Dvd-ram???

[Paddy]

DVD-RAM drives are getting cheaper and cheaper it seems. I was thinking about obtaining one for my backup needs…


Is there an industry standard format that all DVD-ROMs adhere to?
Are there any drives worth considering at the moment?
How long would it take to burn 9GB?


Cheers,

Paddy

[dZeus]

oft he DVD-RAM, DVD+RW, DVD-R/DVD-RW formats, DVD-RAM is the one less likely to be adopted as standard. DVD-RAM disks use cartridges (maybe not any more?) and are not readable in almost anything but DVD-RAM drives (of course) and some DVD-ROM drives (afaik).

DVD-R/DVD-RW are readible in a lot more drives, and DVD+RW is readable in almost any DVD drive on the market (both standalone as DVD-ROM).

My bets are on DVD+RW, which is supported by Philips, Sony, HP and others

[Guru]

Too pricey and too slow!

[The PIT]

Yep too pricey and slow

[agallag]

I agree with dZeus, DVD+RW is the way to go. It's still in "early adopter" stage right now, but it sounds like this is the standard that's going to catch on. There are only a couple of drives out so far, and they are still very pricey (~$600-800).

[Paddy]

I guess I'll play the waiting game then

Cheers lads!

[Ali]

Ive had a DVD-RAM for well over a year now, probably getting close to two years.

They do use cartrages if you are using type2 disks, which are the main ones. If you buy type1 disks, you use a cartrage to write to it, then you take the disk out. If you do that I hear its possible to read the disk in normal DVD drives, including set-top ones. Ive never tried that though, so might be wrong.

Writting speed is ok if you turn off 'verify' via a jumper on the back of the drive (pointless as far as Im concerned). If you are writting big fines (.gho, .iso etc) then they are faster than my 6X CD-RW, but for little files they are slower.

When I bought, the DVD-R looked good, but was only write once. DVD-RW wasnt available, but doesnt hold the same amount of data(cant remember the difference now, but was something like 2.6G vs 5.2Gig).

Looking back, I only use the DVD-RAM once per month for my full backups, and still use CD-Rs for my weekly backups, and Zips and the network for daily backups (unless I do something big, then its onto CD-RW).

the disks are too expensive to be any use for ripping DVD movies onto. Far cheaper to buy the movie, and with DivX nowdays, CDs are fine for that.

I would hold out until media prices come down. Ill probably never buy another one, and if I have to money to spend again, I would get another nice monitor. You use a monitor every day, and a DVD-RAM only every 30 days.

Just my thoughts on it.

Ali

[Pace]

Check out the Pioneer A03 (or similar) from Scan. It's on their daily offers page every other day

How's the lovely lady?

P.

[Paddy]

Check out the Pioneer A03 (or similar) from Scan. It's on their daily offers page every other day

Thats why I posted this

How's the lovely lady?

She said to tell you to stop harassing her, it's over, OK????