DVD-RW Full erase or delete?

[samijubal]

When you use RW discs do you do a full erase or just delete and reuse? I don't mind doing a full erase if I should, but if just deleting will work fine, I'd rather save the 30 minutes per disc to do a full erase. I record TV series, load them into the PC for editing and burning to DVD-R, then reuse the RW.

[whitejremiah]

i dont use rw media. at all. ever. but if i did, i would just go with a regular delete........unless you had some sensitive information such as credit card numbers, bank numbers, ect.....why you would store such information on a dvdr to begin with though, is beyond me....

[fritzi93]

Yeah, in DVDinfoPro, for instance, "Quick Format" takes maybe thirty seconds, tops. "Full Format" usually takes twenty minutes or so, on my machine. (Wonder why the terminology varies like that? Some apps say full erase, etc.) I can only think of two reasons to do full format:
1) Sensitive data.
2) The disc had errors last burn and you suspect it's getting dodgy.

[kyemeng]

I will normally do a quick erase.

[bevills1]

You must be talking about DVDRW on a PC which I've done just once or twice, but I've never done any delete, both with standalone LiteOn 5005 and PC burner. I see no format option with the LiteOn, and I assume it just does quick erase becasue it takes a minute or less. On the PC either DVDDerypter or Nero asks if I want to delete files on disc which I've always chosen to do and have had no problems.

[FulciLives]

I use DVD-RW discs with my Pioneer (model DVR-531H-s) stand alone DVD recorder.

I use DVD-RW because I like to rip the contents to my computer where I sometimes edit frame accurate (if needed) with MPEG-VCR and then I re-authoer to a DVD-R using TMPGEnc DVD Author.

I use DVD Decrypter as my ripping application and then ImgBurn as my burning application and I awlays do the FULL ERASE option on the DVD-RW discs with ImgBurn. The DVD-RW discs I am using are Maxell brand (the Manufacturer ID = OPTODISCW002) and are rated 2x speed so it takes almost 30 minutes for a full or nearly full disc.

I've yet to have any trouble with any of my 5 DVD-RW discs that I have (I rotate them) and I've been using them heavily since I got them in October 2005.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Mawdryn]

I have been using RW DVDs for almost 2 years, and I have never done a full erase. I just do the quick erase and record something else.

I use +R RW disks instead of -R RW (although I have used a few of those), because of the higher recording speed (4x and now 8x vs. 2x). I have many disks that have been re-written 10-20 times with no trouble.

The one case where I would use a full erase is if a disk was having trouble (playback problems). I would try a full erase to see if that fixed the problem. But I have never had to do that yet.