Confusion Reigns – DVD Recorders Struggle Without A Standard

HAMBURG (dpa) – Four are three too many, at least when it comes to the various technical standards that currently exist with DVD recorders. Choosing one particular DVD system over another is no easy task for fans of these devices.

So confusing is the array of possibilities that many customers are opting to do without the burners for now. After all, no one knows which of the burner variations will win out in the future.

The manufacturer Philips, for one, is putting on an optimistic face. Sales of their new DVD recorder, DVDR 1000, are progressing at a blinding pace, the Dutch electronics firm claims. Week after week since August, hundreds of the units have been moving past the cash registers at stores around the world.

“We are actually surprised at the success,” says Philips’ Klaus Petri.

The DVDR 1000, like a video camera, can be used as a stand-alone player but can also be hooked up to computer. The DVD recorder works using the “DVD plus RW” standard.

But the DVD plus RW standard is just one of four currently vying for dominance. The three other standards currently at large on the market are called DVD-RAM, DVD-R, and DVD-RW.

Just as the suffixes differ, so too do the compatibilities: DVDs that are recorded on one device usually cannot be played back on all four of the other devices. The reason for this lies in the differences in the way each device records, or how data is laid out onto blank DVDs.

All DVD recorders, regardless of which of the four formats is used, use the so-called phase-change-process to write to the discs. Data is burned onto the metal layer in the inside of the blank DVD using a laser. This data can later be overwritten. DVD-R discs can, by contrast, only be written on once.

The DVD-RW format was developed as a rerecordable variant to the DVD-R. This means that the two formats are very similar and for the most part compatible. A DVD-RW can be overwritten up to 1,000 times. Both formats offer space for up to 4.7 gigabytes (GB) of data. This is sufficient for films of up to four hours, depending on the picture quality.

The DVD-RAM format has one unique characteristic: While DVD+RW, DVD-RW, and DVD-R all lay out their data in a spiral pattern, information on a DVD-RAM is put on the disc as individual sectors in a pattern that resemble a slice of pie.

“This allows the DVD to function like a hard drive,” explains Soenke Plath of the electronics maker Panasonic in Hamburg. If recorded on both sides, a DVD-RAM can hold up to 9.4 gigabytes of data. This makes DVD-RAMs particularly well suited as backup storage media, and they can be written on up to 100,000 times.

DVD-RAMs also differ from their rivals in their packaging. They come encased in a plastic cartridge that is inserted into a DVD-RAM drive. In order to use them with normal DVD computer drives, the plastic shell has to be removed. This in turn is only possible for DVD-RAMs that come as part of a type 2 cartridge. Type 1 discs cannot be removed from their casings, limiting their compatibility to DVD- RAM devices only.

Of the remaining three formats, DVD+RW offers the least compatibility with stand alone DVD players, according to the computer magazine “c’t.” Out of 20 DVD players, only one could read a DVD+RW. A DVD-RW could be accessed by 11 of the devices, a DVD-R by 13 of the players.

Buyers should keep in mind exactly which formats a given DVD burner will be able to read and burn when connected to a PC. For example, the DVR-A03 from Pioneer can recognize DVD-ROMs, DVD-R, DVD- RWs, and various CD-ROM formats, the company claims.

The Ricoh MP5120 is ready for DVD+RW: The internal drive with an ATAPI connection can be had for around the price of an expensive CD- RW drive. It can record to DVD+RW blanks as well as CD blanks. The Ricoh device can also read DVD-ROM as well as CD-ROM and recordable CD media.

Those looking to buy themselves a DVD burner will need to pay for more than just the device itself. The blank discs don’t come cheap: DVD-RAM blanks can cost as much as 15 dollars each. Blank discs that work with other formats cost about the same.

But prices of both drives and like media are expected to drop down the road. “We will offer several new DVD recorders in the coming year. Some of these will have fewer features, which will make them more affordable,” says Philips’ Petri.

As to which standard will remain standing in the end, that’s a question that the market will have to decide. “The battle has just begun,” says Panasonic’s Soenke Plath.