BlindWrite, the successor to BlindRead, is a

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...

that writes to

recordable CD CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the in ...

s. The Blindread software, which reads CDs and writes

CD image A disk image, in computing, is a computer file containing the contents and structure of a disk volume or of an entire data storage device, such as a hard disk drive, tape drive, floppy disk, optical disc, or USB flash drive. A disk image is usua ...

files, has been discontinued as a separately released product, but BlindRead's code is included in the newer BlindWrite suite of software ''that also code to control''

CD writer In computing, an optical disc drive is a disc drive that uses laser light or electromagnetic waves within or near the visible light spectrum as part of the process of reading or writing data to or from optical discs. Some drives can only r ...

s. BlindWrite's most distinctive feature touted over other pre-existing CD writing software was to use the CD images BlindRead made. BlindRead's main features were the use of Sub codes and its willingness to be "blind" to errors and continue the copying process, rather than quitting when encountering reading errors often caused from hardware trouble or disk damage (such as scratches or even intentional "damage" created by the manufacturer as a form of copy protection) that would often cause many other software packages to terminate the reading process. Support for "Sub codes", also known as "Sub Channel Data", distinguished the files created with BlindRead from other software that created CD image files. The "Sub code" data could be written in *.SUB files added to either of two already-existing popular formats (

ISO image An optical disc image (or ISO image, from the ISO 9660 file system used with CD-ROM media) is a disk image that contains everything that would be written to an optical disc, disk sector by disc sector, including the optical disc file system. IS ...

and Cue sheet), or the Sub code data could be written in *.BWS files in BlindRead's native format that consisted of writing a CD image in a group of three files. This format, which has become known more widely as the BlindWrite native format (now that BlindRead is not maintained and distributed as a separate product anymore), has two or three files for a proper image. The *.BWS Sub code image is optional and may or may not get created depending on an option selected in the software that created the image. The *.BWT control file is another relatively small file (that may be a very small number of

kilobyte The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The International System of Units (SI) defines the prefix ''kilo'' as 1000 (103); per this definition, one kilobyte is 1000 bytes.International Standard IEC 80000-13 Quantiti ...

s when part of a multi-file CD image for a full-sized 650MB CD) that is typically the file referred to in the user interfaces of software that supports this format and chooses just one file extension per CD image for the purposes of filename selection. (This includes VSO's software and

Daemon Tools DAEMON Tools is a virtual drive and optical disc authoring program for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. Overview DAEMON tools was originally a successor of ''Generic SafeDisc emulator'' and incorporated all of its features. The program claims t ...

.) The *.BWI file is the large image file. BlindWrite version 5 (released in Q4 2003) has been found using new native files that come in pairs. The files use the extensions *.B5T (a relatively small file) and *.B5I image files. BlindWrite version 6 (released in Q3 2006) also has been found using new native files that come in pairs. The files use the extensions *.B6T (a relatively small file) and *.B6I image files. This has also added support for Blu-Ray discs. The BlindRead format has been supported by software other than BlindRead and BlindWrite, including Daemon Tools, which was some of the earliest supporting software (capable of using *.BWT files even before Blindwrite was released). The format was embraced by enthusiasts who were interested in making "more perfect" copies of CDs by using a process that used the Sub code data that other computer software did not support (and so ignored, instead of used).

Awards

BlindWrite won the

TopTenReviews Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

Bronze Award in 2009.

External links

*
VSO BlindWrite review

b5i2iso
- open-source tool to convert BlindWrite .B5I images into ISO images

References

{{Optical disc image software Windows-only software Optical disc authoring software