What is DVD RW?

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Do you know anything about DVD media? What is DVD RW? How about different types of RW media? Do you know what type of media to use with your DVD burner?

Copying DVDs can be a little bit tricky. You must know a little bit about specifics on DVDs and what type of disc your burner can use. Most of the newer DVD burners are interchangeable in that you can use any type of media available on the market, but for older burners you may need to know what type of media is compatible with your system.

What is DVD RW?

I will give you a dvd rw definition and some details on the different types of media and how they are used.

Today's technology has taken the standard movie DVD and made it possible to not only record onto the disc, but to erase and rerecord as well. A rewritable one, referred to as DVD RW, is very similar to a rewritable compact disc except that the -RW format is capable of holding large amounts of high quality video as well as music and picture files. Recordable and rewritable disks are available in several different formats, each varying in compatibility and specifications.

DVD+R and DVD+RW
DVD+R is a recordable but not rewritable blank media while DVD+RW is the rewritable format. Both these discs are compatible with most common DVD players. Video can be stored on a DVD+RW with a video recorder and then viewed on either a standard player or on a computer with a DVD-ROM drive and MPEG2 video capabilities.

The DVD+ formats use MPEG2 encoding to store the highest quality of video in as little space as possible. A +RW can store and play back up to four hours of quality, dynamic video on a single side. A double sided disc is capable of recording up to eight hours of video or as many as sixteen half-hour television episodes.

Products are supported by companies like Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Philips, Sony and Yamaha. This format is supported by the DVD+RW Alliance.

DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM
Another popular format used to record a movie is the -R or -RW formats. This type of disc is also compatible to most modern DVD equipment. Much like the DVD+RW, the DVD-RW can hold 4.73 GB of quality video and data files per side.

DVD-R and DVD-RW are supported by the DVD Forum and companies like Apple, Toshiba, Panasonic and others.

The DVD-RAM format is less common than other popular formats. This type of disc is usually enclosed in a cartridge and can only be used with specific products supporting the DVD-RAM format. The disc can be erased and recorded on again and again like the -RW and the +RW formats.

DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL
A recent advancement in video technology allows almost twice as much data to be stored on one single-sided disc. DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL both use dual layer recording to store up to 8.5 GB on a one-sided disc.

A dual layer disc has a second separate layer within the actual disc. The available dual layer discs are recordable but can not be erased. This format must be used with a device supporting dual layer technology.

Media Sizes
DVDs are available in two standard sizes. A 12 cm disc is most common and is the same size as most movie DVDs. A single-sided 12 cm disk will hold up to 4.7 GB, while a double-sided disc can hold 9.4 GB.

The 8 cm "mini" is used in several newer camcorders. The small disc can record up to an hour of video and can be played in most DVD players. A single-sided 8 cm DVD holds 1.4 GB and the double-sided holds up to 2.8 GB.

So now you can tell all your friends and relatives who ask "what is DVD RW" all the details. All the different formats may be a bit confusing, however, all you really need to know is the type of media that is supported by your dvd burner.

What is DVD RW Duplication?
There are a few basic pieces of equipment needed to duplicate a disc. First, a computer with a DVD R or DVD RW drive is necessary. Blank, rewritable DVDs are used for the duplicate and a DVD burning software program, like Nero, DVD Clone or Disc Juggler, must be used.

One thing that most people don't understand when they are trying to burn a movie for the first time is that you must have something that will remove the copy protection from the original disc. You'll also want to remove the RPC region code as well, thereby making the movie region free and viewable on any DVD player. Click here for a fast and easy solution.