Release comments

Well, we have released too early the precedent build, as some very annoying problems were introduced. So, here is a corrective release.

Blindwrite 1.1.0.3

* Bug that caused blindwrite to hang at startup under windows 9x is removed (bug introduced in version 1.1.0.2 - shame on me!)
* Automatic update feature works properly (bug introduced in version 1.1.0.0)
* Some minor cosmetic changes

Blindread 3.1.0.3

* Bug that caused to fail detection of a media into some cd unit is fixed (bug introduced in version 3.1.0.0)
* Freezes less often during CD detection time (since Patin-couffin engine)
* All the plextor units have the TEST MODE checkbox disabled if using any DAO writing mode. This is just because all plextors can't do a test in DAO writing mode - not our fault !!!
* Some minor cosmetic changes

19/10/2001 Release comments

Some cosmetic changes have been implemented, and FastInst.exe is no longer required to install Patin-couffin engine. A removal feature has been implemented.

PLEASE NOTE FOR WINDOWS NT 4.0, 2000 and XP AND PATIN-COUFFIN ENGINE :

- to install the driver, a file named newdev.dll is needed - This is a part of Windows distribution. Installation may fail with error -1 or -2 if this file is missing or damaged.
- Patin-couffin engine will NOT install or work if you are running from a non-administrator privileged user account.
- Patin-couffin engine is NOT compatible with NT 4.0 - we have not decided yet if Patin-couffin engine will support NT 4.0 in the future.

Blindread 3.1.0.2 & Blindwrite 1.1.0.2

* Icon and first page logo changed
* Built-in automatic installation and removal for Patin-Couffin engine.

15/10/2001 Release comments

With this release, there is a change in the way BR or BW accesses to CD devices.

Before the current release, only one ASPI layer could be used by our tools to talk to devices. Now, you can use either any of the installed and valid ASPI layers that can be found in your computer, or preferably use our driver, called 'Patin-couffin' engine.

Patin-couffin engine is compatible with most of Windows OSes (95, 98, Me, Win 2k, Win XP), is designed for faster extraction, write CD safer, and very robust unit reservation for exclusive use.

Why another access layer : Because important features were missing in ASPI - like the drive reservation for exclusive use, ..., and mostly, the vast majority of ASPI layer doesn't see all the installed drives on a given computer.

Patin-couffin engine is guaranteed to see all the drives that windows see, and to dynamically recognize newer or removed units.

as Patin-couffin engine is a low level driver, it need to be installed on your system before use. Normally, the installation process is automatic and included in both BR/BW, but in case of failure, here is detailed the manual procedure :

* Win 9x - Simply copy the file VSO_IOCD.VXD into the folder windows\system\iosubsys - and reboot

* Win 2K, XP - Starft the file 'install2K.Bat'. If this method fail, you can manually install the driver by adding an 'other device' from the control panel. (click 'Add/remove hardware' icon)

If the Patin-couffin engine fails on your computer, you can still use ASPI layer, which provides a full backward compatibility.

As this change is deep down into the core of both br/bw, we have significantly changed the version number, and mostly, as Patin-couffin engine is very recent, some problems may occur.

Blindread 3.1.0.0

* Patin-couffin engine access layer. Faster read, safer write.
* Selection of any ASPI layer installed on your computer
* Management of multiple instances of blindread running at the same time.
* Cosmetic changes
* Multisession extraction corrected (bug introduced in version 3.0.2.0).
* Lightning fast extraction on recent plextor drives (like the 16x and 24x writers).

Blindwrite 1.1.0.0

* Patin-couffin engine access layer. Faster read, safer write.
* Selection of any ASPI layer installed on your computer
* Management of multiple instances of blindwrite running at the same time (be VERY carefull with that).
* Cosmetic changes
* Some cd units added, other have regained lost abilities.
* More tolerant DAO writing engine (some units may have gained the DAO RAW support ... )
* TOC files are no longer preloaded at startup. This prevent a bug caused by a TOC file pointing a folder full of MP3.
* Changes in SAO Cooked method.

15/08/2001 Release comments

This is a small update, just to correct some little bugs. More to come soon

Blindread 3.0.2.1

* Autorun disabler improved
* Exception after an expired trial are corrected.
* Internet links corrected.
* Some bugs in locale support engine no longer exists.
* The sound played at completion is now correctly saved

Blindwrite 0.99.2.1

* A bunch of CD units added.
* Bug that made the reminder screen pop even with a registered version is now corrected
* TOC files are no longer preloaded at startup. This prevent a bug caused by a TOC file pointing a folder full of MP3.
* Added a dynamic link to more information if the CD writer unit is unknown/untested.
* Autorun disabler improved
* Exception after an expired trial are corrected.
* Internet links corrected.
* Some bugs in locale support engine no longer exists.
* The sounds played at completion are now correctly saved
* Added a checkbox to set automatically the Blindwrite Cache size.

That's all for now. enjoy !

21/05/2001 release comments

Blindread 3.0.2.0

* Extraction process improved - Some freezes on problematic CD's are best handled
* Safer Alternative read method
* ASPI layer updated

Blindwrite 0.99.2.0

* CD Database updated - A lot more CD writers supported (now 160+ CD writers known, 150+ supported)
* ASPI layer updated
* Writing engine speedup
* MP3 engine corrected
* MP3, WAVE support improved - Now, the writing engine accept ANY samplerate, channel count or sample size. The conversion to the required 44100 - 16 bits - Stereo takes a significant CPU time (18% CPU time to convert from 8kHz - 8 bits - Mono for a *8 write, on a PIII - 600)

12/03/2001 release comments

Blindread 3.0.1.4

* AUTORUN notification temporarily disabled for all drives (shall work only on Windows ME, Windows 2K)
* Subcode extraction corrected for some plextor drives.

Blindwrite 0.99.1.4

* AUTORUN notification temporarily disabled for all drives (shall work only on Windows ME, Windows 2K)
* Windows 95 compatibility regained (tested under Windows 95 OSR 2, on P1 - 225 MHz, 32 mB RAM).
* Support for Securom 2 improved - CAUTION : to reproduce this kind of protected CD, a VERY GOOD cd reader with the ability to extract the subcodes (check subcode extraction), and a SLOW write (x2 recommended) in DAO PQ or DAO PW are necessary. And MOSTLY, you must own the original and stay legal with that !!!

24/02/2001 release comments

Blindread 3.0.1.3
* Alternative read mode has been greatly improved, and is supported on many more CD units.
* Extraction speedup with all recent PLEXTOR units.
* Even more accuracy in extraction.
* Conflict detection - Added a Detection / Shutdown dialog for applications that may interference with BlindRead - and cause a system lockup / crash. See below.
* The ugly crash bug at the extraction completion has been removed.
* Added a partial CD Image removal dialog in case of extraction aborting.
* Cosmetic changes

Blindwrite 0.99.1.3
* Improved support of multi session writing. A very obscure bug caused some backups to seem byte per byte identical to source, but doesn't worked properly on the console. The explanation is outside the scope of this document. 
* Support for pure ISO 9660 file format. This format is frequent for UNIX CD images (as Linux distributions, ...) .
* Support for WAV & MP3 direct writing - See the issue below. 
* Lockups after write completion and write cancellation has been eliminated
* Some timeouts problems (error 00 00 00) has been eliminated
* Write Error recovery implemented - Whenever it's possible, the write will continue in case of a write problem. The problem is just reported in the LOG at the completion. This is useful when you write a CD a a speed higher than the CD really support
* Conflict detection - Added a Detection / Shutdown dialog for applications that may interference with Blindwrite - and cause a system lockup / crash. See below.
* CD Database updated with new Units supported :

- HP 7100,7110,7120,7200,7210 (read in safe mode, write in DAO PQ mode)
- HP 9100, 9110, 9120 (read in alt mode, write in DAO PW Mode)
- HP 9300 series (9300, 9310, 9320, 9340, 9350 and shall include HP 9364 and MEDION MD 9364 - read in alt mode, write in DAO PW mode)
- TRAXDATA 121032 PLUS (read in safe mode, write in SAO RAW mode)
- YAM CRW2100 - with firmware 1.0H (Read in safe mode, write DAO PW mode)
- YAMAHA 8424S (Read in safe mode, write in SAO RAW mode)

* Cosmetic changes

We are focusing now our efforts to melt both blindread and blindwrite in a single software. the next release shall be no longer a separated software for reading from and writing to a CD. 

EVALUATION EXPIRATION : Blindread 3.0.1.3 evaluation period will end 15 /August/2001 - After this date, only the registered versions will operate. To continue evaluation, you'll have to download the next version at http://www.blindread.com/download.htm

MP3 /WAV support :

Blindwrite now support direct writing of MP3 files, via CUE file or in a single directory. This is a PRELIMINARY support.

The MP3 decoder is fully built-in, nothing else than Blindwrite is needed. the audio format supported is MPEG 1 - Layer 1, 2 and 3 (AKA MPG, MP2, MP3)

The output format of WAV/MP3 files  samples STEREO 44100 HZ MP3 or WAVE files. No resampling 

There is 2 methods to have WAV/MP3 files directly burned by Blindwrite : 

* CUE FILE - File type can be MP3. Note that non-zero indexes are FULLY SUPPORTED 

Sample declaration in CUE file 

* DIRECTORY - An additional button in Select a CD-ROM Image page has been added. It allows you to select a folder. Once this folder is selected, all the WAV and MP3 files found in the directory are parsed, alphabetically sorted, and constitutes an AUDIO CD layout, of length up to 79:50:00. At this time, it is not possible to edit/change or individually add MP3 files inside the CD layout.

Important note about MP3 writing

* MP3 files must be checked carefully before writing. This is done as fast as possible, but the process for a full CD may take up to 3 minutes to complete. 

* MP3 decoding takes some significant processor time. We have the following results :

* It is frequent that MP3 files from the net contains some errors. Blindwrite doesn't stop writing if such error is encountered, nevertheless there might be audible problems on the audio CD if your original MP* file has some problems. 

* Digital Right Management (DRM) is not supported.

CONFLICT WITH OTHER SOFTWARE : 

Why - To write efficiently a CD, the writing application must be the only one authorized to access the drive. For instance, if one application try to write the CD while the other application try to detect a new inserted CD, there will be automatically a conflict.

How BW/BR will prevent this issue - At startup, it detect some identified CD applications that are  known to potentially conflict. If any of these application is detected, BR/BW will ask you to either close manually the conflicting applications or will try to it automatically before proceeding. Once work is over, the problematic applications can be restarted. PLEASE - DO NOT CONFUSE - There is NO NEED to uninstall conflicting applications. Closing activities during BR/BW action is enough to avoid any conflict.

Cave Heat - We have identified a few conflicting software, but it may be still some conflicting software left. A potentially conflicting software is any software that may do direct access to CD units in background processing. If you identify an unknown software as conflicting with blindwrite, feel free to drop us a line at blindread@blindread.com - Please don't forget to include in your mail the exact executable module FILE NAME of the conflicting application, and with a description of the problem encountered.

11/ Dec/ 2000 Release comments

Now, you have a full manual in CHM format in the release. There's actually ENGLISH and GERMAN version, more to come soon.

Blindread - 3.0.1.2
* USB support improved
* Added a combobox to decide which output format is required.
Actually, there is 3 output format possible
1 - Blidwrite (BWT for Table of content file, BWI for image file, BWS for subcode file)
2 - CDRWIN / FIREBURNER (CUE for table of content file, BIN for image file, SUB for subcode file)
3 - ISO (no table of content file, ISO for image file, SUB for subcode file)
* Multisession CD extraction support improved - sectors between sessions are removed from image file
* Extraction engine small changes - shall encounter less problem with gaps and cd endings
* registration screen bahaviour changed : now, errors in unlock keys are clearly reported, and once unlocked,
the software is immediately available. Don't waste your time telling me it weaken the protection scheme.

Blindwrite - 0.99.1.2
* USB support improved
* Added new units in CD units Database : HP 8200 USB (RAW PW) - Yamaha CRW2100E (SAO RAW, still no PW), plus a few other
* multisession support in any writing mode. BE CAREFUL : There's no guarantee that
with a cd image extracted by an older blindread will be written correctly in multisession (in fact, I already know that it'll
NOT work properly ...). So, with a multisession CD, you shall use blindread 3.0.1.2 or higher to do the job.
ALSO : MULTISESSION is in VERY EARLY STAGE with TEAC 55 based units - It has not been tested very much
* the Ugly Kernel32 crash is FIXED
* the writing initialisation and finalisation sequence has been perfected : sometimes, once the cd was burned, the cd writer
locked up. This shall be corrected
* Some internal changes, not so many

11/10/2000 Release comments

Blindread 3.0.1.1 - Small internal changes, read engine more accurate.

Blindwrite 0.99.1.1 - Once again a big update

CD Units database : 

All the know and tested units are stored in a CD database that can be browsed, printed and even updated (with an Internet connection). This database allows Blindwrite to determine which mode is allowed on a given CD unit. If your CD writer is not in the database yet, you'll have the opportunity to download a database update. 

 A little word about unknown cd units : Unknown or untested mean that we don't know if this unit will be compatible with all writing modes or not, but doesn't mean this unit will NOT work. You may test by yourself the supported writing modes. Click HERE to learn more about it. 

New drive(s) supported :

TEAC 55 style CD writers are supported now (with DAO TEAC mode). This include the following units :

- JVC XR-W2010, XR-W2020, XR-W2042 (all are untested, but are known to share the same command set as TEAC 55)

- SAF CD-R 2x2x24, CD-R2006 Plus, CD-R4012,CD-RW226 (same as above)

- TEAC CD-R50, CD-R55 (Tested OK)

-TRAXDATA 4120 PRO (Tested OK also)

- Other units  ???

The DAO TEAC mode is an adaptation of the DAO PW mode, thus has the same abilities (can write RAW and special subcodes)

Philips CDD 3600/3610 (and all clones) shall now be supported again. A bug in precedent version was causing the DAO PQ mode to fail on these units, and produced toasts.

A lot of other drives has been qualified, they are now in the database.

New image format supported :

Poikosoft's MIGHTYWRITER image format (a WAVE file with special info related to a CD inside). MIGHTYDAC/MIGHTYWRITER are audio cd extraction/recording  engines. get it at Poikosoft's site ( http://www.poikosoft.com )

Buffering improved : 

Less buffer underrun. Under Windows 2000 on a P2-300, write at x12 speed, browse Internet and launch outlook at the same time : NOT A PROBLEM (well, we don't guarantee .. this is extreme situation)

BURNPROOF supported : 

Automatically turned on with burnproof enabled units. Validated with the excellent Plextor Px-r1210 (12x10x32)

HOW TO TEST AN UNKNOWN CD WRITER ?

Here is a quick way to test a unit compatibility :

1 - To test an unknown/untested  unit, use a rewritable CD (sometime, if the test fail you'll get a blank unreadable CD, and with a CDRW media, you can still erase it ...). Also, use an image of a DATA CD (any kind of data CD is suitable)

2 - You may have 1 to 5 writing modes allowed (depends on the auto-detection algorithm of blindwrite). You shall test in the following order :

DAO RAW PW (the most powerful, can virtually reproduce any kind of CD, even copy protected, CD Text, Fake TOC, ... ), 
DAO RAW PQ (can reproduce almost any kind of CD, Fake TOC, but not CD Text), 
SAO RAW (can reproduce all CD containing mandatory erroneous sectors or erased blocks) , 
SAO RAW RW (same as above, plus support CD TEXT, but very uncommonly supported), 
SAO COOKED (The average mode of the majority of CD recording software, unable to reproduce most copy protected CD)

3 - in case of unsupported mode, the writing often fails at startup, before the CD is written. You may get some error codes : 

*  05 26 00 mean that the SAO RAW mode is not supported by your CD unit, or the CD type is refused by your unit

*  05 21 00 mean that the DAO or SAO RW mode is not supported

*  03 0C 09 mean that the write stream has been interrupted (may be avoided by slowing down the writing speed)

4 - If the writing has completed, close blindwrite, open/close the cd tray and try to open the CD with the Windows explorer. If you can see the data here, bingo, the writing mode is supported by your writer. To help us supporting more and more drives, feel free to drop us a line if you have tested a unit we don't know. 

Feel free to mail FULL AND EXHAUSTIVE reports to wesson@blindread.com, including the EXACT CD unit string 

(ex : PLEXTOR PX-R820T 1.04), and the detail of all working / non working writing modes.

BlindWrite 0.99.1.0 Release comments (25/08/2000) :

The interface is almost the same, but the writing engine has been totally rewritten. We hope this one will be a real beta software, without too many bugs.

MORE CD WRITERS SUPPORTED : We have tested this release with 18 CD recorders. A lot more shall work properly, nevertheless they haven't been fully validated yet.

************************** TEAC 55 IS NOT YET SUPPORTED, BUT WILL BE IN THE NEXT RELEASE *********************************

5 WRITING MODE SUPPORTED :

* DAO PW - The platinium mode - Can do 1:1 copy of any CD
* DAO PQ - Can do 1:1 copy of any CD, except CD+G (Karakoe) or CD-TEXT in CD Audio
* SAO RAW RW - Can do RAW writing, but doesn't support special subcodes or fake TOC
* SAO RAW - Can do RAW writing, doesn't support special subcodes, fake toc, cd text, CD+G
* SAO COOKED - The standart mode - Use it if all the rest has failed

CD TEXT SUPPORTED - With DAO PW or SAO RW writing mode

CUE/BIN FILE SUPPORTED : So now, Blindwrite is fully compatible wil ALL versions of BlindRead 3, and also with CDRWIN or FIREBURNER images.

HIDE & SEEK BUFFER : What's the purpose of a good cache ? Being full anytime, of provide data to the CD writer in the fastest way ? Hummm, let me think !!!

SEVERAL SMALL INTERFACE CHANGES : Colors, boldness, contextual help warnings, as well as long awaited update support via Internet

ADDED CD WRITERS IN CD DATABASE : It's in the CdUnits.BWU file, it's automatically loaded when BW starts, and soon it'll be automatically updated with Internet. Please, don't fuss because your writer is not yet in this base, we are doing our best to include all the writers in the base, but it's a long way !

and, just for the fun, FAST WRITE added - You can start to write your CD while Blindread is still extracting it (this is currently a pre-beta feature - to use carefully)

Blindwrite What's new (10/06/2000)

Allelujah, this is it, we finally released Blindwrite. Please note these VERY IMPORTANT considerations :

Copyright:

* DO NOT USE BLINDREAD / BLINDWRITE TO PRODUCE ILLEGAL COPIES OF COPYRIGHTED SOFTWARES. IF YOU ARE NOT SURE OF WHAT IS ALLOWED IN YOUR COUNTRY, PLEASE CONSULT YOUR LEGAL ADVISOR FIRST.

Beta :

This beta has errors and weaknesses. Please, please use it with great care, and do not consider it as a release. We will do our best to correct and update frequently this beta up to the official release.

Raw modes / SAO modes :

Blindwrite has support for 4 different writing modes.

* Your CD writer is RAW-MODE compatible : This is the best writing model to make perfect copies. there is 2 different RAW mode :

RAW PQ - This is a partial raw mode, which cannot be used to reproduce CD-I

RAW PW - This is the full raw mode, able to reproduce any CD type. If you have the choice, RAW PW shall always be preferred

* Your CD writer is NOT RAW-MODE compatible : Choose one of the 2 SAO modes

SAO without subcode - This mode shall be supported by all cd writers, which represents about 95% of the market.

SAO with R-W subcodes - This is the proper mode for CD-I, but requires recent CD writers.

DAO modes can write stuff like 'cd signature'. All modes can do uncorrected writes, even in non RAW compatible writers.

* CD Unit Database :

Blindwrite has a built-in CD Units database to override faulty autocheck from the CD writer, and to make the best writing choice by default. This CD unit database as a very few cd writers now, it shall grow rapidly.