 DVD
Overview
DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM ,DVD+R DL and DVD±RW.
Looks like a mess, doesn't it? Well, let's see if we can make heads or
tails of what all that means.
What all that represents are formats the DVD is capable of reading and/or
writing. Why there are so many is as simple: there is no standardized
format. A DVD manufacturing company can pick the format they wish to
support, whether it be one or several. Let's take a closer look at the
important formats themselves.
First let's explain the lettering:
DVD: Digital Versatile Disc.
R: Recordable. When you see this on a disc it means that the disc is
able to be written to once. Never again.
RW: Re-Writable. This means that the disc can be re-written to up to
1000 times under optimal conditions.
ROM: Read Only Memory. This refers to drives that are only able to read
a DVD and not record to it. Basically, if you can only watch a movie
on your drive and access data you have a DVD-ROM.
Now the formats available:
DVD-R/-RW: Notice that there is a minus sign in front
of the R and RW. This format was created by Pioneer and promoted by a
group calling themselves the DVD Forum. The group is comprised of many
hard manufacturers, software companies and content providers. This group
believes this is the better format. It's based on the CD-RW technology
we have come to enjoy in our normal CD writers.
DVD+R/+RW: This format is backed by a group called the DVD+RW Alliance.
They have similar members as the previous groups but also include personal
computing companies such as Dell, Hewlett Packard, Sony and Phillips
Electronics.
DVD+/-RW: When you see this on a drive, it means that
it is capable of reading and writing in the above formats. These types
of drives are, in my opinion, the better drives to buy. You don't have
to worry as much about getting the "right" media for your drive.
It will read and right to most of them.
"But how much do they hold?" That's a good question. I'm glad you
asked. 4.37 gigabytes of data can be stored on one of these discs. That's
a lot more than your standard CD/RW.
So there you have it. The basics of DVD formats. I hope this helps you
when it comes time to buy a new drive or buy discs for your existing
drive.
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this equipment for two days for $50.00. You can set up the projector yourself
or we can assist you! Set up fees within the Quincy area are $25 or $50
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 E-mail
Issues
Hoaxes... Do you ever tire of e-mails that are meant to help, but
only seem
to take up more of your time? These e-mails are called hoaxes, they are
as
close to spam as it gets, but the hoaxers enlist all of our help to continue
sending out false e-mails. My favorite is the Bill Gates hoax that claims
to pay you $1,000 for forwarding his message of prosperity to all your
friends...
Hoaxes come in many different forms, prizes if you forward the message,
stories of relief or harassment that simply aren't true, one of my older
favorites claimed that a file that exists in most of our computers needed to
be deleted - so many people did it.
If you're confused as to whether an e-mail from your family member who is
usually conservative and very smart is really true, try the following sites,
they'll help you get to the bottom of it! As you'll see, they are organized
by category or subject, just search for yours, if on the list, simply delete
the message, or better yet - forward this e-mail to them and tell them to
knock it off:-)
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html |
