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DVD Frequently Asked
Questions
(including Version 1.0 from Pioneer)
Can
I use the new 4X DVD Media with the older 2X drives?
NO! Using the new
4X media in an older 2X drive will PERMANENTLY DAMAGE the
drive!! Let me say that again..... It will
PERMANENTLY DAMAGE the drive!! This could turn your older
drive into a paperweight in a big hurry. There is a
firmware update at the Pioneer
Electronics website that can stop the drive from being
damaged.
What
is DVD?
DVD (Originally called Digital Video Disc, or
now Digital Versatile Disc) is the next generation of CD-ROM
storage technology. It's essentially a higher capacity,
faster CD that holds video, audio and computer data. DVD
aims to encompass home entertainment, computers, and business
information with a single digital format. It has
widespread support from all major electronics companies, all
major computer hardware companies, and more than half of the
major movie and music studios, which says much for its chance
for success.
What
companies make up the DVD consortium?
Pioneer Electronics (chair company for the DVD-R
working group), Toshiba Corporation, Matsushita Electric
Industrial, Sony Corporation, Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric
Corporation, Philips Electronics, Thomas Multimedia, Time Warner
Inc., and JVC.
Have
the standards been established?
Relative to the computer industry, there are
three categories of DVD. The answer to this is yes
with a caveat to the third category - DVD-RAM.
1. DVD-ROM Drives - standards have been
established. DVD-ROM drives have been shipping from
several manufacturers.
What
is the capacity of a DVD-R disc?
This is a fast changing area. Pioneer,
with a capacity of 4.7 GB Also see the newest
DVD recorder from Pioneer, the DVR-A03.
Additional questions:
Can
I record from my TV to my DVD-R drive?
In order to record video to DVD it is
first necessary to capture the video signal into a computer.
Next you do your editing, add titles, etc. then save the edited
video to hard drive. Then you use an encoder card to compress
the signal to mpg2 video standards. Some systems do the encoding
first, then edit the encoded video since it's then a smaller
file size. After that you record the finished file to the
DVD recorder using DVD premastering software. As you can see,
the DVD-R is only used as the final step in the process. It's
also one of the cheapest parts of the process as a good
compression board can be expensive, depending on your video
source. You'll also have at least two other software programs to
purchase at a cost of around $600 each and a high-end computer
system with several gigabytes of hard drive space is also
required.
Can
I copy DVD movies that I rent or own?
You can record from a DVD-player, but
keep in mind that nearly all commercial DVD discs have copy
protection built into them so they can not be copied. Also keep
in mind that the DVD-Recorder is DVD5 only while a commercial
disc could be DVD5, DVD9, DVD10, DVD 14, or DVD18.
There are DVD copier systems such as the
DVD-1000 unit but you still need to be concerned with the copy
protection and with capacity. These units are designed to be
used by people in production, not by the average household user.
Can
I re-use my DVD-Recordable discs like CD-RW?
With DVD-R, you can only record one
time. With DVD-RAM you can record several times, and have larger
capacities too. Unfortunately, you can not play DVD-RAM discs in
a standard DVD player.
What
is the difference between the version 1.9 "Sample
media" and version 2.0 specs?
This is from Andy Parsons at Pioneer.
2.0 DVD-R media is essentially the same as 1.9, except that
it will identify itself as 2.0 level media to an upgraded
DVR-S201 drive instead of 1.9.
The main feature improvement with 2.0 is a new provision in
the 2.0 DVD-R spec for what's called the Cutting Master Format (CMF).
This will allow 2.0 DVD-R media to be used in place of DLT tape
(DDP files can now be put into a standardized location in the
disc's lead-in area). This does NOT mean that CSS can be
recorded onto a DVD-R disc, however. CSS cannot be used on DVD-R
discs.
Every DVR-S201 drive with 2.02 level firmware has the CMF
feature built into it. (For the free firmware update for your
DVR-S201 drive, go to http://www.pioneer.co.jp/bsc/dvdr/index-e.html
).
Once authoring tool companies release software updates that
support CMF, you will be able to write a finished disc image to
a DVR-S201 as you would to a DLT drive. This allows you to then
test the disc in players and ROM drives and then submit it for
replication without having to take the time to write a DLT tape.
Then, at a properly equipped replication facility, a DVD drive
that can read CMF discs (currently I think only a DVR-S201 can
do this) can be used to transfer the image directly to their
mastering system.
Otherwise, the transition to 2.0 media should be completely
transparent.
What
is the difference between the Professional DVD-Recorders and the
Consumer level recorders introduced in 2001?
Read this file. (158k
pdf) It does an excellent job of describing the
differences and helping you determine which unit is best for
you. It requires the Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
Is
it true that there are compatibility problems with recordable
DVD formats?
Yes. None of the DVD-R/RW formats are fully compatible
with each other, or even with existing recordable drives. At
some point there will be an agreement on a standard, but until
that day this is an issue that is real. Be sure you know
what you're getting so you have the fewest possible
compatibility problems.
It's not just limited to recorders either. Not all
players can read recorded discs either, so be sure to ask
questions about this issue before you buy.
Here is a tabled compatibility summary for the current
formats of DVD:
| |
DVD drive |
DVD-R(G) drive |
DVD-R(A) drive |
DVD-RW drive |
DVD-RAM drive |
DVD+RW drive |
| DVD-ROM pressed disc |
reads |
reads |
reads |
reads |
reads |
reads |
| DVD-R(G) disc |
routinely reads |
reads, writes |
reads, does not write |
reads, writes |
reads |
reads |
| DVD-R(A) disc |
routinely reads |
reads, does not write |
reads, writes |
reads, does not write |
reads |
reads |
| DVD-RW disc |
usually reads |
reads |
reads |
reads, writes |
usually reads |
usually reads |
| DVD-RAM disc |
rarely reads |
does not read |
does not read |
does not read |
reads, writes |
does not read |
| DVD+RW disc |
usually reads |
usually reads |
usually reads |
routinely reads |
usually reads |
reads, writes |
| DVD+R disc |
routinely reads |
routinely reads |
routinely reads |
routinely reads |
routinely reads |
reads, may write |
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2002-03 CD Solutions Inc., All Rights Reserved.
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