Dear PropellerHeads: Just got a new computer and it came with a Blu-ray burner. Anything special about that?

A: Nothing too dramatic, but there are a few pointers we can provide.

Of course, we are giving you a mulligan here because just a year ago we said that the DVD was dead. And as the CD, DVD and Blu-ray all look the same, the Blu-ray is dead too, right? Well, I find myself still burning Blu-rays so as they say in "The Princess Bride," "it is only mostly dead."

First, know that your burner is good for CDs and DVDs too. But look at the specifications to determine if it is capable of handling both + and - DVD formats. Chances are it will, but not all do.

Next up: capacity. While the trusty CD could store only about 0.7 GB and a DVD 4.7 GB, Blu-ray discs have variable capacities. This is because data is stored in up to three layers, meaning the capacities are 25 GB, 50 GB or 100 GB.

To be accurate, DVDs could also support multiple layers, which means you will see some 8.5 GB DVDs out there. These are not some shyster's ploy; these are legitimate. However, the 4.7s are what you will see the most as not all burners support the higher capacities. Similarly, 25 GB Blu-ray discs are the most common, while 100 GB discs are rare beasts indeed.

Before we leave the subject of layers, not all Blu-ray players/burners support that third layer, which is why that media capacity is so uncommon. And since those 100 GB monsters cost $20 a pop, it is something you need to be sure about before purchasing one.

The last thing, media-wise, to consider is cost. Scanning Amazon, I see that I can find DVDs as low as 25 cents per disc. If you are paying over 50 cents per disc, you are getting ripped off. For Blu-rays, the low point starts at 50 cents per disc and you wouldn't want to pay more than a dollar each. So for five times the capacity, you are only paying twice as much. Not bad.

So, you have a burner, you have some discs, how about the actual process of burning? How long does it take? It would take about an hour to burn a single-layer DVD to its capacity at 1x speed. Of course, nobody has time for that and fortunately we can turn on the fast forward. At 16x speed (the most common speed available), that time cuts to about six minutes.

For a Blu-ray, burning a single-layer disc to capacity at 1x speed takes about 90 minutes. Whereas at 6x speed (the highest I've been able to find), you are more in the 17-minute range. However, I've never been able to successfully burn a Blu-ray at that speed. I always burn one speed slower than the speed indicated on the media and when I do that I have no problems. At 4x, a disc will burn in about 25 minutes.

Also note that I've never been able to burn a Blu-ray with the built-in software in Windows. Therefore, I always use ImgBurn for all my burning needs (www.imgburn.com). ImgBurn is freeware, supports all media types, and further allows you to create and/or burn image files (.ISO files), which is something us developer types end up doing a lot of for some reason.

I've also heard good things about CDBurnerXP (cdburnerxp.se), but I haven't used it person-ally to recommend it one way or the other.

So what do I burn Blu-rays for? Well, I'm more of a privacy zealot in comparison to many of my co-Propellerheads, so while I use the cloud for many things, I tend not to put a lot of personal stuff out there. Archiving is my primary reason.

I can drop all of last year's photos onto a single disc and mail a copy to my mother. I get free off-site storage and she feels special. Kind of like your Blu-ray burner.

When the PropellerHeads at Data Directions aren't busy with their IT projects, they love to answer questions on business or consumer technology. Email them to questions@askthepropellerheads.com or contact us at Data Directions Inc., 8510 Bell Creek Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. Visit our website at www.askthepropellerheads.com.