O'Reilly: A Survey of DVD Recording Formats
O'Reilly: A Survey of DVD Recording Formats
A Survey of DVD Recording Formats
by Wei-Meng Lee, author of Windows XP Unwired.
06/07/2004
One of the interesting aspects of the IT industry is its never-ending list of jargons. Every day we are drowning in a sea of computer jargon. This happened to me recently when I was sourcing for a DVD writer to burn some OS images. What I originally imagined would be a simple process turned out to be a day of research and study. With so many variations of DVD formats, which one is the right one for me? Should I buy a writer that supports “-“ or “+”. And is 4X fast enough for me?
This article is the result of my quest for the right DVD writer to buy. I hope the article will give you a better idea of the various DVD recording formats to choose from.
DVD Recording Standards
I have listed the various DVD recordable formats in the following sections.
DVD-R
* DVD-Recordable.
* Most compatible with DVD players and drives.
* Capacity of 4.7GB.
* Pioneer released the 3.95GB DVD-R(A) 1.0 drives in October 1997. The first drive cost $17,000.
* Created and backed by the DVD Forum.
DVD-RW
* DVD-Re-Writeable.
* Similar to DVD-R, except that DVD-RW disks can be erased.
* Capacity of 4.7GB.
* Developed by Pioneer based on DVD-R.
* DVD-RW came out in Japan in December 1999, but was not available in the U.S. until spring 2001.
* Some DVD-RW drives only record on DVD-R and DVD-RW disks.
* Created and backed by the DVD Forum.
DVD+RW
* Announced in 1997; became available in fall 2001.
* Capacity of 4.7GB.
* DVD+RW is supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha, and others. It is not supported by the DVD Forum.
* DVD+RW drives read DVD-ROMs and CDs, and usually read DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs, but do not read or write DVD-RAM discs.
* Some DVD+RW drives only record on +R and +RW discs.
* DVD+RW have a couple of technical advantages:
o lossless linking, which enables editing after recording without a full erasure that DVD-RW requires.
o Up to 2.4X recording speeds on some writers.
* Created and backed by the DVD+RW Alliance.
DVD+R
* DVD+R was released in mid 2002.
* A write-only variation of DVD+RW.
* Capacity of 4.7GB.
* Created and backed by the DVD+RW Alliance.
DVD-RAM
* Launched in summer of 1998.
* Capacity of 4.7GB.
* Not compatible with most drives and players.
* Two types of cartridges: Type 1 is sealed; Type 2 allows the disc to be removed.
DVD-RW DL
A newer standard exists–DVD+R DL. The DL stands for Dual (or double) Layer. Basically, it means that the DVD media uses two layers of standard disk that have been pressed together, separated by a transparent spacer and a thin reflector (see this site for more details on how DVD-DL works). Figure 1 shows the Sony DRU-700A, a DVD+R DL drive.
A Survey of DVD Recording Formats
by Wei-Meng Lee, author of Windows XP Unwired.
06/07/2004
One of the interesting aspects of the IT industry is its never-ending list of jargons. Every day we are drowning in a sea of computer jargon. This happened to me recently when I was sourcing for a DVD writer to burn some OS images. What I originally imagined would be a simple process turned out to be a day of research and study. With so many variations of DVD formats, which one is the right one for me? Should I buy a writer that supports “-“ or “+”. And is 4X fast enough for me?
This article is the result of my quest for the right DVD writer to buy. I hope the article will give you a better idea of the various DVD recording formats to choose from.
DVD Recording Standards
I have listed the various DVD recordable formats in the following sections.
DVD-R
* DVD-Recordable.
* Most compatible with DVD players and drives.
* Capacity of 4.7GB.
* Pioneer released the 3.95GB DVD-R(A) 1.0 drives in October 1997. The first drive cost $17,000.
* Created and backed by the DVD Forum.
DVD-RW
* DVD-Re-Writeable.
* Similar to DVD-R, except that DVD-RW disks can be erased.
* Capacity of 4.7GB.
* Developed by Pioneer based on DVD-R.
* DVD-RW came out in Japan in December 1999, but was not available in the U.S. until spring 2001.
* Some DVD-RW drives only record on DVD-R and DVD-RW disks.
* Created and backed by the DVD Forum.
DVD+RW
* Announced in 1997; became available in fall 2001.
* Capacity of 4.7GB.
* DVD+RW is supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha, and others. It is not supported by the DVD Forum.
* DVD+RW drives read DVD-ROMs and CDs, and usually read DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs, but do not read or write DVD-RAM discs.
* Some DVD+RW drives only record on +R and +RW discs.
* DVD+RW have a couple of technical advantages:
o lossless linking, which enables editing after recording without a full erasure that DVD-RW requires.
o Up to 2.4X recording speeds on some writers.
* Created and backed by the DVD+RW Alliance.
DVD+R
* DVD+R was released in mid 2002.
* A write-only variation of DVD+RW.
* Capacity of 4.7GB.
* Created and backed by the DVD+RW Alliance.
DVD-RAM
* Launched in summer of 1998.
* Capacity of 4.7GB.
* Not compatible with most drives and players.
* Two types of cartridges: Type 1 is sealed; Type 2 allows the disc to be removed.
DVD-RW DL
A newer standard exists–DVD+R DL. The DL stands for Dual (or double) Layer. Basically, it means that the DVD media uses two layers of standard disk that have been pressed together, separated by a transparent spacer and a thin reflector (see this site for more details on how DVD-DL works). Figure 1 shows the Sony DRU-700A, a DVD+R DL drive.
posted by waltg at 3:37 PM
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