The days of CD Writers are numbered. Now it’s the era of DVD writers. They hold 4.7 GB data compared to the CD writers 650 – 700 MB data.
There are two competing standards in DVD writers. They are DVD +RW and DVD –RW. While buying a drive it is better it is compatible with both standards. DVD writers can make use of ordinary CD writing media too.
What’s in it for you? Price of these drives are reducing day by day. Today it may be desirable to go for a DVD writer than going for a CDRW drive. Hence on new PCs one must seriously consider purchasing these.
The situation is similar to that of the competing VHS and Beta video standards decades ago. But unlike the video tapes of old, the two main competing DVD standards are designed to create discs that may be read by most consumer DVD movie players and both standards can read commercial Hollywood DVD movies, as well as work as CD readers and burners.
Both DVD-R and DVD+R let you write a single time to a DVD. Like in case of the normal CD writers, once you use a DVD-R or DVD+R disc, you can’t write data to that disc again. DVD-RW and DVD+RW technologies let you write continually write to a DVD, just as you can to a CD-RW disc or a floppy. Here the main point is that you can rewrite to the + RA & – RW drives while you can only write once to +R and -R.
A third DVD rewritable standard, DVD-RAM, is also available. This technology is incompatible with commercial DVD players-data stored on a DVD-RAM disc can’t be read by DVD movie players, or many other DVD drives. The only real use for DVD-RAM is as a high-capacity network backup medium. DVD-RAM discs are housed in cartridges and hold between 2.6 GB and 9.4 GB.
Webs Best Links:
- DVD Writers www.dvdwriters.co.uk
- DVD Demystified www.dvddemystified.com
- The DVD Forum www.dvdforum.org
- The DVD+RW Alliance www.dvdrw.com
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