DVD-R/CD-R

[Genuine Article]

I apologize if this is answered somewhere on the site, but I was just wondering what exactly the difference is between CD-R writers and DVD-R writers.

I know the difference between the actual media (size, amongst other things) but why can't a CD-R write to a DVD-R?
Isn't it just a different compression algorithm, which wouldn't make it necessary for a whole different piece of hardware?

Sorry if this has been answered or is just a ridiculous question, I'm still new to the whole concept, I only started researching this week.

Thanks!

[tumbar]

It's not really that silly or a ridiculous question. We all wondered the same thing...initially.

At first glance the media blanks do look similar in size and shape. You will notice there is a color difference upon closer examination.

The file structure is different, the standards by which the disks are read by manufactured equipment...you can't see that.

The lasers are different..you can't see that.

Although the media blanks are made of similar material, they are to a much higher standard.

As you become more familiar with dvd, you will learn more differences. Actually they are quite different.

regards

[poopyhead]

Like CDs, DVDs store data in microscopic grooves running in a spiral around the disc. All DVD drive types use laser beams to scan these grooves: Minuscule reflective bumps (called lands) and nonreflective holes (called pits) aligned along the grooves represent the zeros and ones of digital information.

But that's where the similarities end. DVDs use smaller tracks (0.74 microns wide, compared to 1.6 microns on CDs) as well as new modulation and error correction methods. These technologies allow them to store data seven times as large as that of a CD. The narrow tracks require special lasers--which can't read CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, or audio CDs. DVD drive makers managed to solve the problem.

http://www.dvdforum.com/faq-dvdprimer.htm