Data Backup and DVD-RAM

[Rainey]

I am going to buy a new Dell PC and I see there DVD drives only support +R/W so i will buy a DVD that supports all formats and intall it later.

My question is, I will be using the DVD drive to do data backup most of the time. Should i get a drvie that supports DVD-RAM for that ? is that mode any better for data backup of say MP3 files.

I was going to get the Plextor PX708A but it did not support the new DVD-RAM mode. Do i realy need that mode ?

So i started looking at the IOMEGA super drive BUT i dont thing i like that drive if it needs the IOMEGA ATAPI driver like most of the older IOMEGA drives i have seen. You know the one that takes over your system for all your drives. Any body know the story on this super drive and it drivers.

Any comments welcome.

Rainey

[VidGuy]

I've used DVD-RAM and DVD+RW for data backups, and so far, DVD+RW has been faster for me.

I've seen a lot of talk about how fast DVD-RAM is, but on my LF-D311 (and prior to that, a Creative DVD-RAM drive), it's glacial - yeah, it's faster than a floppy, but I normally only way less than DVD 1x, whereas in my Sony DR-500, I get about 2x write time with DVD+RW and InCD.

Also, for what it's worth - I would never buy another Iomega product. I've had nothing but problems with them (on the plus side, they honor their warranty pretty well) - Between Jaz and Zip drives, I think I've RMA'd 10 drives in the last 5 years (I had 2 Jaz and 1 Zip drive, and they've all been RMA's multiple times).

P.S. "DVD-RAM" mode is not new - I think it's actually older than DVD-R - I had a Creative DVD-RAM drive before I had heard of DVD-R or DVD+R.

[Rainey]

Thanks VidGuy

That is the kind of info i am looking for.

I have been reading but it is still not clear what all the different modes are and how they work with data backup. After reading it seemed DVD-RAM might be like DirectCD where you format it once then can write at different time to fill it up BUT i think with the right software you can do that with the other modes also.

Rainey

[keithcat]

I think the major advantage of DVD-RAM is that it can be recognized by the Operating System (XP) directly and acts like a normal hard disk. You can format it (with FAT32) without the need for any burning software. You can also open / edit files directly using the application software (e.g. Word, Excel, etc.).
For other media (e.g. DVD+RW), although you can rewrite to it a number of times, you cannot open the files directly for editing. You normally need a burning software to 'burn' the files in after editing them on the hard disk.
Having said that, whether we actually 'need' such format is another question. Why should we edit the files directly on the DVD-RAM, and not on the faster hard disk?
I have recently bought the Iomega Super DVD drive. I have encountered problems using the bundled 'Hotburn' software for burning data DVD on +RW and -R disks. However, I found that I can use the standard PC tools (e.g. Explorer) directly on DVD-RAM (although only at 1x speed) and it seems to be a solution for me (although the DVD-RAM disks are 2 times in price).
Just my sharing of experience.
Keith

[Rainey]

Thanks Keith

It seem that DVD_RAM is not like the name would imply, RAM. It would be nice to use it like a hard disk but that is what you can do after you burn the other types of DVD's, I guess you just need to burn a full 4.3 gig's at one time then you have your backup. It could then be read in the DVD drive without the DVD burning software.

[VidGuy]

Keith, I haven't had that experience. For DVD-RAM, I ended up having to buy WriteDVD (by softarch, which I don't recommend, by the way - nothing but problems with their stuff as well).

As far as DVD+RW, it acts just like a floppy, hard disk, or DVD-RAM if you use software like inCD or DirectCD (personally, I've found inCD from ahead/nero to work well).

Also, if you have a drive that supports Mount Ranier (a slightly different form of file system than what inCD does), then Windows XP is supposed to support it directly - but I don't know how prevalent that support is right now.

The only other reason for DVD-RAM would be if you have a Panasonic record or camcorder that uses them........