CompuServe Messages

I am trying to add a CD-ROM/sound board to my computer and am confused about many of the things I am reading. The primary use of this equipment would be for accessing multimedia encyclopedias and other reference material. 1. As far as I can determine, the Sony Desktop Library and the Media Vision Fusion-16 packages both contain the same Sony 31A drive and a modified Pro Audio Spectrum 16 card that includes a proprietary Sony CD-ROM interface. However, messages on this and other forums indicate that the Media Vision package will NOT support multi-session photo CD while Sony tech support claims that their package does support photo CD (and in fact the Sony package inlcudes Photo CD Access). Can anyone explain this discrepancy? 2. Many of the multimedia upgrade kits (e.g., Creative Labs, Media Vision) include sound boards with proprietary CD-ROM interfaces built in. Do I lose anything if I buy a 16-bit sound board separately from an internal CD-ROM drive/interface board and merely connect them with the stereo line-in/line-out connections? 3. The Creative Labs kit says that the included CD-ROM drive has a capacity of 540 MB. Many CDs, however, can hold 600-700 MB. Does this mean that the drive would not be able to read all of the data on a CD, and is this a real limitation with todays multimedia encyclopedias? 4. Sound boards are 8-bit or 16-bit. I realize that 16-bit sound is higher quality than 8-bit, but I'm confused as to what sound this refers to. Does this distinction refer only to sounds sampled through the microphone input on the board or does it pertain to any sounds produced by the board? Another way to ask that question is whether the sounds from a multimedia encyclopedia or game would sound better from a 16-bit board or would those sounds be the same regardless of whether it is an 8- or 16-bit board. 5. Is the 550 ms access time of the Sony 31A CD-ROM drive too slow for multimedia encyclopedias. I realize that most of these questions have probably been answered numerous times before, but I'm just starting to try and make an intelligent buying decision. Any help would be appreciated.