Okay, a iso backup means storing original media EXACTLY as the original. No conversions, no WAV files. One quick copy, you have it exact. Same with video, where it is dome on a more frequently.
- After I copy to a image file, I can take my original and put it in a safe place, I have an exact replica of the original, better than anything called lossless, this is exact. I never have to take out the original again, unless there is some damage involved on the image copy.
- If I chose to keep a image file online, I can use products like the free daemon tools, Nero's INCD, Elby's virtual drive software to associate the image copy to a virtual drive
- It is then if I choose to listen to the EXACT quality of the original, I can open up ANY audio player and tell it to open up the virtual drive, and bing, it is exactly like having the original media loaded, ready to play, but without the media, that single file image file is broken down in individual songs, just like the original. Nothing sounds better than that does. IT is not lossless, it is a replica of the original source.
- Maybe I want to create some .ogg files from this original CD, so that I can load it on my portable audio player, which happens to be my Palm Tungsten T3 PDA. I call CDEX and have it open my virtual drive, then have it format it as if I had the original, but a whole lot faster because it is not being read from a CD drive, and create some .oog files. I can do the same with MP3 files as well. These are being encoded from a exact copy of the original source.
- Besides the ability to listen and store a true backup of te original source, an exact image, and listen to it, without having anything in my CD drive at all. If in an emergency of I lost my original CD. It is extremely fast to have MC, Nero, or any product that burns from original media and create a original .CDA CD from this, that will EXACTLY as the original CD was . Do the "fly by" type of burn ,which is blazing fast and doesn't convert from one format to another and bank, there is another original.
Therefore I have unlimited functionality and with the ability to keep my original media oout of harms way.
In the video word, this is used quite frequently with eith .iso or bin and cue files, it is for the same reason.
There are some cool products like ISOBUSTER which is a nice utility to help if needed.
There are also other reasons ti use image files, when storing off assortments of data during a backup to be restored elsewhere, at a later time and maybe on another PC, or after re-formatting a PC.
If I store off a full length move to a inage file. I can do the same thing and assigning that inage file to a virtual drive, then play it back in any of the best movie players, as one just has to point to the original drive, and you have the original movie source playing without the media.
The last point which is one my kids showed me, but I really don't use, but I do understand. So you did not read this from me !!
One of my boys has installed a game where there is a copy protection scheme where you need to always place the original source media into the CD ROM or elsle the game will not start. Well, if game gets installed and the original CD is stored as an image file, then usijng Daemon tools again the tell the PC that the image file is a virtual drive, the entire game can be stored and played WITHOUT needed to use the original media to be put into a CD ROM. My kids just tell the software to look at drive H or G or whater it is programed to.
I know from experience with my kids, that they tend to beat the crap out of the original source CDs when they have to always have them around. OF course there is no dust or damage that could occur.
I notice that a lot of bios upgrades and firmware upgrades are can be downloaded as a single image file, then one takes the file and rips the file as the original bios or firmware on a CD, then loads it in and it is an exact copy of the original. In that way, the chances for an error are lessoned quitew a bit.
Thanks,
Jon
I am not telling anyone to enjoy and use image files like I do, but it is an alternative that I really like and has a lot of functionality. I am certainly not a fan of having a lot of media. But image files are being used more and more in different ways.