Guide to Computer DVD Drives, Disks and DVD Burning
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It is important to correctly match all components for the best DVD burning experience.
DVD Disk Types
There are several types of blank DVD media used for burning and recording to:
1. DVD-R and DVD+R are recordable DVD format disks with a write-once only capability. Once recorder to they cannot be erased or re-recorded over. These are compatible with most DVD players, new and old.
2. DVD-RW and DVD+RW are recordable DVD disks that allows rewrites and so provides unlimited writing to same disk. Can be played mostly on newer DVD players.
3. DVD-RAM - DVD Random Access Memory is a DVD disc that can be recorded with information, erased, and recorded again but these disks are used primarily for backing up computer data and hard drives. They usually cannot be played on DVD players and so are not good for recording movies.
Plus and Minuses Attached to the Different DVD formats:
The plus and minus signs mean nothing. Years ago when DVDs were first being made there was no industry standard and different companies were making different forms of DVDs hoping that their particular DVD type would become the main one used.
DVD-R and DVD-RW disks were made by Pioneer and data was only written to one layer of the DVDs surface. Other companies supported DVD+R and DVD+RW and as opposed to the '-' disks, the '+' disks had data stored on multiple layers of the disk. The plus and minus sign does not matter in which DVD format you use, they are basically the same thing.
DVD Drives
The DVD drive is a component of a computer that actually records data or movie onto the DVD disc. The different types of DVD drives basically break down into the same formats as the different DVD formats. There are DVD-RAM drives, DVD-R drives etc. It is important to match the different DVD formats with the burning capabilities of the DVD drives.
When choosing a DVD drive consider what you will use it for. If you are primarily going to back up computer data then it is best to choose a DVD-RAM burner, but if you are burning movies then you will have to choose one of the DVD media compatible drives. These days many DVD drives are compatible with several DVD formats and so the more options you get with your drive the more flexible it will be.
In the end all components need to match...
Make sure that your DVD media, DVD drive and your playing device's capabilities are compatible for the best digital video experience.
There are other considerations for hard drives, such as a Wireless Hard Drive for the computer.
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