Depends on the CD. If it’s just a data CD, iso is the way to go. If it’s a mixed mode CD with data plus audio, bin/cue will preserve the audio tracks but iso may not. Also, mixed Joliet/HFS CDs can lose one of the formats if imaged with an iso imager.
The big thing is that you want to image the entire CD and not just the most recent track on the CD.
Other image formats also store the extended data at the start of the disc and the gap data between the tracks, but unless it’s an odd format or has some really nasty copy protection, that information isn’t usually useful.
Depends on the CD. If it’s just a data CD, iso is the way to go. If it’s a mixed mode CD with data plus audio, bin/cue will preserve the audio tracks but iso may not. Also, mixed Joliet/HFS CDs can lose one of the formats if imaged with an iso imager.
The big thing is that you want to image the entire CD and not just the most recent track on the CD.
That makes sense - I never looked into why bin/cue was sometimes used. Would that mean that bin/cue is better for multitrack and mixed mode CDs?
Yes, because it records “all” the data.
Other image formats also store the extended data at the start of the disc and the gap data between the tracks, but unless it’s an odd format or has some really nasty copy protection, that information isn’t usually useful.
how do you figure out if it’s a plain data CD or there’s something extra on it too?
The format (mixed mode, red book, multitrack, hybrid, etc.) is usually stamped on the CD.