Understanding DVD Formats
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All DVD formats-and there are several-have features in common and can be used for similar tasks-typically data storage and audio/video recording. Even though these discs look about the same, however, not all discs work in every television DVD player or DVD computer drive. All DVD formats (and CD formats) have significant technical differences, but we'll focus here on why the differences exist and how those differences affect an end user like you.
Why are there so many DVD formats? It all boils down to the DVD manufactures-each develops or selects a given DVD format and that is what they produce and market. Recently, though, manufactures are selling hardware that can handle multiple DVD formats. The accepted DVD format for a given item is labeled in an ad or on the box of any DVD hardware, software and disc media you plan to purchase-pay attention when you buy so that you can be sure that your discs and software are compatible with your DVD player and DVD recorder hardware.
Here's an overview of what the DVD acronyms (and CD acronyms) stand for along with the main functions and applications that set each apart.
DVD-R
Digital Video Disc Reader–discs can be written to once. Pioneer developed the format. This format is also supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp and the DVD Forum. DVD-R is used for most home DVD players and movies. Our reviewers at DVD Copy Software review prefer the DVD-R format for copying data.
DVD+R
Digital Video Disc Reader–discs can be written to once. The + format is supported by Sony, Philips, HP, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and other manufacturers. This format is a little faster and a bit more expensive. Our reviewers prefer the DVD+R format for movie recording. This format was developed after DVD-R and is in competition with that format. Eventually one of the two formats may dominate the marketplace and eliminate the other.
DVD-R, DVD-R(W)
Digital Video Disc Reader & Writer–discs can be written to 1,000 times, -format.
DVD-RAM
Digital Video Disc Random Access Memory-discs can be written to 100,000 times. These discs are often encased in plastic for resilience. These discs are popular for DVD video recorders and other applications requiring multiple rewrites, edits or backups.
DVD-ROM
Digital Video Disc Read Only Memory a DVD player that does not record data, but only plays movies.
CD-R
Compact Disc Reader, discs can be written to once but hold less data than DVD-R or DVD+R.
CD-RW
Compact Disc Reader and Writer, discs can be written to 1,000 times but hold less data than DVD-R or DVD+R.
DVD+R and DVD+RW
DVD+R and DVD+RW formats are supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and others.
DVD+R is a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R. A DVD+R can only record data once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc can not be recorded onto a second time.
DVD+RW is a re-recordable format similar to CD-RW. The data on a DVD+RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium.
DVDs created by a +R/+RW device can be read by most commercial DVD-ROM players.
DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM
These formats are supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple Computer, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp. These formats are also supported by the DVD Forum
DVD-R is a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R and DVD+R. A DVD-R can only record data once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc can not be recorded onto a second time. There also are two additional standards for DVD-R disks: DVD-RG for general use, and DVD-RA for authoring, which is used for mastering DVD video or data and is not typically available to the general public.
DVD-R is a recordable DVD format similar to CD-R and DVD+R. A DVD-R can only record data once and then the data becomes permanent on the disc. The disc can not be recorded onto a second time. There also are two additional standards for DVD-R disks: DVD-RG for general use, and DVD-RA for authoring, which is used for mastering DVD video or data and is not typically available to the general public.
DVD-RW is a re-recordable format similar to CD-RW or DVD+RW. The data on a DVD-RW disc can be erased and recorded over numerous times without damaging the medium.
DVDs created by a -R/-RW device can be read by most commercial DVD-ROM players.
DVD-RAM discs can be recorded and erased repeatedly but are only compatible with devices manufactured by the companies that support the DVD-RAM format. DVD-RAM discs are typically housed in cartridges.
DVD-ROM
DVD-ROM was the first DVD standard to hit the market and is a read-only format. The video or game content is burned onto the DVD once and the DVD will run on any DVD-ROM-equipped device.
The other two recordable format families, DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW) are essentially in competition with each other. The market will determine which of them succeeds or if they end up coexisting or merging.
There are many claims that one or the other format is better, but they are actually very similar. In 2003 many companies began making drives that could record in both "dash" and "plus" format.
[4.3.1] Is it true there are compatibility problems with recordable DVD formats?
Yes. None of the writable formats are fully compatible with each other or even with existing drives and players. In other words, a DVD+R/RW drive can't write a DVD-R or DVD-RW disc, and vice versa (unless it's a combo drive that writes both formats). As time goes by the different formats are becoming more compatible and more intermixed.
A player with the DVD Forum's DVD Multi is guaranteed to read DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM discs, and a DVD Multi recorder can record using all three formats. Some new "super combo" drives can record in both plus and dash format, and a few "super multi" drives can record all 5 disc types (DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM).
In addition, not all players and drives can read recorded discs. The basic problem is that recordable discs have different reflectivity than pressed discs (the pre-recorded kind you buy in a store -- see 5), and not all players have been correctly designed to read them. There are compatibility lists at CustomFlix, DVDMadeEasy, DVDRHelp, YesVideo.com, HomeMovie.com, and Apple that indicate player compatibility with DVD-R and DVD-RW discs. DVDplusRW.org maintains a list of DVD+RW compatible players and drives. (Note: test results vary depending on media quality, handling, writing conditions, player tolerances, and so on. The indications of compatibility in these lists are often anecdotal in nature and are only general guidelines.) Very roughly, DVD-R and DVD+R discs work in about 85% of existing drives and players, while DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs work in around 70%. The situation is steadily improving. In another few years compatibility problems will mostly be behind us, just as with CD-R (did you know that early CD-Rs had all kinds of compatibility problems?).
The DVD-R(W) format was originally developed by Pioneer and is supported by the DVD forum-a group of hardware and software developers who promote DVD products on a worldwide scale. The DVD-R(W) format is less expensive, and most DVD-ROMs and DVD players support this type of format.
DVD+R(W) is newer and is based on slightly different technology. This format is supported be Sony, Philips, HP, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha, and others. A little more expensive, this format is also faster than the DVD-R(W). Computer techies argue that DVD+R(W) is superior to DVD-R(W) because the design allows for better error correction code (EEC), superior power calibration information, better linking, less space lost in multiple writes. These technical terms simply boil down to fewer errors when copying.
We at DVD Software Copy Review found that DVD+R(W) performed the best for archiving DVD movies and the DVD-R(W) format is a better choice for copying data.
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