Tale Of The Tape: DVD+RW vs. DVD-RW
Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 1/22/2001
LAS VEGAS -Supporters of DVD+RW cited several advantages of their format over -R during CES.
Although both are rewritable about 1,000 times, +RW discs would be playable in a greater percentage (more than 90 percent) of the home DVD player installed base, while at least one -RW supporter cited "not quite 80 percent" for -RW compatibility.
For -RW to get to a higher level of compatibility in existing home players, flash-memory upgrades or chip replacement would have to be performed by a technician, the supporter said.
As for disc compatibility with DVD-ROM drives, both camps said that to achieve a high level of backward compatibility, DVD-ROM drives would need a firmware upgrade, downloadable from a website, to enable them to identify -RW or +RW discs.
An -RW supporter claimed 90-95-percent compatibility after such a firmware upgrade is made.
One +RW supporter said he was unable to quantify +RW compatibility but claimed "the compatibility of +RW would be somewhat better" because on -RW discs, "there is some discontinuity between the 'pre-embossed' lead-in area and the writable area." As a result of the discontinuity, "some drives are known to crash in that area."
Another key DVD+RW advantage is the backward compatibility of DVD+RW discs recorded in long-play modes when played back in the installed base of DVD players and DVD-ROM drives. Users can select one-, two-, three- and four-hour modes per side.
No existing DVD home players can play DVD-RAM discs, nor can current DVD-ROM drives read the 4.7GB DVD-RAM discs, the +RW supporter said. Other +RW advantages, the supporter said, include:
-
No disc finalization required.
-
1x to 2.4x writing speed for data and for fast access to random data.
Although the Philips-developed DVD+RW format is not officially sanctioned by the DVD Forum, a Forum member said the group can't do anything to prevent any company from marketing such a recorder as long as it has a valid DVD-technology license. Although the Forum could prevent companies from using the DVD logo on that product, it cannot stop anyone from using the letters "DVD," he said.
No related content found.
Featured Company
-
Webcollage
WebCollage, the world's leading provider of rich product information to retailer web sites (and their mobile visitors) perfected a new form of channel-marketing by helping manufacturers instantly publish content that increases sales, reduces return rates and improve conversions b..more
VIEW ALL GALLERIES