Denoiser: for a Quieter System

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Everyone is probably familiar with the problem of loud CD drives. The level of noise produced can depend on the quality of the drive mechanics and on the CD in the drive, and in some cases is considerable. The Virtual CD Denoiser for CD drives can reduce the noise emitted by physical CD drives. Settings for the Denoiser are configured on the Drive Properties page.

 

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The level of noise produced by a CD drive depends on the following

The speed of the drive: CD drives usually operate at maximum speed, to read the data on the CD as quickly as possible. Reducing the rate of speed decreases the noise level, but it also slows down data readout.
The amount of time the CD remains active: Generally, a CD in a drive is kept running for a certain period following the most recent use. This can save time, because subsequent access will be much faster if the CD is still running. The duration of this active period can be defined through a number of configuration settings. The longer the CD remains active, the longer the drive makes noise, even if the CD is not in use.

 

In addition to these factors, the level of drive noise also depends on the quality of the inserted medium. For example, a disc that is not balanced makes considerably more noise than a balanced disc.

 

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If you have some discs that make more noise than others, those should be the first from which you make virtual CDs, since a virtual CD does not make any drive noise at all.

 

It is not easy to select an all-purpose default configuration for the denoiser, because the optimum settings depend on a large number of variables. The following two cases are presented as an example:

1.For applications that only access their CD on startup, and not afterwards, the period of activity can be set very short.
2.For applications (such as an encyclopedia) that read the CD almost constantly, the speed can be reduced but the active period should not be shortened.

 

Another important factor is the environment in which the drive is operated. On a laptop, for example, the active period is usually short, because running the drive is a significant drain on the battery.

 

We recommend experimenting with the configuration options to find the best settings for your CDs and your drive's environment.

 

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Keep in mind that if the drive speed is too low, there may be a considerable delay between insertion of the CD and accessing the data it contains!

 

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Not all drives support the settings for adjusting the drive speed. If this feature is not supported, you can only use the drive's maximum speed; however, you should still be able to adjust the active period. If this setting cannot be modified, it is not accessible in the dialog.

 

Some applications change the speed of a drive, and some drives "forget" modified settings when the computer is restarted. For this reason, Virtual CD checks the denoiser settings on startup and modifies drive settings accordingly, if needed.

 

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To create virtual CDs as quickly and efficiently as possible when using the Image Writer, the Image Writer switches the denoiser off and uses optimal drive speeds while creating a virtual CD.

 

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With certain applications (e.g., some CD burning programs) reducing the drive speed can result in errors. If this happens, deactivate both settings on the "Denoiser" page to effectively switch off the denoiser.