Media Descriptor File
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| MDS | |
|---|---|
| Filename extension |
.mds |
| Magic number | MEDIA DESCRIPTOR |
An MDS file is an optional media descriptor file that can be generated when creating a disc image from a CD or DVD, accompanying larger MDF file (mirror disc file). MDF file is DVD or CD image format produced by some burning software, such as Alcohol 120%; the same software can convert MDF files to ISO files; the generated ISO file is ISO 9660 format.
The MDS format is a binary file with the magic number "MEDIA DESCRIPTOR" appearing in the beginning of the file. The MDS file contains metadata about the original media, specifically the position of the layer breaks or layer breach bit, a property of the copy protection feature of DVDs. An MDS file is then used in conjunction with its related disc image to re-create the DVD. It is called an MDS file because of its implemented file extension .mds. It could also be described as being an archive file of MDS format.
Support
MDS files can be created by optical disc imaging applications. The MDS file format is primarily utilized by the commercial application Alcohol 120%. However, it was also used by DVD Decrypter (now ImgBurn) which has since been released to Macrovision by its original author, Lightning UK!. It is presently used in limited fashion by Lightning UK! ImgBurn. Daemon Tools also uses this format to mount/emulate MDS files. CDemu allows the MDS files to be used under Linux. CDBurnerXP supports copying video CDs and DVDs to MDS files. IZArc can extract the files contained in MDF/MDS files.
References
- ImgBurn support website
- Club CDfreaks forum
- Documentation of file format from CDEmu site.
- CDBurnerXP Web site
External links
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