Re: DVD-RAM drive vs DVD-RW ?


"M.I.5¾" <no.one@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"- Bobb -" <bobb@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"M.I.5¾" <no.one@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"- Bobb -" <bobb@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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I just bought an internal Sony DVD drive at CompUSA ( $25 after rebates
this week) and when I look at it ( with no media in it) in XP, I see
that it's called a DVD-RAM drive. I've only heard that term in home
media decks - to record everyday TV programs/overwrite etc. I've been
looking around .... via google to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD-RAM

http://aplawrence.com/Reviews/dvdram.html

etc

I can't find the answer to this:
1. In everyday PC use, do I care ?
2. Are DVD's recorded on my DVD-RW, +RW drives and this new drive
gonna be interchangable etc ?


It is pretty well a standard DVD +/- burner. It's just that it has the
added bonus of being able to read and write DVD-RAM disks as well. Any
more normal disks recorded on the drive will be just as interchangeable.
Windows defaults to using the DVD-RAM icon if the disk drive accepts
them.

There are generally mixed reactions to DVD-RAM disks, but despite their
higher per blank costs they do have some advantages.

1. They are directly handled by Windows XP and the drive when formatted
in FAT32 (the standard PC format - XP does not record any other DVD
format without additional software).

2. They have a rewrite life of 100,000 rewrites (compared with 1000 for
DVD+/-RW).

3. Being hard sectored, they have a higher reliability than RW disks
written using Drag-to-disk or InCD (packet incremental format). DVD-RAM
can also be written using packet incremental format and anecdotal
evidence suggests that it's faster, but the result can only be read on
PCs loaded with the appropriate packet incremental format software.

4. The one disadvantage they have is that the fastest drive is just 5X
(though the fastest disks that I have seen are 3X).

Thank you very much for the explanation: I couldn't find that info
anywhere. So it's really the media that has the advantage ...
So THAT's why I've seen DVD-RAM used in the DVD video recorders.
BUT I wouldn't have been able to read those on my " std DVD player" -
thank you.


Ah now, video recorders. DVD-RAM has an additional advantage in these
machines. It was the only disk format that supported being able to be
simultaneously played and recorded at the same time (including playing
back the programme being recorded). I say 'was', because many current
generation machines now support sumultaneous record/play using the more
regular DVD-RW or DVD+RW media. However, these machines often have
operational limitations or can occasionally screw up the recording bit
(although I can see how DVD+RW machines could do this, I cannot see how
DVD-RW machines can - but they do). Toshiba are rumoured to have a
machine with 2 laser heads, one to record and one to play.

Further to the above, I should have pointed out that DVD-RAM is capable of
simultaneous record/play at all recording rates, but the DVD+/-RW machines
only support this feature if recording in 'LP' mode or longer (i.e 4 hour or
longer per disk).


.

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