Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 11.12. DVD Drive and Media Compatibility
DVD+R/RW offers low drive and media prices, provides the highest compatibility with existing
formats, and has features that make it the most ideal for both video recording and data storage in PCs.
However, with most recent drives, you can now select the best media for the job.
DVD-RAM
DVD-RAM is the rewritable DVD standard endorsed by Panasonic, Hitachi, and Toshiba; it is part of
the DVD Forum's list of supported standards. DVD-RAM uses a phase-change technology similar to
that of CD-RW. Unfortunately, DVD-RAM discs can't be read by older DVD-ROM drives because of
differences in both reflectivity of the media and the data format. (DVD-R, by comparison, is
backward-compatible with DVD-ROM.)
DVD-ROM drives that can read DVD-RAM discs began to come on the market in early 1999 and
follow the MultiRead2 specification. DVD-ROM drives and DVD-Video players labeled as
“MultiRead2 compliant” are capable of reading DVD-RAM discs. See the section “
MultiRead
