©hris
7th Jun 2004, 21:25
DVD MEDIA GUIDES -> DVD Formats
Every time I go to a computer or electronics store to buy blank discs, I see confused faces staring at the media racks, as if the media were doing some sort of odd dance. The people just stare, shaking their head in confusion at the pretty round things on the shelves in front of them. More fun can be had browsing by the aisle where the drives are kept. It's always the same questions: Which is better? Is "plus" better than "minus" format? What's a RAM, isn't that memory? Here's the lowdown...
The DVD-R format
The DVD-R format was developed by Pioneer and first surfaced as the Pioneer S-101 DVD-R Authoring drive in 1997. The drive was specifically written as a write-once media for video applications, and writing data with the drive was not a priority.
Yes, there are two DVD-R formats: the DVD-R Authoring and the DVD-R General format.
The DVD-R Authoring format is a professional drive writing at either 1x or 2x (max) speeds. It is extremely expensive, costing several thousand dollars, and is geared towards professional use only, incorporating the allowance for CMF to replace DLT for replication. The first and only drives are the Pioneer S-101 (3.95GB DVD) and the Pioneer S-201 (3.95GB or 4.7GB DVD). The DVD-Authoring drives use different media and the laser uses a different writing frequency than DVD-R General.
The DVD-R General format, normally referred to as just DVD-R, was created for the consumer in early 2001. This also added the DVD-RW format and it is official known as a re-recordable disc, not a re-writable disc. Many Compaq, Packard Bell, Apple and Sony computers shipped DVD-R General drives in 2001 and early 2002, as the DVD+R format was not yet available and the DVD-R format thrived without any kind of competition.
The dash in DVD-R is a DASH MARK! It is absolutely not a MINUS sign! It is no more a "DVD minus R" than a CD-R is a "CD minus R". The entire "minus" mentality is a result of deceptive marketing by the DVD+RW Alliance.
DVD-Video information recorded onto a DVD-R General tends to have a playback compatibility of about 90 to 95 percent with all players that exist. This is the highest compatibility among all burned DVD formats.
The DVD-R format is the official format of the DVD Forum, the group that controls the specifications and licensing for the DVD logo. This quote was taken from their page on September 13th 2003: "Please note that the '+RW' format, also known as DVD+RW was neither developed nor approved by the DVD Forum. The approved recordable formats are DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM." You have probably seen the DVD logo:
The DVD+R format
Although fans of the DVD+R format hate to hear this, the DVD+R format is a rogue format, invented by greedy companies that were unwilling to pay royalties to the DVD Forum in order to use and develop the DVD-R format and/or use the DVD logo. The DVD+R format does not carry the DVD logo because it is not an official DVD format. Does this make it a bad format? No.
The DVD-R General and DVD+R formats have almost no differences.
The DVD+RW format was created with data usage in mind, as was claimed by the DVD+RW Alliance in 1997 while working on a 2.8GB disc that was scrapped in late 1999 in favor of producing true DVD-5 sizes. By the time the DVD+RW was released in late 2001, everybody that wanted a DVD writer already had one. Plus the DVD+RW were expensive like the DVD-RW discs, often costing $15 each, whereas the DVD-R discs went for as little as $5 each.
The DVD+R format did not surface until summer 2002, a year behind the DVD-R format, and still at twice the price of many DVD-R discs.
With the popularity of DVD-Video as the primary usage, the DVD+RW Alliance quickly dropped it's data-only attitude and went for the video market too, though initial media and drives had lousy compatibility ratings in the 50-60 percent range. To this day, the compatibility with DVD players is behind DVD-R.
DVD-Video information recorded onto a DVD+R tends to have a playback compatibility of about 85 to 90 percent with all players that exist. This is the second-highest compatibility among all burned DVD formats.
In order to assure higher compatibility with DVD-Video players, DVD+R format has bit-setting abilities, allowing the book type to be changed from DVD+R to DVD-ROM. While this does help the compatibility, it still does not allow the DVD+R format to exceed the DVD-R in video compatibility. This function is also only available on Ricoh-based DVD+R/RW drives, and is not found on non-Ricoh drives or dual-format burners.
The DVD±R format
This is not a format! This is merely a drive that incorporates both DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW burning abilities into the same piece of hardware. These are often called dual-format burners.
The DVD-RAM format
This drive is normally more expensive than other format burners, as are the media. It was developed as a data drive and remain so to this day, having a DVD-Video compatibility percentage that can be counted on fingers and toes. It was created by Panasonic is 1998 and is still mostly used for data and editing-only uses.
RAM discs were originally written inside cartridges. The first generation was sealed and had to be broken apart to extract the disc (if needed). The second generation had an open/close switch on the cart. With the advent of standalone DVD recorders, RAM discs came without cartridges.
The drive has advanced packet writing functions that allow if to be used much like an optical hard drive. Very efficient for data. But not recommended for normal video usage.
Video on a DVD-RAM is written in the VR format (and it creates VRO files).
Dual Layer Formats
This is a recordable DVD9 format, as yet unreleased for normal consumption. Both DVD-R and DVD+R dual formats are currently in R&D and slowly being pushed out in marketing. Dual layer means that much like commercially pressed DVD-ROMs, these recordable discs have two layer of dye, almost doubling the size of older DVD5 format.
If you have any questions, or would like to learn more, please visit the source (http://www.digitalfaq.com).
Every time I go to a computer or electronics store to buy blank discs, I see confused faces staring at the media racks, as if the media were doing some sort of odd dance. The people just stare, shaking their head in confusion at the pretty round things on the shelves in front of them. More fun can be had browsing by the aisle where the drives are kept. It's always the same questions: Which is better? Is "plus" better than "minus" format? What's a RAM, isn't that memory? Here's the lowdown...
The DVD-R format
The DVD-R format was developed by Pioneer and first surfaced as the Pioneer S-101 DVD-R Authoring drive in 1997. The drive was specifically written as a write-once media for video applications, and writing data with the drive was not a priority.
Yes, there are two DVD-R formats: the DVD-R Authoring and the DVD-R General format.
The DVD-R Authoring format is a professional drive writing at either 1x or 2x (max) speeds. It is extremely expensive, costing several thousand dollars, and is geared towards professional use only, incorporating the allowance for CMF to replace DLT for replication. The first and only drives are the Pioneer S-101 (3.95GB DVD) and the Pioneer S-201 (3.95GB or 4.7GB DVD). The DVD-Authoring drives use different media and the laser uses a different writing frequency than DVD-R General.
The DVD-R General format, normally referred to as just DVD-R, was created for the consumer in early 2001. This also added the DVD-RW format and it is official known as a re-recordable disc, not a re-writable disc. Many Compaq, Packard Bell, Apple and Sony computers shipped DVD-R General drives in 2001 and early 2002, as the DVD+R format was not yet available and the DVD-R format thrived without any kind of competition.
The dash in DVD-R is a DASH MARK! It is absolutely not a MINUS sign! It is no more a "DVD minus R" than a CD-R is a "CD minus R". The entire "minus" mentality is a result of deceptive marketing by the DVD+RW Alliance.
DVD-Video information recorded onto a DVD-R General tends to have a playback compatibility of about 90 to 95 percent with all players that exist. This is the highest compatibility among all burned DVD formats.
The DVD-R format is the official format of the DVD Forum, the group that controls the specifications and licensing for the DVD logo. This quote was taken from their page on September 13th 2003: "Please note that the '+RW' format, also known as DVD+RW was neither developed nor approved by the DVD Forum. The approved recordable formats are DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM." You have probably seen the DVD logo:
The DVD+R format
Although fans of the DVD+R format hate to hear this, the DVD+R format is a rogue format, invented by greedy companies that were unwilling to pay royalties to the DVD Forum in order to use and develop the DVD-R format and/or use the DVD logo. The DVD+R format does not carry the DVD logo because it is not an official DVD format. Does this make it a bad format? No.
The DVD-R General and DVD+R formats have almost no differences.
The DVD+RW format was created with data usage in mind, as was claimed by the DVD+RW Alliance in 1997 while working on a 2.8GB disc that was scrapped in late 1999 in favor of producing true DVD-5 sizes. By the time the DVD+RW was released in late 2001, everybody that wanted a DVD writer already had one. Plus the DVD+RW were expensive like the DVD-RW discs, often costing $15 each, whereas the DVD-R discs went for as little as $5 each.
The DVD+R format did not surface until summer 2002, a year behind the DVD-R format, and still at twice the price of many DVD-R discs.
With the popularity of DVD-Video as the primary usage, the DVD+RW Alliance quickly dropped it's data-only attitude and went for the video market too, though initial media and drives had lousy compatibility ratings in the 50-60 percent range. To this day, the compatibility with DVD players is behind DVD-R.
DVD-Video information recorded onto a DVD+R tends to have a playback compatibility of about 85 to 90 percent with all players that exist. This is the second-highest compatibility among all burned DVD formats.
In order to assure higher compatibility with DVD-Video players, DVD+R format has bit-setting abilities, allowing the book type to be changed from DVD+R to DVD-ROM. While this does help the compatibility, it still does not allow the DVD+R format to exceed the DVD-R in video compatibility. This function is also only available on Ricoh-based DVD+R/RW drives, and is not found on non-Ricoh drives or dual-format burners.
The DVD±R format
This is not a format! This is merely a drive that incorporates both DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW burning abilities into the same piece of hardware. These are often called dual-format burners.
The DVD-RAM format
This drive is normally more expensive than other format burners, as are the media. It was developed as a data drive and remain so to this day, having a DVD-Video compatibility percentage that can be counted on fingers and toes. It was created by Panasonic is 1998 and is still mostly used for data and editing-only uses.
RAM discs were originally written inside cartridges. The first generation was sealed and had to be broken apart to extract the disc (if needed). The second generation had an open/close switch on the cart. With the advent of standalone DVD recorders, RAM discs came without cartridges.
The drive has advanced packet writing functions that allow if to be used much like an optical hard drive. Very efficient for data. But not recommended for normal video usage.
Video on a DVD-RAM is written in the VR format (and it creates VRO files).
Dual Layer Formats
This is a recordable DVD9 format, as yet unreleased for normal consumption. Both DVD-R and DVD+R dual formats are currently in R&D and slowly being pushed out in marketing. Dual layer means that much like commercially pressed DVD-ROMs, these recordable discs have two layer of dye, almost doubling the size of older DVD5 format.
If you have any questions, or would like to learn more, please visit the source (http://www.digitalfaq.com).