--------------------------------------------- DVDWriters FAQ 0.4 http://www.dvdwriters.co.uk ---------------------------------------------- This document is copyright 2002. Last Updated: 23/11/2002 11th June 2002: Added the Blue Ray Specs. 5th November 2002: Added How To Copy DVD Movies Questions Added Hot To Convert VHS -> DVD What is DVD-R? DVD-R is the record-once writable DVD format. Similar in concept to Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R), DVD-R is a write-once medium that can contain any type of information normally stored on mass produced DVD discs - video, audio, images, data files, multimedia programs, and so on. Depending on the type of information recorded, DVD-R discs are usable on virtually any compatible DVD playback device, including DVD-ROM drives and DVD Video players. Pioneer is the first company to bring out an "affordable" DVD-R drive. (Pioneer released 3.95G DVD-R 1.0 drives in October 1997 for $17,000) http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/CDA/Industrial/Industrial ProductDetails/0,1444,30~3010~3010100~1718,00.html? The specs for the DVR-A03: Write Support 4X and 8X CD-R 4X CD-RW 1X and 2X DVD-R (General Use) Read Support (maximum speeds to be determined) DVD-ROM & DVD-Video (single & dual layers) DVD-R, CD-ROM Mode1 CD-ROM XA Mode2 (form 1, form 2) Photo CD (single & multiple sessions) CD-DA CD-R CD-RW Buffer Memory 2 MBytes (Write) 512KBytes (Read) Interface ATAPI Audio Out Head Phones Output Head Phone Volume Dimensions (W x H x D) 5-13/16" x 1-11/16" x 8-1/8" 148 mm x 42.3 mm x 207.5 mm Recording Method Disc-at-once and incremental write It is rumoured to retail for $1,000 / euros. I would be interested to know whether the drives support RAW-DAO writing and what the DAE is like :) e-mail me if you know. [Note: Pioneer changed the specs and added DVD+RW support] The DVD Media: Philips press release: The Philips DVD-R 4.7 GB is suitable for use with the 4.7GB DVD-Recordable system and offer storage capacity in line with that of pre-recorded DVD-ROM and DVD-Video products. Meeting the software industry's requirement for DVD-Video / DVD-ROM authoring and pre-mastering, the Philips DVD-R 4.7GB discs comply with the DVD-R standard and are compatible with 4.7GB DVD Recorders announced by leading hardware manufacturers. Recorded discs can be played back on most DVD-Video/DVD ROM players. Philips DVD-R 4.7GB Media will be available from beginning Quarter 1/2000. Price to be announced. Here's a nice picture of the disk 4.7GB disk: http://www.pdo.comp.philips.com/images/download/dvd+rw3.jpg In a nutshell they are like CD-R but with 4.7GB capacity and are write once.. just like CDRs. How fast is DVD x 1 write speed? DVD "1X" equivalent of 11.08 megabits per second (Mbps), which is roughly equivalent to nine times the transfer rate of CD-ROM's "1X" speed. A 4.7 GB disc can be fully written in approximately one hour. What is DVD-RAM? Developed by Matsushita this technology like a optical tape backup.. but faster access. It has little in common with DVD technology as we know it. The disks come in caddys and its pretty much proprietary technology. What is DVD+RW? Hewlett-Packard, Mitsubishi Chemical (Verbatim), Ricoh, Royal Philips Electronics,Sony, Thomson Multimedia and Yamaha Corp are the backers of this format. It is like CD-RW but higher capacity. It said to be compatible with most DVD-Players including PC DVD-ROM drives. Philips have a couple of web sites on this new format: http://www.philips.com/dvdrw/ http://www.ce.philips.com/dvdrw It looks very promising and could well bring together the convergence of the Video Player and PC. What is DVD-RW? A format like DVD+RW which Pioneer & Sony are pursuing. Very little difference between the two. The difference is supposed to steam from where a track starts and ends and egos of the companies involved. I would place my bets on DVD+RW winning the format war. What is Version 1.0 DVD-R ? Its just normal DVD-R but the capacity is 3.9GB - you might see some places on the net selling these. Version 2.0 is 4.7GB. What is DDCD? Sonys Press release: "Sony Core Technology & Network Company Europe (CNCE) has announced the introduction of the "Double Density CD-R/RW" products with 1.3GB capacity, which is double the capacity of conventional CD-R/RW media, from April 2001. The World's first Double Density CD-R/RW drive (CRX200E-RP), as well as the corresponding high speed CD-Recordable (CDQ-13G1: 12x write speed) and CD-ReWritable (CD-RW13G1: 8x write speed) media, offer state of the art optical recording technology and maintain the same features that have made conventional CD-Rs and CD-RWs so popular in the past." The Specs: DDCD drive: Sony CRX200E (internal DDCD drive kit) - Interface: Ultra DMA/33 ATAPI - Media capacity: 1.3 GB (DDCD), 650 / 700 Mbyte (conventional CD) - Write speed: 12x DD-R/CD-R (1.8 Mbyte/s), 8x DD-RW/CD-RW (1.2 Mbyte/s) - Read speed: 32x max DD-ROM/CD-ROM - Buffer memory: 8 Mbyte - Average access time: 125 ms - Formats supported: DDCD (defined by the purple book CD standard), CD Digital Audio, CD Extra, CD Text, CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-I, CD-I Ready, Video CD, Photo CD (single- and multisession) - Write methods supported: Disc at once, session at once, track at once, fixed/variable-packet recording, multisession Its propriety technology will most likely not be compatible with existing drives. Is DVD-R compatible with my DVD-ROM drive? Yes it should be. But I guess when It becomes more widely available some players will probably have trouble picking up the data due to poor lasers.. other than that the format is compatible. What's the difference between a CD-R and DVD-R? The table below highlights the differences between some basic parameters of both media formats: Parameter DVD-R CD-R Media Type Write-once Write-once Wavelength (Recording) 635 - 645 nm 775 - 795 nm Wavelength (Reading) 635 - 650 nm 770 - 830 nm Recording Power 6-12 mw 4 - 8 mw Numerical Aperture (Recording)0.60 0.50 Numerical Aperture (Reading) 0.60 0.45 Reflectivity R14H > 0.6 RTOP > 0.65 Which MAC has the Pioneer DVD-R built in to it? The G4 MAC comes with a DVD-R drive from Pioneer. The Press Release: "Pioneer New Media Technologies, Inc. [NYSE: PIO], the leader in recordable DVD technology, announced today that the Pioneer DVR-103 recordable DVD/CD drive is integrated in select new Power Mac G4 systems. This remarkable combination drive is targeted for home video editing and professional- quality DVD recording alike." Can my playstation 2 read DVD-Rs? Yes people have tried "silver" DVDs for a few dollars from the far east and have said that they work. Will I be able to backup my DVD movie onto a DVD-R? Yes provided you get passed the encyrption that most comercial DVD movies have. X-box is supposed to have a DVD drive can it read DVD-R? I am not sure if the X-BOX is going to be shipped with a DVD-ROM drive as standard. We will see when one becomes available. Are Black CDs any better than normal dye CDs? From my own personal opinion: yes I have a fairly old PSX and would say the laser likes the CDs a lot better than any other I have tried and can say that backups do NOT skip at all. Apart from that they are just like any other CD. What are 99min / 120min CDs? Disc4you were one of the first sites to carry any kind of information on these unusual capacity disks the URL: http://www.disc4you.com/news/99min.html Translated with bablefish: This unusual amount of storage capacity is made possible by the combination of the two known methods used so far to raise capacity: 1. Moving the tracks of the Helix closer together, as is done with 80 minutes blanks. 2. Using the so-called method of 'overburning' which uses the full capacity of the media beyond the given specifications, giving you an additional 2 to 4 minutes. Both methods used together will give you blanks of exceptional length which still have to be 'overburned'. This is due to the fact that the ATIP of the blank, such as 80 minute media, specifies a maximum recording length of 79:59 minutes - regardless of the actual capacity of the blank. Unfortunately it is not possible to extend these specifications much beyond that point. These specifications were agreed upon more than ten years ago when the CD was introduced and they were intended for 74 minute media. Even the now common 80 minute blanks are not really compatible with the original specifications (although they are included in them), and processing them is only possible because of the fact that there is built-in tolerance concerning the distance between tracks. Incidentally, brand name CD-Rs will mostly only work within the given specification to ensure best compatibility with as many recorders and players as possible. This explains why for a long time only no-name 80 minute blanks were available. I have used these 99min CDs for a while and the are normally called 80min plus or 99min plus. I have tested the Mirror Max 90plus and Infiniti 80min plus disks. To burn them to 99mins you use something like discjuggler and set overburn to 97mins. My drive would fail when I tried the full 99mins. Make sure you burn in DAO and for safety burn at 2 speed. Also make sure if you want to burn above 90mins, that the disk only contains one session. They work in most drives but too much data and you will find your CD-Rom drive doing strange things. I am guessing the 120mins CDs will work the same as 99mins but I have not come across them yet. What are the technical specs for DVD II - Blue Ray ? Recording capacity: 23.3GB/25GB/27GB Laser wavelength: 405nm (blue-violet laser) Lens numerical aperture (NA): 0.85 Data transfer rate: 36Mbps Disc diameter: 120mm Disc thickness: 1.2mm (optical transmittance protection layer: 0.1mm) Recording format: Phase change recording Tracking format: Groove recording Tracking pitch: 0.32um Shortest pit length: 0.160/0.149/0.138um Recording phase density: 16.8/18.0/19.5Gbit/inch2 Video recording format: MPEG2 video Audio recording format: AC3, MPEG1, Layer2, etc. Video and audio multiplexing format: MPEG2 transport stream Cartridge dimension: Approximately 129 x 131 x 7mm How do I copy movies with my DVD writer ? Firstly you will find it isnt as easy as hitting copy and making a one-to-one clone of the disk as: o Movies have encryption o Movies often use 2 layers which means the disk will be 9.4GB in size and the blank disks only hold 4.7GB (single layered). The encryption can be cracked fairly easy (see our reviews on the site) but fitting the movie onto a DVD-R will take a lot of time as it will require downsampling of the bitrate. You may also have to remove extras and warning scenes. How do I transfer my VHS footage (from my camera) to DVD ? Firstly, the DVD writer is probably the least involved in the whole process. You will need: o A video capture card o MPEG 1 / 2 Encoding software / Authoring Software o DVD Mastering software Without going in too much indepth: the video capture card is used to encode the Audio/Video to a suitable digital format. You will then use the authoring software to make the footage in the right format (for a DVD player). Once you have the footage in digital DVD format you must then use the DVD mastering software to actually write the DVD.