Track-At-Once (TAO)

The TAO Mode records each track of a CD individually with 150 empty sectors immediately preceding it and 2 run-out sectors at the end of each track.

With some CD-Recorders, it is possible to change the number of empty (silent) sectors preceding audio tracks, also known as the pause, usually 2 seconds (150 sectors). The pause before the first track, however, must be 2 seconds.

Disc-At-Once

DAO is a method of recording CDs whereby the entire CD is recorded in one pass without turning off the laser. The advantages of DAO are twofold:

•	No run-out sectors are generated, which means that the pauses between tracks can be made any length. (If you set the pause to 0 seconds, songs can actually run together.)
•	If you are creating audio CDs to be commercially reproduced, it is normally necessary to record them in DAO Mode as run-out sectors will often be interpreted as irrecoverable errors. Not all CD-Recorders can record in DAO Mode.

DAO is not compatible with Toast's Greatest Hits. For this reason, if you record directly from multiple CDs to a single CD, Toast switches to TAO recording. Some CD-Recorders don't support direct CD-to-CD copying.