Is it possible to burn a CD using a DVD-R and have it play the music on a CD player? Or, for the obtuse:
Is it possible to take a pre-recorded CD in Audio CD format and copy the content to a DVD-R disc so the copied disc will play in a standard CD player.
No.
A standard, run-of-the-mill discount-store-sourced CD player will only play CDs, CD-Rs, or CD-RWs.
DVDs would not work in a CD player even if you could force it to burn to the DVD in "Red Book Audio" format (which is the format a CD's audio is in on the disc). The physical format is not compatible.
A standard called "DVD Audio" was created that would have been an "upgrade" from CDs as far as audio is concerned but it never took off. I've not listened to music in disc form for well over a decade so I've never heard of the disc DVD-Audio players @Keltari speaks of. This would only work in a DVD-Audio compatible player (physically it's a DVD) and not a standard dirt-cheap standard CD player.
Sony's SACD was also another "next generation" audio disc standard that isn't terribly popular. Those are something else entirely.
NO, not possible
The difference between the DVD-R and DVD-RW is the presence of dedicated read and write laser circuitry .For further reading follow the link. Below are some of the part from the wiki
On read only media (ROM), during the manufacturing process the groove, made of pits, is pressed on a flat surface, called land. Because the depth of the pits is approximately one-quarter to one-sixth of the laser's wavelength, the reflected beam's phase is shifted in relation to the incoming reading beam, causing mutual destructive interference and reducing the reflected beam's intensity. This is detected by photo diodes that output electrical signals.
A recorder encodes (or burns) data onto a recordable CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R, or BD-R disc (called a blank) by selectively heating parts of an organic dye layer with a laser[citation needed]. This changes the reflectivity of the dye, thereby creating marks that can be read like the pits and lands on pressed discs. For recordable discs, the process is permanent and the media can be written to only once. While the reading laser is usually not stronger than 5 mW, the writing laser is considerably more powerful. The higher writing speed, the less time a laser has to heat a point on the media, thus its power has to increase proportionally. DVD burners' lasers often peak at about 200 mW, either in continuous wave and pulses, although some have been driven up to 400 mW before the diode fails.
For rewritable CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, or BD-RE media, the laser is used to melt a crystalline metal alloy in the recording layer of the disc. Depending on the amount of power applied, the substance may be allowed to melt back (change the phase back) into crystalline form or left in an amorphous form, enabling marks of varying reflectivity to be created.
Double-sided media may be used, but they are not easily accessed with a standard drive, as they must be physically turned over to access the data on the other side.
Double layer (DL) media have two independent data layers separated by a semi-reflective layer. Both layers are accessible from the same side, but require the optics to change the laser's focus. Traditional single layer (SL) writable media are produced with a spiral groove molded in the protective polycarbonate layer (not in the data recording layer), to lead and synchronize the speed of recording head. Double-layered writable media have: a first polycarbonate layer with a (shallow) groove, a first data layer, a semi-reflective layer, a second (spacer) polycarbonate layer with another (deep) groove, and a second data layer. The first groove spiral usually starts on the inner edge and extends outwards, while the second groove starts on the outer edge and extends inwards.
the layering of a DVD is different than that of a CD
One of the first differences between CDs and DVDs to note is in the amount of data storage that is possible with each device. The typical DVD will provide in the range of seven times the capacity that is available on a compact disk. DVDs make use of a series of recording layers and also store data on both sides of the device, which makes a big difference in the storage capacity. The older technology associated with the CD does not allow for these same applications.
What is the Difference Between CDs and DVDs?
No, it would not work.
The Video on Video:DVD vs. CD: How Are They Different? shows the Difference in the layering pretty well at about 1 minute in
a CD is Layered like this
a DVD is Layered like this
the Grooves or Pits on DVD are narrower and not as Deep as they are on a CD, so the Reflection is different when trying to read a DVD from a CD player.
You can burn a CD ISO, or write a CD data to DVDs...
However, CD player lasers operate on a different frequency than DVD lasers. Not to mention DVD record at a higher density than CDs. A true CD player would not be able to read the disc.
If the CD player was also a DVD player, then it should be able to read the disc.
Note, there are CD players out there that can read DVD audio. These should be able to read a CD burned to a DVD, as they are really DVD players.
While the data can be written, the density of the data is very different between DVD and CD. It's impossible to burn a DVD at CD density (as far as I know), so unless you have a DVD player you are using for CD content, this will not work.
