BEFORE buying any DVDs to use for copying of discovery, it
is important to understand the capabilities and differences in DVD formats
What's the difference between + (plus), -(minus)
and DVD-RAM format media?
Solution Currently there are many writeable and rewriteable
formats on the market and it can be confusing to the average consumer. These
formats include:
DVD-R
DVD-RW
• +R
• +RW
• DVD-RAM
Almost all of
the latest internal DVD writers now support the first four of these formats,
and some of the latest support DVD-RAM recording also. The media you buy must suit
your recorder's capabilities or it simply won't work.
DVD-R and DVD-RW - DVD-R and DVD-RW are both
sanctioned formats of the DVD Forum, a consortium of companies involved in the
development of DVD standards. Both formats generally use 4.7 GB discs. DVD-R is
a write-once recordable format which allows excellent compatibility with both
standalone DVD players and DVD-ROM drives.
DVD-RW media uses rewriteable
discs which are rated for more than 1000 rewrites in ideal situations. The
majority of standalone DVD players will play video recorded on DVD-RW discs,
but the compatibility is not as high as with DVD-R.
Current DVD-RW recorders also
record to DVD-R. However, the reverse is not always true. Some of the older
DVD-R recorders are not capable of writing to DVD-RW discs (although some may
be able to read DVD-RW discs burned with other drives).
DVD-RAM - DVD-RAM is a format
originally aimed primarily as a data solution, but it is now becoming popular
as a video format used by some brands of standalone (non-PC) DVD recorders
(e.g. Panasonic). Current drives use 4.7 GB discs (or double-sided 9.4 GB
discs).
DVD-RAM discs are traditionally
housed within cartridges which cannot be opened, so that the media is
well-protected. Newer Type II and Type IV cartridges can be opened however, an
important feature for those who wish to read these discs in DVD-RAM compatible
DVD-ROM drives or standalone DVD players. In addition, some DVD-RAM discs are
now sold without cartridges.
DVD-RAM is a sanctioned format
of the DVD Forum. DVD-RAM is a very robust data storage solution, theoretically
allowing greater than 100000 rewrites per disc. In addition to support of the
usual DVD UDF formats, DVD-RAM also allows fully integrated OS-level random
read/write access similar to a hard drive, in both Windows XP (with FAT32) and
Mac OS X (with FAT32 or HFS+), as well as on-the-fly write verification. The
main drawback of the DVD-RAM format is its limited read compatibility by
DVD-ROM drives and standalone DVD players. DVD-RAM read support with these
units is increasing however.
+R and +RW - These two formats are backed by the DVD+RW Alliance. While
these formats are not sanctioned by the DVD Forum, several members of the
DVD+RW Alliance are also members of the
DVD Forum. Technically, “DVD” is not to be used in the names for these formats. since they are not approved by the DVD Forum. However,
in reality, these discs are very similar to DVD-R and DVD-RW in
design, usage, and compatibility.
+RW, like DVD-RW, is a rewriteable 4.7 GB format, and
overall it has similar functionality to DVD-RW.
One potential future advantage of the +RW format is the optional
rewritability of +RW is also said to be similar to that of DVD-RW.
+R
is a format that was introduced to consumers in early 2002. It must be noted,
however, that first generation +RW recorders did not support +R recording, and
in most cases cannot be upgraded to do so. If one wishes to have +R burning
functionality, one must purchase a recent drive specifically designed to do so.
+R discs currently are somewhat more expensive than DVD-R discs, but prices
will likely drop with time. Compatibility of +R discs in standalone DVD players
is similar to that of DVD-R.
So what hardware should 1 buy
then? (buy hardware) This is a very difficult question. The choice
largely depends on one's usage environment and preferences.
DVD-RAM discs cannot be used in
most standalone DVD players and DVD-ROM drives, and this has historically made
this format less attractive for the average home user. However, the integrated
OS-level drag-and-drop read/write data support of DVD-RAM makes it very attractive
for some users, especially now that most current DVD-RAM burners also support
DVD-R burning for video applications. DVD-RAM capable PC drives will also be
ideal for those whom already own DVD-RAM based camcorders or standalone DVD-RAM
recorders.
DVD-R/DVD-RW drives currently
have the highest market penetration, both with PCs and Macs. As
previously mentioned, DVD-R enjoys high compatibility with standalone DVD
players. In addition, the low cost of DVD-RW is attractive to many for backup
purposes (with the use of third party software and/or drivers). Furthermore,
most standalone DVD players will read DVDRW as well, although the compatibility
rate is significantly lower than with DVD-R.
+R and +RW are beginning to gain
market share, and these discs appear to have similar compatibility on
standalone DVD players as compared to DVD-R are DVD-RW, respectively. Current
functionality with these drives is similar to DVD-R and DVD-RW drives, both for
data and for video applications.
Can I
use all of them?
As explained earlier, combinations
of several of the formats are as standard with most modern drives. Pioneer's
DVR-109 and the NEC ND-3500 are examples of writers that can burn to DVD-R,
DVD-RW, +R and +RW.
Many of the
newest range of drives have the functionality to record to DVD-RAM discs as
well. These have been nicknamed 'Superdrives' by some
because they are truly multi-format writers.
What
about external DVD recorders?
Internal drives are cheaper but
require you to open up the PC to fit them. There's an article on what's
involved elsewhere in this knowledgebase. External drives are quicker to fit
and involve less technical know-how. They are highly portable between machines.
Compatibility of external drives is not guaranteed With all software, however. Nero has support. You can adapt
an internal drive for use as an external drive by buying one of our USB2
or Firewire external drive housings. As well as being
portable, this solution has the advantage that it needs no free space in the
host computer.