Burning an ISO image

The ISO file format is used to make copies of CDs and DVDs. This format is suitable for storing data, file system file attributes, as well as directory structures. A typical copy of a file, from a disc, does not inlcude complete data as the header information is lost. However, an ISO image includes complete data including header information from the disc.

ISO images contain the binary image of the file system as well as the data present on the optical media. Both the file system and data are copied exactly as stored on the disc. In other words, an ISO image is identical to a disc, only without the physical disc.

Once an ISO image is created, do the following to bring the ISO image to a physical disc. To burn a DVD ISO, insert a blank (or rewritable) DVD disc into the burner drive. To burn a Blu Ray ISO, insert a blank Blu Ray (or rewritable) disc into the Blu ray writer.

Windows:
Right-click the ISO image, select Burn disc image and follow the on-screen instructions to burn it to the disc.

Mac:
Right-click the ISO image and select Open with > Disk Utility. In Disk Utility, select the ISO image and burn it to the desired destination.

Following are some of the advantages of an ISO image:

• Burning an ISO image is more reliable and robust than burning content directly to a disc. 
• Preserving an ISO image is much easier. An ISO image is not prone to wear and tear resulting in no instances of the image failing to load, playing, or burning to a disc.
• You can choose to store an ISO image on your cloud storage or to your hard disk (internal/external) and burn a disc with an OS-compatible disc burner.
• ISO images are easy to burn and open using standard file archivers.
• An ISO image can be 'mounted' like a regular disc. Free software is available to mount an ISO image to achieve the behavior of a physical disc.