Recordable DVD Formats Explained

Picking your way through the tons of information available on recordable DVD formats can be a nightmare. To help, we have done our best to distil this summary.There are five recordable versions of DVD, DVD-R for General, DVD-R for Authoring, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD + RW. None of the formats is fully compatible with all the other stations will have read, and in some cases due to more than one format.DVD-R for General and DVD-R for Authoring are essentially DVD versions of CD - R. And DVD-RW is a DVD version of CD-RW. All three formats can be read in standard DVD-ROM drives and most DVD video players. The difference between DVD-R for General and DVD-R for Authoring is that DVD-R for General is a format intended for general consumer use and doeasn't support 'professional' functions, such as protection of piracy or duplication in mass duplicators. The Pioneer DVD-RW drive that is the most popular PC device for writing to DVD uses the DVD format to General. And as is the case with CD, DVD-RW is essentially the same as DVD-R, except that it can be erased and rewritten and again.DVD-RAM is slightly different when it comes to a sector based disc which mountains the desktop of a PC when inserted into a drive. Files can then be copied to the same manner as any other mounted media. Some single-sided DVD-RAM discs can be removed from their caddy and inserted in a DVD-ROM drive which will be able to read the contents of the disc.There its DVD video recorders to DVD-RAM format use. This allows themn pulling out tricks like timeshifting smart - you can watch the start of a program you have recorded while still recording the end on the same disc.DVD + RW is the newest format and not supported by the DVD Forum, the body that sets standards for the DVD. However, it is supported by some of the largest manufacturers of electronics and computers, and is likely around.It stick is also the format used by Philips in the DVD-VCR. Although not permitted by the DVD Forum, DVD + RW is claimed by its supporterd compatible with more DVD video players or DVD-R and DVD + RW writers can be found in a large number of PCs manufacturers.In early 2006, things set up more complicated with the introduction of two new formats HD DVD and Blu-ray, but that's another story ... Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of The HDTV Tuner, a site which aims to cut through the confusion surrounding HDTV and provide surfers with up-to-date, accurate and easy to read information on HDTV.