What is DVD authoring? What are DVD-Roms used for?

[M.AD]

What does it mean by DVD authoring? What is the difference between that and general use?

The recorder that I plan to buy says that it does not support DVD-ROM. Does this matter? What is it used for?

[jsnkc]

DVD authoring is taking your video and graphic elements and incorporating them in to a file structure that a DVD player can recognise by creating menus, first play items, end actions etc...

A DVD-ROM is something that is playable in DVD-ROM drives in a computer, it is basically just a bigger CD-ROM. Your average Cd-ROm can hold 700MB of information, and your standard DVD-ROM can hold 4.37GB of information (a standard DVD 4.7GB DVD-R)

[M.AD]

Would it matter if my DVD writer does not support authoring or DVD-ROM creation? Why would some writers not support authoring, when (i believe anyway) that you can make them on CDrs?

[K2]

Not all DVDR are created equally.
General DVDRs are what most people use.
Authoring DVDRs are better grade media for use as a master when you send to a duplication house.

Most DVD writers should support DVDRom, while only a few support DVDRam.

[M.AD]

The drive in question reads all DVD- media, its the writing I am concerned about. I have found that it writes all DVD- media, but on the table I am refering to, the "write" values for DVD-r(for authoring) and DVD-ROM discs are left blank. This may mean it is untested, but as it is a table produced by the drive maker I think they know it wont work. It says that the drive can read both these values, but does not specify whether it can write them.

[jsnkc]

Any DVD burner will be able to create and read a DVD-ROM disc as long as it is a computer based drive you are looking to buy. If it is a stand alone set top unit, then you will not be able to make or play DVD-Rom's.

[M.AD]

Its an internal PC drive

[flaninacupboard]

why don't you tell us which drive it is, and give us an url.....?

[M.AD]

http://www.dvd-recordable.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=45

I am refering to the official spec sheet that is available to download from here (pdf format)

[flaninacupboard]

I see the problem. look at the table again. Now, the category DVD-ROM has no write speed and a 12X read speed. this is because a DVD-ROM (Read Only Memory!!) can only be pressed, in a big pressing factory, not burned in a burner. While a DVD-ROM and a DVD-R can both hold an identical file structure recognisable by a computer, the media are totally different.

[M.AD]

So a DVD-ROM reader will not read a DVD-R disk. I think I've got it