I'm looking at the Plexutilities V.1.2.0 and I don't know what some of the options mean. What is the C1/C2 error stuff mean? Also what is jitter and TE, FE mean? The Self Test features are pretty neat, but the other advanced stuff doesn't make sense to me. Any answers would be helpful.
You can look up some of the terms, but very briefly:
Correction 1/ Correction 2 errors are for CDs/CD-Rs. All optical discs have errors and rely on error correction to fix them. C1 is the first, basic level. If an error is too great for that simple fix, it moves to the C2 level. All CD/-Rs will have some C1 errors, but they should be very low. Discs with C2 errors may prove to be unreliable over time. DVD error correction is somewhat more complex and uses parity inner/outer errors instead of C1/C2.
Jitter is a measure of timing variance in very small increments. It represents the accuracy of the pit edges for CD-Rs. A perfect disc would have each edge at exactly the correct position on a disc so that the changes in laser reading are exact to the microsecond to the master being recorded. Buffer clocks can correct timing inaccuracy to a degree, but low jitter provided by the recording/playback system is essential. Jitter can be caused by poor disc chemistry and/or mechanical complexities of drives and their motors.
TE and FE are tracking and focus errors. These two measurements are about the only ways consumers can determine the quality of a disc BEFORE it is recorded. However, the results come after the pickup head tries to read the tracks and focus on the groove--so the problem, again, can be the result of the disc or the drive or the combination of the two if the disc is not properly seated in the drive.
