Difference between DVD-R and DVD-RW formats ?

[Mike99]

Is there a difference between the format or files on a DVD-R compared to DVD-RW?

I wanted to burn some jpg photos onto a DVD-RW in order to view them with my Panasonic Blu-ray player. I did not want to make a DVD movie or slide show, I just wanted to view them like I do when they are on an SD card. The player does support playing jpgs.

First I burned using ImgBurn, but the Panny said there were no files on the disc.

Next I burned with CyberLink DVD Suite & the player said the disc was not formatted properly.

I then tried using just Windows to burn the jpgs but the player said the disc was not formatted.

In all cases the jpg files are there when viewed with a PC, and so are the pictures. But nothing works in the player.

I tried a CD-R with jpgs and it works. So I pulled out the Panny manual it does not list jpgs on DVD-RW as a workable combination. CD-R is a yes, DVD-R is a yes. But not DVD-RW.

I used ImgBurn & looked at the DVD-RW that I made with Windows and the CD-R made with Sonic software and both indicate ISO9660 file system.

What would be the difference between DVD-R and DVD-RW that prevents a DVD-RW from working?

[Ai Haibara]

There is no difference in the way the files are stored on a DVD-RW data disc, versus a DVD-R/+R data disc. However, some devices/drives simply don't like RW discs, for whatever reasons. (I never really did bother to find out why... ) Your player probably falls into that category.

[DB83]

A RW must be formatted before use.

With a RW, if you have Nero, there is an alternative system you can use for storing data. It is called In CD and then you can simply drag and drop the files from any folder straight on to the RW.

However, this system only applies for a PC not a stand-alone.

[Mike99]

The DVD-RW disc with jpgs also did not play in my regular DVD player. But I've used the same exact disc for making DVD compliant videos and they have play just fine in the same DVD player.

IOW the same RW disc works for video but not for jpgs. And the Panny manual also says this. But I'm sure curious what the heck is the difference.

[usually_quiet]

When I have used any DVD player for viewing JPEG photos, the photos have always been on a CD. Why? Because the manual for the player says that is the type of disc I have to use for photos in JPEG format. This could be part of an industry standard of some sort. The same could be true of BD players, although they allow JPEG photos on DVD as well.

DVD players and BD Players are simpler and less versatile devices than computers. Their firmware is only able to recognize a limited number of discs formats or file systems and a limited number of file types per disc format and file system.

I suppose it would be possible to design a DVD player or BD player that could read photos stored in JPEG files from a DVD-RW as well as a CD or DVD-R, but I don't recall hearing that anybody has done it.

[Mike99]

I looked at the CD-R and the DVD-RW and both had used the same ISO 9660 file system.

According to the Panasonic manual, jpgs on CD-R, DVD-R and DVD-RAM are all valid. The DVD-RW is not listed for jpgs. I did try a DVD-RAM and it works.

On a similar note, I use VideoReDo to edit programs I've recorded on regular DVDs. It will write to DVD-RW, but when I try to read what I just did, VRD will not read it but I don't recall the error message.

[edong]

I looked at the CD-R and the DVD-RW and both had used the same ISO 9660 file system.

According to the Panasonic manual, jpgs on CD-R, DVD-R and DVD-RAM are all valid. The DVD-RW is not listed for jpgs. I did try a DVD-RAM and it works.

On a similar note, I use VideoReDo to edit programs I've recorded on regular DVDs. It will write to DVD-RW, but when I try to read what I just did, VRD will not read it but I don't recall the error message.

Is there an option to "finalize" it? Before the media can be played anywhere else, my stand-alone recorder requires everything to be finalized except DVD+RW. Just a thought.

[nekrosoft13]

A RW must be formatted before use. .

no, they do not. can be burn just like normal disc. then erase and reburn.

[DB83]

A RW must be formatted before use. .

no, they do not. can be burn just like normal disc. then erase and reburn.

I am quite aware that one can burn dvd-video to a RW disk without formatting it first.

However the OP is referring specifically to data disks - jpegs would fall in to that category - and that is how I understood it. If I am wrong then I will gladly withdraw my remark. Unfortunately I do not have an unformatted RW disk to test this at present.

The OP has also stated that he can not read a data disk on a RW in his PC so there is something wrong here.

[Mike99]

The RW disc is formatted. As mentioned I had previously used it for video & it played properly in a regular Panny DVD recorder/player.

From what I read, ImgBurn always closes/finalizes after a burn. It took ImgBurn about 7 minutes to complete the burn of only 17 jpgs. It appears to first build an image file & I'm guessing this takes a while to burn, even though most of it has no data.

In contrast, Windows 7 burned the 17 jpgs in seconds. But I have no idea if it closed the track or session, or if this even makes a difference.

Either way, the chart in the Panny manual does not list jpgs on DVD-RW as being able to play in this unit.

[jman98]

Try using UDF 2.50 or 2.01 format on DVD-RW to burn the JPGs and see if that makes a difference.

Do note that DVD-RW discs were not designed for long term strorage. It's not like you were thinking that they are, but we do get posts from time to time from people who think that they can burn stuff to DVD+/-RW discs and they can store them long term. The media on re-writable discs will start to deform over time even with careful storage. Write to DVD+/-R discs if you need to keep something long term.

Finally, if you aren't using Verbatim DVD-RW discs then it could be that your discs are crap and the player doesn't like them. Verbatim is the ONLY manufacturer of DVD-RW discs that you should trust in the USA and Canada (Taiyo Yuden DVD-RW discs are not available in North America).

[Mike99]

I am not using the DVD-RW discs for long term storage. Maybe the player does not like what I have, but Panasonic says RW with jpgs will not play and I would like to know why.

[jman98]

Firmware has to be written to support different formats that the device will play. It could be simply that the firmware didn't have space to add JPG support on re-writable DVDs and they sacrificed that to get support for something more useful into the firmware.

[usually_quiet]

I am not using the DVD-RW discs for long term storage. Maybe the player does not like what I have, but Panasonic says RW with jpgs will not play and I would like to know why.

I already told you why. BD players players are not computers. The firmware for your player is only designed to look for JPEGs when it detects specific types of media are loaded, CD-R, DVD-R and DVD-RAM. If another type of disc is loaded, it won't find them, because it wasn't designed to look for them there. End of story.