Burst cutting area
In this article we are going to talk about Burst cutting area, a topic that has aroused great interest in recent times. Burst cutting area is a broad and diverse topic that covers different aspects, from its history to its practical applications today. Many people have dedicated years of study and research to Burst cutting area, which has allowed for greater understanding and development in this field. Throughout this article we will explore the different dimensions of Burst cutting area, analyzing its impact on society, its relevance in the scientific and technological field, and the future perspectives that are envisioned around this topic.
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In computing, the burst cutting area (BCA) or narrow burst cutting area (NBCA) is the circular area near the center of a DVD, HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc, where a barcode can be written for additional information such as ID codes, manufacturing information, and serial numbers. The BCA can be written during mastering and will be common for all discs from that master or, more usually, will be written using a YAG laser to “cut” the barcode into the aluminum reflective layer of the finished disc, potentially adding a unique barcode to each manufactured disc.
If a BCA mark is present, it is visible to the naked eye between a radius 22.3±0.4 mm and 23.5±0.5 mm. It should not be confused with the IFPI barcode that is present on all pre-recorded discs.
The data stored in the BCA can be from 12 bytes to 188 bytes in steps of 16 bytes. The BCA can be read using the same laser for reading regular data, but requires special circuitry to be decoded. It is not mandatory for DVD players to support reading the BCA, but DVD-ROM drives should, according to the Mt. Fuji specification (an industry-standard optical drive command set). The Burst Cutting Area cannot be written without using special equipment, therefore it can be used as a tamper-proof means of identifying individual discs.
The DIVX format used BCA to uniquely identify every disc. Information for CPRM is stored in the BCA of a DVD-RAM or DVD-R/RW disc. Nintendo optical discs use a BCA mark to prevent the use of copied discs and homebrew games. On Blu-ray discs a Pre-recorded Media Serial Number (PMSN) can be stored in the BCA.
See also
Notes
- ^ DVD Specification
- ^ a b "PDSC - Replication and BCA". Panasonic Disc Services Corporation. 1998. Archived from the original on January 28, 1999.
- ^ INF-8090, Mt. Fuji Commands for Multimedia Devices Version 8, Section 2.2.13, ftp://ftp.seagate.com/sff/INF-8090.PDF[permanent dead link]
- ^ "INF-TA-1010 - Mt. Fuji Commands for Multimedia Devices Rev 1.0.0". February 23, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
- ^ "PCTechGuide - The PC Technology Guide". www.pctechguide.com. Archived from the original on 2006-06-24.
- ^ ExtremeTech. CPRM for DVD-RAM Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ExtremeTech. CPRM for DVD-R/RW Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
References
- Ecma International. Standard ECMA-267: 120 mm DVD - Read-Only Disk.
- DVD Forum. DVD Specification: Part 1, Annex K.
- Blu-ray Disc Association. BD ROM - Physical Format Specifications (March 2007) Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine.
- OSTA. "Understanding DVD: Disc Construction and Manufacturing".
- OSTA. "Understanding DVD: Copying Deterrents and Content Protection".
- DVD FAQ. "What is BCA or NBCA?".
- DVD Demystified Glossary. "BCA".
- DVD Burning Glossary. "BCA - Burst Cutting Area".