Erasing Finalized DVD RAM

[db56]

I apologize if this has already been covered but I couldn't find anything with a search.

Is it possible to record and finalize a DVD RAM disk on my home DVD recorder, copy and edit the disk on my computer, and then erase the disk so that it can be used again.

In other words, can a dvd ram disk be erased after it has been finalized?

Thanks.

[Noahtuck]

Yes to all.
I do it all the time.

Just make sure you are "erasing" it and not "reformatting" it as reformatting it numerous times will prob. wreck it.
I lost a couple ram disc's this way and there was a thread some time ago we were all talking about it & it happening to others as well.

[db56]

Bless yoou and thank you

[oldfart13]

Never had a RAM disc fail yet in over 4 years. I still have the one that came with my Panasonic E80H. I erase and reformat them all.

A neat trick with the DVD-RAM discs is to erase/format them in your DVD recorder, then record 30 seconds of video onto the disc and then stop the recording. Pull the disc out of the recorder and put it into the computer and then erase it on the computer (I use the Panasonic DVD Movie Album software). When you put the disc back into your recorder, instead of saying there is 2 hours record time in SP speed, it will say there is now 2 hours and 7 minutes available! This is very handy for recording shows on timer that you know will go overtime by a few minutes or to set the timer a few minutes early and let it run the full 2 hours. I do this with all my RAM discs....

[Noahtuck]

Well....
It's not like i was the only one 8)
The only 2 i ever had fail, i was not really paying attention & kept reformatting them instead of just erasing them. they went buh bye real fast. All my new one's i've bought over the years have had no problem, but then i only formatted them once

I've seen people eat glass with no ill effects.... should we all start eating glass ?
:P
If there is no need to reformat a ram disc over and over..... why take the chance.
Erasing works just peachy

Oh yeah, mine is a panasonic also with various brands of ram disc's, i still have the bad one's but i'd have to go dig them out to check the brand but i know one came with the recorder when i bought it.

[samijubal]

In other words, can a dvd ram disk be erased after it has been finalized?

Thanks.

RAM discs don't finalize like RW/R discs.

[db56]

Thanks to each of you for the info. This creates a lot of possibilities for me which I wasn't sure existed. Thanks again.

[oldfart13]

Well....
It's not like i was the only one 8)
The only 2 i ever had fail, i was not really paying attention & kept reformatting them instead of just erasing them. they went buh bye real fast. All my new one's i've bought over the years have had no problem, but then i only formatted them once

I've seen people eat glass with no ill effects.... should we all start eating glass ?
:P
If there is no need to reformat a ram disc over and over..... why take the chance.
Erasing works just peachy

Oh yeah, mine is a panasonic also with various brands of ram disc's, i still have the bad one's but i'd have to go dig them out to check the brand but i know one came with the recorder when i bought it.

Memorex perhaps? I've had lots of DVD+RWs that were Memorex fail after as few as 4 passes. I have 8 in a box right beside me and more on this desk with "Bad" or "Fail" written on them. DVD-RAM discs are supposed to be good for hundreds of thousands of passes so erasing or formating should make little difference. I don't have any Memorex RAM discs though but of the others, I have (right beside me): Maxell 3X, Maxell 1X, Panasonic 2-3X and Panasonic 1X. In short, no crap brands. 4+ years of everyday recordings and not one disc has crapped out and the recorder is still running strong as well. DVD-RAM has been very good to me....

[db56]

Oh wow! I'm sorry to be a pest but I guess it is obvious I am new at this.

Here's the deal! I have confirmed that "DVD RAM disks don't finalize the same as RVD -R disks do" and as a result I'm at the same stage I was a couple months ago.

Is there an easy and cheap way to use the computer to transfer the DVD RAM "VRO" files created by my home recorder into regular DVD disks that will play on any dvd player? I tried the trial version of TMPGen and it worked extremely well but $90 seems like a lot of money for a program that I will only use very occasionally.

As always, thanks for any suggestions you can offer.

[/u]

[Schmendrick]

Use Project-X to demux the VRO-file into a video m2v-file and an audio ac3-file and then use IfoEdit to generate a simple DVD-structure and finally burn it with e.g. Nero to DVD+-R/RW.

[samijubal]

You can get the Tsunami MPEG DVD Author from Amazon for $51 new, $39 from the marketplace. I don't know for sure if it does RAM, but I'd guess it does.

http://www.amazon.com/TSUNAMI-MPEG-123594-DVD-Author/dp/B0007QDH0M/sr=8-1/qid=11692258...TF8&s=software

[Jeremiah58]

Is there an easy and cheap way to use the computer to transfer the DVD RAM "VRO" files created by my home recorder into regular DVD disks that will play on any dvd player?

Copy that VRO file to your PC, and rename it to MPG. Now you can use any of DVD authoring tools to make your DVD:
https://www.videohelp.com/tools?s=2#2

[ofbarea]

Talking about the longevity of RAM disks...

I still have several, years old, 1x Maxell 9.4 GB DVD RAM Type I (cartridge) that are still working fine.

These 1x RAM disk started as backup data devices. I still using them to record shows, delete them and record again.

If there is a show that I intend to keep for a longer time I open it in my old but reliable Toshiba SD-W2002 cartridge DVD-RAM drive

I re-author the video to DVD Using TMPGEnc DVD Author.

[oldfart13]

The easiest way is still to use the Panasonic Movie Album Copy Tool Software. It can see each individual program recorded on a RAM disc and transfer it alone to your computer HDD. It should be available from any Panasonic service center. You used to be able to get them with Panasonic DVD drives for computers. It came with the software bundle. TMPGEnc DVD Author will see each individual VRO and let you author with those. Remember to select "Source Wizard" when using VROs. If you want to edit first, use Womble Mpeg Video Wizard for frame accurate editing. This has been working out for me for years now. Good luck....

[db56]

As always, thanks for all of the suggestions. I will give them a try tomorrow or the next day.

[handyguy]

Or you can just rename your VRO to *.mpg. Then use it with another program.

[oldfart13]

The VRO will be one single file. That's bad if you have multiple programs on one disc (TV series episodes for example). If you want only 1 episode then you will have to transfer the entire disc over. Using the Panny software, I can transfer a single program over, which is way faster. No possibility of audio/video sync errors which I used to get when transferring a single VRO to the computer that was made up of multiple programs....