why make a dvd writer rw only??

[vrdvd]

I picked up a hp100i dvd_rw drive and it works fine for my needs, I'll make the occasional backup of some of my more pricey dvds and use those as working copies, and also offload some files onto the 4.7gb disk freeing up space on my hd. i love the ability to erase what i dont need anymore but still miss the ability to make permanent copies of something. this lead me to ask, why would manufacutrers make a dvd-r thats only rw? i never heard of a cd writer that was only rw, so why did they come out with a dvd-rw only drive? is it an extra lazer or something that they didn't want to put into the unit? is it that much less expensive to make an rw only drive?? Just wondering what's the reason.

[PhilipL]

Withdrawn

[vrdvd]

Very interesting information. I'm very surprised that companies would do something so stupid and amazed they would come out with outright lies to keep marketing a product. Was HP the only people to get nailed? I thought Phillips brought out some rw only drives.

without getting too technical, what really is it that makes the rw drive diff from an dvd-r? is it a diff type of laser that is used for dvd-r and rw? hence the rw drives just have one laser where r/rw have two and are therefore marketed cheaper? what technology is absent from the rw?

for me, i was able to get a drive for bout $100. I figured it was a good price as i was dying to get into this technology. I've gone from learning to make vcds, to svds and now to dvds. I find authoring movies on disc to be a growing infatuation. I figure with the price it'll keep me happy till it burns out in (hopefully a couple years). By that time the dvd-r/rw prices will have fallen very low and perhaps dvd9 recordable media will be availible. It beats praying waiting for the prices to fall right now. I do miss the permanence of dvd-r, but these are only backups of existing copies that I'm making or the occasional 1 night rental that I wasnt able to fully watch. I dont really want to go hog wild burning things i'm not going to enjoy a year from now so i figured the rw would be good for me for now. And I'm amazed at how good this technology is. I did a rip of some of my movies and i really cant tell the diff from the orig when viewing.

[Craig Tucker]

This thread may be of interest to you.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=148366&highlight=lawsuit