DVD-RAM What is it good for?

[David K]

If you don’t have a DVD-R Standalone Video Recorder that is.
I finally upgraded to new computer that has a Multi-Drive that will burn DVD-RAM. I understand that DVD-RAM's strength is being used as a mini harddrive, where you can add and delete discrete data files without having to burn a whole new compilation.
But what software do I need to do this?
Do I need to install something like Nero’s InCD or other special packet writing software?
I’ve had bad experiences with those in the past and would rather not install one on my system.
I notice that Nero’s Burning Rom UDF/ISO template gives one the option of packet writing compatibility. Will I be able to do it that way? When I burn data with this it looks like it formats the whole disc.
I’m using some Fuji-Film (made in Japan) DVD-RAM discs that I bought a while back and the top burning speed that my burner can do for them is 2X (although the burner’s specs say it can do DVD-RAM at 8X.) The Fuji packaging does not indicate its top burn speed. Any suggestions by DVD-RAM partisans would be welcomed.

[trhouse]

DVD-RAM was originally conceived as an industrial grade backup product. It is commonly used by banks to backup their records because it is capable of 100,000 rewrites and has heavy duty error checking which is one of the reasons it is slower than RW disks.

Windows XP has native support for DVD-RAM but with the FAT32 format. If you want to do DVD-Video then you need additional software like InCD or Sonic's DLA which supports the UDF format used with DVD-Video.

[SingSing]

Windows XP has native support for DVD-RAM but with the FAT32 format.

Does it means it can only hold 4GB of data ?

[Noahtuck]

I use it on my panasonic dvd recorder to transfer LD transfers to my pc for editing and autoring, i can use it on my recorder for slipstream recording, where i can pause live tv while recording while it continues to record and continue later without missing anything, they last way longer than dvdrw.
But i've never used them on my pc to record stuffm just the standalone.

[David K]

TR House

Thanks! I inserted a fresh RAM disc, right clicked the drive and got the option of formatting it to FAT 32 only, did so, and now I can drag and drop. I had tried that earlier but I'd already screwed up my first disc by burning data to it with regular UDF 1.02. It appears to give me the full 4.6 gigs of space.

But the transfer rate is slow: looks like 10 minutes for 500 MB or so. Slower than a flash drive would be. Is this a built in limitation, or a function of the discs I am using (that is, are there high speed DVD-RAM discs that would make a difference?)

[trhouse]

Maybe this will help,

http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?fr=FP-pull-web-t&ei=UTF-8&p=speed+of+copying+to+dv...icp=1&.intl=us

I use Panasonic X2-5 DVD-RAM disks. The most common are X2-3.

[David K]

Yes the information in that link is useful.
Since the DVD-RAM burns and checks at the same time, that slows the transfer down.
Still it is a much cheaper alternative to flash drives for drag and drop back-up (a 2 gig flash drive going for about $80 and a 4.6 gig DVD RAM disc going for about $2.) Too bad so few drives support DVD RAM.

[handyguy]

There are lots of DVD RAM topics if you want to read more in the forum.