Recordable DVD drives

Unfortunately, unlike recordable CD drives, there are many different competing standards for creating DVD discs. For example, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL (DVD+R9), and DVD-RAM are all different competing standards. Below is a brief explanation of each of these standards and related links to each of these standards.

DVD-R

Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Recordable, DVD-R is similar to the idea behind CD-R, where the drive is capable or recording once to a disc and then read many times after it has been created. DVD-R is an approved standard by DVD Forum and the drives are capable of recording to DVD-R discs, also known as DVD-5 and DVD-10 discs.

Note: DVD-R discs are compatible with most stand alone DVD players and computer DVD-ROM drives.

DVD-RW (DVD-R/W)

Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Read/Write, DVD-RW is an approved standard by DVD Forum and, much like CD-RW, is a technology that enables a user to read and write to a DVD-RW or DVD-R disc several times. DVD-RW drives are capable of recording to DVD-R and DVD-RW discs, also known as DVD-5 and DVD-10 discs.

Note: DVD-RW discs are compatible with most stand-alone DVD players and computer DVD-ROM drives.

DVD+R

Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Recordable, DVD+R is an approved standard by the DVD+RW Alliance and, much like CD-R and DVD-R, is a technology that enables a user to read and write to a DVD+RW or DVD+R disc several times. DVD+RW drives are capable of recording DVD+R discs, also known as DVD-5 and DVD-10 discs.

Note: DVD+R discs are compatible with most stand-alone DVD players and computer DVD-ROM drives.

DVD+RW

Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Read/Write, DVD+R is an approved standard by the DVD+RW Alliance and, much like CD-RW and DVD-RW, is a technology that enables a user to read and write to a DVD+RW or DVD+R disc several times. DVD+RW drives are capable of recording DVD+R and DVD+RW discs, also known as DVD-5 and DVD-10 discs.

Note: DVD+RW discs are compatible with most stand-alone DVD players and computer DVD-ROM drives.

DVD+R DL (DVD+R9)

Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Recordable Dual Layer, DVD+R DL is an approved standard by the DVD+RW Alliance and almost doubles the capacity of a DVD when compared with the DVD+R or DVD+RW discs, also known as DVD-9 and DVD-18 discs.

Note: DVD+R DL discs are compatible with most stand-alone DVD players and computer DVD-ROM drives.

DVD-RAM

Short for Digital Versatile Disc-Random Access Memory, DVD-RAM drives are an approved standard by the DVD+RW Alliance and are similar to CD-RW in that they enable users to read and write to a disc several times.

Note: Unlike competing standards of DVD recordable discs, DVD-RAM discs cannot be read in the majority of stand-alone DVD players and computer DVD-ROM drives.

Also see: CD definitions, DVD, DVD Forum, DVD+RW Alliance, Recordable DVD discs, Storage