Currently, the great majority of available CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW drives do not support reading/writing this kind of CD data correctly. This means that it is possible, and perhaps likely, that you would need to purchase a new or different CD-R/CD-RW drive to be able to read/write CD+G CD track information.

Keep in mind that CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW drives (and applications/programs) that "support" reading or writing CD+G CD tracks in a "raw"/copy mode (like many now do, such as "CloneCD") are not going to really know(or care) what CD format is being read/written during a copy. They will simply read/write the data, 'as is', with no changes or alterations of any kind.

However, our software DOES care about whether the drive can understand CD+G correctly and requires the CD reader/writer drive to do the same. This would similar to a photocopier machine. Just because the photocopier can 'read/write' written characters and information on the page does NOT mean that it "understands" it. CD+G burning programs to read/write individual tracks, or create new CD+Gs from scratch, MUST know how to work with a drive that "understands" this format.

For this reason, we highly recommend that you use CD drives made by "Plextor" (http://www.plextor.com). Plextor CD drives are THE BEST when it comes to reading/writing CD+G data...with ANY program, not just ours. And, in general, they make the best overall CD readers/writers, in terms of the amount of errors, data loss, etc.

If you want to be able to read/write CD+G CD tracks correctly, and need to get a CD drive that you would KNOW would work for you, Plextor CD-R/CD-RW drives are definitely the way to go.

How to test your current CD drive(s) for CD+G support with our software:

1. Download and install the free, 30-day trial version of our Karaoke Studio CD+G software, via the following URL:
   http://www.dartpro.com/Products/Downloads.asp
2. Start the CD-Recorder 4 Basic software (from the Windows "Start" / "Programs" / "DART..." menu) and insert your CD+G CD into a CD drive. (Note: you will need to assign the CD drive that supports CD+G as both your CD-Reader AND CD-Recorder drive within our software. You can do this in the CD-Recorder 4 Basic by clicking on "View" / "Options" / "Devices". If you're not sure if you have a CD drive that supports CD+G, you will want to try reading your CD+G CD tracks as ".bin" files using any/all CD drives found by our software. Make sure that the "CD-Reader drive letter" is the drive letter of the assigned "Default CD-Reader" drive).
3. Within our software, select a hard drive and folder on the left (note: do not select a CD drive) where you want the CD+G tracks to be stored on your system. We MUST copy the CD+G CD's audio/graphic data to the hard drive first (and, in fact, it's 'safer' to do this anyway).
4. Once you've made this selection, click on the "Read Track" button/icon in the Toolbar. Our software should read read the track list. If you're asked to look up the CD on the Internet, just hit "No", for the sake of simplicity.
5. Select the track number that you want to get (by clicking on it) and then click "Add". If you want the whole CD, you can click on "Add all". Make SURE that you check the "Include graphics information" option below, so that both the audio *and* graphic data is read to your hard drive. To be able to read ".bin" files, you MUST be able to select the "Include CD+G information" or "Include graphics information" option within the Read Track window.
   
   If this is greyed out, and not selectable, then your assigned "Default CD-Reader" CD drive does NOT have the ability to read/write this kind of information correctly with our software. If you are able to select this option, then you have a CD+G-supported CD drive and can move forward with our software.

Note: If you test your CD drive successfully for CD+G support, and it is not listed above, please drop us an email at support@dartpro.com and let us know the make/model of your CD drive. We'll be glad to add it to our list immediately.