computer science

Labelflash

Labelflash is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Labelflash rather than just read about it. In short: Labelflash (sometimes written LabelFlash) is a technology which allows users to burn custom designs or images onto proprietary DVD media first announced in October 2005 as a collaboration between Yamaha and Fujifilm. While Yamaha developed the optical drives, Fujifilm manufactured the proprietary Labelflash optical discs.

Key takeaways

Labelflash belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Labelflash to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Labelflash from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Labelflash (sometimes written LabelFlash) is a technology which allows users to burn custom designs or images onto proprietary DVD media first announced in October 2005 as a collaboration between Yamaha and Fujifilm. While Yamaha developed the optical drives, Fujifilm manufactured the proprietary Labelflash optical discs. NEC manufactured the first Labelflash compatible drive, the ND4551, which was released in December 2005. Burning Labelflash media is supported by Nero Burning ROM version 7 and newer. Yamaha partnered with Toshiba and Gateway to provide Labelflash as a feature in computers made by those companies. Production of Labelflash media was halted on December 22, 2016. Labelflash was officially discontinued in 2017.

Technical details In Labelflash, the standard recording head of an optical drive is repurposed to burn images onto a layer of dye made for this purpose on the top of proprietary Labelflash optical media. The dye is 0.6mm below the surface so as to protect it from the elements. The resolution is adjustable between 300 and 1800 dpi (dots per inch). Up to 256 monochromatic shades can be used in the image. The labeling process takes 7 minutes at the lowest resolution and a half hour at the highest. Labelflash is backwards compatible with Yamaha's earlier DiscT@2 technology—this allows Labelflash-compatible optical drives to engrave onto the data side of discs as well. According to Yamaha, a new iteration of Labelflash which supported four color printing was in the works—however, as Labelflash support was discontinued in 2017, this never came to fruition.

Reception The technology is often compared with Hewlett-Packard's LightScribe, released one year earlier. After its release, Labelflash was not available in the United States until 2007, giving HP a three-year head start in the US market. Furthermore, worldwide, proprietary Labelflash optical media cost double that of comparable LightScribe media, at US$2.40 per disc, which Tom's Hardware called an "exorbitant" price that made printing "painful" as test prints were not worth doing. Commenting on the price, Engadget's Marc Perton said he'd "stick with [his] Sharpie for now." Reviewers, such as Gordon Laing for Personal Computer World, also noted that when compared to LightScribe, Labelflash images looked more "unnatural" and less "vibrant".

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Labelflash

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Labelflash claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Labelflash before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Labelflash ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Labelflash

In research: Labelflash appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Labelflash in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Labelflash is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Compact disc, Computer printers, Consumer electronics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Labelflash outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Labelflash in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Labelflash means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Labelflash out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Labelflash in simple terms?

Why does Labelflash matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Labelflash?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Labelflash.